Imperial Art and Power in the Liternum Episode of Silius Italicus’ Punica

Abstract

Abstract The paper is concerned with Silius’ double ecphrasis of a Roman monument of the First Punic War at Liternum, and Hannibal’s planned counter-monument (Sil. 6.653-716). It is suggested that these are compared as parts of commemorative networks rather than as standalone memorials: ambiguities in Hannibal’s speech can be interpreted as hints that he might be planning a series of monuments, while the Roman monument is described as ‘secondary’ in relation to memorials in Rome. Significantly, the Roman monument stands outside the capital, thus the Roman conquest of Italy provides additional context for its interpretation. Although the local point of view is suppressed in the episode, other passages provide analogies for what local interpretations of the Roman monument might look like in the world of the Punica.