This volume addresses the role of ritual representationsand religion in the epic poems of the Flavian period (ValeriusFlaccus’ Argonautica, SiliusItalicus’ Punica, and Statius’ Thebaid and the unfinished Achilleid). The broader question it seeks to answer is how we can interpret the uses that poets make of the relationship between gods and human, cults and rituals, ritual metaphors, religious activities, including for example divination (oracles, prophecy), descent to the Underworld, necromancy, the role of the seer / prophet and his identification with poetry. The collection draws on various ... More

This volume addresses the role of ritual representationsand religion in the epic poems of the Flavian period (ValeriusFlaccus’ Argonautica, SiliusItalicus’ Punica, and Statius’ Thebaid and the unfinished Achilleid). The broader question it seeks to answer is how we can interpret the uses that poets make of the relationship between gods and human, cults and rituals, ritual metaphors, religious activities, including for example divination (oracles, prophecy), descent to the Underworld, necromancy, the role of the seer / prophet and his identification with poetry. The collection draws on various modern studies on religion and ritual and the relationship between literature and religion in the Greco–Roman world. This volume is divided into three major sections. The first section, ‘Gods and Humans’ includes essays on the most important religious activities, such as prophecy / augury, prayers / hymns, and the relationship between religion and political power under the Flavian emperors. The second section, ‘Death and Ritual,’ addresses specific episodes in Flavian epic that focus on religious activities associated with the dead and the Underworld, such as purification, necromancy, katabasis, suicide, and burial. Finally, the third section explores the role of the female in ritual and religion.