In the Name of Jupiter: Prodigies and Omens in Silius Italicus’ Punica
War, Peace and Resilience in the Ancient World Narratives - Marinella Ceravolo
Diletta Vignola
Description
It has long been demonstrated that Silius Italicus in composing his Punica relied primarily on Livy’s Ab urbe condita libri; nevertheless, his poetic version of the Second Punic War is enriched by the introduction of a large number of divine interventions. The purpose of the present paper is to analyze in particular how in the last books of the poem Silius cunningly employs prodigies and omina as a tool to overcome a political problem, i.e. to legitimate Scipio’s potentially debatable military strategy, without damaging neither Africanus’ public image nor the one of his opponent Quintus Fabius Maximus.