Statius and Epic Games by Helen Lovatt

Statius and Epic Games 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 and the body, games and war, kingship and narrative control. This book uses a close reading of one part of one text to range over ancient literature. It casts light on the tradition of games in ancient epic as a whole, examining the works of Homer, Virgil, Apollonius, Ovid and Lucan. It is essential reading for the student of Statius and of ancient epic and of interest to historians of Roman society with an interest in sport and spectacle.

'An excellent resource for the student of Statius, it is also a very useful consideration of epic games' The London Association of Classical Teachers

Helen Lovatt is Lecturer in Classics at the University of Nottingham. She has written numerous articles on Latin epic and its reception.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521847421
ISBN 10	0521847427
Title	Statius and Epic Games
Author	Helen Lovatt
Series	Cambridge Classical Studies
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2005-04-21
Number of pages	348
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.