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This monograph is a literary study of Lycophron's Alexandra, whose
obscurity, a quality notorious already in antiquity, has long
hampered holistic approaches. Through a series of distinct but
closely integrated literary studies of major aspects of the poem,
including its style, its engagement with the traditions of epic and
tragedy, and it's treatment of heroism and of the gods, the book
explores the way the Alexandra reconfigures Greek mythology. In
particular, as it is presented in Homeric epic and Athenian
tragedy, in order to cast the Romans and their restoration of
Trojan glory as the ultimate telos of history. In this sense, the
poem emerges as an important intermediary between Homeric epic and
Latin poetry, particularly Vergil's Aeneid. By rewriting specific
features of the epic and tragic traditions, the Alexandra denies to
Greek heroes the glory that was the traditional compensation for
their suffering, while at the same time attributing to Cassandra's
Trojan family honours framed in the traditional language of Greek
heroism. In this sense, the figure of Cassandra, a prophetess
traditionally gifted with the power of foresight but denied
credibility, self-reflexively serves as a vehicle for exploring the
potentials and limitations of poetry.
This study focuses on ways in which Statius' epic Thebaid, a poem
about the civil war between Oedipus' sons Eteocles and Polynices,
reflects the theme of internal discord in its narrative strategies.
At the same time that Statius reworks the Homeric and Virgilian
epic traditions, he engages with Hellenistic poetic ideals as
exemplified by Callimachus and the Roman Callimachean poets,
especially Ovid. The result is a tension between the impulse
towards the generic expectations of warfare and the desire for
delay and postponement of such conflict. Ultimately, Statius
adheres to the mythic paradigm of the mutual fratricide, but he
continues to employ competing strategies that call attention to the
fictive nature of any project of closure and conciliation. In the
process, the poem offers a new mode of epic closure that emphasizes
individual means of resolution.
This study focuses on ways in which Statius' epic Thebaid, a poem
about the civil war between Oedipus' sons Eteocles and Polynices,
reflects the theme of internal discord in its narrative strategies.
At the same time that Statius reworks the Homeric and Virgilian
epic traditions, he engages with Hellenistic poetic ideals as
exemplified by Callimachus and the Roman Callimachean poets,
especially Ovid. The result is a tension between the impulse
towards the generic expectations of warfare and the desire for
delay and postponement of such conflict. Ultimately, Statius
adheres to the mythic paradigm of the mutual fratricide, but he
continues to employ competing strategies that call attention to the
fictive nature of any project of closure and conciliation. In the
process, the poem offers a new mode of epic closure that emphasises
individual means of resolution.
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