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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Z sabR o id Ann Arbor, Michigan 48100 75-3145 MILLER, Ann Marie, 1947- STUDIES IN THE ARGONAUTICA OF APOLLONIUS. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1974 Language and Literature, classical

| Xerox University Microfilms t Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

© 1974

ANN MARIE MILLER

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. STUDIES IN THE ARGONAUTICA OF APOLLONIUS

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By

Ann Marie Miller, B*A., M.A.

* * * * *

The Ohio State University 1974

Reading Committee: Approved By John W. Shumaker Jane M. Snyder David E. Hahm To Professors John W. Shumaker, Jane M. Snyder, and David E. Hahm I owe thanks for their guidance and assistance in this undertaking. To The Ohio State University X owe thanks for the financial support provided me through a generous University Fellowship. To Chuck, amator amicusque, I owe thanks. TABUS OP CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... *...... ii LIST OF TABLES ...... iv

FOREWORD ...... V INTRODUCTION ...... 1 Chapter I. Typical Scenes ...... 14 II. Parodial and Comic Aspects ...... 81 III. Discontinuity in Characterization ..... 129 APPENDIX A ...... 181 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 18?

iii LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 1 155 ccti^eTai Mat MoTcra 61' &YYe^-^aQ 6p0aq Pindar

For the spoken word may be forgotten or, as it becomes more remote, loses its colour, or be too little understood, or require more intense concentration than the hearer is willing or able to expend at any one moment; but the written word stands indelibly in­ scribed upon its page; if the reader forgets, he may find the word again;-he may balance one word against another, consider and re­ consider each small effect, survey and re­ survey each larger area, and pause when his attention is exhausted, always confident that the word, ever unchanged, will await his reading. John P. Oarspecken

v INTRODUCTION

The Argonautica is a poem of intricate subtlety, in­ telligible to a reader only after careful and prolonged consideration. The fact that it has not yet received ade­ quate exegesis testifies to the difficulties inherent in its interpretation. The three essays of this collection are intended to be a contribution to the greater under­ standing of the whole epic. Considered together, they indicate that a new approach might be profitable which would look to the Fourth Book not only as continuous with the others, but also as the culmination of the poem. Each essay is independent of the others since it utilizes a particular critical approach to specific problems which the poem presents. But all three are aimed at increasing our general knowledge of the Argonautica with the expecta­ tion that knowledge will lead to keener understanding and refined insights into the entire poem. Chapter One considers the question of how the Argonau- tica was written. Such a study must proceed in a direc­ tion opposite to the process it analyzes; that is, the poet's finished product is dissected so that it yields up the secrets of its composition. Similar studies of the poem have been undertaken before, of-course. Many of them seem to begin with a theory about the compositional 2 method and then they proceed to dismantle the epic until evidence supporting their theses is laid bare. Chapter One employs this same basic methodology, although a com­ plete theoretical system is not proposed. Chapter One will consider only one technique which seems to account for the structure of a major portion or the poem. Chapter One originated from observation that the Argonautica consists in part of the same actions and situ­ ations repeated a number of times, even though their spe­ cific content is altered from instance to instance. A reader begins to suspect that he is being presented with the same format over and over, and that the poem's episodic nature alone does not account for the observed repetitions. A similar phenomenon had been discussed by scholars of the Homeric epic, the most outstanding of whom is Walter Arend, even before the theory of oral epic poetry gained popularity among Homerists.^ In the Argonautica we observe recurrent structuring of the narrative in scenic patterns which may be classified into types. Scenes which can be identified as representatives of a broad type are called typical scenes. Apollonius was a close follower of Homer in numerous aspects and it seems that he recognized the value of typical scenes as a compositional method. He

W. Arend, Hie Typischen Scenen bei Homer (Berlin 1935)* 3

adopted the method, but he also adapted it to fit the requirements of his own poem, which was composed in an era when epic was a written, not an oral form. If the evidence of the first chapter is accepted, then state­ ments such as Charles Beye's will take on additional sig­ nificance: "He [Apollonius] knows p e r f e c t l y well the structure of his model; he understands the structure in terms of its parts and he can manipulate them at will; by so doing he demonstrates to his reader that he is re— p ordering his Homeric models in some new perspective." The possible implications of Chapter One for subsequent research into Apollonius' relationship to Homer are in­ triguing. Acceptance of this typical composition need not invalidate other studies of the poem. Composition by variations on scenic types certainly accomodates the conclusions of scholars who have studied the poem's sym­ metry and ring compositionf the incorporation of tragic and historical sources, the use of symbolism, etc. It even increases their significance in some instances. Thus, understanding the compositional nature of the Argonautica is a worthwhile goal for its own sake and for its consequences. Beyond the satisfaction of simply know­ ing, the conclusions of Chapter One enhance much of what has been said concerning Apollonius' approach to writing

2 "" C. Beye, "Jason as Love-hero in Apollonius' Argonautica, GRBS 10 (1969) 36. :----- poetry and his relationship to literary predecessors. These products of this study are left for the reader to discover. Chapter Two discusses the parodial and comic as­ pects evident in the Argonautica. A general interest in experimenting with poetic forms and genres is a char­ acteristic of Hellenistic, especially Alexandrian, poetry and this adventurous spirit is not lacking in Apollonius. In particular, the poet borrows from classi­ cal literature certain situations, traditional charac­ terizations, and literary devices, and includes them in an epic poem in which their appearance is unexpected and incongruous. The result is a parodial treatment of some of the poem's features which is quite humorous for us, as it must have been for the ancient reader. The three ex­ amples considered in detail in Chapter Two are the Lemnian episode, the characterization of Heracles, and the Olym­ pian scene of Book Three. All three passages appear to be parodial and comic in tone, but to make only that ob­ servation fails to appreciate fully the poet's intention. Apollonius makes the comedy and parody in his poem serve a greater purpose than the immediate amusement of the reader. The humorous treatment of these three portions of the poem has far-reaching implications for our understanding of the whole work. The handling of the Lemnian episode will contrast sharply v/ith the events on Colchis, as ■ * . - • the lighthearted depiction,.-of tjxepov is compared to the" • i i r tragic and sobering tale* of ^ptoQ . The restoration of ■* . * •* * a natural relationships between men and women which takes

* * ■. place on Lemnos will be alluded to as the relationship '■I * i between Jason and Medeafdevelops. The portrayal of Hera- i V 4 * cles and his comic counterpart Idas is quite amusing, v " * vi * but the humor is pointed*-;'. all that Heracles represents will eventually be discredited in the Argonautica. The archaic and unviable kind of heroism which Heracles em­ bodies is an unsuitable code of behavior for men like Jason and the laughter w)£icJb-our recognition of the parody fosters occurs at the expense of the hero Heracles. Fin­ ally, the goddesses of the Olympian scene are a mixture of Homeric features and characters taken from the stage of Middle and New Comedy. The combined forms make the scene delightful and humorous, but its implications for a conception of godhead and the correct relationship between god and man are utterly serious. V/hen the consequences of this depiction of frivolous, trivial gods become clear, we must be concerned about-life in a universe where sub­ mission to such divinity is the key to survival. So, the parodial and comic aspects of the Argonautica amuse, but they do not merely amuse. They must be considered in any broad assessment of the poem as meaningful and serious. Chapter Three is a?conservative essay upon the con­ tinuity of the Argonautica. Continuity connotes a certain 6 unity of conception which may be a creation of the critic's expectation rather than a reality in the poet's mind. The excellent remarks of Charles Eornara come to mind: Terms such as 'unity,' 'inner unity,1 etc., are all too fluid to be applied to such com­ plex questions as the composition of a liter­ ary work. Although we may speak of the unity of a painting, a poem, a musical composition, or a history, the term lacks scientific ri­ gour, to say the least. Works have unity in a relative, not an absolute degree... One sim­ ply means by words of this kind that a given work is coherent, another way of saying that it contains nothing obviously or inescapably irreconcilable.3 Continuity, like unity, may mean that a certain facet of some literary work is not utterly unacceptable in re­ lation to v/hat has gone before or what comes after. I use a more positive definition in Chapter Three, however, since the most effective writing is continuous in such a way that one aspect or passage relates meaningfully to another in the reader's mind. It is an underlying assumption of the essay that such continuity is desirable. One hopes that particulars of the poem are logically consistent in their context; that cause and effect may at least be in­ ferred by the reader; and that the private world of the poet will admit us, his audience. On a number of levels the Argonautica is continuous, for example in its language and figures of speech. Even digressions and aitia are con—

^C. Eornara, Herodotus, An Interpretative Essay (Oxford 1971). 7 tinuous in the epic, if the words of the poet are heeded.^ If the reader cannot relate one aspect of the poem to the overall work, then a discontinuity results, which may be disconcerting and may be fudged failure by the reader. On the other hand, discontinuity may be the deliberately sought goal of the poet. When a writer is as purposive in his effects as Apollonius, a conscious intent probably underlies shifts in the nature of the narrative. In ob­ serving lapses of continuity, one must be aware of their possible functions in the poem. An omission of the usual can be as meaningful as the addition of the unusual. Chapter Three examines the characterizations of the chief figures of the Argonautica. In particular, it con­ siders how the portrayals of Jason and the Argonauts differ in Book Pour from the other three Books. It attempts to assess, by an analysis of continuity or discontinuity in the poem, whether these changes are meaningful for our un­ derstanding of the characters. The continuous or disrupted representation of characters is analyzed. It should be mentioned that developments in a characterization which may be logically attributed to the content of the work are, to this critic's mind, a high indication of continuity. Revealing the processes of internal change is a major £L ~T r 1.20-22. This and all subsequent references unless noted are from the text of H. Prankel, ed., Apollonii Rhodii Argonautica (Oxford 1961). In considering digressions as integral to the whole, it is interesting to compare Apol­ lonius and Herodotus. 8

attainment of any literary effort. This collection of studies is by no means a final interpretative statement. Dozens more separate studies need to be undertaken before a thorough understanding of the poem can be achieved. Many aspects of its structure, language, cultural milieu, and meaning are virtually un­ explored. It is even early to declare the nature of the poem itself, since the debate over e-nvllia. romances, epic? and hymnal forms still goes on. Many pronouncements, made with great finality in the past, are gathering dust in dark library stacks as new scholarship shifts the very bases of judgment. Consider the studies of the last twenty- five years which originated as reactions to the scholarly opinions of the Nineteenth Century. As a whole, this collection of essays which explores limited aspects of Apollonius' artistry should influence our evaluation of the Argonautica as a whole. Most impor­ tantly, all three studies undermine any belief that Apol­ lonius was merely an imitator of Homer, and not a parti­ cularly competent one at that. It is.true that the Hellen­ istic poet accepted from his Homeric models many conven­ tions and devices. If he had attempted to employ them unaltered in his own poem, the result would have been a poor imitation which might never have survived the inter­ vening centuries. Apollonius, however, modified and adapted the hallmarks of early epic. He made them work in a poem 9 directed at an audience quite different from Homer* s.

While the reader of these studies may compare both poets in respect to their use of typical scenes, parodial and comic aspects, anc? characterizations, the purpose of the collection is to examine the Argonautica and to judge the success of its author*.s efforts. Our conclusion is that Apollonius demonstrates skill and artistry on his own. A reliance on Homeric precedents neither impairs his cre­ ative capacity nor inhibits his innovative abilities. Although these three studies are different in criti­ cal approach and independently informative, they suggest some cumulative conclusions. When read together, the Argonautica is not a series of loosely related short stories which may be pleasant to read, but say nothing of impor­ tance about the human condition. The Argonautica is a thoughtful, serious poem which presents a meaningful por­ trayal of man and the world in which he must make his way. The primary unit of the narrative is admittedly the epi­ sode; however, the poem is bound together by at least one integral structural unit, the typical scene. Typical scenes are used thx*oughout the poem to structure the narrative and thus provide an integrity to the composition. Their use by Apollonius follows Homeric practice and contributes to both the continuity and unity of the epic. In addition, typical scenes aro functiona.1; they appear as a formal device, but they are integral to the meaning and significance 10

of the narrative which they structure. For instance, when the Fourth Book of the poem is read in the light of Chapter Three, it becomes clear that the absence of formal assemblies among the Argonauts is not co-incidence. The crew has lost the initiative and the power to make or debate proposals and counterproposals. The development of the plea for help scene is indicative of the lesson of dependence upon others which will dominate the last Book of the Argonautica. There are no pleas for help in the First Book, and several ih the other three Books. This fact is emphasis of the dominance, in Book One, of an old heroic code of self-reliance and violent solutions to problems which Heracles embodies. The need to depend on other people is gradually introduced into the poem and becomes the keynote of Book Four. Once again, as the gods’ importance to the men's survival grows, the typical scenes of their intervention in the story shift from indirect to direct kinds of theurgy. The gods tend in the early Books to relate to men through portents, prophecy, oracle, and epiphany more than by direct means. However, in the later parts of the poem, physical rescue and visitation become the more common scenes of interaction between god and man. This trend contributes to the growing depiction of the absolute power which the gods exercise over the lives of men. The culmin­ ation of the portrait of divine power is the episodes of XI

Book Pour, where the dependence and passivity of the crew is complete. Typical scenes, therefore, effect many of the conclusions of Chapters Two and Three. They give-form and to some extent meaning to the material in which we dis­ cover additional meaning. Thus, typical scenes must be a contributory factor in our general understanding of the Argonauti ca. The humor which arises from the poem's parodial and comic aspects is not a phenomenon unrelated to the findings of Chapters One and Three. ' Sometimes the loci for parodial and/or comic treatments are typical scenes, such as the Lemnian assembly which is a formal assembly of usual structure. Or consider the visit of the three goddesses, which is quite humorous and is similar to the standard plea for help. Thus, the site and form of a hu­ morous passage may depend upon a typical scene, while its role in the story contributes broadly to the final conclu­ sions about what the Argonautica ultimately says. The parody which Heracles and his comic twin Idas represent is a part of the poem's larger statement about finding acceptable new ways of behaving, a code suitable to a mere mortal like Jason. The humorous Olympian scene will loom large in au analysis of the correct relationship between god and man. The lighthearted Lemnian adventure will not be merely amusing when the story turns to a woman like Medea, v/ho is ruled by love and fear and then becomes 12 powerful over the fates of men. So, the parodial and comic elements are significant beyond our first amused reactions. They too must be a contributory factor in our general understanding of the Argonautica. Chapter Three concentrates on the characterizations of the Fourth Book. However, it becomes clear that the in­ ferences drawn from that study of discontinuity are sup­ ported by the conclusions of Chapters One and Two. The new importance of relationships between men and women, the great power of the gods in Jason*s world, and the best way of living in such a universe are all developed by typical scenes, parodial and comic elements, and changing charac­ terizations. The findings of all three Chapters seem to point to the Fourth Book as the culmination of the epic. Apollonius presents early in the poem certain premises about heroism, women, deity, etc., and he proceeds to show that they are outdated for the man who lives in an unheroic world. These premises are shown by their con­ sequences to be absurd or no longer viable and new approaches to living must be proposed. The third Chapter demonstrates that the interest of Apollonius has shifted in Book Four from the players he created to the meaning of the play it­ self. The Argonauts cease to initiate action or receive the detailed descriptions from the poet; they are presented v/ith a variety of problems whose resolutions will modify the lessons of the earlier adventures. Modes of behaving 15 and living are presented to them as models whereby they may survive in the world they find. So, the content of the Fourth Book builds on what has preceded. Where Hera- clean heroism was discredited, a new heroism is defined and explored, The once-humorous gods are shown to be all- powerful; nonetheless, there is a necessity to live in harmony even with a trivial, capricious pantheon. Such statements seem to be in keeping with the cultural milieu in which the Argonautica was written. Jason may be viewed as a Stoic. At any rate, the three studies of this collec­ tion do point toward a synthesis which will review the hypotheses of scholarship and which will affirm that the Argonautica is a serious, integral poem. Fred Hoyle said recently that there can never be a model of the universe, for a model would have to be as large and complex as the universe itself. In a way, i believe, the same holds true for criticism of literary works. It is the work itself which ultimately defines all efforts at analysis, commentary, or evaluation. Critical scholarship is like a man walking around a statue. All he can do is tell us what the view is like from here and here and here. This has its value, especially for those of limited vision, but the best advice is, as always.,. see the statue yourself. CHAPTER I TYPICAL SCENES

Dennoch war der Einfluss der Tradition starlc genug, um ein ganzliches Verschwinden der typischen Szenen zu verhindern. V/ie Epitheta und Gleichnisse, so gehorten auch sie zu dem Charakter des keroischen Epos; wer dieses er— neuern wollte, musste versuchen, sie in irgen- deiner Porm seinem Werke einzuftiger. Apollo- nios von Rhodos sucht das dadurch zu erreichen, dass er von last oeder Szenengruppe ein aus- fuhrliches Beispiel gibt; so hat er gleich zu Beginn seines Werkes ein Opfermahl (1,4-03 ff.) und eine Abfahrt (1,522 If*) ira homerischen Stil, er schildert einmal ausfuhrlich eine Wagenfahrt (3?833 If*), eine Rustungsszene (3* 1225 ff*)* eine Ankleideszene (3.829 ff.), eine Schlafszene (4*,1141 ff.)*#> Dabei zeigt sich das Streben, seine Selbst'andigkeit Horaer Eegcnubex' zu beweison. Einmal verme-idet er, dieselben Ausdrucke zu gebrauchen, dann aber variiert er die ganze Szene; so die Versammlung durch Darstellung einer Prauenagora (1,655 ff.), die Schlafszene dadurch, dass er die Bereitung des Hochzeitslagers schildert (4, 1141 ff.); er erweitert das homerische Schema bei dem grossen Opfermahl 1,403 ff. und bei der Abfahrt. Einen Einzelvorgang des Schemas, das Inswasserziehen des Schiffes (vgl. A 308 oder B389)i greift er hier heraus und schildert ihn besonders ausfuhrlich (1,371-591)* An#>den ubrigen Stellen beschrankt er sich auf Erwah- nung des Notwendigen oder gibt vom homerischen Stil abv/eichende Schilderungen. Walter Arend Lie typischen Scenen bei Homer of Walter Arend, pub­ lished in 1933* is the most complete examination of the typical scenes in the Iliad and Odyssey. Its analyses of scenic types are valuable for understanding the composition 14 15

of Homeric epics, even though the book has been overshadowed and largely assimilated by more recent research in the thematic structuring of oral epic poetry."1* Y/ithout rely­ ing on the theories of oral epic poetry, Arend discovered that many scenes in Homeric epics consist of variations on a basic structure. Separate scenes may be representa­ tive of a larger type which allows differentiation in its individual manifestations. Arend's study of the basic types of scenes and their variations is thorough and convincing. Yet, when he turns from Homer to Apollonius, Arend1s analy­ sis is unsatisfactory. He appears to be unwilling to see in the Argonautica an effective adoption of the Homeric practice. This study will examine Apollonius' poem closely p to ascertain the use and function of typical scenes in it.

