The occasional poems of Statius are an enticing field for critics interested in topics like the interaction of Greek and Roman culture or the relationship between public activities like government and private activities like writing poetry. Most recently John Henderson has explored these issues in Statius' poem for the consular Rutilius Gallicus (Siluae 1.4). In this paper I will discuss Siluae 5.3, an epicedion for Statius' own father. Statius uses the occasion of writing the epicedion to celebrate his father's life as a teacher, writer and performer and, by extension, his own life too. In his poem Statius develops a portrait of himself and his father as Greeks in close sympathy with Roman values. Against a backdrop of teaching and performing Greek literature they value above all filial duty and the skills of Roman government. Yet literature does not remain consistently in the background. Because Statius' father was also his teacher and model in literature, Statius as the dutiful son celebrates his father's literary skill and defers to it. By extension, Statius defers also to the subjects of his father's teaching, the famous masters of Greek and Latin literature.