Valerius Flaccus in Silius Italicus

This chapter aims to address the influence of the Argonautica on the Punica. I follow the view that Silius began his poem around 81 ce, when Valerius had completed a big portion of his Argonautica. Commentators of Silius point to verbal borrowings from Valerius, but it is clear that Silius borrows from Valerius thematic materials as well. I offer a comparative study of the prophecies of Jupiter in Punica 3 and Proteus in Punica 7 with the prophecy in Argonautica 1, of the suicide at Saguntum in Punica 2 with the death of Jason's parents and their katabasis to Elysium in Argonautica 1, of the death of Pyrene in Punica 3 with the abduction of Hylas in Argonautica 3, and of the monstrous serpent of Bagrada in Punica 6 with the Sigean monster in Argonautica 2. All these episodes point to the exploitation of intertext and context from Valerius Flaccus.