Bringing It All Back Home: Togetherness in Statius Silvae 3.5

In Silvae 3.5, Statius seizes the moment to present a picture of the complicated composition of his domestic ménage: determined on "retirement" from the court at Rome and relocation to his hometown of Naples, he articulates considerations which might convince his wife Claudia to come join him. The essay tracks the collage of improvisational family structures and sentimental bonds that frame and distrain the collection's "modern" Flavian world, pinpoints the pivotal positioning of this finale to Book 3 within the narrative progression of the Silvae, and derives Statian uxoriousness from a blend of literary prototypes from Cicero, Ovid, and Lucan.