Valerius Flaccus Argonautica Book I

This book is a philological and literary commentary on the first book of the Argonautica, a Latin epic written by Valerius Flaccus in the first century A.D.

The story of Jason and the Argonauts is one of the best known of ancient Greek myths and has captivated people for over two and a half thousand years. Focusing on Medea's attempts to resist her love for Jason, Book 7 of Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica presents one of the most attractive and engaging episodes in all of Greco-Roman epic: the key moment when Jason and Medea fall in love and when Jason, with Medea's help, yokes the king's fire-breathing bulls, sows the dragon's teeth, and compels the earthborn men to destroy themselves. Although versions of the story of the Argo's journey from Greece to the Black Sea had been told by many earlier poets, this Roman account of the myth differs from its predecessors in important ways. First, Valerius presents the Argo as the first ship and the voyage as a decisive turning point in human history: the Argo's breaking down of natural barriers will lead to interchange between human communities and to a sequence of empires, culminating of course in that of the Romans. Second, Valerius constantly foreshadows other parts of Medea's myth, most notably the explosion of violence in Corinth well known to Valerius' audience and to us from the Medea tragedies of Euripides and Seneca. Third, and most important, Valerius concentrates attention on the inner workings of Medea's mind as she fights against the combined efforts of two goddesses who ultimately compel her to betray her father and help Jason to win the golden fleece. This new edition of Argonautica 7 offers the first detailed commentary on this book of the poem in English, as well as a substantial introduction intended to be as accessible to as many readers as possible, a new Latin text, and a facing-page prose translation. The commentary is primarily literary, emphasizing Valerius' engagement with the epic tradition and with earlier treatments of the Medea story, as well as the elegance and power of his poetry, and is intended to be of use to scholars and students at all levels of study

The book contains a commentary on Book V of the "Argonautica" of Valerius Flaccus, paying attention to linguistic, philological and literary aspects. Line by line the words and phrases chosen, sources used and literary models are treated. The last commentary on all eight books of the "Argonautica" appeared a century ago (Langen 1896), so there is ample room to apply new views in Latin linguistics and concepts of literature. A small number of textual variants is supported.

In spite of an increased interest over the last ten years in the 1st century AD Roman poet Valerius Flaccus, involving the production of several commentaries, part of his work Argonautica was still lacking a modern commentary. This book gives a full philological and literary commentary of the turbulent book VI of the Argonautica. The Silver Latin author's peculiar phraseology and choice of words is highlighted. Where possible the poem is interpreted in the context of the other Silver Latin epic poets.

This volume offers a new interpretation of Flaccus' Argonautica, a Latin epic poem. Stover's approach to the text is both formalist and historicist as he seeks not only to elucidate Flaccus' dynamic appropriation of Lucan, but also to associate the Argonautica's formal gestures within a specific socio-political context.

The story of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece is one of the oldest and most familiar tales in classical literature. Apollonius of Rhodes wrote the best-known version, in Greek, in the third century B.C.E. The Latin poet Gaius Valerius Flaccus began his own interpretation of the story in the first century of the Christian era, but he died before completing it. With The Voyage of the "Argo," the acclaimed poet and translator David Slavitt recovers for modern readers the only surviving work of this little-known writer. The result is an engaging rendition of Jason's adventures, of particular interest when compared to the Greek version of the story. While Apollonius' tale offers a subtle psychological study of Medea, Valerius Flaccus' achievement is to present Jason as a more complete and compelling heroic figure. Slavitt, for one, enjoyed the rediscovery immensely—and he invites his readers to do the same. "I am content to let my rendition into English speak for Valerius, but for those whom I imagine standing in an aisle of a library or bookstore, trying to decide, I can offer some reassurance. This piece is playful, unpredictable, oddly contrarian, sometimes almost mannerist. Valerius' description in book 8 of Medea's putting the serpent to sleep so Jason can filch the fleece involves a gesture no other Latin poet I know would have thought to try—a brief moment in Medea's head when she allows herself to feel sorry for the snake . . . It is this kind of droll surprise that drew me to undertake the translation of a work that is not, I freely confess, well known."—David Slavitt

It discusses, inter alia, the limited evidence for Valerius' life; the main features of his often difficult poetic language; the handling of the Argonautic myth in literature prior to Valerius; his innovative treatment of the inherited material; and his self-positioning within the broader literary tradition, particularly his sophisticated adaptation of formal and thematic elements from his two principal poetic models, Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica and Virgil's Aeneid. While the commentary is written for readers with some competence in Latin, the introduction, and the facing English translation, are thoroughly accessible to non-Latinate readers with an interest in Roman literature and in the ancient epic tradition."--BOOK JACKET.

The first commentary in English on a book of this Flavian epic tailored to the needs of graduate and undergraduate students.