D. Gunn, "Thematic Composition and Homeric Authorship," HSCP 75 (1971) 2, n. 3* "In general it appears that his flSrehd's] conclusions support at least the identification of what may now be termed "thematic composition" in Homer, as Parry which quick to observe: see his review in CP 31 (1956) 357-560." 2 There has been a very^limited study of typical scenes in the Argonautica: Paul Handel, Beobachtungen zur epischen Technikdes Apollonios Bhodios (Zetemata 7, Munich 1954Q. In his Tenth Chapter, ''Zum Prinzip der Variation: die Sta­ tioner der Reise. Abfahrt und Ankunft als Rahmen der Epi- soden. Die Abenteuer bei den Kyaneen und den Plankten," 82-92, Handel considers several examples of journey descri- tions from the Odyssey and briefly contrasts the practice of Apollonius and Homer. . Of particular interest to Handel is how the content of typical scenes varies from Homer to Apollonius and how scenes of departure and arrival form the boundaries of episodes. He looks at the technischen Angaben of the Argonautica. His analysis of typical scene is very limited and deals “with a few examples of what will will be termed 'mechanical* scenes in the present study. 16

A typical scene is one whose composition is so similar to others that it can be called representative of a type. In the Homeric poems, for instance, Arend finds several broad types of scenes: arrival, offerings and meals, ship and wagon travel, preparations and dressing, sleep, reflec­ tion, assemblies, oaths, and baths. Within some major types, clusters of subtypes may be organized. Thus, the arrival scenes may be classified as simple arrivals, visits, mes­ sages, or dreams. Journey and travel scenes may include landings and departures, land and water trips. Each gen­ eral type or more limited subtype contains standard ele­ ments, feste Teile, which are structured in a recurring sequence, in fester Reihenfolge wiederkehrend, which tends * to remain the same from instance to instance. So, the stages of action within a type or subtype usually corres­ pond from one scene to another. The elements, however, differ greatly in regard to their content and details. The location of the action, the characters involved, and the elaboration added to a given element will vary with the scene. One typical scene can be very.different in many aspects from another, but beneath the elaboration and vari­ ety, their basic elements and structure are the same. As Arend says, "es ist entscheidend, dass alle Einzefalle nur als Abweichungen oder Ausschmuckungen des einen Typus auf-

*W. Arendi Die typischen Scenen, 28. 17 treten. Alle Variation...hat die feste Form nicht aufge- lost. Apollonius is a follower of Homer, who employs many Homeric techniques in his own epic. It is not surprising that he would adopt the use of scenic types and typical variations as a compositional method. Apollonius is wri­ ting, however, for a different audience, in a later era, and perhaps for different reasons. Accordingly, he modifies every Homeric convention which he accepts in his poem. The Hellenistic poet does not slavishly copy his model nor should we expect imitation solely for its own sake. If Apollonius adopts typical composition, he may be expected to be as creative in its modifications as he is in other areas. Arend, despite his statement that "wer diese er- neuern wollte, musste versuchen, sie in irgendeiner Form seinem V/erke einzufugen,1'^ looks only for usages of those scenic types he found in Homer. Furthermore, he ap­ pears to assume that the Hellenistic poet would use typical scenes primarily for the sake of comparisons v/ith Homeric usages. Such expectations are poor premises for a study of the Argonautica. It is better to assume that Appllonius wants to write a poem of quality in which he v/ill make the devices or conventions taken from Homer work as effectively

ZL W. Arend, Die typischen Scenen. 27* ^W. Arend, Die typischen Scenen, 127* 18

as possible. Consider his adaptation of the simile, a sim­ ilar Homeric feature of epic poetry. Some of the similes of the Argonautica are successful to a degree beyond the capability of even Homer. This study, then, takes from Walter Arend the princi­ ple of typical scenes and applies it to the Argonautica. Rather than identifying the Homeric types of scenes which Apollonius utilizes, we shall search for the typical scenes which the poet develops within his work as integral, useful narrative devices. Underlying this study, is the expecta­ tion that our findings will be quite different from Arend1s work in Homer, A superficial reading, for instance, shows that bathing is not a recurring scenic type in the Argonau­ tica. Likewise, oath-taking seems to be a floating element v/hich occurs in several tppes of scenes. Verbal parallels which are a significant feature of Homeric typical scenes, are not likely to be found in Apollonian epic, probably as a result of his independence from formulaic expressions. Verbal repetition is characteristically lacking in Apol- lonius. Nevertheless, this essay will demonstrate that typical scenes are an important part of the Argonautica. They are a working technique for structuring the narrative V/. Arend, Die typischen Scenen, 25» says of the "Insmeerziehen des Sonifies (T,271-5^1)" of the Argonautica, "Genenuber der haufigen Gleichsetzung mit hellenistischer Genrekunst muss der Unterscheid betont werden. Gerade das Charakteristische der homerischen Szene, die Wiederholung, fehlt dort." 19 and not mere pieces created for comparison with Homeric precedent. We should not assume that the practice of composing by means of scenic types was accepted by Apollonius merely because it had the prestige of Homeric usage. There sire several advantages in employing typical scenes. Since the story centers on the travels of a band of heroes, the plot is almost certain to be episodic. Typical scenes provide a natural means of structuring the many episodes despite their discontinuity in setting and content. They are also expressive of meaning the narrative content. Events in a particular adventure can be readily presented in an al­ most standard form. Elaboration and development of selec­ ted elements in an episode provide individualized emphasis while bringing some aspects to the foreground and leaving others unemphasized. Thus, types of scenes are a conven­ ient means of organizing material. They are useful in making transitions and changes in the direction or pace of the narrative. Several types of scenes may be joined con­ secutively or in complexes which shape long passages of the text. In view of the possible functions of typical scenes, this essay will seek not only to identify the scenic types; it will also examine their effect on the story and the pur­ pose of variation and elaboration in their elements. When feasible, types will be divided into subtypes, examples of which will be studie&L *• Characteristic forms will emerge for the various types andVsometimes a standard function of a type can be observc£.^vOur analysis will probably be quite artificial. We canno^/hope-^to duplicate the poet's in­ tentions or his practice.„ A modern schematism of types and subtypes is only a convenience for organizing our obs.erva-

/ *v'- tions, not a recreation of Apollonius' thoughts. The first category of scenes in the Argonautica may be described as mechanical in function. They involve situa­ tions which become routine in the poem and they serve more often to make transitions in the narrative than to contri—

» \ i bute meaningfully to its content. Thus, their usage is im­ portant to the poet particularly for moving from episode to episode or from location to location, but, after their first occurrence, their*mere occurrence does not stimu­ late the interest of the reader. Like gears in a marvelous machine, these motifs facilitate the movement of the other parts. The poet's practice of regularly employing typical scenes in the eame function should be considered one of his compositional techniques. It is not subtle. In a poem about a sea venture, however, the need to change geographical location or situation is obvious and frequent. Apollonius developed these mechanical scenes as a way to meet that need in his poem. Of course, some elements of a mechanical scene may b£* elaborated or detailed in a way which will be meaningful for the content when the poet wants 21 more "than a mere transition-. The morphology of the various transitional scenes can be readily discerned. Each passage is created from a number of elements which tend to be assembled in a logi­ cal sequence. The sequence is usually the same from ex­ ample to example so that a standard pattern for the type of scene emerges. Not every element must appear in every passage, of course. In fact, there often does not exist a single example which contains all the components. Instead, Apollonius selects the elements to be included each time as one means of variation. Characteristically these mechani­ cal scenes of a type receive their longest, fullest expres­ sion at their first appearance in the poem. At that time they most offer new material to the reader and are most in­ teresting. Later, because they only advance the plot in a functional way and because they become familiar to the reader, they are alloted less poetic attention. These first elaborate instances have sometimes been cited by critics as unique in the poem and indications of the lip service which Apollonius pays Homer.^ . Typical scenes with mechanical functions are present throughout the Argonautica, although there are fewest in—

V Arend, Die typischen Scenen, 127, notes these long, full instances, but" he fails to see the continued presence of typical scenes in the story. P. Handel, Eeobachtungen 83-86, in connection to landing and departure comments oh the single long examples but he also notes "einer grosseren Anzahl von verlcurzten.,f Handel says that the Homeric prac­ tice on the other hand.is to provide a fully detailed scene at every occasion. 22 stances in Boole Three where transitions are restricted to scenes within one episode. A few illustrations should be instructive here. One of the commonest scenes i*s that of landing, which often signals the beginning of a new episode. The elements which could be included in any single example of landing are the time of day, sailing or rowing into a harbor, tying up the ship, disembarkation, building an altar, pouring libations, offering a sacrifice, and pre­ paring a meal. Some of these elements may be fully de­ veloped and take on interest in themselves. Some can be used elsewhere in connection with other scenes. Consider the act of sacrificing, which occurs more than twenty times in the poem. Some, but certainly not all, sacrifices are offered in conjunction with landing activities. The scenic elements do not have to be given in a fixed sequence, al­ though they tend to occur in recognizable patterns. For example, when the Argo arrives at the Fhasis River, Jason pours libations to the Earth, the native gods, and the souls of the dead heroes, asking them to receive the ship's stern cables (2.1271-1275)* All this takes place on board ship. But, when the men see Sthenelus at his tomb, they land and then offer libations (2.924— 929). Logic does dic­ tate most sequences, e.g., an altar cannot be built before the Argo lands. Other mechanical scenes to be found include sending a messenger or herald between parties. This motif shifts the 25 narrative location from place to place and changes the players in the action. The poem*s first messenger is the herald Aethalides about whom much information is related (2.640-649); the last is the herald of Arete whose name is not even mentioned 1114-1127). Another transitional scene is the entrance, usually a procession, of the crew into a nev; country. Its elements may include how many go together, how they appear to the onlookers, the reception by inhabitants, divine assistance to ease their approach, and the manner of the local lord when they arrive. Even the action of sailing past geographical points where the ship does not stop takes on aspects of a typical scene. The men espy a certain island or mountain peak, skirt a coast, or swiftly pass the mouth of a river. Descriptive material about the place may be provided or omitted. The repeated act itself of travelling past noteworthy cities v/ithout any interaction is used as a device to move the characters over great distances to the next episode of the plot'. In order to demonstrate how typical scenes appear in

$ the poem, it is useful to select one case and to give it close scrutiny. A promising type is the theme of launch­ ing, a natural component in a sailing story which Apol­ lonius describes in a conventional way. Launching occurs in all four books of the poem. After the first instance, it tends neither to elaborate greatly its elements nor to 24 become involved, in a complex of other scenes. The first example of launching occurs in the first portion of Book 1. The day of departure from Pagasae has come. At dawn when the winds are blowing, the heroes arise from sleep and go on board the ship. With each man at his oar, the ropes axe cast off and wine is poured on the sea. The crew rows out of the harbor. The elements of the scene are arranged in this order: Time (1.519-520) Weather (1.520-521) Arousal c1.522-523) [The harbor and Argo cry out Embarkation (1.528-533) Casting off (1.553-534) Libation (1-554) [jason will not look back Departure (1.556-541) q The elements are presented with much descriptive detail.-7 The launch begins at dawn, which does not merely arrive;

Q The items in brackets are peculiar to the situation of this departure from the homeland and are not elemental parts of the scenic type. ^P. Handel, Beobachtungen 85* "Demgegenuber macht Apollonios seine Abfahrtsschi’lderungen verschieden aus- fiihrlich, so dass der Leser, der das Technische verstehen will, sich an die einzige ganz ausgefiihrte Szene halten muss, die es gibt, die breite und mit reichen technischen und poetischen Details verzierte Schilderung der Abfahrt von Pagasae (technische Details etwa l,565ff., 519* 559). 25 rattier, it 'sees the high peaks of Pelion.' Winds stir up the sea spray. Tiphys wakes up first and arouses the others. The heroes embark taking seats previously assigned to them. They sit near their armor. Ancaeus and Heracles sit in the middle, Heracles near his club. The boat sinks down under the weight of Heracles. The Argo departs under power of oars, the motion of which is described by a leng­ thy simile (1.536-54-1). Subsequent usages of the launching scene will differ from the first in respect to the number of elements men­ tioned and perhaps the order in which they appear. More or less descriptive detail will be used, depending upon what aspects Apollonius wishes to emphasize for the meaning of the passage. As Paul Handel says, "die Breite der Landings- und Abfahrtsschilderungen wird bestimmt durch ihre Bedeutung fur die Handling oder fur die Mythologie. Sie steht unter den individuellen Bedingungen der jeweiligen Szene and gilt nur fur einraal.All instances will be briefer than this one, as is usual for such mechanical scenes. In fact, as the subject becomes routine in the i poem, there is a tendency for increasingly less information to be given when the launch motif is used. Such decrease is not an absolute requirement, however, especially if the transitional passage takes on some additional significance

^°P. Handel, Beobachtungen, 86. 2 6 in the narrative. The second launching scene occurs as the Argonauts leave Lemnos. The Lemnian women have learned that the her­ oes are preparing to leave. Jason and Hypsipyle say their farewells as, presumably, they stand by the ship. Then the men embark, sit, take oars, cast off the ropes, and row away. The elements can be outlined as: Embarkation ( 1.910-912) Casting off c 1.912-913) Departure c 1.913-914-) Elaboration on the scenic components provides the infor­ mation that Jason embarked first and the crew followed him. They sat in order and held the oars. Argus was the one who slipped the cables which were tied to a rock. The Cyzicus episode contains three separate instances of launch scenes. It can be seen how Apollonius- achieves transitions from one section of the episode to another by using typical scenes.^ The first time the Argo departs the island of Cyzicus and the Doliones, Apollonius uses the launching of the Argo as though the episode were over. The return of the crew is a sudden, unexpected event. The effect of the resulting tragedy is thus heightened. The sequence of elements in this launch is:

11 P. Handel, Beobachtunn;en 8 5 1 notes how the laun­ ches frame the divisions of this episode. Time (1 .1012) Casting off (1.1015-1014) Weather (1.1015) Departure (1.1014-1015) 12 Specifically, when the way was clearclear, they loosened the lines with the wind and left sailing that whole day. After the Argonauts return to the Doliones and kill their king, they mourn and celebrate funeral games. When they have waited twelve days for severe storms to subside, Jason gets the word to make sacrifices on Dindymum. The lo cation of the narrative is changed to that mountain by a very abbreviated launch. It consists only of the elements: Casting off (1.1109) Departure (1 .1110) The only particulars provided are that the cables were attached to the Sacred Rock and the crew rowed over to the Thracian harbor. Finally, the sacrifices and rites are performed and the Argo leaves Cyzicus for good. Since the adventure is actually complete this time, the poet removes the men swift * ly. Three elements are used:

Time (1.1151) Weather (1.1152) Departure (1 .1152)

12 Frankel's imaginative emendation at 1.1012 ob­ scures the meaning. The manuscript reading is preferable here. 28

With the quieting; of the winds at dawn, they row away from the island. Therefore, the Cyzicus episodes mark the major portions of the narrative and serve to move the phy­ sical setting from place to place. The last launching of Book 1 involves the abandonment of Heracles. The transition achieved by use of a launch is not only from place to place or from episode to episode; it is also a transition from a story dominated by .Heracles to a story dominated by Jason. Because the act of departing here is quite dramatic and has great implications for the remainder of the poem, Apollonius lengthens the form of the scene. The elements occur in the sequence: Time (1.1275-1274*) Weather (1.1274*) Arousal (1.1274-1275) Embarkation (1.1276) Casting off (1.1276-1277) Departure (1.1278) In detail, the morning star comes up and the winds arise. Tiphys encourages the crew to board and catch the wind. They embark. After drawing up the cables, they back water and the sails are filled with wind. The length of the launch may be a device to build suspense here because the reader is waiting for the crew to notice the absence of Heracles. 29

These examples from Book 1 are representative of the remaining launch passages in the Argona utica. The par­ ticular details of some elements continue to vary. The- poet may tell us, for instance, that the wind which blew was &pyioTcto (2.961) or that Jason cut the cables with his sword rather than untying them (4.207-208). Such spe­ cifics are added as a means of situational adaption or for the purpose of increasing interest in a type of incident which has become very familiar. Or they may give new em­ phasis to a portion of the typical passage. For example, when Jason cuts the ropes (4.207-208), the eagerness and haste of the hero is implied since the customary practice is for the ropes to be loosened. The emphasis is on Jason's desire to get away from Colchis. These variations in the content of individual scenes do not affect their identity as typical.1^ The sequence in which the elements occur varies a little but the tendency is for the components of a scene to appear in a conventional pattern. One exception to the rule that elements follow a logical order may be i cited from Book 2.164-168. The sequence of aorist partici-

disagree with Handel's statement, Beobachtungen 83-84, that "in je einer Ausfahrt und einer Bandung sin’d die technischen Schilderungen vollstandig vorhanden, aber keineswegs in typischer Form, sondern ausgestattet mit besonderen Figuren, unverv/ec.hselbaren Lokalitaten, ein- maligen Bedingungen des Windes und der See," (emphasis added). In true bypical composition the variety which Handel cites is a part of the method. Specific content is separable from the form which becomes identified with the type of situation. 50

pies describing casting and embarkation seems to indicate that the stern cables were slipped before the booty was put on board. Since there v/as a good wind blowing (1.168) this sequence risked having the ship drift off while it was being loaded! This is a minor exception, to be sure. Even though some typical scenes are not as simple as the launch, the observations from our examination can be generalised to the entire category of mechanical scenes. Furthermore, as they are morphologically similar, they are functionally similar. They become standard items in the poet's repertoire to be called forth with surprisingly little modification from one time to the next. The remaining types of scenes in the Argonautica are more complex in form and more subtle in function than those already discussed. As a whole, they may be termed "sub­ stantive scenes." That is, the types of situations which they represent are integral to the content of the narrative which thejr shape. They most often occur within rather than between episodes or stages of the story. Substantive scenes may be defined as situational or behavioral concepts which recur in the poem and through whose appearance the narra­ tive is shaped or directed. They are still typical, of course, since several scenes may be representative of a type which is composed of the same elements occuring in the same order. . Apollonius employs the substantive scenes in 31

developing "the plot, advancing an action, expanding charac­ terizations, and creating suspense. They are essential to the shape and content of the Argonaut!ca. Despite the hazards of generalizing, a few statements may be safely made about the form and function of this se­ cond category. A substantive scene of a type is usually well developed in regard to its elements. It is composed of several elements which rarely drop out to produce an ab­ breviated example. For the storyline, the typical scene is usually pivotal at the point where it occurs. Hence, the scene alters the course of the narrative appreciably, most often by giving rise to some new action taken by the characters involved. A substantive scene may be woven into a complex with scenes from another type. They are of­ ten embellished by literary devices, particularly similes, which are joined to individual elements. Instances of scenes may be so similar that one echoes another or calls forth comparisons in the reader's mind. Such observations are more meaningful when supported by textual evidence. Let us turn, therefore, to the Argonautica to see for ourselves the form and function of some substantive typical scenes. A frequent scene in the Argonautica and in all epic is the assembly. Assemblies are often used to motivate ac­ tions which change the course of the story or alter the pace of the narrative, especially if the plot's progress 52 seems to be at an impastee or a crucial point of develop­ ment. The basic assembly involves a group which meets to- gether, the statement’of a difficult situation or problem * which must be faced, speeches of one or more individuals who counsel a solution, and the group's acceptance of the proposal. These elements will be present, implicitly, or explicitly, in every assembly passage. Apollonius is not so simplistic an author that he repeats unadorned a bare formula for each assembly, however. This type of scene is artfully diversified. For our convenience, assemblies may be classified as informal or formal. The informal assembly is more common and structurally simpler than the formal of which it is probably an abridgment. Characteristically, the informal assembly is not marked by debate, paired speeches, or pro­ longed interaction among its participants. It contains only one proposed solution to the problem at hand or one exhortation to take some action. Thus, only one speech is made. The elements which may appear in the informal assem­ bly include a statement of the crisis, a gathering together of the group involved, an address by one member, reaction of the audience, and a description of the resultant action. The problem which the group must face does not have to be stated unless it is unclear to the reader or the characters themselves. The gathering of tho group members may be im- 33 plied in. the address of the speaker or it may be stated" by the poet. Apollonius is always careful to identify the audience in some way. The speech of Heracles to the Argonauts on Lemnos provides an excellent example of the structure of an in­ formal assembly. It is the first of the poem. The crew has virtually settled in Myrina and the poem seems to have come to a premature end. There is clearly a need to ini­ tiate some action and continue the voyage. The sequence of the scenic elements is typical of all informal assemblies: Problem (1.861-862) Gathering (1.862-864-) Speech (1.865-874) Reaction (1.873-876) Action (1.877-878) Specifically, the problem is that there v/as a delay of the sailing day after day. The gathering takes place as Heracles calls the men together apart from the Lemnian women. The speech contains the proposal that they leave at once. The reaction of the men is shame; they cannot look Heracles in the face. The action is that the crew prepares at once to depart. The story then turns to the elaborate departure scene, between Hypsipyle and Jason, which is another typical passage. Thus, the activity of the assembly leads to further action and the narrative is 34* continued. The structure of the assembly at 1.861—878 should be considered the pattern for the elements of all other infor­ mal assemblies. There are several variations to be found, of course. As was noted previously, not all elements must be stated within the body of a typical passage. The dilem­ ma over how best to approach Aeetes is the occasion fox* an informal assembly early in Book 3* After the scene on Olympus, Apollonius returns to the Argonauts- who are moored on the Phasis. They are uncertain about what to do now that they have reached Colchis. The need to take counsel together has already been stated by Ancaeus at the close of the preceding Book (2.1276-1280). This prior decla­ ration takes the place of a statement of the problem in the scene. The gathering element is expressed by the poet 5.ndirectly at 3*167-168. The men do not have to be called together formally, since they are all on the Argo. In lieu of a proper gathering element the poet is careful to tell us that the crew is sitting quietly in order on the ship's benches. They take counsel together, .fjYop&ovTO (3*168). The speech, which as usual urges one course of action, is the longest element of the scene (3*171-195)* Jason propo­ ses a plan of approaching Aeetes that is based on diplo­ macy and negotiation. It is Ironic that Jason opens his speech with a plea for other suggestions from the listeners. 55

