Political allusion and exemplary thinking in Silius Italicus' Punica

Abstract

Instead of trying to prove political allusion and political positioning for authors of poetic works, namely epic poetry, it seems more rewarding to look for contemporary sources. The paper suggests reading Silius Italicus' epic poem on the Second Punic War with a view to Valerius Maximus' work on the deeds and sayings of exemplary men. Exemplarity as a mode of thinking, narrating and evaluating historical facts is made evident by juxtaposing these two very diverse literary works.