Achilles Statius and his commentary on Horaceʹs ars poetica

Abstract

In this article we start by sketching a bio‐bibliographical portrait of Achilles Statius before moving on to the study of his Comments, focusing on four points: the title, the dedication, the preface and the commentary itself. We argue that for Achilles Statius Horace’s Ars poetica was formally an ars and as or even more important than Aristotle’s Poetics.