Acknowledgements
I am convinced that Statius’ Silvae are one of a kind.1 This is why, although they are no longer a poorly-known text, I still deem it relevant to insist on their unique character and on how much there is to uncover about them (no matter how banal this assertion sounds). The present volume is a way of arguing my view on the uniqueness of the Silvae. In this task, I counted on the precious assistance of scholars whose research has had a most significant impact on the study of Statius’ collection over the past many years.
My first words of gratitude are addressed precisely to those who have contributed to this volume. I am grateful for their confidence in this project, their endless patience, and above all their dedication to the Silvae.
I thank the colleagues at the Centre for Classical Studies (School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon) who have accompanied each and every step of this project. Among them, William Dominik deserves a special acknowledgement for having generously commented on the volume’s introduction and my own chapter; my work has benefited very much from his suggestions.
Antony Augoustakis, Joy Littlewood, and Cristina Pimentel have a place of their own. They know why.
My final words are for Kathleen M. Coleman. It was her commentary on the fourth book of the Silvae that first opened my eyes to these poems. Now it was she who supported and encouraged me throughout the process of editing this volume, saving me from many errors and tirelessly supplying answers to my lists of queries. I have learned so much from her about professionalism, accuracy, and the time it takes to do things right.
Alwyn Harrison was responsible for the linguistic revision of several chapters of the volume. This work is financed with National Funds through FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), project UIDB/00019/2020.