City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

Publius Papinius Statius (; c. 45 – c. 96 AD) was a Roman poet of the 1st century AD (Silver Age of Latin literature). His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the Thebaid; a collection of occasional poetry, the Silvae; and an unfinished epic, the Achilleid. He is also known for his appearance as a guide in the Purgatory section of Dante's epic poem, the Divine Comedy.