When he finishes, no alternative proposals are forthcoming. Such responses would have made this meeting a formal assem­ bly. When Jason has finished, the crew praises his ad­ vice (2*194) and no one urges otherwise. The sequence for this scene could be outlined: (Implied gathering) Speech Reaction Action The decision reached in this assembly is very important for the course of Book 3 since the choice of peaceful methods leads to the confrontation of Argus, Aeetes, and Jason. The poet's means of implementing the diplomatic efforts is to have them adopted in an assembly. In other passages we see again that an element may be implicit rather than clearly expressed. An assembly occurs at a point in Book 4 where the course of the journey is doubtful. The gathering element is implied in the cir­ cumstances of the assembly. Jason has murdered Apsyrtus and the othex* Colchians are dead. The way to escape the other pursuers and to continue the voyage is uncertain. An assembly takes place with the sequence of elements appear­ ing as: Problem (4.492-495) Speech (4.494-302) 36

Reaction (4*. 505) Action (4-. 504-505) That a gathering of participants has taken place before the speech of Feleus must be concluded from the description of

the men as ££6|jlevoi (4-.4-95) and the fact that Medea comes

upon them cppcx£on£voiq (4-.4-94-). Needless to say, the propo­ sal of Peleus is accepted and the expedition successfully escapes the enemy. Just as elements are sometimes omitted, a new element may be added to the usual ones. For example, soon after stealing the fleece, the Argonauts pause at the Halys River to offer a sacrifice to Hecate. There is great doubt where to sail next in that unfamiliar part of the world. An as­ sembly takes p3ace in which the group ponders what Phineus meant in his advice concerning their return trip (4-.253“ 256). Argus speaks at length about the founding of Aea and the mysterious Ister River which would lead them home (4-.256-293)* Then, there is a bit of divine intervention in which a goddess sends a portent to them (4*.294— 295) • They shout their assent to the route Argus outlined (4-.295" 4 296). The portent is described by the poet (4-.296-297) • The happy sailors depart (4*.298-300). So, the elements of the assembly are: Problem Speech 37

Divine intervention----j i Reaction ! i Portent ------• Action Divine intervention and the appearance of portents are min­ or elements in this assembly, but they develop in other pas­ sages into complete scenes on their own. As a typical scene, divine intervention may be combined with other scenes into a complex. An example of one such composite will be given in the discussion of formal assemblies. A typical scene is a repeated instance of a type which is recognizable from one case to the next despite varying content, circumstances, results, and participants. The in­ formal assemblies cited thus far have talcen place with the Argonauts as members, but the scene is not limited to those players, as the definition above suggests. Women and fore— 14- igners also hold assemblies. One particularly interesting case is that of Medea and her companions. The group has left the city for the temple of 'Hecate. Medea dismounts from her carriage (3.889-890) and speaks among the handmai­ dens, iisva Sinopotv (3*890), who have accompanied her. Her

14- It should be noted that, the gods do not hold coun­ cils, formal or informal, in the Argonautica. This is an interesting departure from the Homeric practice. The god­ desses of the Argonautica confer in small- groups of two or three. While such conferences have a structure similar to the assembly, they cannot be classified as typical scenes. speech urges them to keep secret her meeting with Jason (5.891-911)* She promises that they will share the presents which he brings, intimating a bribe for their co-operation. Her final words urge them to move away when the stranger comes. Medea's plan pleases them all (5*912). The effect of this brief assembly is that the meeting between Jason and Medea takes place without the disruptive presence of others. In addition, the meeting is kept secret from Aeetes so that on the day of the contest he is unsuspec­ ting of collusion. Apollonius describes three assemblies among the Col- chians in which Aeetes is the instigator. These cases form a subclass in our consideration of informal assemblies, not because they occur among non-Greeks, but because they are related in the third person. In tv/o instances the speech which is central to an assembly is not presented in direct discourse. Rather, the poet writes what the speaker said as a third person. The first Colchian assembly is found in Book 3* Aeetes is very distressed over the arri­ val of the strangers and the sons of Phrixus. The elements of the scene fall into the sequence; Gathering (3*576-577) Problem (3*578) Speech (3*579-608) The speech is narrated in indirect discourse dependent on 59

first the verbs cjtsuto 6* (5-579) and q>{XT# (3*594) and, finally, on TEKpataHero (3.606) and d-metA-ss (3-607). No action is taken immediately as a result of this assembly. It merely serves to demonstrate the anxiety and rancor of Aeetes, as well as to illustrate the danger which is immi­ nent to the Argonauts. Aeetes* fuming shows how explosive the situation is. The second Colchian assembly is obviously mentioned to inform the reader about the activities of the Colchians as the main thrust of the narrative deals with the actions of Medea and the Greeks. The shortened description is five lines long. Aeetes, with the leaders of his people (4.6), stayed up all night at home planning some calamity for the Minyans (4.7-8). Aeetes was infuriated by the outcome of the contest (4.8-9) and he knew that his daughters were in­ volved (4.9-10). This passage is the most abbreviated as­ sembly in the Argonautica. It is also not typical in the technical sense, since it is lacking a speech. The poet includes it to give a feeling of simultaneity with the other actions which are his real concern. * The final assembly of the Colchians deals with the pro­ blem of what action must be initiated against the strangers in retaliation for the treacherous manner in which they won the fleece. They came armed into the assembly, as numerous as waves on the sea or falling leaves (4.214-219). Aeetes, 4-0 armed, stands in his chariot as Apsyrtus holds the horses* reins (4*.219-227) • The king calls on Helios and Zeus and threatens his own people with death if they do not bring Medea back to suffer his vengeance (4-.228-235) • The speech is related in the voice of a third party. Finally, the casting off of the Colchian ships is described metaphori­ cally (4-. 236-24-0). The elements of this typical scene may be discerned to be: Gathering t Speech Action The elements are elaborated with much detail. For example, the gathering consists of both general and specific infor­ mation. The assembly as a whole is treated with outstand­ ing literary finesse for an informal type. The use of li­ terary figures in both the gathering and departure of the crowd shows that even a routine passage in a typical scene can be written with considerable poetic skill and subtlety. The passages which have been discussed thus far have illustrated the structure of the informal assembly. Since the formal assembly differs primarily in structural as­ pects, its introduction seems appropriate at this point. The formal assembly is longer than the informal and it pre­ sents a meaningful interaction between its members. A for­ mal assembly requires at least two speakers, sometimes more* 4-1

The occasion of a formal assembly is similar bo that of the informal, e.g., some uncertainty must be resolved, an ob­ stacle overcome, or a decision made. In other words, the poet has reached a point where he wishes to generate some new action or change the pace of the narrative. The scene is the mould by which the poet casts his fluid nar­ rative • A formal assembly is composed of identifiable elements. It shows the same careful working as the informal. The sequence of elements is usually the gathering together, a proposal in the speech of the first speaker, reaction of the listeners, modification of the proposal in a speech by the second speaker, reaction of the audience, a third speech by the first speaker 0 1 * some third party, and the ac­ tion which is taken as a result of the gathering. These elements do not all have to be present in any one instance, of course. There may be only two speeches, for example. As a general rule, however, this scene does not occur in an abbreviated form. It tends to be fully stated, probably because it happens at major turning points in the epic. Book 1 contains two extensive formal assemblies. Though there are some minor structural differences between them, they are similar in. the elements which appear and their sequence. The first formal assembly meets to choose a leader for the Argonautic expedition. The importance of 4-2

this event is apparent. The selection of a chief will affect the course and, even, the outcome of the entire ven­ ture. The controversy over Jason versus Heracles as heroic model "begins with this assembly. It is significant that Apollonius employs a typical scene to relate this momen­ tous event. The crucial role of scenic types in the poem is suggested by their usage at such key points as this. Regarding the form of the assembly, its elements seem to fall into the pattern: Gathering (1.527-550) Speech: first speaker (1.551-34-0) Reaction (1.541-54-5) Speech: second speaker (1.54-4-54-7) Reaction (1.54-8-54-9) Speech: first speaker (1.550-562) Action (1.565 ff.) The first speech proposes that the best man be named leader; the second modifies that proposal to urge that Jason be made leader; the third accepts that new proposal. Activity based on the leadership of Jason is then initiated. Clearly, the formal assembly is not only more complex in structure than the informal, but it also provides the poet opportunities to develop characterizations and interactions more thorough­ ly than he can in the informal assembly. . As for moving the narrative, we can see that this assembly results in immediate action by the listeners. The second formal assembly, in addition to the func­ tions already noted, provides information to the reader about the situation and personalities of the characters involved. Its subject is the meeting of Lemnians which is prompted by the Argonauts1 arrival on the island. In introducing the episode, Apollonius gives a history of the women, but it is in the assembly that the situation and future of the city's inhabitants are described. The queen emerges as a real person. The plot is determined for the course of the episode. The decision of the gathering is to permit the Greeks to enter the city as settlers. Consequently, the relationships between the men andwomen, especially Jason and Hypsipyle, develop. This assembly has a form similar to the first one: Gathering (1.655-655) Speech: first speaker (1.656-665) [introduction of second speaker Speech: second speaker (1.675-696) Reaction (1.697-698) Speech: first speaker (1.699-701) Action (I.702-707) The course of the assembly, once again, is proposal, modi­ fication, and acceptance. Variations within a type are part of the poet's tech- nique. The formal assembly is capable or great diversity in form if the poet requires. This adaptability is evident in several cases. The single most interesting example is the assembly following the death and burial of Tiphys. The scene begins with a description of the despair which the crew suffers after the loss of their helmsman (2.860- 863). The voyage appears to have ended there (2.864), until Ancaeus, in a speech addressed solely to Peleus, points out that many of the men have an adequate knowledge of sailing. Ancaeus exhorts Peleus to remind the crew of their own abilities and to have them recall the task at hand (2.868-877)* Peleus brightens up (2.878). lie speaks in the midst of the men, fevt jifioaoLq &y6psucrsv, and urges them to rouse themselves since many of them are capable of serving as helmsman (2.879-884). The reaction to this proposal is given in a speech of Jason: "Where are these helmsmen? The others are even more depressed than II Vie are doomed (2.883-893)*" Despite this declara­ tion, Ancaeus assumes the task of steering the ship. Others then volunteer, but they finally agree to grant the job to Ancaeus (2.894-898). In this assembly we see that the ele­ ments of the scene have been freely adapted. They run to­ gether like watercolors; even so, this is undeniably a for­ mal assembly. The conflations are not irregularities, but illustrations of poetic license and ingenious variety. 4-5

So, while typical scenes tend to talce a standard form, this is not inflexible, They are truly malleable in the hands of the artist. All these examples of assemblies, both informal and formal, have been fairly uncomplicated. Although we have seen the variations possible in elements, sequences, con­ tent, and function, the scenic type has been isolable and constant. To assume that all the instances of typical scenes are so monotonous end uninvol.ved as our analysis might sug­ gest is to fail to give Apollonius his critical due. A type is subject to manipulation to produce new and exciting possibilities for its use. One common operation is to com­ bine scenes into a complex which appears in the narrative more effectively than its separate components might. At least one example deserves to be presented, lest our appre­ ciation of the working of the assembly scene be too simplis­ tic. In Book 3 after the meeting of Argus, Aeetes, and Jason, the Minyan embassy returns to the Argo. The next ninety lines of the poem are devoted to showing the psycholo­ gical state of Jason and the men, the various alterna­ tives of action open to them, the objections to the plan they adopt, and their final decision. The poet has chosen to place this scene in the framework of Scene A, Scene B, Scene A. Scene A is an assembly; Scene B is a kind of divine 46 intervention, in particular the appearance and interpreta- tion of portents. 15 The passage begins when the embassy returns and the companions question them (3.489-490). Jason speaks to them and describes the task which Aeetes has set. He adds that for lack of a better plan, he pledged to do what was asked (3-491-301). The task seems impossi­ ble to the crew. They sit silently looking at one another, overcome by helplessness (3-302-304). Then, Peleus addres­ ses the group saying that if Jason trusts his own strength completely, he should go through with the contest. However, if he is unsure, Peleus himself will accept the challenge (3-504-314), This suggestion elicits an enthusiastic response from the audience as other individuals begin to volunteer (3-515-520). Some remain silent (3-521). Argus then speaks to offer an alternative plan. He urges that assistance be sought from Medea through the intercession of Chalciope (3-521-559)- Apollonius has depicted the charac­ ters as filled with masculine bravado to the extent that it would be inconsistent for them to accept Argus* proposal. But the gods give them a sign by causing a dove to fall into Jason* s lap while the hawk who pursues falls onto the ship's stern ornament (3-540-343). Mopsus provides an in­ terpretation for the portent. He tells them that the mean­ ing of such a sign is to seek out Medea. • This, he points

15^Theurgy as a scenic type is discussed below. 47

out, would be in keeping with Phineusr advice (5• 5^3-5^)• The young men praise his v/ords (3.555-356). Idas, however, protests such cowardly advice and chastises the men severe­ ly (3*557-563). The audience murmurs softly but no one replies to the speech of Idas (3.564—565). Idas sits down (3-566). Jason assumes that the group has approved Argus' plan. He orders Argus to go back to the palace and the others he commands to move the Argo to the open, since they no longer need to hide (3-566-571). The orders are

carried out by the crew (3 -5 7 2 -5 7 5 )- This is an interesting passage. The complex of typi­ cal scenes is very successfully carried out. Although some elements in the t\tfo assemblies are transmuted, they are still distinguishable. The complex falls at a critical juncture of the narrative. Through it action necessary to the course of Book 5 is motivated and the story is assured continuity. In addition, the psychological stresses of the Argonauts are displayed, the ideals of Idas are contrasted with the pragmatism of Argus and Jason, and the portrayal of Medea as witch is initiated. The typical scene as a composi­ tional device can be used with great artistry, as this case shows• Before we go on to other typical scenes, a few conclu­ ding observations are in order concerning.the assembly. Our study has tended toward morphological analysis, although the 4-8 contextual effects of assembly passages have usually been noted. We have seen that the assembly is a convention upon which the poet frequently relies. It serves in directing the narrative, generally through the implementation of some proposal made in the meeting. The circumstances which prompt an assembly include a cessation of progress in the story, uncertainty about some aspect of the future, or some pro­ blem which must be resolved. The assembly always results in an action being taken. The poet uses it at some of the most crucial places in the poem. The voyage to Greece, the physical turning point of the epic, is even marked by an assembly (4*. 189-207)- However, the scenic type does not only give impetus to the narrative. It also is useful to showcase characters, relationships, and situations. Whe­ ther it has short-term influence or is essential to the whole 16 plot, the assembly is extraordinarily versatile. Since theurgy has already been mentioned, it is the substantive scenic type at which we ought to look next. The Argonautica contains many passages in which the gods parti-

1 CL There is one assembly which seems to have been de­ signed mainly to introduce an adventure into the story. This is the scene of Medea's address to the crew as they are about to detour around Crete (4-. 1651-1661). She per­ suades them to let her work her magic. Thus, the poet gets to tell the death of Talos and the magical powers of Medea. The complete transformation of the' maiden into witch is re­ vealed in the way she destroys Talos. Then, the death of Talos can be seen as a foreshadowing of the destruction of Pelias which lies beyond the scope of the poem. At any rate, the assembly scene is the method of integrating the episode into the storyline. 49 cipate in the story. With one exception, their role bene­ fits the progress of the voyage. They usually work to ease the way for the travelers and to assist them in overcoming, the obstacles to a successful journey. The exception is Zeus' decree that Jason and Medea must seek absolution from Circe for the murder of Apsyrtus (4.552-561). The judgment of Zeus lengthens the story considerably. Divine intervention as a category of typical scene is not as easily dissected as the assembly. Its structure is more variable. It takes many different forms which have di­ verse elements and sequences, narrative circumstances, and functions. Hence, an analysis is difficult. To establish that the gods take part in the narrative more than once is not enough to qualify theurgy as a scenic type in the epic. A typical scene requires a recognizable and recurrent structure composed of standard elements. Not all instances of divine intervention are expressed in the form of a typical scene. Therefore, let us look at those cases which do seem to be scenes of a type. Our goal will be to ob­ serve such examples to the extent that they emerge in classifiable versions, to determine the general structure of the elements, and to draw whatever conclusions possible about when and why this scenic'- type is employed. This stu­ dy will not be exhaustive, but representative. In connection with the assembly, we noted one appear­ 50 ance or a portent and its interpretation. Portents and pro­ phecy are one kind of theurgy which may be considered a scenic subtype. Characteristic of this subtype is the ex­ istence of an intermediary between god and man. The divine will is made known through the agency of some thing or ani­ mal. Xn the scenic complex already discussed (3*/l-89-575)» the elements of the passage were the role of the god (3*54-0), a description of the portent (3 *54-1-54-3) > an interpretation of its significance in a speech (3* 54-3—544-) ? and the reac­ tion of the listeners (3*555-558). These are the standard elements for a portent and prophecy scene and the sequence is normal for this category. This scene's function is clear­ ly to sanction the reliance on Medea's assistance and to make is acceptable to the heroes who are otherv/ise reluc­ tant to turn to the maiden. In effect, the portent under­ lies the inevitability of the involvement with Medea. A similar form may be discerned in the other cases. In Book 1 following the death of Cyzicus, the departure of the Argo is delayed by storms. A prophesying bird appears. The god is said to cause the bird to move off. We are not told which god sent it. The bird utters prophecies which Mopsus understands and communicates to the crew. As a re­ sult, the Argonauts move on to Dindymum and appease the mother of the gods, so that the journey may continue. The form in which these elements fall in this scene is: 51

Portent (1.1084-1087) Role of god (1.1088-1089) Interpretative speech (1 .1090-1102) Reaction (1 .1103-1 1 0 6 ) That the gods work through signs is established early in the poem and becomes a familiar device. The first in­ stance involves the seer Idmon, who foretells the outcome of the voyage and his own doom (1.436-449). The signs given as portents are the o £A

■**^Por a discussion of foreshadowing and prophecy see G. Duckworth, Foreshadowing and Suspense in the Epics of Homer, Apollonius and VorgiT Tbiss. Princeton 1955.). 52

The most famous example of this subtype of divine in­ tervention is the confrontation of Mopsus and the crow (3.927-949)• This passage has received much critical ac­ claim among scholars as evidence in the alleged quarrel between Apollonius and Callimachus. For our purposes, this scene is simply one more case of a god participating in the narrative through an intermediate agent. In brief, Argus and Mopsus accompany Jason on his way to meet Medea. They pass a tree where a crow sits (3-927-929)- The crow declares to Mopsus at the bidding of Hera (3-950-951) that he is a fool to go with Jason, since he can only inhibit the conversation (3-932-957)- Mopsus smiles at hearing the voice 6p

their encounter are readily developed by Apollonius. One final illustration of the use of prophecy should be offered. This passage would be interesting for its con­ tent alone even if it were not an embodiment of an impor­ tant typical scene. The portent here is a dream and the interpretative prophecy is provided by Jason, who nov/here else shows this skill. The scene is not structurally as simple as some, so the example should be considered to be a variation in form. The Argonauts cast off from the is­ land of Anaphe after celebrating the rites to Apollo (4.1751)- As they depart, Euphemus, revering the son of Maia, recalls a dream he had the night before (4.1752-1755)- The dream is recounted by the poet (4.1755-1745)* Thus Euphemus re­ lates his dream to Jason (4.1746-1747) who interprets it. Jason predicts the destiny of Euphemus' descendants (4.1747- 1754). Euphemus hurls the clod of earth into the v/ater, acting on the interpretation he has just heard (4.1755- 1757)- The mention of Hermes (4.1755) probably is de­ signed to imply that he was the source of the dream. Without the role of the god being explicitly stated, the elements in this passage are: Portent Repetition of portent Interpretative speech Reaction Action 54-

The scene is employed here to provide a "background of semi-divine origin for the island of Calliste. The poet is not content merely to give the prophecy. After the scene is finished, Apollonius continues to explain how the prophecy did become truth and how Calliste came to be named Thera. This is an interesting example of variation possible in a typical scene. The poet's purpose is, no doubt, to emphasize the history of Thera. He has done that by elaborating the basic elements in the scene's structure This use of typical scenes as vehicles for aetiological information distinguishes the Hellenistic poem from its Homeric precedents. A subtype of divine intervention which ought to be briefly mentioned is the old oracular saying. As a scene they make a short study, although they have the fixed form of a typical scene. Oracular sayings play a limited, but significant, role as a recurring convention in the Argonau- tica. Their structure is very inflexible. An old oracle is cited as a means of giving some background information or of providing a motivation for actions and attitudes without going into lengthy explanations. Oracular sayings have always been issued previously; that is in the time before the narrative of the poem begins. They are included to explain actions of a character v/ho interacts with the Argonauts. While the convenience of this practice is 55 appreciable, it is not the most sublime utilization of typical scenes.

