Ut Sculptura Poesis: Statius, Martial, and the Hercules Epitrapezios of Novius Vindex

Statius' Silvae 4.6 and Martial's Epigrams 9.43 and 9.44 concern a Greek statue that, after a storied history, has ended up in the hands of Novius Vindex, an otherwise obscure Roman of the early imperial period. While Vindex manifestly fits into the pattern of Romans who use Greek art to enhance their position and status, the two poets also use the statue to demonstrate their inheritance and control of the work of generic predecessors in order to underscore their own poetic accomplishments in an imperial Roman world.