Peter Davis

Research Interests

Classics Latin and Classical Greek Languages Latin and Classical Greek Literature Literary Studies

APrf Peter Davis

School of Humanities

College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities

Peter Davis is a classicist who works primarily on political aspects of Latin literature in the early Roman empire. He is best known for his work on Ovid, Seneca's tragedies, and Flavian epic. His commentary on Book 3 of Ovid's Amores was published in 2023 and he is currently working on a commentary on a selection of Ovid's Heroides for Oxford University Press.

Peter Davis works on Latin literature of the first centuries BCE and CE. Until 2020 his primary focus was on the tragedies of Seneca and the Flavian epic poet Valerius Flaccus. He now works on Ovid, particularly the earlier erotic poetry. His commentary on Amores Book 3 was published by Oxford University Press in 2023. He has now completed a commentary on eight of Ovid's Heroides, which will be published by Oxford University Press in July, 2026.

Date Position Institution name
1975 - 2008 Associate Professor University of Tasmania

Language Competency
French Can read, understand spoken and peer review
German Can read
Greek, Ancient (to 1453) Can read
Italian Can read, understand spoken and peer review
Latin Can read
Spanish; Castilian Can read

Date Institution name Country Title
1970 - 1975 Monash University Australia PhD

Year Citation
2014 Davis, P. J. (2014). Commento al libro VIII delle Argonautiche di Valerio Flacco, written by Pellucchi, T.. Mnemosyne, 67(3), 505-507.
DOI
2012 Davis, P. (2012). 'A simple girl'? Medea in Ovid Heroides 12. Ramus-Critical Studies in Greek and Roman Literature, 41(1-2), 33-48.
DOI Scopus5 WoS4
2010 Davis, P. (2010). Jason at Colchis: technology and human progress in Valerius Flaccus. Ramus-Critical Studies in Greek and Roman Literature, 39(1), 1-13.
WoS7

Year Citation
2024 Davis, P. J. (2024). Ovid: Amores Book 3 Edited with an Introduction, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford University Press.
2020 Davis, P. J. (2020). Valerius Flaccus: Argonautica, Book 7. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
2015 Baltussen, H., & Davis, P. J. (Eds.) (2015). The Art of Veiled Speech: Self-Censorship from Aristophanes to Hobbes. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Scopus9

Year Citation
2016 Davis, P. (2016). Senecan tragedy and the politics of Flavian literature. In E. Dodson-Robinson (Ed.), Brill's Companion to the Reception of Senecan Tragedy: Scholarly, Theatrical and Literary Receptions (1 ed., pp. 57-74). Online: Brill.
DOI
2016 Davis, P. (2016). Freedom of speech in Virgil and Ovid. In P. Mitsis, & I. Ziogas (Eds.), Wordplay and Powerplay in Latin Poetry (1 ed., pp. 183-198). Berlin: Walter De Gruyter.
DOI
2015 Davis, P. (2015). Statius' Achilleid: The paradoxical epic. In W. Dominik, C. Newlands, & K. Gervais (Eds.), Brill's Companion to Statius (1 ed., pp. 157-172). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
2015 Davis, P. (2015). Seneca's Thyestes and the political tradition in Roman tragedy. In G. Harrison (Ed.), Brill's Companion to Roman Tragedy (1 ed., pp. 151-167). Leiden: Brill.
DOI
2015 Davis, P. (2015). Argo's Flavian politics: the workings of power in Valerius Flaccus. In H. Baltussen, & P. Davis (Eds.), The Art of Veiled Speech: Self-Censorship from Aristophanes to Hobbes (1 ed., pp. 157-175). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
2015 Baltussen, H., & Davis, P. (2015). Parrhêsia, free speech, and self-censorship. In H. Baltussen, & P. Davis (Eds.), The Art of Veiled Speech: Self-Censorship from Aristophanes to Hobbes (1 ed., pp. 1-17). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Scopus14
2014 Davis, P. (2014). Medea: from epic to tragedy. In M. Heerink, & G. Manuwald (Eds.), Brill's Companion to Valerius Flaccus (1 ed., pp. 192-210). Netherlands: Brill.
DOI
2012 Davis, P. (2012). Reception of elegy in Augustan and Post-Augustan poetry. In B. Gold (Ed.), A Companion to Roman Love Elegy (1 ed., pp. 443-458). United Kingdom: Wiley.
DOI Scopus5

Peter Davis contributes to the Honours porgram in Classical Studies. He also helps in the running of two Reading Groups. One meets weekly and focuses on Latin poetry in Latin; the other is wider in scope and meets fortnightly to discuss Greek and Latin literature in translation.

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2022 Co-Supervisor Classics Master of Philosophy Master Part Time Ms Shona Kay Edwards
2022 Co-Supervisor Classics Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Ms Shona Kay Edwards

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2015 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Silius Italicus' Punica 8. 1-241: a Commentary Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Ms Janice Maree Lee

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