Reading Fear in Flavian Epic

Emotion, Power, and Stoicism

Author: Dalida Agri

Explores the textual representations of fear and its cognate emotions (anger, envy, and hatred) in Flavian epic through the ancient framework of Stoic thought on emotion, with a focus on Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica, Statius' Thebaid, and Silius Italicus' Punica.

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Summary

Description

This book examines the textual representations of emotions, fear in particular, through the lens of Stoic thought and their impact on depictions of power, gender, and agency. It first draws attention to the role and significance of fear, and cognate emotions, in the tyrant's psyche, and then goes on to explore how these emotions, in turn, shape the wider narratives. The focus is on the lengthy epics of Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica, Statius'Thebaid, and Silius Italicus' Punica. All three poems are obsessed with men in power with no power over themselves, a marked concern that carries a strong Senecan fingerprint. Seneca's influence on post-Neronian epic can befelt beyond his plays. His Epistles and other prose works prove particularly illuminating for each of the poet's gendered treatment of the relationship between power and emotion. By adopting a Roman Stoic perspective, both philosophical and cultural, this study brings together a cluster of major ideas to draw meaningful connections and unlock new readings.

Critic Reviews

This ambitious project forms a welcome and necessary contribution to studies of philosophical currents in Latin poetry, including Flavian epic. Esther Meijer, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

About the Author

Dalida Agri is Hon. Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. She has published on several aspects of Roman literature. Her research interests range widely across Greek and Latin literature, especially epic poetry, ancient philosophy, gender, political thought, and emotion. She is particularly interested in the interactions between literature and philosophy in Roman epic and society.

More on this Book

This book examines the textual representations of emotions, fear in particular, through the lens of Stoic thought and their impact on depictions of power, gender, and agency. It first draws attention to the role and significance of fear, and cognate emotions, in the tyrant's psyche, and then goes on to explore how these emotions, in turn, shape the wider narratives. The focus is on the lengthy epics of Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica, Statius'Thebaid, and Silius Italicus' Punica. All three poems are obsessed with men in power with no power over themselves, a marked concern that carries a strong Senecan fingerprint. Seneca's influence on post-Neronian epic can be felt beyond his plays. His Epistles and other prose works prove particularly illuminating for each ofthe poet's gendered treatment of the relationship between power and emotion. By adopting a Roman Stoic perspective, both philosophical and cultural, this study brings together a cluster of major ideas to draw meaningful connections and unlock new readings.