Argonautica Apollonius (Paper): The Story of Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece (Hellenistic Culture & Society) - Softcover

Green, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520076877 ISBN 13: 9780520076877

Publisher: University of California Press, 1997

Synopsis

The Argonautika, the only surviving epic of the Hellenistic era, is a retelling of the tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece, probably the oldest extant Greek myth. Jason, a young prince, is sent on a perilous expedition but comes through various ordeals with the aid of the king's daughter, Medeia, winning the golden fleece and carrying off Medeia herself. He is a very modern figure, not at all Achillean: almost an anti-hero. Along the way, the story incorporates vivid accounts of early exploration and colonizing ventures. Peter Green's lively, readable verse translation captures the swift narrative movement of Apollonios's epic Greek.

Apollonios Rhodios (c. 305-235 B.C.), the author of the Argonautika, was appointed Chief Librarian in the legendary library at Alexandria around 265 B.C. His first draft of this poem, composed when he was a very young man, drew scornful reactions from the literati of the day, Kallimachos in particular, who thought epic passé and long poems vulgar. Apollonios withdrew to the maritime island of Rhodes (his work is notable for its nautical expertise), where he hammered out the text as we know it today, returning to eventual success in the city that had rejected him. The compromise that resulted is a fascinating combination of age-old myth and modern treatment that produces a gripping and unforgettable narrative. Peter Green has translated this renowned poem with skill and wit, offering a refreshing interpretation of a timeless story.



Alternate spelling: Argonautica, Apollonius Rhodius

About this title

About the Author

Peter Green is Dougherty Centennial Professor of Classics at the University of Texas, Austin. His other books available from California include Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age (1990), Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography (1991), The Laughter of Aphrodite: A Novel about Sappho of Lesbos (1993), and The Greco-Persian Wars (1996).

From the Back Cover

"Peter Green turns his formidable classical learning and his finely nuanced sense of English verse to bear on the challenge of restoring Apollonios to his true place—on a par with the best modern poetic versions of Homer and Virgil."—Robert Fagles, translator of Homer's Iliad

"The style is crisp, energetic, and masculine in the narrative, but not unsympathetic to the love-suffering of Medeia."—Jasper Griffin, Oxford University

"A smooth-running and highly readable verse translation of Apollonios's epic tale of the voyage of the Argonauts from the pen of a writer whose elegant verse translations of Ovid's Erotic Poems and Juvenal's Satires have long been justly admired by scholars and the general public alike. Peter Green's Argonautika is, quite simply, invaluable."—Bernard Knox, author of Backing into the Future

From the Inside Flap

"Peter Green turns his formidable classical learning and his finely nuanced sense of English verse to bear on the challenge of restoring Apollonios to his true place—on a par with the best modern poetic versions of Homer and Virgil."—Robert Fagles, translator of Homer's Iliad

"The style is crisp, energetic, and masculine in the narrative, but not unsympathetic to the love-suffering of Medeia."—Jasper Griffin, Oxford University

"A smooth-running and highly readable verse translation of Apollonios's epic tale of the voyage of the Argonauts from the pen of a writer whose elegant verse translations of Ovid's Erotic Poems and Juvenal's Satires have long been justly admired by scholars and the general public alike. Peter Green's Argonautika is, quite simply, invaluable."—Bernard Knox, author of Backing into the Future

Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520076877
• ISBN 13: 9780520076877
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 490