Oracular sayings may be called tp&TiQ, 0fia

the seer knows by the sound that they come as the fulfill­

ment of an old oracle, Q£cf * of Zeus that he would again be able to dine, Phineus, a pitiful wreck, creeps out of his house and collapses unconscious in the courtyard.

There the men find him (2 .1 9 4 — 2 0 7 ). The last oracular saying occurs in Book The poet tells us that Aeetes once heard a p<££i,<; from Helios, his father, that he would suffer at the hands of his descendants. Fearing them, he sent the sons of Fhrixus off to Achaea, Now, Aeetes fears that the oracle will be proved true by the strangers who have appeared in Colchis with his grandsons. The rea­ der is led to believe that this fear is the cause of his hostility toward the Argonauts (3•597-605). Oracular sayings are, to be sure, a minor device, but still, they illustrate the basic workings of typical com­ position. Of the four oracles, only the Phineus episode has a happy outcome. Pelias1 actions v/ill eventually cause his death, although that is beyond the scope of the Argo­ naut ica. Cyzicus is murdered by the men he welcomed. Aeetes has persecuted the wrong offspring and he will suffer for his misunderstanding of the oracle. So, the content and result of each passage varies, but the essen­ tial form remains constant. It should be noted again that such a formalized and inflexible concept is unusual. Portents, prophecy, and oracles are indirect kinds of 57

theurgy. The gods do not always approach mortals In such roundabout ways. The most common type of intervention is the physical assistance of the immortals in overcoming some difficulty or problem. The gods use their might or wisdom to ease the course of the journey. Often, their assistance is rendered in a physical display of supernatu­ ral power. This scene is readily recognized. It may be quite developed or it may be carefully combined with other types in a composite. Not all physical intervention by the gods is related in the form of a typical scene. The clearest examples of the type are scenes in which the ship and crew are in immediate danger. The elements of those scenes generally establish the nature of the danger and the helplessness of the men, note the presence of the god, and relate the assistance and its consequences. Great diversity is possible in the content of these elements and there are few limits on the variety of hazardous situa­ tions. The typical scenes of rescue from danger form a broad and flexible category. The most dramatic instance of actual physical rescue accomplished by the gods is the escape of the Argo through the Symplegades (2.551-618). Apollonius is very skillful in telling this adventure to maximize the thrill and uncer­ tainty experienced by the crew and the reader. First, the watchful presence of Athena is established. Then, the dan­ 58 gerous situation and the psychological condition of the men . are described. The dove's flight gives the men heart, but they seem to be ineffectual against the power of the winds and tide. Destruction appears to be imminent. Sud­ denly, Athena, who has been there all along, pushes one rock back and hurls the ship through. The danger is past. In this example the action of the goddess actually saves the lives of the men and allows the voyage to continue. A parallel to this scene occurs in Book 4 as the Argo sails the hazardous route between the Planctae (4.924-965). The elements of the passage are the establishment of the dan­ ger, the presence of the goddesses, the toil of the Nerieds, and the rescue of the Argo from the danger of the rocks. The scene is enriched by the verses which describe the Ner­ ieds * appearance and grace. Such elaboration is usual in typical variation. Even though these two scenes have the same elements, they are quite different in treatment and effect. The means and method of the differing results are IQ explained v/ell by Paul Handel. In addition, we should consider the intervention by Apollo in Book 4.1694-1715* The elements here are the need for aid, a prayer, presence of the god, intervention, and the result. After the Argonauts leave Crete, a terrible

T8 P. Handel, Beobachtungen 87-92, who also concludes, "dass das, v/as wir bei den Landings- und Abfahrtsschil- derungen gefunden haben, in allgemeinerem Sinne gilt*" 59

darkness falls on them and they wander hopelessly (4.1694- 1701). Jason cries to Phoebus to save them and he promises offerings in return for the help (4.1701-1705) • Phoebus descends to one of the Melantian rocks and raises his bow to create a bright light in the darkness (4.1706-1710). A small island is sighted by the men and they anchor there in safety (4. 1711-1713). Direct intervention takes other forms than rescue. Visitation by a god is another type of theurgy. In a visi­ tation scene, the god gives advice or instructions about what should be done to overcome some present difficulty. The mortals then accept the divine advice and carry out the instructions. Consider the meeting of Peleus and The­ tis (4.84-7-884-). Thetis is visible to Peleus only. She tells him to instruct the crew to delay the voyage no lon­ ger. They are to cast off at dawn. Peleus conveys the message to the others and her instructions are followed. Another instance of visitation occurs in Boole 2.284-298. As the sons of Boreas are about to kill the Harpies con­ trary to the will of the gods (284), Iris intervenes. She announces that what they are about to do is forbidden and then she swears an oath that the Harpies will not plague Phineus further. The sons of Boreas yield to the oath and go back to their ship. An unusual instance of divine visitation takes place 60 on Thynias when the Argonauts have just landed there. Apol­ lo appears miraculously (2.674— '684). He does not speak; there is only an epiphany. Yet, the men react by build­ ing an altar and sacrificing, and singing ’inrcaifiova'.* Tlie poet provides an etymology for the song and an aetion for the oaths which the men swear. This aetiological material is probably the reason this scene was integrated into the fabric of the poem. If this is Apollonius' purpose, the epiphany is a secondary concern of the passage. Nevertheless, it is a typical visitation in that the mere appearance of the god has an influence on the narrative and actions of the men. These types of theurgy function in the story like other typical scenes, and have the ability to combine with another scene in a complex. We have already seen a kind of theurgy combined v/ith an assembly in an A-B-A arrangement. Another complex occurs in Book 4.1305-1380. Here is a sub­ tle joining and blending which presents typical composition at its finest. The scenes used are divine visitation, assem­ bly, and portent. The passage begins .with the Argonauts and the women in a despondent state. All hope of return is lost as they are stranded in Lybia. Then, the Tip,f)opoL (4.1309) of the country appear to Jason. He is awed. They state that they know who he is and that it is wrong to be so downcast- The men should rouse themselves and watch for a sign. When the portent appears, the crew is to pay a 61 recompense to their mother so that they may return to Achaea (A.1317-1329). The apparition vanishes and Jason, confused by this speech, calls an assembly. (A.1331-1336). The men gather around Jason. He seats them with the women and proceeds to repeat all that was told to him (4.1335“ 1362). The men max*vel to hear his story (4.1363). Peleus interprets its meaning joyfully (4.1368-1379). His hearers are pleased by his interpretation and they set out to do what the nymphs urged (4.1380 ff.). This com­ plex is well written and an exemplary usage of substantive typical scenes. In summary, the general convention of divine inter­ vention is not always expressed through a typical scene. Several kinds of intervention, however, do tend to appear in scenes which have the characteristics of typical com­ position. The structure of these scenes is less rigid than others which we have observed and their functions are several. On the whole they are similar to other typical scenes used by Apollonius. Their result in the poem is usually to benefit the voyage. Divine intervention provides the poet a method of motivating and accomplish­ ing action outside the mundane realm. It is a causal agent which can be invoked for the sake of convenience or drama­ tic effect. The relationship between god and man in the universe is established and shaped by the scenes of theurgy 62

in the poem. The ultimate control which deity has over the lives and destinies of mortals is underlined fre­ quently by the appearance of divinities in typical scenes. It is interesting to see that the majority of cases of physical intervention and visitation occur in Book 4-. This fact confirms the passivity and dependence of the Argonauts as will be discussed in Chapter III. A third substantive type of scene is the plea for help. Pleas are an important means of introducing charac­ ters and initiating interactions between them. The use of this scene generally signifies an action of major im­ portance in the story. Apollonius relies again and again on the plea to motivate some activity which is crucial to an episode or to the entire plot. It is extraordinarily versatile in its suitability to different persons and situations. The plea for help is the most innovative theme of the Argonautica.^ This is not to say that it has never appeared in epic poetry before. But, its development and flexibility as a regular, substantive scene along with its frequency are original with Apollonius. The plea, there- fore, deserves a full examination. Structurally the elements for this typical scene fall into a general pattern. The scene usually has a framework of speeches which number at least two and as many as four. ig Arend, Die typischen Scenen, does not find this category. 63

Its setting is, naturally, a meeting between two parties., one of whom is in need of help, the other, a benefactor, is capable of lending the required assistance. After they come face to face, the first speaker makes his plea. The elements of this speech include an address, a statement of the specific problem and its background, a confession of helplessness, an invocation of the god(s) for whose sake help should be given, threats if the plea is ignored, and the identification of the speaker if his identity is un­ known. A response comes from the second speaker about his willingness or ability to render the requested aid. Usual­ ly in this second speech some clarification about the plea or the identity of the first speaker is demanded. A third speech generally results in which the first speaker ex­ plains further his need or suggests a solution to the bene­ factor. An answer follows either in the form of a short speech by the first speaker or as a statement directly from the poet. Some action is then taken. As was mentioned before, the four speeches may be compressed into a two speech form, although the speeches will be longer. The form of the plea is most variable in regard- to which elements are used in the speeches. Sometimes, infor­ mation is provided in the narrative prior to the typical passage, so the relevant elements are omitted. The scene, however, rarely appears in a severely abbreviated form. 64

It tends to be expressed in a full length version written in direct discourse and resulting in a significant change in the course of the narrative. Another feature of the plea is a sort of floating element: the oath. Oaths may­ be given by either party to solemnize their agreement. An appreciation of this type of scene is best achieved by close study of its form and function in the poem. The general observations already made about the plea can be confirmed by a detailed analysis of several examples. The exchange between Phineus and the sons of Boreas is the occasion of an early plea scene (2.204-262). Since this example is composed of many possible elements, it seems a good place to begin our study. The Argonauts have landed and come upon Phineus who is collapsed outside his home. Mustering all his strength the seer speaks first (2.204-239)- The elements of his speech are: Address Invocation of gods Plea for help Background of trouble Identification The emotional reaction of Zetes and Calais is given (2.240-241). Then Zetes replies to Phineus in a speech the form of which is: 65

Questions on background Emotional reaction Requirement of oaths Phineus responds (2.254-261) with the requested oaths which he swears by Apollo, K^p, and the gods of the underworld. The poet describes the reactions of the sons of Boreas (2.262) and the entrapment of the Harpies is begun (2.265 ff.).' The overall structure of the passage, is, therefore: Meeting Speech: first speaker Reaction Speech: second speaker Speech: first speaker Reaction Action Y/hile the basic framework may be used to compare typical usages of the plea, the elements of the speeches should also be noted closely. The form of the plea has been so estab­ lished by Apollonius that the elements of speeches and their sequence are as definitive as the overall structure of the theme. The essence of the plea lies for the most part in the elements of its speeches. The narrative role of the Zetes-Phineus exchange merits mention. The immediate result is the exciting story 66 of the pursuit: of the Harpies. This episode would be enough justification ^or 'the occurrence of an extended plea scene. It has another consequence, however, in the rela­ tionship which develops between Phineus and the Argonauts, particularly Jason. Not only is the seer a model of piety to the men, 20 he also provides some valuable information about where the Greeks will sail and how they should seek help from Cypris. So, the meeting with Phineus has moral and practical results for the Argonauts after they render him the help he needs. The plea scene here is a vehicle for introducing a dramatic adventure and initiating the involvement between the men and the seer. Let us turn to another example: the plea which the sons of Phrixus issue to the Argonauts (2.1121-1167)* It is structurally and contextually similar to the Phineus scene. The major segments fall into the pattern: Meeting Speech: first speaker Reaction Speech: second speaker Speech: first speaker Reaction Speech: second speaker Action

20G. Lawall, "Apollonius' Argonautica: Jason an An­ ti-Hero." YOS 19 (1966) 144—148"j dlscusse s fully the role of Phineus as a model of piety for the Argonauts. 67

As we noted, before, the elements which malce up the speeches are the real basis for comparing examples of this type of scene. A close examination there shows that Apollonius is using the same format we observed before. Of course, the specific, factual content is quite different. But, it remains true that the poet thinks of the plea in a stan­ dard form, which admits of some variation. A typical scene is fixed to the point that it works like an algebraic equation which allows some substitution in terms but al­ ways yields the same product. Argus speaks first in the form (2.1122-1133): Address Invocation of god Plea for help Background of trouble Invocation of god Jason, who thinks that the prophecies of Phineus are being fulfilled, replies to Argus (2.1134-1139)* His answer is in the form: Promises of help Questions on background Argus responds with the information for which Jason asked (2.1140-1136). The whole crew rejoices to hear his an­ swers and wonders at what they hear (2.1137-1158). Jason 68 closes the scene with a speech that contains the elements

(2.1158-1167): Identification Attribution of meeting to deity At last, the process of aiding the Colchian princes begins. The role of the sons of Phrixus in the poem originates from this passage and continues through Book 5- They are espe­ cially influential in the negotiations with Aeetes and in approaching Medea. The plea scene serves to introduce them to the reader as well as to make them obligated to the Ar­ gonauts. Typical passages are not restricted to certain charac­ ters for their participants. The plea too is not limited to scenes between the Argonauts and strangers they may en­ counter in their travels. Other actors and settings can be employed in the same general form and structure. One interesting instance is the plea of Chalciope to Medea to protect her sons. The appearance of the scene is familiar. Here, the plea is particularly effective as a literary de­ vice because of the careful preparation which has gone into malting Medea vulnerable to such a request. She is psycho­ logically disposed to comply with whatever is asked of her. Chalciope's plea to her sister is preceded by Medea's deception in telling Chalciope that the death of her sons is imminent. She is primed to make the request which Medea 69 wants so ranch, to hear. The plea (3*693-70Zf-) consists of a statement of the problem and a plea for intervention, invocation of the gods, and a threat of retaliation if help is not given. The two women break into tears and weep un­ til Medea answers (3-710-717)* Her response consists of questioning her own ability to provide help and swearing oaths that she will render whatever assistance she can. Ohalciope counters with a proposal for the action Medea could take in the winning of the contest (3*718-72^1-)* Me­ dea is thrilled with the idea and vows to do as she is asked (3*725-759)* Even without an outline, it is appar­ ent that this scene takes the same form and structure as the other examples we have seen. The scene between Ohalciope and her sister is the first instance in the poem where threats appear as an ele­ ment in a speech. Revenge of some terrible sort- sometimes is threatened if the required help is not promised to the party in need. At least once the threats become the dominant element. In the confrontation of Jason and Medea which takes place as the Argonauts contemplate surrendering her to Apsyrtus (4-.350-4*22), a distressed Medea calls Ja­ son apart from the others and speaks to him. Her speech begins with a vituperative address in which she reproaches him for breaking his former promises. She fears that all the sacrifices she had to make to follow him will be in vain 70

(4-.355-369)* She pleads for his support and protection or else a merciful death if she must return to Colchis in disgrace (4-.370-385). Medea then threatens Jason if he continues to ignore the oaths he swore to her “before (4.384— 390). Jason is frightened by her anger. He re­ plies with excuses for the delay and promises to overcome Apsyrtus and to fight off the other Colchians if he must (4.393-409)- Thus, Jason implies that he will do all that she asks. Medea's reply is a proposal in bargain form in which she will betray Apsyrtus, if Jason will protect her (4.410-420). The two set out to plot the treachery (4.421-422). The plea in this passage is supported by the threats to insure the benefactor's compliance. This scene should be compared to the first meeting between Jason and Medea. They came together for the sole purpose of Jason making a plea for Medea's assistance (3*973-1076). The roles of the two are virtually reversed when compared with the passage just cited. In this first meeting, as they stand face to face, Medea is unable to speak. Jason begins (3*973-1007). His speech consists of an identification and a request for honest talk, an invo­ cation of Hecate and Zeus, and the plea for some help in the contest. A promise to honor Medea as Ariadne was honored is followed by a concluding bit of flattery. The immediate reaction of Medea is shyness, but as she succumbs 71

to love, she gives Jason the charm. At- last Medea speaks (5-1025-1062). She provides the complete instructions he needs to use the charm and, thus, satisfies his request. After a brief silence, she begins to qiiestion Jason about who he is, where he is from, and who Ariadne was (5-1062- 1076). The technical plea scene is over, even though Medea goes on to beg that he remember her when he has re­ turned to Greece. She even threatens him if he should forget her. These developments are extensions of the basic typical passage in which Jason pleads for help. We can see that the form here is similar to that observed in pre- vious passages. 21 The most interesting version of this type of scene oc­ curs when Medea tries to prevent Alcinous from surrendering her to the Colchians who have arrived at Drepane. Medea turns to Arete first to ask for her intervention (4.1012- 1029)- Her speech consists of a plea, the background of the trouble, oaths about her innocence, invocation of the gods to reward her benefactor. Medea turns next to each of the Argonauts and pleads with them to protect her (4.1050- 1052). Her speeches to each of them are summarized in one representative address. Its elements include the back­ ground of her troubles, threats if.they don't honor their promises of protection, and reproaches for their cowardice.

