Thebaid

Where does Statius step into the text of his own poem? Consider invocations to the Muses and other authorial insertion. Why do you think he does this?

The Thebaid does not shy away from familial dysfunction. Compare relationships between fathers and their children to relationships between mothers and their children in the Thebaid. Do mothers generally behave differently from fathers? Are these distinctions hard and fast, or do some characters defy them?

Oedipus’s fatal blindness infects everyone in his orbit. Explore the thematic relationship between blindness and ignorance in the Thebaid. In Statius’s world, is it better to acknowledge the truth or stay in the dark?

Statius and his characters are obsessed with generational guilt: Children must account for the crimes of their fathers. How does this insistence on generational guilt impact the concept of free will? With what tone does Statius frame this conflict (e.g. tragic, good)?

While the Thebaid’s setting is mythological, it was also firmly rooted in the contemporary Rome of Statius’s day. How does Statius make his poem relevant to his Roman audience? Consider the poem’s approach to warfare and civil conflict. How is the Thebaid still relevant for us?

Statius is fond of similes, from elaborate descriptions of dusk and dawn to extended comparisons of humans to bulls, lions, and boars. What patterns can you discern in how Statius use animal similes to characterize his heroes? Are the comparisons usually positive or negative?

Late imperial poets are noted for their fondness of graphic violence, and Statius is no exception. What role does combat imagery play in the Thebaid? What point do you think Statius was trying to make?

How does Statius use foreshadowing in the Thebaid? Is it a surprise when Eteocles and Polynices kill each other in the end? What about when the poem continues for a whole new book after their deaths? Why do you think Statius continued the story beyond its natural stopping point?