Abstract

This short article, which starts with a reconsideration of the philosophical characterization of Statius’ Capaneus, aims at investigating the reception of the mythical figure of Capaneus in Hellenistic philosophy. Both among the Stoics (Zeno and, maybe, Chrysippus, according to Diogenes Laertius and Athenaeus) and the Epicureans (Philodemus in P.Herc. 452 olim 463, fr. 13), Capaneus occurs in the philosophical discourse on the definition of the sage, albeit with different nuances and reference texts. Statius, Neapolitan poeta doctus with Stoic and Epicurean patroni, may have drawn insights from this intellectual environment to provide his Capaneus with philosophical overtones. In the last paragraph it is cautiously suggested, on the basis of P.Herc. 452 olim 463, fr. 13, that Lucretius’ Epicurus in the well-known prologue of the De rerum natura – a model for Statius’ Capaneus – may have been influenced by the Epicurean reception of Capaneus.