^Compare the form of the plea at 4.81-100. 72

The responses of Arete are not given since her attitude becomes clear later. As for each Argonaut, the poet chooses to recount in the third person a generalized reaction. The men each try to encourage her as she implores them. They assume a warlike stance and promise to intervene if she does not meet with justice from Alcinous (4.1053-1057)* The use of the scene here is different with respect to the collective character of the Argonauts, but it still has typical construction. The plea serves to stress the plight of the suppliant and the political situation which has arisen over her custody. It will result in the delight­ ful conjugal scene between Arete and Alcinous and, even­ tually, in the marriage of Jason and Medea. Apollonius de­ monstrates an ability to maximize the effect of a typical scene while he avails himself of its convenience, flexi­ bility, and usefulness. The plea is generally a fully developed type; that is, rarely does the poet use a plea that does not become the central focus of the narrative in full-blown expression. The only instance of an abbreviated plea is in Book 3*609- 615* Here Apollonius merely narrates that Ohalciope's sons came to her to exhort, raxpriYop^scfHevi her to ask Medea's help. The poet tells the reader that Ohalciope had already considered that, but she was reluctant to incur her own father's wrath. The reason for such a brief account is 75 not difficult to hypothesize: the real plea the poet wish­ es to emphasize is that of Ohalciope to Medea. The plea of her sons is mentioned only to motivate Ohalciope to make the request for her sister's help. Hence, its role in the narrative is causal, but not central. To conclude, the plea for help is another of Apollon­ ius 1 valuable scenic types. It does not appear with the diversity of subtypes that some others do, such as divine intervention, but it can serve many functions in the narra­ tive. As a compositional device, it is adaptable to many contexts and needs. Apollonius uses it extensively and with imagination. In fact, some of the best effects of the poem are achieved through the use of this scene. This detailed examination of three substantive types of scenes should suffice to engender some understanding and appreciation of their forms and functions. Some insights may have been gained concerning the compositional process that Apollonius adopted. At any rate, the usefulness of scenes as instruments for the poet has certainly been es­ tablished. Rather than continue to analyze the text so closely, it will be enough at this stage to mention only some of the remaining substantive scenes and to make ob­ servations about the more interesting features of each. Several of the remaining scenes are -familiar from oral epic poetry. The battle, for instance, does not occur 74- with the frequency or elaboration in the Argonautica as it does in the Homeric poems. It is, nonetheless, a complete, substantive type of scene. Several general observations may be made about the fighting sceiaes. They may be crucial in the plot to the welfare of the crew and the continuance of the journey or they may be only conclusions to a section of the story. There may be suspense about the outcome of a battle, but the victory goes inevitably to the Argonauts. 22 An Argonaut never dies in battle and rarely is one even wounded. Battles occur between one Greek or the whole bend and an opposing force. The action of a battle is of­ ten conveyed by means of literary devices, especially epic similes. Some of the most effective images of the poem are found in connection with battles. As for the form of battles, they consist of an attack, the actual fighting, and the retreat or defeat of the enemy. This structure is most variable regarding the actual fight­ ing description. Variations are frequently based on whe­ ther the combatants are singled out or not in the narrative. In the battles with the Doliones (1.1026-1052) and the Be- brycians (2.98-136) the actions of the individual participants

22When there is a chance that the Greeks might lose, the battle never takes place. For‘example , after Apollonius establishes the ferocity of the Amazons, he does not let the crew meet them face to face. If such a confrontation took place the poet says the outcome would be bloody (2.986). 75

27 ) are the focus of the poemTs attention- ^ The hand to hand combats are described along with their fatal outcomes- In other typical passages the enemy is an anonymous whole who falls without identity under the weapons of the Greeks, e.g., 1.998-1011 or 4-.4-82-4-91. The protagonist need not be the entire crew. Twice in the poem a single Greek, Heracles or Jason, takes on the enemy in a fight (1.989- 997 and 3 • 1575-14-04-). Battles are limited to Greeks for participants however. The functions of the battle scene become apparent in its influence on the narrative. The poet is sometimes in­ terested in the immediate effect of the battle on the losers. For example, the grief and dismay of the defeated peoples may be related, as is so important in closing the Cyzicus episode or Aeetes' grief over the death of his earthbred troops which is touchingly expressed. A battle may be in­ cluded for its influence on subsequent action in the narra­ tive. The Bebrycian struggle has a long-term influence on the poem which is felt as the Argonauts meet a grateful Lycus (2.752-814-). The important consequences of Jason* s victory in the contest is Aeetes* anger. The pursuit by the Colchians at Aeetes* command accounts for much of the action of Book 4-.

^E. Phinney, Apollonius Rhodius (Di'ss. Berkeley 1963) 136-137, n. 26, discusses the similarities of the scenes be­ tween the Dolionian and Bebrycian battles. 76

Another interesting scene is farewell and leave taking. There are only two extensive uses of this scene, one at the departure from Pagasae, the other from Lemnos. It appears in a shorter version also when Medea leaves her childhood home (4-.26-49)- The farewell is a scene tised for its dra­ matic and poetic potential. The parting of a character from beloved persons and places is innately a scene filled with pathos and poetic melodrama. These scenes also serve to signal the close of one episode and the transition to a new one. The structure'of the farewell scene is depen­ dent on speeches. As Jason leaves Greece he is met by his parents. His mother weeps bitterly and clings to him (1.268-277)- She addresses him and wishes herself dead rather than face the long wait for her son to return home (1.277-219)• Jason tries to comfort her with the certainty of his return. Finally, he tells her to be quiet (1.293- 305). In the departure from Lemno3 Hypsipyle cries as she takes Jason's hands and in her speech urges him to return to her to be co-regent. She knows by intuition, however, that he will not return. She asks for instructions if she has a male child (1.886-898)- Jason replies that he wish­ es to return to Greece, but if he cannot, Hypsipyle should send their son to his parents (1-899—909)- Thirdly, when Medea has made the decision to leave with the sons of Phrixus, she says goodbye to her childhood surroundings 77

and kisses her bed, the doors, and the walls. Finally, she tears out one lock of her hair to leave behind (4-. 26- 29). There follows a short, apostrophic speech to her mother and Ohalciope in.which she wishes that Jason had died long ago (4-.29-33)• She cries (4-.34-). So, the fare­ well scene is based on highly emotion.al speeches which tend to underline the pathetic aspects of the situation. As a typical scene farewells and leave takings mark major tran­ sitions between episodes. They also show the emotional state of the characters. Another substantive scene is the death of heroes. Four

24- of the Argonauts die during the journey. Their loss is always regretted, but it never jeopardizes the voyage for very long. This scene has been formalized by the poet. The four deaths are paired by the poet with the second pair reciprocating the first.^ The first death is that of Idmon (2.815-850). Even though he was a seer, Idmon did hot foresee the boar's presence in the marsh where he walked. He is gored and dies shortly after Idas slew the boar. The crew laments and holds burial rites. An olive tree grows at the site of his tomb as a memorial. The

24- Butes. very nearly dies in Book 4*.912-191 when he suc­ cumbs to the voices of the Sirens. Cypris. rescues him, though 25 *\P. Thierstein, Bau der Szenen in den Argonautika des Apollonios Rhodios 76-77, notes the parallels in heroic deaths 78

second death follows closely on the first. Apollonius

says TCq yap 6f):0dvev 6c\\o q . . .(2.851). Tiphys suffers a brief sickness and is buried (2.851-858). While his death is not recounted in detail, it has great implica­ tions for the sailors who find themselves without a helms­ man. At last, Ancaeus takes up the task, as we have seen. She second paired deaths come in Book A near the end of the poem. Canthu3 dies in Lybia while stealing sheep from a local shepherd. The shepherd is in turn killed by the Argonauts. Canthus is given a burial (4-. 1485-1501)• On that same day Mopsus too dies (4-. 1502-1536). This death parallels that of Idmon in Book 5. Even though he was a seer, Mopsus did not foresee the snake's presence in the sand where he was walking. He is bitten and dies excru­ ciatingly. The men give him a formal burial. The deaths of heroes seem to be routine scenes as far as their effects on the narrative. With the exception of the loss of Tiphys, minimal action or change in the nar­ rative comes about as a result of a hero's demise. Even Tiphys' passing is a minor inconvenience in the long run. Yet, the typical nature of these scenes is fairly evident. W© may conjecture that the deaths are added for the sake of epic tradition. They do have some intrinsic interest and perhaps illustrative value. The medical details of Mopsus' death, the plunder of local inhabitants, the inevi- 79 tability of Idmon's death and the aition which accompanies .it, etc., these are the specific content and meaning of the passages. The examples cited in this study of typical scenes represent approximately one-quarter of the Argonautica1s length. This is an indication of the importance of scenic types in the composition of the epic. Two main functional categories are distinguishable: mechanical and substantive* Their service to the poet varies, but they may be considered as moulds into which Apollonius pours the material of the poem. Wheher used primarily to make transitions or to shape the narrative, typical scenes are an essential part of the epic. Furthermore, by careful analysis of the use of typi­ cal scenes we can obtain insights into the ultimate mean­ ing of the epic. The distribution, personnel, and context of certain scenes can be important in interpretive state­ ments about the poem. The very form of the narrative is often a determinant of meaning. In understanding the Argo- nautica it is imperative to consider closely the intricate relationship between function and form. For example, the development of the plea for help as a major substantive scene indicates that in the world of the poem dependence and material assistance between characters will be a sig- nigicant feature of relationships. Chapter 3 will show this to be true. Thus, form is closely tied to function 80 and composition by typical scenes must be acknowledged in exegetical statements about the poem. CHAPTER II PARODIAL AND COMIC ASPECTS

In an. examination of the parodial and comic aspects of the Argonautica, it is important to consider the liter­ ary milieu in which the epic first appeared. Apollonius wrote for an audience quite different from that of Homer or Euripides or even Aristophanes. His poem was intended for a small, select circle of readers who were scholars of literature and possibly poets themselves. The litera­ ture of previous ages, much of which is no longer extant, v/as well known and avidly studied by Apollonius and his contemporaries. Thus, allusions to classical models would be readily recognised, and uses of familiar myths or tra­ ditional characterizations would elicit comparisons in the readers' minds between Apollonius' work and that of earlier writers. The Hellenistic poet could count on his audi­ ence to realize that he was varying a traditional treatment or that he was incorporating a source unchanged. Close ■verbal correspondences or verbatim adoption from another poet would be easily recognized by the Hellenistic reader of the Argonautica. So, whether he supplements, omits, or manipulates aspects of his literary models, Apollonius could depend on his readers' familiarity with previous li­ terature to produce recognition and comparison. The modern 81 82

reader, who is probably a scholar, can bo a lesser extent; achieve a similar knowledge >of literary history, so that he too can appreciate tiie poet’s use of his sources. The parodial and comic aspects .of the Argonautica depend on the reader’s knowledge of the literary tradition which precedes Apollonius. Even though «■ some specific models, which were available to Apollonius, are not available to us, enough material representative of the authors and genres is pre­ served to suggest the general precedents for several pas­ sages. In addition to the interest of his audience in past literature, Apollonius and his contemporaries were influ­ enced by the trends and tastes of the Third Century. An important characteristic of the Hellenistic, especially Alexandrian, literary world is the inclination to vary the traditional forms and subjects of poetry. A spirit of ex­ perimentation with old, established genres seems to be wide­ spread; its leading exponent is Callimachus. Callimachus' Iambi represent the most extensive example of experimen­ tation with the poetic variations, of subject and form, possible within certain metrical limitations. In this connection, Callimachus explores the capacity of the genre to incorporate types of subjects not traditionally

^C.M. Dawson, "The Iambi of Callimachus," YCS 11 (1950) 152. . 83

associated with it. In general we might agree with Bruno Snell: He [Callimachus] manipulates his verse with the same delicacy and purity of line which Archilochus espoused, but which had been ob­ served neither in the hexameters of the epic nor in the trimeters of drama,.. His skill in varying his diction, composition, and me­ trical scheme is unrivaled.2 Although Apollonius is often depicted as the opponent of Callimachean principles of poetic composition, it is a mistake to assume that he was immune to the adventurous approach observable in Callimachus or Aratus. The Argo- nautica is not a return to the generic purity of Homeric epic. Even a superficial examination shows that many epic conventions are omitted or compressed to the point of being disguised, and the features of tragic and hymnal types of poetry are added. So, the Argonautica may be an epic poem, but it utilizes numerous features of other poetic types and may in this sense be called a mixed-genre poem. Apollonius is composing according to principles similar to those which won Callimachus the sobriquet “playful poet." The attitudes toward experimenting with genre, which are notable in several Alexandrians, fostered in part the parodial and comic aspects of the Argonautica. The gen­ eral willingness to tinker with form and content perhaps encouraged Apollonius to depict in his epic characters and

2 B. Snell, Discovery of the Mind, the Greek Origins of European Thought, 269 * 84- situations which already were closely identified with treatments in other genres. These previous examples would be well-known to his audience, as we have said. So, by including material typical of other genres in an epic for­ mat, Apollonius was manipulating the knowledge and expecta­ tions of his audience. The juxtapositions and combination of these sources elicit certain responses in the reader; when the result is parodial and comic we may truly observe the poet at play. Apollonius employs exaggeration, word play, absurdity, and other divices, which are aimed at heightening the effect of mixed generic forms, and which underline the relationship between his version of a parti­ cular character or situation and that which the reader might expect. It is important to remember that the Argonautica is an essentially serious poem and that the parodial and comic elements have some long-range implications for a serious interpretation of the whole epic. We should be aware, therefore, of the possible significance of a humor­ ous treatment given to a passage or person. The ulti- « mate role of a character or situation in the poem will surely be affected if its setting is one which suggests parody or recalls situations and persons usually associated with comedy.

The Lemnian episode is clearly parodial and Apollonius 85 fully exploits tlie potentially comic aspects of a commu­ nity of women living without men in a walled city ruled over by a virgin queen named "High Gates." The situation of the women is delightfully Aristophanic and, although the myth could have sustained a serious or tragic treatment, the poet consistently and thoroughly develops its comic features, especially those which recall Aristophanes' hu- morous treatments. The rule of women in the state is an idea familiar from the Lysistrata and women's participa­ tion in assemblies is the comic idea of both the Theamo- phoriazusae and the Ecclesiazusae. Apollonius has taken a virtually stock situation in old comedy and incorporated it into his epic poem. The point of the episode may ultimate­ ly be serious, of course; it seems that Apollonius takes the ludicrous premise of a society of women and carries it to a logical, sobering conclusion. At any rate, this is an excellent example of experimentation with classical models and familiar poetic types. The poet takes the facts of the plot from myth and poetry and parodies the Aristo-

^E. Fhinney, Apollonius Rhodius (Diss. Berkeley 1965) 92. "Apollonius' treatment of this incident with all its tragic implications is nevertheless essentially comic; for horror would not have been a good aphrodisiac. Women sav­ age enough to have butchered their husbands and even sons are described light-heartedly, without any reproach from the poet, as lonely and love—starved women who are sudden­ ly sent a shipload of men and without pangs of conscience sate their desires.” 86

phanic treatment, while the entire episode is vaguely reminiscent of the Nausicaa episode of the Odyssey. The whole adventure is included in a quasi-Homeric epic. To be certain that the reader recognizes the comedic correspon­ dences, Apollonius imbues the story with a pervasive sexual atmosphere which is typically Aristophanic. The degree to which the episode is replete with sexual imagery, puns, and innuendo is worthy of the master comedian himself, al­ though Apollonius exercises greater subtlety and restraint. The imagery of the Lemnian episode is developed by means of symbol and simile. Almost all the symbols are playfully sexual and by their use events on the island are fraught with sexual connotations. The similes concern the relationship between the men and women. Like many similes in the Argonautica, these have more than one point of cor- responcence with the narrative. They are complex and sub­ tle; yet they impress strongly on the reader both the hu­ morous aspects of the women*s situation and the effect the men's presence has on the women. The Argonauts seem to leave a world of heroic concerns and to enter an upside down world where the women are men for all practical pur­ poses except one. That activity becomes the central focus of the story as the poet creates an impossibly pervasive sexual atmosphere with his imagery. Several symbols in Book 1.603-909 have been noted in 87 passing by commentators, Gilbert Lawall remarks that The scene teems with sexual imagery, involving such symbols as plowing, sowing of seed, sleek cattle, and double gates. Even the name of the queen is symbolic: Hypsipyle, "High Gates." The city of Myrina is, in fact, not unlike a brothel, the place where any Hellenistic youth would naturally^come upon his first experience of sexual love. Charles Beye argues that the centrality of sexual images illustrates &pexfi of Jason, i.e., his beautiful sexuality. He notes several uses of imagery. Sexual images are central, from the first dis­ cussion in Hypsipyle's council hall when her aged nurse Poiyxo rises to speak from her seat next to two virgins, unmated (daiAfjq, literally 'untamed'). Poiyxo's warning of the time when there will be no one to do the plowing seems obviously sexual, especially after the barn­ yard adjective applied to the virgins (cf•, too, lines 867 ff*). On the cloak are images appropriate to the setting of the entire poem, that is the conflict between love and war, or rather love in war and war in love, such as the image of Aphrodite viewing her reflection in Ares' shield or the race contest of Hippodaraeia with love and hate closely warring. Jason is described as going through the gates of the city, then arriving at the palace where maidens open more gates to give him access to the princess whose name means 'High Gates.'5 The observations of these and other critics are use­ ful even though they sometimes appear to be inadequately supported by textual analyses. In fact, Apollonius' artful,

G. Lawall, "Apollonius' Argonautica: Jason as Anti YCS 19 (1966) 150,151. *C. Beve. "Jason as Love-hero in Apollonius' Argo- nautica," GKJ3S lO Q196V) A5-44-. 88

deliberate development or symbols has been insufficient­ ly recognized, both in the story of Lemnos and in the Ar­ gonaut lea as a whole. For instance, 'the gates are not a simple symbol. When the women see the Argo being rowed to the island, they put on their armor and rush out to the shore through the city gates, atrtKa Ttacroub Cp teuX£cov shtoo0s MupCvriQ

6*r)ia tsOxeoc btiaat, £q octyiaXbv 7tpox£ovTo, (1.634— 633). Hysipyle at first wants to keep the men outside the city, but after the momentous decision of the assembly, Jason enters Myrina,

wat p' o t e 6ri 7i;uA£u>v t e nai ctPTsoQ ^v t o q sfincrav, (1.782) with the result that

5r][x6Tepai, jxsv frrcucrGsv £tushXo v s o v t o yuvatHSQ YTi06cfuvat £etv

After hearing the queen's speech, Jason leaves the city to carry the proposed sojourn on Lemnos back to his comrades.

Pq p* fixev* (Jqicpi 6s t6vys vefivi&eQ ficWoBsv fitWai

liuptai sl^toaovTO Kexa-pM-^vai, ftcppa TtuXdwv £££jio?iev, (1.84-3-845) Thus, in the beginning of the episode gates (along with towers, 7c6pYcov» 1.659) suggest the security and sexuality of the women and the preservation of their criminal secret. Further on, however, they take on additional significance and they come to represent the eager acquiescence of the women to Poiyxo1s proposal. They also symbolize the grant­ ing of sexual access by the Lemnians. Agricultural symbols abound. In addition to refer­ ences to plowing and harvesting there are other less direct symbols. The potential fertility of the land is symbolic of the condition of the deprived women. The island, which Poiyxo predicts will be barren of crops when the women age and die, is described to Jason as quite fertile.

nep\ yap pd6u\^ioq

vfjcrwv A lY a ^ 8aai etv vateT&oucriv. (1.830-851) Heracles, in an attempt to get the crew away from the is­ land, asks sarcastically,

?je y ^ w v £ti:l6eu6eq £v0<5c6* epTjpev

neTQsv, 6vooodtJ-svo i Tto\L,nTt,&ocQ, oc?>0i- 5* ea&ev vatov'CttQ K LTtocpf|v (cpootv Ariuvoio Toqi^aOat; 1 ( . 8 6 6- 8 6 8) 90

Finally, it should, he noted that there are a number of androgynous symbols which are basic to the poet’s humorous attitude. Amusement is our reaction to the news that the women, both as a whole population and as Hypsipyle repre­ sents them, have become men for all purposes except pro­ creation. Usual standards of normality are suddenly voi­ ded. She only need the women have of men is to insure fu­ ture generations. Otherwise, they appear to be sufficient to fulfil all masculine functions. The beginning of this symbolic sequence is 1.627-630, where we find the women per­ fectly adjusted to men’s tasks. In fact, the picture given by the poet is a parody of the usual roles and functions of the genders in society.

