publius papinius statius ( 45 – 96 a.d.) was a roman poet born in naples, italy. published in 92 a.d., his major epic was called "thebaid". it has the same theme as the seven against thebes, a play by aeschylus, the fight of seven city states against thebes. he also wrote poems for different occasions. these poems are known as "silvae" today. they show what the life at the court of domitian was like. even though he is not well-known today, he was better known during his time. he also appears in "the divine comedy".