For critical bibliographies on the Thebaid, see Dominik 1996, who discusses the critical reception of the Thebaid in the twentieth century up until the mid-1990s, followed by the survey of Coleman 2003, who also discusses recent scholarship on the Achilleid. The most recent editions and translations of these epics are by Shackleton Bailey (2003). The standard texts of the Thebaid and Achilleid are by Hill (1983) and Dilke (1954) respectively.
The major critical studies in English on the Thebaidare by Vessey (1973), who makes considerable claims for its stature after a couple of centuries of scholarly neglect in the Anglophone world; Ahl (1986), who deals with a wide range of thematic issues and argues for a political reading; Dominik (1994a), who treats the theme of power and its political implications; Dominik (1994b), who examines the role of the speeches; and McGuire (1997), who discusses the themes of civil war, tyranny, and suicide in Flavian epic.
Important studies of the Thebaid in languages other than English in the past quarter century are those of Schubert (1984), who studies the role of Jupiter in the Flavian epics; Frings (1991), who analyzes aspects of Statius’ narrative technique; Frings (1992), who explores the themes of fraternal hatred and murder in comparison with Seneca’s Thyestes; Ripoll (1998), who investigates the nature of the heroic code found in Flavian epic; Franchet d’Esperey (1999), who treats the themes of war, violence, and peace in the Thebaid; and Criado (2000), who examines non-Virgilian elements of Statius’ theological conception in the epic.
There are no book-length critical studies in English on the Achilleid, although Clogan (1968) provides an informative discussion of the medieval Achilleid. In other languages Rosati (1994) furnishes an illuminating introduction to his text and translation, while Benker (1987) argues that aspects of Achilles’ portrayal draw attention to various flaws in the emperor Domitian.
A number of modern studies in languages other than English deal with the Thebaid and Achilleid. Taisne (1994) explores the images and allusions in the works of Statius and attempts to locate their sources. Delarue (2000) discusses how Statius alludes to and adapts the works of his predecessors and examines the thematic and structural unity of his epics. The Epicedion of Delarue et al. (1996) contains individual essays by modern scholars of Statius from a variety of critical perspectives in different languages.
A Companion to Ancient Epic Edited by John Miles Foley Copyright © 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
World History
