The Best of the Argonauts: The Redefinition of the Epic Hero in Book One of Apollonius' Argonautica (Hellenistic Culture and Society)

520 Pages·1993·5.24 MB·English

by  James J. Clauss

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The Best of the Argonauts
HELLENISTIC CULTURE AND SOCIETY
General Editors: Anthony W. Bulloch, Erich S. Gruen, A. A. Long,
and Andrew F. Stewart
I. Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic
Age, by Peter Green
II. Hellenism in the East: The Interaction of Greek and Non-Greek
Civilizations from Syria to Central Asia after Alexander, edited by
Amélie Kuhrt and Susan Sherwin-White
III. The Question of "Eclecticism": Studies in Later Greek Philosophy,
edited by J. M. Dillon and A. A. Long
IV. Antigonus the One-Eyed and the Creation of the Hellenistic State,
by Richard A. Billows
V. A History of Macedonia, by R. Malcolm Errington, translated by
Catherine Errington
VI. Attic Letter-Cutters of 229 to 86 , by Stephen V. Tracy
B.C.
VII. The Vanished Library: A Wonder of the Ancient World, by
Luciano Canfora
VIII. Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind, by Julia Annas
IX. Hellenistic Culture and History, by Peter Green et al.
X. The Best of the Argonauts: The Redefinition of the Epic Hero in
Book 1 of Apollonius's Argonautica, by James J. Clauss
XI. Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics, by
Andrew Stewart
XII. Images and Ideologies: Self-Definition in the Hellenistic World,
by A. W. Bulloch et al.
XIII. From Samarkand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid
Empire, by Susan Sherwin-White and Amélie Kuhrt
Page iii
The Best of the Argonauts
The Redefinition of the Epic Hero in Book 1 of
Apollonius's Argonautica
James J. Clauss
Page iv
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
Oxford, England
©1993 by
The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Clauss, James Joseph.
The Best of the Argonauts : the redefinition of the epic hero in
book 1 of Apollonius's Argonautica / James J. Clauss.
p. cm. (Hellenistic culture and society; 10)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-520-07925-6 (alk. paper)
1. Apollonius, Rhodius. Argonautica. 2. Argonauts (Greek
mythology) in literature. 3. Epic poetry, GreekHistory and
criticism. 4. Jason (Greek mythology) in literature. 5. Heroes
GreeceMythology. 6. Heroes in literature. I. Title
II. Series.
PA3872.Z4C57 1993
883'.01-dc20 92-4983
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.

Page v
Familiæ Carissimæ
Page vii
O bright Apollo,

What god, man, or hero
Shall I place a tin wreath upon!
5760
EZRA POUND, HUGH SELWYN MAUBERLEY III.
Page ix
Contents
Preface xi
Abbreviations and References xv
Introduction: Themes and Methodology 1
1 14
The Argonautic Program
The Proemium (Argo. 1.122)
2 26
The Argonautic Hero in Question
The Catalogue (Argo. 1.23233)
3 37
Unheroic Contrasts
The Departure from Iolcus (Argo. 1.234316)
4 57
The Best of the Argonauts Defined
Preparations at Pagasae (Argo. 1.317518)
5 88
The Wrath of Thetis
Journey from Pagasae to Lemnos (Argo. 1.519608)
6 106
Sojourn on Lemnos (Argo. 1.609909)
7 148
Initiation and Lustration
Sojourn on Oros Arkton (Argo. 1.9101152)