Interplay: Silius and Statius in the Games of Pvnica 16

Abstract

Epic games are self-conscious sites of poetic competition. Statius and Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus set themselves up in competition with Homer, Virgil, Ovid, and Valerius Flaccus among others in writing their versions of this set-piece of the epic genre. The games are a particularly good place to analyze the interplay of contemporary texts in the same genre. This chapter looks in detail at the games of Silius in Punica 16 and traces connections with Statius, tries reading them backwards and forwards, and shows what sort of relationship the two texts seem to have. It begins with the gladiatorial games, which have a very clear link to Statius' whole poem and a polemical relationship. The chapter then moves on to the two running events, pauses briefly with Silius' javelin and Statius' archery, and reaches a finale with the two chariot-races. Keywords: epic games; Punica 16; Statius; Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus

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