Explaining Virgil from his Successors: Virgilian Commentaries in Statius' Footsteps

Statius is taken into account by Virgilian commentators since late antiquity, and can be recognised as a creative precursor of their exegetical activity. Issues of text, style, and interpretation continually urge this critical comparison; the Flavian poet does not always explain Virgil, and often complicates our reading; however, as he rethinks his model word by word, and from its peculiarities, or difficulties, draws impetus for his own inventions, he stands as one of Virgil’s most acute interpreters. I discuss a few examples of how Statius’ text has been considered, from Servius to the “green-and-yellow” (on Aen. 10.260–269; 10.537–539; 10.270–275; 12.441–449), and offer a methodological reflection for future commentaries — on Virgil, but also on his successor. Studying Statius’ style cannot go without Virgil, just as commenting on Virgil, studying his style, cannot go without Statius — the most devoted, and most audacious, of his imitators.