Visualizing the Poetry of Statius

Christopher Chinn, PhD (2002), University of Washington, is Associate Professor of Classics at Pomona College (Claremont, CA, USA). He has published numerous articles and chapters on Imperial Latin literature, especially Statius and Pliny.

"the book will be of great interest to scholars with an interest in Statius generally, visuality, and the culture of viewing in Flavian Rome." Samuel Douglas in BMCR (2023.03.07).

• Introduction: Statius and the Visual1 Ekphrasis2 Theories of Vision3 Statius and Vision1 Statius’ Catalogue and Tragic Visuality1 Aeschylus’ Shield Scene2 Statius and Aeschylus3 Visual Responsion in Statius’ Catalogue4 Statius and Euripides5 The Female Gaze in Statius’ Catalogue6 Statius and Athenian Tragedy2 Statius’ Catalogue and Epic Visuality1 Visual Prologues2 Strategies of Sequencing3 Statius and the Homeric Catalogue of Ships4 Statius and Vergil’s Catalogue of Italians5 Statius’ Murals: Hippomedon6 Statius’ Murals: Capaneus7 Vergil and Homer in Statius’ Catalogue3 Ekphrasis, Adultery, and Metanarrative1 Vulcan’s Workshop2 Harmonia’s Necklace3 Venus’ Speech4 The Temple of Mars5 The House of Sleep6 Narrative Implications7 Visual Implications4 Statius’ Shields1 The Shield of Theseus2 Theseus’ Shield, Crete, and the Aeneid3 Theseus’ Shield, Bulls, and Catullus4 Theseus’ Shield and Visuality5 The Shield of Crenaeus6 Ismenos and the Thebaid7 Vision and Crenaeus’ Shield8 Visualizing Epic5 Achilles’ Blush1 Seneca and Others on the Blush2 In Chiron’s Cave3 Achilles Sees Deidamia4 Achilles Transformed5 Arms and the Boy6 The Anger of Achilles7 Reading the Blush6 Silvae 1.1 and the Visuality of Empire1 Epic Visuality2 Divine Artistry3 Illusion4 Human Artistry5 The Visuality of Empire6 Conclusion7 Silvae 4.6 and the Visuality of Satire1 Ekphrastic Satire?2 Colossus and “Colossus”3 Epigram at the Table4 Epic Visuality, Again5 Conclusion8 Visualizing the Good Life: the Villa Poems1 Statius and Horace: Silv. 1.32 Silvae 2.2: Lyric Visuality3 Silv. 2.2: Epic Visuality4 Conclusion9 Statius and the Erotic Gaze1 The Bath of Claudius Etruscus2 The Tree of Atedius Melior3 ConclusionsConclusion: Statius’ Visual Poetics1 Thebaid2 Achilleid3 Silvae4 Dracontius and the Deviant Viewer5 Claudian and the Adultery Metanarrative6 The Achilleid in Claudian and Dracontius7 Ausonius and the SilvaeBibliographyIndex