Statius and Epic Games: Sport, Politics and Poetics in the Thebaid by Helen Lovatt - 2005

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Hardcover. Very Good Condition. Dust jacket is fully intact, only lightly rubbed at edges. All pages clean, crisp and fresh. Overall, very sound and presentable.Publisher's note: "Epic games are more than just an interlude; they reflect the realities of epic: heroism, power and war. This first major study of the athletic games in Statius' Thebaid Book 6 uses them to produce a new reading of the poem as a whole. It explores each event in Statius' games, discussing intertextual manoeuvres, historical context and poetic positioning, developing a theme from each: audience power, cosmic disruption, national identity, masculinity and the body, games and war, kingship and narrative control. This book uses a close reading of one part of one text to range over ancient literature. It casts light on the tradition of games in ancient epic as a whole, examining the works of Homer, Virgil, Apollonius, Ovid and Lucan. It is essential reading for the student of… Read More

Hardback. New. Epic games reflect the realities of epic: heroism, power and war. This first major examination of the games in Statius' Thebaid offers a new reading of the poem as a whole. General consideration is also given to the tradition of games in ancient epic, from Homer to Lucan.