Statius and Epic Games: Sport, Politics and Poetics in the Thebaid

by Helen Lovatt

Epic games are more than just an interlude; they reflect the realities of epic: heroism, power and war. This first major study of the athletic games in Statius' Thebaid Book 6 uses them to produce a new reading of the poem as a whole. It explores each event in Statius' games, discussing intertextual manoeuvres, historical context and poetic positioning, developing a theme from each: audience power, cosmic disruption, national identity, masculinity...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521847427
• ISBN13: 9780521847421
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 348 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 8.8"