STATIUS IN THE SILVAE
Ruurd R. NautaIn the Silvae, Statius tells us enough about himself to enable us to
draw up a rudimentary biography. Even if we do not take into consid-
eration the ‘personal’ poems in the posthumously published Book 5
(5.3–5), because we do not know whether these were intended for
inclusion in the Silvae,^1 we are informed that Statius hailed from
Naples, where he participated successfully in the poetry competitions
of the Neapolitan Games, the Σεβαστά, that after his father died he
inherited a small estate at Alba Longa near Rome, that he was once
victorious in Domitian’s Alban Games, but failed to win in the Capi-
toline Games, that he was known as the poet of the Thebaid and later
the Achilleid, from which he gave well-attended recitations, that he
was married to a Claudia, the widow of a fellow-poet, and that, feeling
old and weary after a grave illness, he intended to retire to Naples,
although he continued to spend time in Rome.^2 In my study of literary
patronage in the time of Domitian, I evaluated these data as historical
evidence, for the purpose of determining Statius’ position in the pa-
tronage relationships in which he was engaged.^3 In this paper, I wish
to take a more literary approach, not using the Silvae as a source for
biographical information, but examining Statius’ self-presentation as
part of the utterance of his poems. One way of conceptualising such
1 For the posthumous publication of Book 5 see Gibson 2006a, xxviii–xxx. I do
take account of 5.1–2, because unlike 5.3–5 these poems are not significantly differ-
ent from what is found in the books published by Statius himself.
2 Naples: 1.2.260–5, 2.2.97, 136, 3.ep.20–5, 3.5, 4.ep.19–20, 4.5.21, 4.7.17–20,
4.8; Games: 2.2.6 (cf. n. 57); death of his father (mourned in 5.3): 2.1.33–4, 3.3.39–
42; Alba: 3.1.61–4, 4.5.1–24, 4.8.39; Alban Games: 3.5.28–31, 4.2.65–7, 4.5.22–4;
Capitoline Games: 3.5.31–3; Thebaid (apart from more general references to his epic
poetry): 1.5.8, 3.2.40, 144, 3.5.36, 4.4.89, 4.7.8, 26; Achilleid: 4.4.94, 4.7.24, 5.2.163;
recitations: 5.2.160–3; marriage: 3.ep.20–3, 3.5; wife widow of poet (or singer):
3.5.52, 64; illness, old age and weariness: 3.5.12–3, 24, 37–42, 4.4.70, 5.2.158–9;
intended return to Naples: 3.5; in Rome: 4.1, 4.2, 4.6, 4.9, 5.1, 5.2 (in Alba: 4.5; in
Rome or Alba: 4.7; in Campania: 4.ep., 4.4, 4.8; cf. 4.3). Line numbers in citations
from the epistolary prefaces refer to the text as printed in Courtney 1990, which I use
throughout, unless otherwise specified.
3 Nauta 2002a, 195–204.