15 Facts About Silius Italicus

Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus was a Roman senator, orator and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature.

Silius Italicus is believed to have been born between AD 23 and 35, but his birthplace has not been securely identified.

In early life Silius Italicus was a renowned forensic orator, later a safe and cautious politician.

Silius Italicus was generally believed to have voluntarily and enthusiastically become an informer under Nero, prosecuting in court persons whom the emperor wished condemned.

Silius Italicus was consul in the year of Nero's death, and afterward became a close friend and ally of the emperor Vitellius, whom he served, according to Pliny sapienter et comiter, wisely and amicably.

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Silius Italicus's poem contains several passages relating to the Flavians, and Domitian is eulogized as a warrior and as a singer whose lyre is sweeter than that of Orpheus himself.

Silius Italicus purchased Cicero's estate at Tusculum and the tomb of Virgil in Naples, which he restored.

Pliny records that Silius Italicus especially revered Virgil, celebrating Virgil's birthday more lavishly than his own and treating the poet's tomb as a shrine.

Silius Italicus was one of the numerous Romans of the early empire who had the courage of their opinions, and carried into perfect practice the theory of suicide developed in Stoicism; Punica 11.

Pliny remarks that Silius Italicus was the last person to die who was consul under Nero.

Whether Silius Italicus committed his philosophic dialogues and speeches to writing or not, we cannot say.

Silius Italicus's only preserved work is his epic poem entitled Punica, about the Second Punic War in seventeen books, comprising some twelve thousand lines, making it the longest preserved poem in Latin literature.

Silius Italicus makes an attempt on the city, but Juno stops him, revealing that the gods are against him.

Silius Italicus' style is unlike Virgil in that he does not focus on a few central characters but divides his action up between many significant heroes.

Pliny's judgment that Silius Italicus wrote poetry maiore cura quam ingenio has encouraged the view that Silius Italicus is a talented but mediocre and uninspired poet.