Apollonius Argonautica Re Examined

In an epic poem narrated by a self-declared opponent of epic poetry, the hero and his 50 Argonauts are thrust aside by the first heroine of third-person narrative and a forerunner of the powerful women in fiction.

In considering this apparent dialogue, this book resolves a number of the serious interpretative difficulties with which scholars of the Argonautica have long been engaged"--Jacket.

This book analyses Apollonuis' epic poem about the quest for the Golden Fleece.

This revelatory exploration of Book One of the Argonautica rescues Jason from his status as the ineffectual hero of Apollonius' epic poem. James J. Clauss argues that by posing the question, "Who is the best of the Argonauts?" Apollonius redefines the epic hero and creates, in Jason, a man more realistic and less awesome than his Homeric predecessors, one who is vulnerable, dependent on the help of others, even morally questionable, yet ultimately successful. In bringing Apollonius' "curious and demanding poem" to life, Clauss illuminates two features of the poet's narrative style: his ubiquitous allusions to the poetry of others, especially Homer, and the carefully balanced structural organization of his episodes. The poet's subtextual interplay is explored, as is his propensity for underscoring the manipulation of the poetry of others through ring composition. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1993.

This is a commentary on the third book of Apollonius' Argonautica, one of the most influential and admired products of the Hellenistic era. The author sets out to deal comprehensively with all important aspects of the work; in particular, proper attention is paid for the first time to the poet's constant manipulation of the two Homeric epics; many thorny problems of text and interpretation are examined afresh; and a wealth of hitherto unadduced illustrative material drawn from Greek and Roman poetry of various genres and periods is used to shed light on a number of issues. The volume closes with a series of detailed digestive indexes dealing with diction, models and imitations, language and style, metre, transmission, mythology, religion, geography, ethnography and aetiology.