Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes, an epic poem in four books (of 1362, 1285, 1407, and 1781 hexameters respectively), is addressed to Apollo and sets out to tell the memorable voyage of the Argonauts of old to the Black Sea to fetch the Golden Fleece (1.1–4). Although the poem everywhere recalls the language, style, and subject matter of the Iliad and Odyssey , it is nevertheless quite un-Homeric, but rather characteristically Hellenistic in its startling presentation of events and characters, human and divine, and markedly “Callimachean” in its allusive narrative technique and striking preference for pointed aetiological topics. Yet in contrast to contemporary Alexandrian poetry such as Callimachus’ Aetia and Hymns , and Theocritus’ Idylls , the Argonautica does not mention contemporaneous events or Ptolemaic kings or queens and always remains within the mythical timeframe of the story of the Argonauts. Apollonius’ poem, which not long ago was often brushed aside for no compelling reason as a traditional epic running against the unconventional spirit of contemporary Hellenistic poetry, has only recently come into its own right and been shown to be a complex, innovative, and fascinating work of art. In what follows I shall single out significant aspects that highlight these qualities. The Argonautica may be termed an aetiological poem in the Callimachean manner ... log in or subscribe to read full text