Trjcri 6e 0o uwtiAuxt ts 0oS3v x t s Stive tv

xetixea mvpo96pouq ve5 taxtrn^acrQocL &potipaQ

^TiCxepov m&apaiv 'AQTivatriQ u^Aev epywv,

o tq octet to 7t<5cpot0ev &p.CXeov. ® (1 .6 2 7 -6 3 0 ) At the approach of the Argonauts, the women put on armor

D. Levin, Apollonius’ Argonautica Re-examined; The Neglected First and Second Books (Ma Supp. l3 l W l ) 60-61, Without preparation or transition~Xpollonius suddenly halts the aetiological sequence (623-626) to his recital of past history and shifts attention to the present state of the wo­ men on Lemnos (627 ff.). Whether or not the poet intended it to be amusing, one cannot help but be amused at his de- scrix^tion of the consequences of the grisly crime. Though all males have been eliminated from the island, tasks tra­ ditionally assigned to them must still be carried out. Hence the Lemniads tliemselves herd the cattle, plow the fields, and even— this is what I find so droll— don their husbands* armor; for they must remain over on the alert for an attack by Thracians from the mainland." 91

(1,635) nnd Hypsipyle puts on that of her father (1.637-

6 3 8 ). The passage is reminiscent of the scene in the Eccle- siazusae (1-284-) where the women put on clothes stolen from their husbands. At the assembly the queen assumes full regency as the poet states:

tQq Sip* s

^T. Stoessl, Interpretationen 34-, "Mit feinem Humor wird nun weiter geschilaert (,6 6 3 1 . ), wie sich die ounge Kdnigin nach ihrer Rede gravitatisch auf den steinern Sitz ihres Vaters neiderlasst." 10 J. Carspecken, “Apollonius Rhodius and the Homeric Epic," YOS 13 11952) 97 1 "Apart from their unsurpassed ro­ mantic beauty, these lines are notable for their apposite­ ness to the peculiar situation of the Xjemnian women and 92

11 simile has been noted by Karl Blumberg, but he does not emphasize its irony, Xt is ironical to realize that the £epY6p,evat.. .vO^cpat, (1.775-776) are murderesses whose iso­ lation is self-imposed; that the TtapOSvoq has set her fa­ ther adrift in a box so that he can never betroth her; and that gratification, which seemed as distant as a star* is on its way into town. When the Lemnians think the Thracians are invading, they ru3h out of Myrina ©ui&olv (J)iio36polq Zk e Xau (1.636), a comparison which conveys irrational fierceness. We must smile, therefore, to read that when they get to the shore,

&p,r)Xo:vtp 6' s o x o v t o

fitpOoyyoL, touov otpuv 6£oq ricopeXTo. (1.638—639) The scene is parodial of a normal effort to defend home and city. This attempt aborts as soon as the defenders have rushed out the gates. There is a sudden reversal and our expectations of these frenzied flesh-eaters are brought for the graceful internal change which the simile itself undergoes, when the vflp-tpott (776) become the 7tap0£voQ (779)* It is plain that the shift in number and meaning is inten­ tional, for in the narrative context it is the women of Lemnos, widowed by their own act, who first see Jason, then at last Hypsipyle, their virgin queen, who immediately loses her heart to him." 11 K. Blumberg, Untersuchungen zur epischen Technik des Apollonios yon RKodos (loiss. Leipzig 1) 19, rrSoTort aber wird das Gleichnes nach hellenistischer Art ins Sen­ timental© umgebogen: (v. 775) die Braut sieht den S t e m uber ihren Gemache aufgehen, und Sehnsucht befdllt sio nach dem femen Geliebten. Und sehr fein, mit einem lei— sen humoristischen Zug, hat dann der Dichter wieder der Mannersehnsucht der Lemnierinnen Ausdruck verliehen.. Blumberg does not consider humor extensively in his ex­ amination of the poem. 95 up short* The last simile describes the women surrounding the Argonauts as they prepare to depart the island (1.879-882). The women are likened to bees that pour out of their hive in a rock and buzz around beautiful lilies. The meadow re­ joices and the bees, as they flit here and there, gather the sweet crop from the flowers. The scene of the simile is a Joyous one. We might expect a masculine connotation to the scene of the bees taking sweet fruit as they flit from one flower to another. In later episodes of the poem, especially in Book 3* men use women to gain their own goals. In this simile, however, we see that the women have gotten what they wanted from the men, Just as the honeybees have ravished the flowers. The suggested rever­ sal of roles is comedic in the tradition of Aristophanes. The comparison of the heroes to lilies is startling and unexpected. The imagery of the lemnian episode is not the only device which contributes to the comic tone of the story. Apollonius touches most of the scene with wry humor. Into the characterizations of the women he instills a psycholo­ gical conflict between guilt-ridden fear and desire. The triumph of desire is the site of many effects. Consider the events of the women's assembly (1.633-708)The — ------H. Er&nkel, EToten zu den Argonautika des Apollonios (Munich 1968) 97s "&fc>8-9*5 Dies ist eine der muntusten Par- tien in dera Epos. Hinter dem sachlichen Ernst in der Erzah- lung und Rode lauert uberall der Schallc, und die ironische Haltung des Richters ergeht sich in einera heiteren Spiel.1' 94- queen, who is similar in several ways to Aristophanes1 Praxagora, presents to her subjects a workable plan for keeping the strangers outside the city and, thus, ignorant of the murders. Such a scheme seems wise and expedient, but Hypsipyle just cannot commit herself fully to it. Her speech, which begins strongly with ’Let us give them pre­ sents to keep them outside,' closes with a request for better ideas from the audience.*1'^ There is no group re­ sponse but old Polyxo, who is a sort of female Nestor, ri­ ses to chastise them all for their lack of foresight. 'When the old women have died and the youth come to a childless old age, do you expect the cattle to plow and harvest of •I £l their own accord?* Thus, her concerns parallel the poli­ tical reforms of the Ecclesiazusae. She suggests that they hand over the city and everything else to the stran­ gers. This proposal gets a roar of approvalJ^

^P. Stoessl, Interpretationen 33* "Da die Konigen aber ihren Plan nicht fur die emzige i/osungsmoglichkeit halt, fordert sie nun auch die anderen auf, ihre Ratschlage vorzu- bringen; nicht ohne ein gewisse Lacheln mag der Dichter 665 das Peminiraum &Kkr\ gesetzt haben." 14 G. Giangrande has offered a very interesting in­ terpretation of the expression tjcoq Tfjp-oQ pgolden age?' The discussion appears in G. Giangrande, "Hellenistic Poetry and Homer," Ant01 29 (1970) 50-58. Phinney, "Narrative Unity in the Argonautica, the Medea-Jason Romance," TAPA 98 (1907) 330-351* has noted both responses to these speeches and calls the difference "gracefully ironic." 95

The poet subtly illustrates in the following action how the prospect of having lovers affects the women. It is truly humorous to see how their excitement speeds up *1 events. As soon as Hypsipyle hears Polyxo*s idea, she stands to answer immediately, 7iapacrxe66v (1.698). Pre­ sumably, there will not be a better suggestion than this. She declares that if Polyxo*s wish is pleasing to everyone she is sending a messenger to the men forthwith.

xev psTa vrja x a \ HYyeXov 6TptvcxLpi. (1 -7 0 1 ) The queen beckons to a nearby servant, Iphinoe, and gives her the invitation to take to the strangers. It is impor­ tant to note that Iphinoe has heard the plan to let the men move in. This knowledge affects her delivery of the mes­ sage. Iphinoe, pleased no doubt with future prospects, wastes little time with pleasantries when she arrives at camp,

. 5xa 6s t o 6aye xaaaubCri pfcOobai. 7tpoa£vvs7isv ££speovTaq' (1.710-711) A change occurs in the content of the message as Iphinoe delivers it. Hypsipyle had said,

h £h \ s o 0apcraA£u)Q £7ti0aiv6ii£v eftpevfiovTaq; (1.707) But the messenger says,

16 E. George,"Poet and Characters in Apol3.onius Rho- dius* Lemnian Episode," Hermes 100 (1972) 47-63* also notes the speeding up of eventsI He" does not see the cause of the haste as the women’s sudden realization that there will soon be men in Myrina. Rather, he notes only a confused and pointless emotional condition in the women. 96

1 7 H&nXeTai cx&t£hcx vtiv £ti; i p

^The vexy expression ImiPaivSjisv is a humorous sexual double entendre v/orthy of an Aristophanes. 1 8 D. Devin, Apollonius1 Argonautica 67-68, is blind to this alteration: "Comparison of Hypsipyle1s speech to Iphinoe and of Iphinob's to the Argonauts as a group, shows Apollon­ ius to be following Homer's manner rather more closely than usual. 3?or usually the author of the Argonautica tries to find ways of avoiding repetition of this sort. Sut the re­ petitious style, if employed sparingly, can be meaningful and effective. Here the .Lemniad emissary is shown to have transmitted her Queen's message faithfully without embel­ lishment or extraneous interpolation." On the contrary, the point of such verbatim repetition is to underline the one phrase which has been changed. ■^In general, comic irony depends on some knowledge of the reader beyond that of the chax,acters involved in the immediate situation. The irony here consists in part of what H. tfrankel has called the "Ironie der Begebnisse," "Das Argonautenepos des Apollonios," MusIIelv 14- (1957) 18, which will be discussed later. 97 humor, The irony hinges on the careful preparation of the reader prior to the second version of the fate of the Lemnian men. Apollonius takes care early in the narrative to give the reader a true account of the murder of all the males on the island. Even before the Argo touches land we are told (1.611-624) how the women neglected Aphrodite and the goddess in turn made all their husbands fall in love with some Thracian captives. The lawful wives, who could not bear to be ignored, killed their husbands. To prevent the remaining males from seeking revenge, the wo­ men murdered them also. Hypsipyle saved her father and, since no husband is mentioned, we assume she was unmarried. Thus, the poet gives the reader the true story in a straightforward account, and one can fully appreciate the queen*s statement in the assembly that the tale would not be pleasing to the Argonauts if they learned it,

o&6£ % i ■ mdinuxv

0upr)6eQ Kol toTcjl t6y' %o o etocl e % he 6 aetev. (1*662-66$) The key word here is 0utxT)6sQ. After Hypsipyle agrees to let the men into the city, she tells Iphinoe to beckon their leader to come see her, ? o 8

The *£noQ 0 uirn6 £q. is, of course, the proposal that they move in, but it will also be a fabulous lie about what happened

^Iphinoe says, in turn, btppoc t C 6ru.ioto 0vpT]6eQ £vtaTcp* ' (1.714) * 98 to their husbands. The irony depends on the expectation of the reader: what will the grcoQ 0uirn&eg be? It is ironic to read the queen's statement to Jason that she will relate an account vtihspt£q (1.797)* The reader knows that 21 it will be 0 uhti&6 q* not accurate. The version of events given in 1.798-826 is contra­ dictory, ambiguous, and ironic. Its humor depends on the reader's recognition of how the facts are being distorted by the speaker. Franz Stoessl says that Hypsipyle's "IAigen haben kurze Beine..." due to the contradictions and unlike- 22 ly features.“ This implausibility is exactly the point. Apollonius has prepared us to enjoy the double meanings of certain expressions. Levin comments, Hypsipyle's effort to suppress the gruesome side of recent history at Lemnos, yet resort to outright falsehood as little as possible, has led to some interesting instances of ironic double-entendre worthy of a Sopho- clean Toiresias orof an Euripidean Medea... p The queen at times resorts to pure melodrama as she de-

21 ■ The opening lines of Hypsipyle's speech are, 'Why have you been sitting outside our towex'S so, long? 1 xtq lltlAVOVTSQ bnX XP^VOV EKTO01 7i\3pYwv//r)U0 * ccOtojq (1.793- 79*0* Her original plan to give the crew gifts was to keep them outside the city, %v* Siitie&ov b h z o B i 7tupYmv//|iC|avoiev (1.659-660). D. Levin, Apollonius* Argonautica 72, notes the repetition but does not find it ironical. 22 F. Stoessl, Interpretationen 42, does not outline these features, buthe says, hes genugt, auf den Humor des Dichters hinzuweisen, der Heldin so lemraungslos und — wie sie glaubt — so unendlich schlau liigen lasst. . . ’1 ^ D m Levin, Apollonius* Argonautica 76. 99

scribes spinsters and widows wandering the streets, fa­ thers who see their daughters abused at the hands of wicked stepmothers, and the chaotic disorder of the entire so­ ciety. There are ambiguous references to the fate of p/L their husbands. The final comment on the fabricated his­ tory comes when Jason doesn't question a single detail of it. He is far too eager to accept the queen's proposed alliance, which he views as a service.

* Y(|> LTti3A.r), nsv 0 utir)6 £oq 5

XpTiOiioaCvriQ ffv 6qip,t, cr£0ev xa'c£°ua,'v 6tc5c£ei.q . (1.856-857) As E. George has observed, "Ironically the queen, relying on honeyed words, hopes Jason will see the surface only, and her wish is more than granted; Jason sees only that pc part of the surface which he wishes to see." In the closing scene of the Leranian episode, Hypsipyle asks Jason for some instructions should she have a child. He replies that if it is a boy and he himself does not return home, she ought to send the youth to lolcus to be a comfort to Jason's parents. Jason has asked the one thing which the queen would probably not do. The whole purpose for admitting the men was to produce offspring for the future survival of the women on the island. But

OIL D. Levin, Apollonius' Argonautica 77“78* ^ E . George, Hermes 100 (1972) GO. .He continues that "Jason, in fact, appears as a parody of a herald. He will simply transmit the message, the poet makes us feel, and leave himself out of it." 100

since Jason believed her story that the male children, mxCSiov y£voq . .. ficpcev (1.824-825)* were released to the men who moved to Thrace, perhaps he expected Hypsipyle to

send her son, ficposvcx 7taT5a (I.9 0 5 ), to his parents- The reader knows, however, that his request is futile- The Lemnian episode is the first adventure of the outward voyage and it is conceptually derivative from Aristophanlc comedy- The prominence of its location in the epic and its paralleling of several extant plays is an indication of the importance of generic experimentation and mixing in the Argonautica, as well as the borrowing of specific techniques and practices. Apollonius shows early that his poem will be playful with literary tradi­ tion and principles in much the same way as Callimachean poetry. Y«re may ask why the poet chose to parody the Aris- tophanic premise of feminine authority in the state. The myth itself may have suggested this approach to him; it at least provided the setting for such a treatment- How­ ever, the imitation of an Aristophanic situation, which is further developed by comedic devices, would make the episode quite humorous to the informed reader, ancient or modern. Beyond its purposes as a reductio ad absurdum, which is often the aim of parody, the treatment of the Lemnian episode is perhaps aimed at amusing the reader and making humorous the sort of encounter which takes place on the 101 island. The humor of the adventure has to some extent pc been appreciated by P. Stoessl. Apollonius is demon­ strating the need for co-operation between men and women an arrangement which will become central in the second half of the poem. He makes his reader enjoy the resolution of the Lemnians' troubles while he establishes Jason's chief dpsTT) and sets right the natural relationship be­ tween men and women. It is a popular critical opinion that the purpose of the Lemnian story in the Argonautica is to provide a counterpoise to the Medea episode. It is interesting to contrast the two episodes. The mainspring of events on

Lemnos is yXiwuv '(tiepov (1.850) 9 not gpWQ/epog as in the Oolchian adventure. The one mention of epoQ in Book 1 is part of the motivation for the' women's old crime. The men felt an excessive passion for their Thracian captives, Anidc&eaoL ^P^X^v 'epov, (1.612-615) The desires and passions of the Lemnian women are not at­ tributable to fierce and destructive love; they are as simple as biology. Their result is procreation, not tra­ gedy and death. The comedy in this episode underlines the necessity and naturalness of the desires and the relation­ ships between the Argonauts and the Lemnian women. The

Stoessl, Interpretationen 49* 102 reader can enjoy and perhaps relate to the feelings of ' the women, while the madness that drives Medea (o 5?v.oq epu)Q, 5-297) is an alien emotion, one that the reader can only observe from a distant vantage point. The terrible consequences of the Colchian episode are all the more stark » by comparison to the humorous and trivial events on Lemnos. It should be briefly noted that in the structure of the poem this portion contrasts sharply with what follows. The defeat of the giants and the tragic slaughter of the Loliones are completely opposite in tone to the Lemnian episode. The juxtaposition of humor and terrible sadness which these two adventures exemplify is jarring in its effect. The characterization of Heracles presents us the op­ portunity to observe how the poet uses parodial and comic effects to fulfil a specific purpose in a portrayal. Her­ acles is a parody of the traditional heroes of epic. He is endowed with the physical magnitude and strength, self- reliance and independence, courage, etc., which a compo— site Homeric hero might be expected to possess. Several conventional, comic characteristics, such as drunkenness and boistorousness, are not attributed to Heracles but to Idas, his fellow-hero and foil. So, Idas functions in the poem to represent those traditional attributes which would make Heracles too i*idiculous and trivial to be taken serious— 103

1y as an alternative to Jason. Prom the beginning Heracles stands in contrast to Jason, the modern hero. Yet, at the end of the epic the old style of heroism, as Heracles represents it, has proved to be unviable and the hero is thoroughly discredited.^? Thus, the parody shows the weakness of archaic virtues. Heracles* nature is revealed in a series of episodes which deal with the appearance and behavior of the man himself, the view others have of him, and his success in defeating foes. In several of these situations, the poet uses comic effects to undermine the heroic prestige accorded Heracles. This is not the gentle humor of the Lemnian episode at which the reader smiles to recognize something of himself; rather, it is laughter 28 enjoyed at the expense of its object. The reader may not always be aware of the subtle evo­ lution of Heracles* characterization at the hands of the poet. Nonetheless, Apollonius is deliberate in his initial presentation and he continues relentlessly to compel the

^?Some readers recognize that Heracles is disparaged in the poem. For example, G. Karl Galin3ky, The Heracles Theme 109, 11 So Heracles appears among the Hellenistic ci- iizen-heroes of the Argonautica like a solitary mastodon left-over from the paleolithic world..." Yet the role of parody in the treatment of Heracles has received little attention. OQ 1 ‘ As Galinsky discusses in The Heracles Theme, Hera­ cles was a traditionally coinic figure. Many of those traits which made him a laughing-stock like, drunkenness, are attri­ buted by Apollonius to Idas. Rather the heroic attributes of Heracles are ridicules in the Argonautica. 104

reader to modify his opinion of the hero until the final condemnation of him comes 4-00 lines from the end of the po e m . ^ The method the poet uses is to present Heracles early in Book 1 and to introduce, one by one, his physical and psychological traits, those familiar in literature and myth, which are not damnable or out of place in themselves. However, as the poem progresses and Heracles participates in the action of the story, we see that these character­ istics are extreme. He becomes an outlandish, grotesque figure because of the excessiveness of virtually his every attribute. Finally, the boundaries in his nature that separate animal from human from divine are all blurred and Heracles stands as an impossible character. At the end of Book 4* we understand why the poet removed him from the main course of the epic early on. One of the several techniques Apollonius employs in portraying Heracles could be termed Heductio ad ridiculum. A peculiar characteristic of the hero is shown by his be­ havior in a situation or the poet attributes it to him in a direct, descriptive statement. Later, in consequence of possessing that trait, the hero behaves comically or ap­ pears in an absurd light, usually demonstrating the unsuit-

^Consider for example the adjectives applied to Hera­ cles. In Book 1 he is described as KpaTEp6cppovoq (122), BpaoGv (34-1, 1516), and meAujpiov (124-2). In Book A, Aegle, who speaks, I believe, the poet's final judgment, calls ... Heracles huvtoctoq (1455)* 6\oumxa'OQ (1457)? (14-58), and 7tapx

ability of his presence to the voyage of the Argo. Thus, comic effects undermine Heracles' prestige in the story. They do not enhance him or make us empathetic. As our esteem of his heroism sinks, we begin to feel that he is absurd in the Argonautic company. The primary attribute of Heracles is great strength. Apollonius finds a number of occasions to emphasize the centrality of strength of his heroism. Then, he points out that it exceeds that of the average hero and, finally, that it may sometimes be ineffectual. The first mention of the hero is only as the possessor of 0£tiv (1.122). A similar statement is made at 1.551—552, \L&aa<$ 6* ‘AykoCoq jx^ya te o0£voq f HpaH\TioQ//'£Cotvov,.. • . which depersonalizes him while underlining his greatest asset. In describing the Argonauts or their actions, the poet shows that Heracles is exceptional, above the average, in his brawn, e.g., 1.196-198, 1.594-4-01, and 3-1251-1254-. His brute strength is demonstrated in the sacrifice scene at the boarding of the Argo where the second strongest man in the crew, Ancaeus, simply cuts his victim's throat with an axe, but Heracles smashes his victim's skull with a club (1.425-4-31)

^(x. Mooney's statement, Argonautica 77* n.122, that "such periphrases are common" does not lessen their liter­ ary effect. ^D. Levin, "Apollonius' Heracles," CJ 67 (1971) 23, notes the two different modes of slaying tKe sacrifice victims. 106

Having established, the hero's might, Apollonius makes two points about it. First, Heracles' strength alone does not always prevail. In the battle with the Gegenes (1.989*" 1011) Heracles faces the enemy single-handedly and, although he shoots down many, he does not defeat them. The rest of the heroes come running up to win the battle. The poet ironically remarks in an aside that

