Intheessaysofthisvolume,MichaelPutnamshowshowseriouslyStatiuspayshomagetohiscanonicalpredecessor,Virgil,howthoroughlyheinterpretsthecomplexitiesofVirgilianpoetry,andhowheoften,byplacingaVirgilianreferenceinadifferentsocialandculturalcontext,boldlyturnsVirgiltonewandmorepositivepurposes.Hefocusesparticularly,thoughnotexclusively,onthoseSilvaewhichdealwiththearchitecturalworldofStatius’society,theprivatevillas,thegardens,andtheimperialpalace.HealsowritesoftheRomanequivalentofthe’GrandTour,’ayoungman’seducationaljourneythroughthemonumentsofEgypt,Greece,andAsiaMinor.Theessaysoffervaluableinsightintotheculturalandsocialidentityoflatefirst-centuryimperialRome.Statius’reverentialbutalsoheuristicengagementwithVirgilemergesmoredistinctlyacrosstheinterrelatedessays.Putnam’scollectedessaysdisplaythepioneeringnatureofStatius’SilvaeinthedevelopmentofecphrasisasanimportantsocialandliterarymodeinRomanpoetry
