Punica (poem)

The Punica is a Latin epic poem in seventeen books in dactylic hexameter written by Silius Italicus (c. 28 – c. 103 AD) comprising some twelve thousand lines (12,202, to be exact, if one includes a probably spurious passage in book 8). It is the longest surviving Latin poem from antiquity. Its theme is the Second Punic War and the conflict between the two great generals Hannibal and Scipio Africanus.

The dates of the Punica's composition are not entirely clear. There is external evidence for composition dates from some of the epigrams of Martial. Martial 4.14, a poem dated to 88 AD, describes Silius' work on the Punica, mentioning Scipio and Hannibal as the subjects of the poem. 7.63, dated to 92 AD also describes his work on the poem. Two passages of internal evidence also help date the Punica. At 3.600ff. during Jupiter's prophecy about the future of Rome, describes significant events from the Flavian dynasty and the life of Domitian, such as the death of Vespasian, Titus' destruction of Jerusalem, Domitian's adoption of the title Germanicus (83 AD), and the burning of the Capitoline temple in 69 AD. Thus the passage puts a terminus post quem for Book 3 at 83 AD. At 14.685-88, the mention of a contemporary vir who has brought peace to the world and put a stop to illegal theft has been interpreted as referring to the accession of Nerva in 96 AD, although this reference to Nerva has been disputed. Thus, composition dates for the poem must be set at c. 83 to c. 96 AD, although since those dates do not include the first two or final three books, they must remain approximate. The poem is a work of Silius' old age, and thus his time spent at his Campanian villas collecting antiques and giving recitations, presumably of the Punica. According to the epigrams of Martial cited above, the poem met with some success and was compared with the Aeneid.

Silius, as a poet of historical epic, had to make use of both historical sources and poetic models. Livy is considered his single most important historical source; however, Silius differs his work from Livy's by often embellishing themes which are only briefly treated in Livy and altering the focus of his narrative. It is known that Silius also used other historians as sources. Silius should not be viewed as a simple transmitter of his historical sources, as "Livy in verse", but should be viewed as a poet who, while making use of historians, is not bound by the rules of historiography but rather of poetry.

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