Silius Italicus

Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus was born around 26 AD and died around 101 AD. He served as consul in 68 AD — the year of the four emperors — and later as governor of Asia. In retirement he devoted himself to literature and to collecting: he owned Virgil's tomb and Cicero's villa at Tusculum.

His Punica, in seventeen books, is the longest surviving poem in Latin. It tells the story of the Second Punic War, from Hannibal's crossing of the Alps to Scipio's victory at Zama. The poem is deeply Virgilian in style and ambition, and was long dismissed as derivative. Recent scholarship has been kinder, recognising its narrative skill and the intelligence of its engagement with the epic tradition.