Although its source material derives predominantly from the Greek literary tradition, the "Thebaid" has close ties with other Latin texts such as Virgil's "Aeneid" and the tragedies of Seneca the Younger. The poem's central themes include the relationship between politics and the family, civil war, and the amoral acts to which it gives rise. Critics have also noted the poem's innovate depiction of Roman mythology. Following in the footsteps of Ovid's "Metamorphoses", Statius used an episodic structure which is held together by subtle links between individual episodes.