The most significant intertext with the Thebaid is the Aeneid.30 However, this commentary will demonstrate that its intertexts range far beyond Virgil. In particular the themes and topoi of the Homeric epics permeate the entirety of the Thebaid. Henderson’s idea (1998:215) of the Thebaid as a post-Homeric epic is demonstrated within the commentary. The commentary will show that the language is primarily a reaction to Virgil but that, in terms of the content and topoi, the Homeric epics are significant. The sheer variety of sources demonstrated is in accordance with Statius’
30
Ganniban (2007) explores the relationship between Virgil and Statius; Fortgens (1934) collects some of this intertextual material. Hill (2008: 52-65) sees the Thebaid as a response to the Aeneid and as pessimistic. Davis (2006: 129-43) shows the importance of Virgil in the Thebaid but that Ovid becomes more important in the Achilleid.
own account of his education at Silv.5.3.146-58.31 Many of these connections are easily available to the reader but the commentary will focus on literary “affect”, that is the likely overall effect of these inter- and extra- textual influences on the reader. The commentary does not seek to schematise the nature of the inheritance in the manner of Bloom (1987); rather it tries to explain how, and to what purpose in each instance, Statius uses this inheritance.
Smolenaars (1994:32) calls this intertextual scholarship “multiple imitation” though this seems unnecessarily deprecatory and takes an anachronistic view of the place of originality in literature in the ancient world. By comparison, Williams (1968) argues that originality lay not in the newness of the story but in the artistry with which it was told. This intertextuality, however construed, extends to other genres, especially tragedy and suasoriae. Introduction 3 and 7 argue that there is conflation of genres.32
There are three significant funeral-pyre scenes in the Thebaid but the central, and most enlarged upon, is that of Opheltes in Thebaid 6, where a death, funeral and games follow one after another. The other pyres in the Thebaid provide intra-textual contrast as to content and rationale for inclusion. Sharrock and Morales
(2000:esp.1-43) emphasise a continuity with Aristotle’s notion of unity here, as expressed in the Poetics 1451a30-5. In the Poetics, the concept of unity means nothing can be removed without loss. Theb.12.810-18 announces that the epic is finished. As such, it is one of the few epics which can or should be treated as a unity. Hence the intratexuality of the Opheltes episode may be taken as deliberate.
31 See Gibson (2006:321-7) for details.
Theb.3.174-7 briefly and matter-of-factly describes how those killed in the night raid are burnt on a funeral pyre. These are normal military deaths and the pyre is
appropriate for heroes. At Theb.12.59-104 the minimal funeral of Menoeceus is more detailed. His death, as narrated in Thebaid 11, is an example of devotio. He, accordingly, deserves a hero’s funeral and games but these are denied him. These two smaller funeral scenes provide contrast in terms of size and motivation; that of Opheltes is extravagant and of debatable rationale. A further intertext is the false pyre that Hypsipyle claims she built for her father at Theb.5.313-19. The false pyre for her father and that of Opheltes are in ironic parallel: in each case there is no body and ritual becomes show. Hypsipyle’s deception will be hurled against her by Eurydice but the emptiness of Eurydice’s own ritual practices is ignored. Indeed, as the poem reaches its end, Statius complains, at Theb.12.797-99, that he could not do justice to the sheer quantity of the deaths of his characters: tot busta simul vulgique ducumque/ tot partier gemitus dignis conatibus aequem, where busta equals the monuments to their deaths. See Theb.6.2n on busta.
A similar network of intratexts will be established relating to the laments associated with these deaths. The “lament” of Eurydice, Theb.6.137-86, is filled with invective against Hypsipyle and has little to do with Opheltes. By contrast, the lament of Ide, Theb.3.151-68, bereaved mother of not one child but twins, is shorter as well as more dignified and appropriate. The father’s lament over the body of Menoeceus at Theb.12.72-92 is a pastiche of ritual and extreme personal human sacrifice.
The commentary will chart a concerted intratextuality throughout the Thebaid. Clearly, the choice of metaphors, images, verbs, and similes relates not only to the immediate context but also to previous and later episodes. In traditional
narratological terms, at a micro-level, the smallest details in Statius’ text can be analeptic and proleptic as well as having an immediate effect. Particular details of this process can be seen in the commentary on desecration of the grove and the simile which ends that scene, Theb.6.84-117.33
Moreover, extra-textual aspects of the narrative deserve to be considered. Art, sculpture and a landscape beyond the narrative provide additional resonances to the Thebaid. All such art forms have their own language and can create narratives in their own right. Thus artefacts such as the sculpture known as the Apoxyomenos, discussed at Theb.6.7n, wall paintings and the descriptions of the distant landscapes of Egypt or Tyre provide alternative perspectives. Reference to celebrated sculpture points to an idealised form of Greek masculinity and hints at an erotic perspective. However, this subtext is defeated: the athletes are neither idealised nor erotic (the only exception is Parthenopaeus). The allusion potentially comments on both the games in Thebaid 6 and games in general.
33
Kelly (2008:221) on Ammianus, shows how “internal textual similarities” provide unity. The same is true of Statius’ Thebaid.