The feminine fi gures in Punica of Silius Italicus: The case of Sophonisba and Asbyte

Abstract

In his epic poem, Punica, Silius Italicus presents different prototypes of women in a way more or less faithful to the repressentations that his predecessors had made before. However, in his work also there appear women characterized in a less traditional way, as in Sofonisba’s and Asbyte’s case, types of women described in a more personal way and in accordance with the circumstances of the age of the poet. The pretensions of our study are, therefore, the analysis of these two feminine figures, because of their exceptional character.