6ti Y&p itou >ta\ wsTvcx 0 s a T p & 9ev a l v a TtfiXwpot

"Hpp, Ztivoq &koi,t l q , &£0\i,ov * HpotKA?i i * (1.996-997) Apollonius is parodying the Twelve Labors by suggesting that these neanderthaloid giants, whom the crew cut down as though they were felling trees (1.1003-1009), constitute 32 a Thirteenth LaborK The hero does not complete this task alone, even with his strength. Second, when strength is used without control, the result can be to make one powerless and laughable. A sin­ gle devastating passage serves as the main illustration of this (1.1133-1171)• As the Argonauts are rowing, a contest develops, 'ipiQ.. ,6p60vvev (1153), to see who can row the longest. On a calm sea they drive the ship forward, h\&ac.o~ mov £7tt7rp6//vfja ptp (1156-1157)* rapidly. But when' the

^Apollonius is aware that there were twelve labors. In the catalog Heracles is described as literally dropping his fourth labor (the Erymanthian boar) to ioin the expe­ tition. The speech of Glaucus (1.1315-1320) says that he must complete the full twelve: ol [xotp* • kKrik^aoii (loy^ovTa 6v66eKa tc& vtcxq d ^ 0 A o v g e ^The poet tells us in a later passage that might alone did not enable Heracles to overcome the birds of Ares, 1 0 7

wind rises, everyone exhausted, stops rowing except Heracles,

who continues with all his might, n&pte'I x^ipSiv (1162). His efforts threaten to tear the ship apart, yet he does not stop. Suddenly,

6ti t o t ', dvoxAt^wv tstptix6t o q otdjiaTOQ 6\h o Cq ,

Us

duct 6 ' I ^ eto oty?

raxuTcxtvcov, xe^PEQ Y^p drjOecrov ^ipeueouaai,. (1170-1171) For the mighty one has been foiled by a stick of wood and he is left without recourse in speech or action. Thus his — istrength is fallible and even dangerous to the men of the Argo . The humor manifest in this scene is recognized by Edward Phinney, but he does not speculate on the purpose for it or elaborate on our opinion of the hero as a result of seeing him in such a situation.^ Hermann Frankel comes closer to appreciating that such an incident has implica­ tions for the hero*s image. "Gewiss, dies ist nur ein un~ bedeutender Zwischenfall, eher humorvoll als ernst; aber

yap 'HpotK\£r)Q.. . / / . . ,'eaQsve... (2.1 0 5 2 -1 0 5 3 ) ; thus we are given the description of the hero shaking his bronze rattle to frighten the bird3. ^ E . Phinney, A-pollonius Rhodius 55* 108

in Fortgang der Handlung wird er zum Anlass und Vorspiel flir eine schlimmere Verurteilung des z&hen, durchsatzigen

Helden zur Ohnmaclit.For our purposes the broken oar episode fits well into the poet's program for developing Heracles' characterization. All his might is brought to naught• Apollonius is concerned not only with the hero's strength. Might is usually a corollary of great size and the physical magnitude of Heracles is noted. As early as the catalog of Book 1 we read that Heracles threw the Erymanthian boar from his great back, p.EY&\u)v dusoeCaaTO v6.twv (1.129). In a later passage he has occasion to lean on his wide shoulder, tv 5e TcXaruv 3hiov Spstoev (1.1198). He is hugo, neX&piov (1.1242). What is the consequence of such great size? The poet shows us once that it is a mat­ ter to be reckoned with. As Heracles boards the Argo, the ship sinks low in the water under his feet, ...nat ol &vsp0e

tcooolv {menXGoOr\ vti'oq -up Smug (1.532-533). The idea is a comic one although potentially dangerous to the well-being of other passengers. Phinney sees the humor of this inci­ dent as carried over from the tradition of an immense hero who was a comic figure. This same Heracles, however, who was qualified to be the leader of the Argonauts because of his strength and experience, had also been characterized in the mythological tradition

^ H . Frankel, MusHelv 14 (1957) 15. 109

"by grotesque, Gargantuan, and often comic traits, and this humorous side of Heracles it also represented by Apollonius* When Her­ acles takes his place at an oar, we read that "the keel of the ship underfoot sank deep" (1.552-533).56 While this observation has merit, the purpose of this in­ cident within the context of the poem is to show how in­ congruous Heracles is in the Argonautic company. The idea of a single man weighing down a ship as large as the Argo is ludicrous. This use of comic exaggeration, along with the others we have observed, sets Heracles apart and prepares for his physical removal from the story. Once again as in the Lemnian episode, Apollonius is forcing us to imagine the real consequences of traditional premises. The Hylas episode takes the reader by surprise. Her­ acles1 frenzied reactions seem disproportionate to the situation. We see him transformed into a maddened animal. The comic parody in Heracles' depiction now turns into bitter ridicule as we see him lose control of himself. Phinney*s analysis of this episode deserves to be quoted here: Just as the Lemnian affair was described in a comically suggestive manner, so (I now believe) was the affiliation betv/een Hylas and Heracles intended to be ironically humorous... There is presently a consensus,among certain scholars that in Apollonius, as in Theocritus* Idyll 15, Hylas was the beloved p.et;p&Hiov of Heracles and also of Polyphemus, both of whom were overly

^ E . Phinney, Apollonius Rhodius 54— 55• 110

crazed by his abduction* Only Polyphemus, who has left his comrades behind in camp, heard Hylas* cry and was panicked. This mighty hero (^pO)Q, 1.1240) howled (psydA* Hare ye v ,1.1248) and stalked around in a circle (&p

Polyphemus calls cfTuyepov t o i & x o q (1.1257)- The bellow­ ing, galloping creature is the very man which the crew 38 wanted to elect leader of the expedition. Clearly the poet is playing upon the tradition about Heracles' fits of violent madness. The tragic consequences of Hera's wrath­ ful enmity are well known from literature, particularly

57E. Phinney, TAPA 98 (1967) 531-552. There is ano­ ther ironic aspect. B. Levin, CJ 67 (1971) 34, "he [G. Lawall] has failed to take note of an ironical element in the image which makes Polyphemus, whose goal is to effect a rescue, the analogue rather of a predatory aggressor, Hylas the analog of the aggressor’s victim to be." ^®J. Collins, "The Vindication of Jason," Studies in Book One of the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius (.hiss'. Columbia 19^/T~thinlcs that in this episode the poet begins to break down the hero's image as leader by disparaging his leadership abilities. The process, as X hope to have shown, begins much earlier. Collins is not concerned with humor. from Euripides' worlc, Apollonius is making a formerly tragic behavior appear to be ludicrous and absurd. He attributes a trivial cause to the rampaging outburst and shows the utterly selfish interest of Heracles. Our view of Heracles is influenced greatly by the simile of the raging bull (1.1265—1272). The absurdity of the situation is evident if the comparison is read closely. The analogy proposed is that the hero is a bull, an animal of great strength and size, and the loss of Hy­ las is a horsefly, the antithesis in the animal kingdom of the bull. The small, but annoying, nature of the boy's disappareance is thus implied. Yet, the bite of the in­ sect has an incredible effect on his mighty victimI The bull forgets all that is familiar and sets off on an erra­ tic and aimless rampage. The incident is tragicomic. We can see that the poet's treatment is becoming acerbic and disapproving. We may laugh at the ridiculous behavior of the bull which is prompted by such a minor creature, but the rampant fury of the bull is frightening. The simile shows how dangerous and irrational Heracles can be. Two points should be made about this episode, espe­ cially its central simile: its dominant effect is not pathos and the comic elements are not so diminished that it is tragic. It is difficult to see Heracles as pathetic because his relationship with Hylas has not been established 112 sufficiently to make us appreciate the consequences of .. its interruption* He runs amok like a stung bull; it is difficult to feel pity or sympathy for such behavior when its emotional or psychological bases are unknown. The unleashed might of a bull, which does not heed the herdsmen or the herd (1.1266-1267), is dangerous to those in the vicinity. Even the potential pathos in the fall of the great at the hands of the lowly is lacking here. This Goliath has been robbed by a lovestruck water nymph. More importantly, the overall tone of the episode is not tra­ gic. The results of the event are not sad for those in­ volved, -unlike the tradition in which Heracles slays his family. Polyphemus and Heracles have their appointed dis- tinies to fulfil and the nymph sates her desire for Hylas (1.1315-1525)• There is no indication that this will be unpleasant for Hylas, either. Life may even be better considering the behavior of Heracles, who was also the murderer of Hylas* father (1.1211-1220). As we read the Hylas episode we must ask what prepar­ ation has preceded in the poem for such a display of ex­ treme actions. The relationship between Heracles and Hylas has not been adequately established to allow us an imme­ diate understanding of the hero’s reaction. Before the purpose of the incident can be discerned, an examination is neeessar/y to see which elements of the hero's character- 115

ization were introduced earlier to lay the foundation for what occurs in 1.1261-1272. His bestial nature could be inferred from the simile of the Earthborn who throw up a

blockade tcovtiov o X& te 0rjpa \ox^M-evot £v6ov £6vtcx (1.991), if we think of Heracles as the beast within. Action with­ out proper reasoning is suggested in the catalog where, upon hearing of the Argonautic voyage, he throws down the Erymanthian boar and sets off uapew v6ov ’EupuBrjoc^l.l^O). But the primary motivation in the Hero's reaction to the abduction is his homosexuality. Apollonius has intima­ ted previously in the poem that Heracles prefers the company of men (1.855-856, 1.992-995). His behavior at the loss of Hylas confirms the fact and shows by mockery the results of his passion. Why has the poet made Heracles' homosexuality so ri­ diculous in its consequences? The continued presence of the hero would never have allowed events in Colchis to un­ fold as they do. The fate of the crew will depend on di­ plomacy and the aid of a love-crazed maiden, a situation which could hardly have arisen if Heracles still exercised the influence he had in the Lemnian episode. In fact it is in his speech on Lemnos that Apollonius shov/s that the hero's sarcastic attitude toward foreign women and the he­ terosexual activities (like begetting children) will pre­ vail, if he remains on the scene.^ So, Heracles is aban- ^ C . Beye, GKBS 10 (1969) 51-55* discusses Heracles as anti-hero and heterosexuality as Jason's dpeTT). 114 doned after the poet has shown, his peculiar, emotional excess toward Hylas. In 1.1261-1272 the hero runs wild. As the object of our scorn, he gets no sympathy, although the poet could have elicited that it he wanted. The reader has by now become suspicious of his type of hero­ ism and Apollonius explicitly condemns his continued pre­ sence among the Argonauts. The abandonment of Heracles is unlikely and ironic in itself. The poet goes to some lengths to describe the time, the weather, and the casting off operation (1.1273-1277)- The crew even travelled some distance,

rpAe 6' &7C* (Jcktpq (1.1278), before they noticed that Hera­ cles was missing. Didn’t they suspect something when the ship failed to sink down in the water as usual that morn­ ing? Apparently not. The hero and his friends are not missed for quite a while, an ironic comment on either the alertness of the crew or Heracles* real importance to them. The last judgment on Heracles comes in the speech of Aegle (4.1450-1449) describing the robbery of the Hbsper- ides. The exaggerated descriptions in this passage are tinged with bitterness. The goddess relates how the hero killed the serpent and stole the apples (1.1452-1455)- His arrogance and appearance have become their superla­ tive worst (1.1456-1457)- He is shaggy, probably like the untanned lion's skin he wears (1.1457-1459)* We may 115

smile to read that he still behaves like a giant when he kicks open a rock to start a gushing spring (1*1444-1446), but he becomes grotesquely animal as he gulps down the water he has found, (poppd&t laoq eTct-TipoTteo&v (1*1449)* Such a picture of Heracles supports the notion that the 40 journey of the Argo was better completed without him. The parting glimpse of Heracles in the epic (1.1478-1480) indicates that he does not belong to the heroic milieu of the Argonauts. He is as far removed from the modern world as are the heavenly bodies from the Libyan desert. The parodial and comic treatment of Heraclean heroism has far reaching implications for our understanding of the poem, especially the Fourth Book. One final comic aspect of Heracles* portrayal lies in the view other characters have of him. Several situa­ tions arise in which we see the beliefs and expectations of others centering on him. In 1-5:32-349, when the crew has

40 Concerning this description of Heracles, D. Levin, CJ 67 (1971) 24, states that the "truly bestial character who flopped on his belly and uninhibitedly assuaged his thirst at a water-hole of his own creation” is not Apol­ lonius* Heracles. Rather, he say3, he is the perception of the Hesperides. I disagree with this contention be­ cause Apollonius has carefully laid the precedents for such behavior in the poem. Furthermore, the poet offers no al­ ternative to the Hesperides* account and no explanation which would mitigate our negative, reaction to the passage* We may believe the physical evidence of the dead serpent as attesting to the truth of the maiden's account. Finally, there would bo no point in presenting a description valid only in the minds of the Hesperides. The hero we hear about is Apollonius'• 116 assembled at last, Jason urges them to choose a leader, tov ficptOTov.. .//Spxcqxov (1.338-339), in whose care will be the settling of disputes and making of agreements with foreigners* The crew unanimously, p.Lrj. • .durrj (1.34-2), elects Heracles. This is surprising since the crew must know his reputation for deciding quarrels. It is obvious what qualities they want in a leader and what sort of agreements, ovvdscrtaQ (1.54-0), they expect to make along the way. Then, in three passages which follow the hero's aban­ donment among the Mysians (2.14-5-153» 2.771-801, 3*1231- 1234-) the poet subtly invites us to speculate on what the voyage (and, hence, his poem) would have been like if Her­ acles had stayed on board. In all three passages, the narrator hypothesizes about what Heracles would have done in some recent difficulty or reminisces about the great de­ vastation he has wreaked in the past. Solutions to troubles at hand could have been found more swiftly and executed more effectively, if only the hero had been present. The poet deliberately encourages the reader to imagine the voy­ age with Heracles as a permanent character. It is as though he is saying, "Imagine this..." We find the pros­ pect of this alterurn poema instructive and ironically amu­ sing, as Apollonius intends. The story would be monotonous and unpoetic in its succinctness. The Argo .would land, 11?

Heracles would defeat the foe with great bloodshed, and 41 the crew would leave a devastated land. Apollonius at­ tests that such a pattern would dominate the journey. In connection with the portrayal of Heracles, the appearance of Idas in the poem should be mentioned. For Idas' characterization is'not only essentially comic; it also exhibits many of the traditional attributes which we might have expected in Heracles. Thus, the traditional Heraclean figure is being parodied. He also embodies in a humorous way many of the same heroic traits of the old kind of hero. He is arrogant, Snr£p0ioQ (1.151)» and over­ bold, xspL0apa£eQ (1.152). Idas scorns Jason when he falls into depression. He boasts blasphemously that he will protect Jason even if a god should oppose him. Then, he drains a cup of unmixed wine dribbling it on himself like an uncouth buffoon* When Idmon warns him about defy­ ing the gods, Idas ridicules the prophet. He rarely speaks in normal tones; but must be loud as he speaks with p,ey(5c\^

6ml (1.462, 5*557) or tn b* tyEXaaasv &br\v (1.485). Idas •personifies in these ways the worst characteristics of a boor. He comes closer than any figure in the poem to ex­ emplifying the true comic spirit. We do not hate him; he is only amusing and makes a telling contrast to the other

^ G . Galinsky, Heracles 112, "If Herakles had stayed, the Argonauts' labours.*.would have been resolved with ease, and Apollonius would have defeated one essential purpose of his epic..." 118

Argonauts. In Book 3 Idas appears to be constantly enraged:

^iraXaaTrjoaQ (3*557)? Sancov x ^ ov (3*1170)? 6 x o T q fiqioxov >tox£wv (3*1252). His reaction to the plan to get Medea's aid is vaguely reminiscent of Ihersites' speech to Agamem­ non. His opposition is in vain, as it had to be. The final disposal of Idas comes in much the same manner as Heracles breaking his oar:

atxocp 6 xoTq 6cn,oxov hox£o>v ’AfpapriioQ "iSat;

w6(J)s reap' o t p t a x o v ^Cq>e:L* & \ x o 6* &Humf\ £auoxY]p ccxp,ovoQ ftaxe TtaXuvximsQ, ... (3*1252-1254) This is his last appearance in the poem. Thus, Idas who is like a comedic Heracles in some respects, also em­ bodies the values and attitudes of the older heroism. He opposes relying on others for help in achieving his goals. Just as his protest against Medea's magical help is fruit­ less, so is he out of place in the world of Jason. Idas is a comic, but eventually impotent figure. It is as though he is subjected by the poet to some of the laughter which Heracles was spared, since Heracles could not be made a totally ridiculous figure and still be a serious representative of old heroism. Another aspect of ,the poem which is touched with a parodial spirit is th-i portrayal of certain divine figures. In Books 1 and 2 the plot advances little with the assis- 119

tance of -the divine machinery which was available to the poet from a long epic tradition. The personalities of the gods do not even have an opportunity to suggest them­ selves, Won© of the twelve Olympians speaks a word of ILO dialogue in the first half of the poem. The wishes of heaven are expressed in prophecies by seers and speeches by lesser divinities like Glaucus and Iris* The major gods appear as actors with silent parts, e.g,, Athena pushes the ship through the rocks, Apollo briefly appears on Thynias, etc. Only when the Argo has safely reached the mouth of the Phasis and the crew rests temporarily from travels, does the poet begin to reveal the character of the gods, A meeting of the Olympians in council is a tradi­ tional feature of Homeric epic. Apollonius chooses a few aspects of such scenes to exaggerate and set askew. His manipulation of characterisations familiar from■precedential epic sources creates surprised and amused reactions in the reader. Particularly effective is the inappropriateness of the divine personalities with their overall role which was adopted from the machinery of the Iliad and Odyssey, The incongruity between the concept of godhead and the ladies we observe in Book 3 is startling, and Apollonius is clearly creating the incongruity by playing upon the expec-

ZlP Apollonius notes the twelve as a group of recogni­ zable membership at 2,551- 120 tations of his audience of literati. It is possible that the domesticity and mundanity which characterizes the goddesses shows the influence of Middle and New Comedy. The interests in mythological burlesque, love stories, and intrigues among slaves which developed in post-Apistopha- nic comedy could have directly influenced the tone and content of the goddesses' meeting. The three Olympians we meet are as likely taken from the comedic stage as they are the Ptolemaic court. Such borrowing from an unre­ lated genre would be very much in keeping with the experi­ mental and playful tendencies of Apollonius, as we have noted them. Apollonius is selective in giving glimpses into hea­ ven. Just three goddesses appear in the vignette which begins Book 3. It is the only scene of the epic which is set in the home of the immortals, presumably Olympus, and it is the only scene where major divine figures address one 4-3 another. ^ A reader might expect this scene to be a ser­ ious depiction, which would lead to an understanding of godhead in the Argonautica, since the Homeric pantheon and its behaviors have in general been subsumed by the first two Books of the epic. The characterizations in

■^In Books 3 and 4- goddesses' use direct address se­ veral times. Hera, disguised as a crow, speaks to Mopsus; Artemis, as the Moon v/atching Medea flee her home, makes a short speech; Hera instructs Iris to go to Thetis and talks to Thetis in turn. No male deity speaks on any oc­ casion in the Argonautlea. 121

5.6-166 may be a surprise. The personalities and rela­ tionships of Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, and Eros are de­ scribed with fine humor. The whole passage contains some excellent uses of comic irony. The poet seems to take the opportunity to underline the frivolity of divinity. L. Gian- grande has called this scene a parody of those scenes in the Odyssey "where gods, just like men, reveal their spi­ ritual, intellectual or moral flaws due to an excess of l\ h loyalty to, and empathy with a mortal favorite." Paro- dial elements are an important feature of the episode and contribute to its comic tone. A review of the scenario will be helpful to our dis­ cussion. Hera and Athena draw apart from the other gods to discuss the fate of the Argonauts. There is no reason for their secrecy since no divine opposition has arisen to the success of the voyage. ^ The poet chooses to make them conspiratorial, however. Hera first asks Athena whp.t the heroes are to do in the face of Aeetes* arrogance— take the fleece or negotiate? Athena replies that she was ;}ust wondering that herself, but she is not yet ready to commit herself to any of the plans she has thought of.

hJjL Ii. Giangrande, The U3e of Spoudaiogeloion in Gree and Roman Literature (The Hague 1972,) 4-9. ^ L . Klein, ".Die Gottertechnik in den Argonautika des Apollonios Hhodios," Ph 86 (1950/51) 24-9, notes that none of the obstacles which the heroes must face is set up by the g o d 3 . 122

