Introduction

Abstract This introductory discussion sets out the primary aims of the book, i.e. to offer an examination of the influence of Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica on the epic poetry of Silius Italicus (Punica), Statius (Thebaid, Achilleid), and Claudian (De Raptu Proserpinae). The chapter touches briefly on the relative chronology of the Flavian epics and establishes the methodology adopted by the author with respect to analysing intertexts, which entails largely restricting analysis to points of contact between the Argonautica and the Punica, Thebaid, Achilleid, and De Raptu Proserpinae individually, without expanding the focus to include the use of similar language and themes in other authors. The chapter concludes with a brief illustration of combinatorial imitation, a topic that is not the primary focus of the book but one that nonetheless offers a viable avenue for future study.