"This book examines the poetry of Statius (c. 40-96 AD), a Roman author uniquely placed between two major cultural centres of imperial Italy: Naples, his home city and a centre of Hellenism, and Rome, the nexus of empire. From his bicultural vantage point Statius challenges Roman norms of gender and class; his poetry reflects also shifting attitudes to Hellenism and Roman imperial ambitions. ... This book also discusses how medieval writers drew upon Statius' work for new expressive and generic possibilities in lyric, romance, and even history"--