 From the epilogue it seems clear that Statius considered the "Thebaid" to be his "magnum opus" and believed that it would secure him fame for the future.In the poem, Statius follows Virgil closely as a model (in the epilogue he acknowledges his debt to Virgil), but he also refers to a wide range of sources in his handling of meter and episodes.The poem's theme is the myth of the Seven Against Thebes, the story of the battle between the sons of Oedipus for the throne of Thebes.