After a pensive moment Hera suggests that they go to Cy- pris' house to see if she would persuade her son Eros to charm Medea for Jason*s sake. The goddesses have come up with no real plan to help the heroes, hut they have some vague idea that Jason will carry the fleece back to Greece at Medea's prompting, £vveatr]cn,v (5-29). The proposal pleases Athena even though, she admits modestly, she is a stranger to the passions of love. Athena asks Hera to do 4-6 the talking when they get to Cypris* house. Such a char­ acterization of Athena is an amusing reversal from the usual one familiar in literature. Her indecision and re­ ticence are incongruous in the Athena of tradition and of the Argonautica. She has acted vigorously in the first half of the poem to get the Argo underway and to insure a safe trip.^ The two goddesses go to Cypris where they encounter no majestic deity, but a charming hausfrau. Her husband, Hephaestus, got up earlier, ?ipL (3.4-1), and went to work at the forge. His wife, getting a late start, sits alone lie A. Hurst, Apollonios de Rhodes Maniere et Coher­ ence (Geneva 1967) 81-82, notes tnat both times ll¥ra ad­ dresses her, Athena does not make an adequate response. He suspects that the poet is not entirely serious in por­ traying the goddesses. "Athena no repond que par l'embarras: le premiere fois parce qu'une quantite de solutions se presentent (a moins qu'Apollonios n'ironise!), la seconds parce qu'elle ne sait rein de 1*amour." ^Ii. Klein, Ph 86 (1950/31) 32, who notes no humorous aspects in the scene, is hard put to explain the helpless­ ness of Hera and Athena. "Wir mogen uns allerdings wundern 123 trying to fix her hair. When she sees the visitors, Cypris seats them and with mild sarcasm asks what finally brought such important persons to her home. Hera, as requested, speaks first. She states her concern for the Argonauts, especially Jason. She says she would save him from hell itself so that he can bring doom to Pelias. The poet shows in her hyperbolic statement that revenge for the slight to her pride is Hera’s chief motivation for pro­ tecting the Argo's crew. Hera continues that she also has an old affection for Jason. Once, in old crone's dis­ guise , she was carried by him across the Anaurus when wintry streams, xet|iappoL (3 »7 1 )» were rushing down the the mountains. The reader may doubt that Hera is fond of Jason merely for his kindness to old ladies. For, the poet said in the opening of Book 1 that Jason lost his shoe crossing the wintry streams of the Anaurus^ xe

*Ava

quietly with her son so that he will bewitch Medea. Cyr pris replies that Eros does not respect her and the other two would get better co-operation from him. It seems that mother and son have been arguing. The distraught mother threatened to break his bows and arrows; her son retorted that she would blame herself later. Such a quarrel in the Olympian setting is amusing to both the goddesses and the reader. Although Apollonius has foreshadowed that Eros is an unruly creature ($.26), this scene of familial bicker­ ing provides a good introduction to the roguish boy. Cy­ pris promises to persuade him to go to Medea. The two goddesses depart and Cypris sets out to find her child. She comes upon him in the garden of Zeus, and, just as she was observed by her visitors, she watches her 48 child as he plays at dice with Ganymede. Greedy, tidpyoq (3.120), Eros stands in the flush of victory clutch ing dice while Ganymede sits in silence, takes his last throw, and loses. Cypris approaches and scolds him for cheating his innocent playmate. Then, she entices her son into obedience by promising him a wonderful toy if he will go to Colchis. It is startling to realize that this is the only control Cypris can exercise over her son. She

48 II. Eranlcel, Noten 336, " ...dass er wird sein Ereund sich unbeobacbter glauben (vgl. Vs. 126f.), erhoht ihren unbefangenen Reis (durch den Ganymed Zeus bezaubert hat, Vs. 115-17). Ebenso, rebaulich fur Leser war das Bild von Aphrodite im NegligS (Vs. 45-47)." 125 must; bribe bim! In child's fashion Eros pleads for the toy before he does the task, Cypris swears he' will have it when he has shot Medea. After counting his ill-gotten booty, Eros gives the dice to his mother and sets off for Colchis. We see that he is truly greedy, Apollonius uses this single Olympian scene as a show­ case for his creations. He is underlining the nature of the gods in his poem. As literary figures these charac­ ters are endearing, as gods they are trivial. Over and over the poet stresses the parodoxical idea of helpless gods. Hera and Athena are more bourgeois than lofty, scarcely wielders of cosmic power. Cypris is a picture of domesticity. Eros is a beautiful, spoiled child who has no childish innocence. The goddesses* scheme to help the Argonauts is circuitous and uncertain. They merely pass the project along. Many critics say that these fi­ gures are like aristocratic members of the Ptolemaic court. Within the context of the poem, however, they are much like the mortal women. It is interesting to compare them to the Lemnians or Arete. In 3*6-166, therefore, the gods appear for our amuse­ ment and delight. The humorous treatment here, however, also has serious implications for their role in the poem. Their subsequent interference in the poem must be viewed in terms of what we have learned about their vindictive­ 126 ness and frivolity. These society matrons hold in their hands the fate of the Argonauts and Medea* ' They will cause great suffering for the lovestruck Medea and eventually for Pelias. Their meddling will cause upheavals in the lives of mortals down below. The delightful interactions of the divinities which we witness have as their results treachery, suffering, and murder. Thus, in Books 3 and LV the amusement which we feel at seeing these ladies dissi­ pates when the consequences of their deeds become clear. The import of these characterizations is sobering* These are immortals who control the lives of men. On them de­ pends the course of life and existence itself for some. Such sex*ious implications of the Olympian scene are not apparent as we read it, perhaps. The humor of the scene dominates our attention and we enjoy what seems to be an amusing interlude. However, as in the case of the Lemnians and Heracles, the actions depicted in parodial and comic treatments have serious effects in our ultimate under­ standing of the poem. Especially as in the case of Hera­ cles, when the consequences of deeds become clear, the seemingly comic becomes quite serious and our amusement is dissipated by concern. The comic effects of this episode are based on several devices: the juxtaposition of the divine and the common­ place, plays on traditional expectations of these person­ 127 alities, the *naughty boy' characterisation of Eros, and irony.^ Irony is present in both the text of the scene and in its implications for the remainder of the poem. Within the passage H. Frankel finds what he calls the "Ironie der Begebnisse — eine untragische Ironie des Mis- verhaltnisses oder des Misverstandnisses Oder des wind- schiefen An-einandervorbei, weil jeder im eigenera V/essen *50 und in den eigenen Sorgen verfangen ist. . . " ^ He goes on to explain that in the visit to Aphrodite the two parties are each too incompatable to understand one another. Thus, the feelings which Hera expresses to Aphrodite,

KspT0 |i£elq , voHv 6e h£ap ouvoptvexai, cct^. (5*56) are later expressed by Aphrodite to Hera,

"AAAolq ixkyeoL T&iia ^ (3*102) At Hera's strong statement of support for Jason, Aphrodite does not understand what is desired of her. In turn, Hera and Athena do not understand that a simple word from Aphro­ dite to Eros will not be enough. So, Frankel says, the characters are too dissimilar for communication and their efforts to speak to one another are ironical. ^Wilamowitz, Hellenistische Dichtung 182, says of Eros and Ganymede "...eine Szene, die mit denselben Farben gemalt ist wic der.Artemishymnus des Kalliraachos, und die man auch als gelungen bezeichnen darf, wenn sie auch den schlkaften Ton des Vorbildes nicht erreicht." 5°H. ly&ikel, MusHelv V\- (1957) 18. ^ A. Hurst, Apollonios 82, notes this phenomenon as a part of the symmetry of~'the episode. 128

In the relationship to the rest of the epic, this scene emphasises the irony of the heroes* successful voyage.-' The manly heroes will have to depend on the love of a young girl in order to acquire the fleece. All the skills of the crew so carefully outlined in the catalog will not suffice for the tasks which face them in Colchis. Even the goddesses are not adequate to save the men except by turn­ ing to Love. Medea must save Jason so that he will some­ day take revenge on Pelias. This essay has considered three passages in the Ar­ gonaut ica which exemplify Apollonius' inclination to use in his own work features traditional in epic and non-epic genres and to treat these derivative episodes in a paro- dial and comic manner. The humor arising from such treat­ ments is not without purpose in the poem nor is it directed only toward the immediate response of the reader. The hand­ ling of these three passages works within the whole poem to direct and modify the opinions and perceptions of the reader. Especially in Book A these parodial and comic pas­ sages, which are quite humorous in themselves, will bear significantly on Apollonius' statements about women, hero­ ism, and the gods. What was humorous before will be serious in its implications for an interpretation of the Argonautica.

•^H. Pranks1, Noton 535-336, "Hinter elledem steht ein ^ tief ironischer Sachverhalt: der kuhne Abenteuer Jason ist fib seine grosse Holdentat, deren gottliche Exponenten eine Hera und Athena sind, auf die aartlichen Gefuhle eines jungen Madchens angewiesen, und somit auf den Wirkungsbereich von Aphrodite und Eros (vgl. 556—66)." CHAPTER XII DISCONTINUITY IN CHARACTERIZATIONS

The Arreonautica is divided into four Books, an ar­ rangement that is perhaps original Prom its first edition. The first two Books detail the Argo’s outward voyage, es­ pecially the adventures of her crew. The Third Book deals intensely with Jason and Medea. Its single setting is Col­ chis end the action is precipitated by a few major charac­ ters. Book 4 details the circumstances of the departure from Colchis and the return to Pagasae. Logically, it com­ prises one-half of the story of the Argonautic voyage, al­ though its 1800 lines do not fully balance Books 1 and 2. Book 4- could be expected to return to the dramatic level of the poem's first half after the climactic events in the court of Aeetes. The reader may anticipate a resolution which will satisfactorily conclude the plot by means of the familiar, well-oiled poetic machinery. Yet, in some fundamental aspects the Fourth Book is inconsistent with the rest of the Argonautica. The reader's expectation of symmetrical balance and narrative continuity is denied not only in terms of the ob­ vious criteria like length of episodes or geographical realism, but also in more subtle ways. This essay will explore one aspect of the inconsistency between Book 4- and 129 150 the other three Books — characterizations. Character por­ trayals undergo some surprising shifts in Book 4 which range from outright discontinuity to the proliferation of an entirely new category of character. Clearly, Apollonius continues to develop the personnel of his poem to its end, a fact which has great implications for any understanding of the Argonautica as a whole. This inquiry will examine the characters and roles of the Fourth Book. The figure with whom the poet deals most intimately in the outward voyage and the Colchian sojourn is Jason. Since his role is considered by many to be the poem's most important, he shoxild be the first subject studied here. Our analysis will show that Apollonius' characterization of Jason undergoes a startling discontinuity in Book 4-* The hero, who becomes quite familiar during the early adven­ tures, ceases to exhibit many facets of his personality which were so carefully displayed before. A process of growth and maturation, which was detectable in him pre­ viously, disappears. In fact, his whole development seem­ ingly goes into a decline. Jason's virtues and attributes appear to diminish to the point of insignificance and even his psychological being, once of great concern to the poet, scarcely merits mention. His capacity to make deci­ sions and take action is impaired. The hei’o became so im­ portant in the first 4000 lines of the Argonautica that his 131 lessened status in the last 1800 is remarkable by comparison. Once the scope and nature of the changes in Jason's characterization have been considered, the greater ques­ tion of his role in the poem can be re-evaluated. If it is found that the poet loses interest in Jason, any con­ ception of him as The Hero of the epic would have to be al­ tered. If, however, a no longer distinguished Jason mere­ ly retreats into the character of the collective hero, the crew, "a unit, chastened by the experiences of the outward voyage, bound together by the common sufferings of the re­ turn...,"'1' then, credence has been given to the theory that the Minyans as a group are the poem's hero. First the truth of the alleged discontinuity must be established; then a rationale for it can be sought. Several virtues are consistently ascribed to Jason during the journey to Colchis and in the Colchian stay it­ self. One of these is that he is a capable adversary, es­ pecially in battle. When fighting must take place, Jason is able and unreluctant to do his part. The death of Cy- zicus is an early indication of the ferocity which the hero can show in actual combat (1.1032-1055)• The poet, who is . quite deliberate and generally sparing in his use of epi- thets, associates the adjective &pfjioq warlike, with Jason. • «■ ' ' o T------J. Carspeclcen, "Apollonius Rhodius and the Homeric Epic," YCS 13 (1932; 115. 2 " J. Collins, Studies in Book One of the Argonautica of Apollonius Khod i us (hiss,r"‘Colum'bi a JL^&y) 4-5. says that ' &pf\ioc; As the only fitting epithet for Jason. 132

In the battles with the Bebrycian3, Jason is dpniog as he rushes upon the enemy (2.121—122). When Jason prepares to meet the challenges of Aeetes' contest, he is described in a simile as being like a warlike horse, dpfjiog Htxtcoq,

£s X66ijlsvoq TioXeiioio (3.1259)- The final assertion of his martial prowess and proclivities occurs as Jason en­ ters the Areion to meet the Oolchian king,

& \ 7 \ a (J.BV "Aps i

e'CheXoq , iiXKa. 6£ ttou xpucrocopcp *ATi6X\a)VL. (3 .1 2 8 2 —1283) With this statement the identification of Jason with war itself is made, so that there is no doubt that in fighting he is truly warlike. It should be noted, however, that physical combat need not be imminent for the poet to label the hero with this epithet. In a less literal sense, Jason can be called dprjiog in a peaceful, social setting. That adjective is applied to him when he accepts the position of leader for the expedition (1.349-550)- It is the first epithet given the hero in the poem and it clearly serves to balance

QpaoOg which becomes the customary epithet of Heracles.^ This usage shows that Jason is characteristically dppiOQ. Jason never fights in Book 4. Apollonius does not choose to display the hero's martial nature. This is not

Fr&nkel, Noten gu den Arreonautika de3 Aoollonios (Munich 1968), 67- Jason in never called Qpaouq which in the Argonautica seems to denote a certain aggressiveness. 153 to say that there are no opportunities Tor depicting Jason in a combatant situation. He is obviously kept out of the fight with the Colchian warriors after the assassination of Apsyrtus (4.489-491)* His only use of weapons in Book 4 is murdering Medea*s brother, hardly the act of a valiant man. There the poet compares Jason ignominiously to a pouTxmoQ (4-.468). At no point in the Book is Jason de­ scribed as dprjiOQ or anything else which would qualify his manliness. This facet of the hero's personality is either ignored or intentionally suppressed in Book 4. Another of Jason's attributes is an erotic attrac­ tiveness which has an amazing effect on women. Several com­ mentators cite this as Jason's chief heroic virtue. Among them are J. Carspecken and C. Beye who terms the hero's 4 peculiar dpsTn kis beautiful 11 sexuality." Apollonius indi­ cates often that Jason is handsome and pleasant to speak with, qualities which Hera increases to an extraordinary degree. His beauty, which is responsible for much of his attractiveness, is attested directly and indirectly. Twice the poet describes him as fair-haired, £ocv0oto waprja/roQ

Atcfovtbao (1.1084, 3*1017)*^ Once he is called hogA6q (3*960)

^J. Carspecken. YCS 13 (1952) 121-123. 0. Beye, "Jason as Love-hero in Apollonius' Argonautica," GXiBS 10 (1969) 43. ^The adjective £av06c; refers to hair several times in the Argonautica. The meaning is probabl7/ "blond." When Jason carries'the fleece baclc to the ship, it shines on his 124*

- a word also used of the color of the siderial glow with -

which he is identified in the Lemnian adventure (1 .7 7 8 ). Jason is beautiful even before Hera increases his hand­ someness. The description of him leaving the court of Aeetes proves that he had natural good looks and previews the effect they will have* on Medea:

Qeaneauov 6* tv Ttaoi p.ETempeTtEV Afaovoq uL6q

k &AA e X K ttt x a PtTeacriv . t n f cc& tu} 6 ' 8 |iij.a T a no6pr\

Ao£a uapa A.L7iapr]v axopfivn 0t|s i t o waAimTprjv,

HTjp axel o\±{)xovcf

own comrades are amazed (2 -9 -1-9 -9 2 5 )* Consequently, Medea,

as she delights in his appearance and speeches, jiopcprj t e hcx'i

atp-uACoiou \6 yoicrt,v (5*1141), cannot bear to tear herself away from the scene. The poet does not always tell outright the fact of Jason's aura and the responses it arouses. More than once, subtle poetic means, such as symbol and comparison, are used to express these aspects. Eor example, the hero's presence and bearing are twice compared to august Apollo

favOfiol Tiaprj Cat-v (4• 1 7 2 ;, presumably beard. Once the fleece as won this attribute is never mentioned again. This "fair­ ness" indicates that Jason is set apart from the others and that he is attrative to look at. 135

(1 .3 0 7 -3 1 0 , 3 -1 2 8 3 ) and through such associations the g hero becomes identified with that god. The effect of Jason on other women is indirectly depicted by the symbol of the star, used with reference to both Hypsipyle and Medea (1.774-781, 3.956-961). Numerous commentators have thoroughly discussed’these figures of speech so another analysis is not necessary. Suffice it to say that in the Lemnain episode the star (Jason) is a joy to the young woman who longs for a distant man and in the Colchian episode the star is beautiful but brings suffer­ ing as Jason is beautiful but brings distress, KdpocTov 6 e 6uatn.epov (3 .96 0 ). There is one additional indication of Jasonfs power over women. Early in the story there occurs a poignant scene where Iphias, an old priestess, meets Jason on his way to set sail from Pagasae. She kisses his hand and tries to speak, but she cannot (1.311-314). These actions by a priestess of Artemis need not be interpreted ero­ tically: however, the passage serves to show her fondness for Jason and her reaction to his impending departure. The scene is a harbinger of things to come. It is worth not­ ing that her behavior is similar to both Hypsipyle*s and Medea*s when they confront Jason. Apollonius is consistent,

6 J. Carspecken, YCS 13 (1952) 97, says in passing that Jason becomes the human symbol for Apollo. "The combined effect of the two similes is to make Jason a symbol for Apollo..." 136 therefore, in portraying the hero as extremely attractive and charismatic. His influence is especially powerful over unmarried women. Such a strong characteristic should appear throughout the epic* but it is not evident at all in the Fourth Book. The spell has certainly worn off Medea, for she seems to be free of the pangs of love when she leaves the palace. The poet clearly presents her actions as motivated by fear (4-. 11) and twice it is mentioned that she fled with r? her cousins, the sons of Phrixus (4.22, 4 .7 3 6 ).' Love for Jason is not a motivational factor when she plots to kill Apsyrtus or when she marries Jason. All indications are that, as far as Medea is concerned, Jason has lost that O irresistable charm. Aside from the relationship with Medea we should look

^H. Frankel, Notcn, 433, "Medea war schon im Begriff ihrem leben ein Fade ~za machen, aber Hera schenkte ihr den erloeenden Gedanken an eine Flucht (227

8 C.' Beye, GEBS 10 (1969) 52-53* says that Jason's sex­ uality triumphs“Tn the death of Apsyrtus, as the cloak in­ dicates. This cloak was a present from Hypsipyle to Jason. On it Dionysus had lain with Ariadne after she was deserted by Theseus (4.421-434). The point of this description has nothing to do v/ith "triumphant sexuality," but it is a very pointed bit of irony. Hypsipyle wa 3 being abandoned by Jason, as Theseus left Ariadne. What better parting gift than a robe on which the {jilted- Ki^l was united to a god? Jason was very willing to abandon Medea to her father's anger. If the cloak serves a purpose in the scene, it is to underline the hero's inconstant and exploitative na­ ture. A negative comment is being made about Jason. The cloak cannot reasonably be construed as an affirmation of Jason's victory over Medea. 137 for other signs of his beauth and charm, This search will be fruitless since in Booli 4 the poet creates no situation in which Jason exercises his &peTf| • When Jason meets wo­ men he has no effect on them at all, much less passionate arousal. Although he may be as handsome as he was when

Medea first saw him, his demeanor, appearance, and bearing are virtually without descriptive comment. It is interest­ ing that Jason*s presence has so little effect on Circe that she never addresses him or even refers to him by name. He is never hoc\6q. The star image is forgotten. His re­ lationship with Apollo is not suggested until nearly the close of the poem where it serves to introduce some aetio- logical material. Instead of the star or Apollo, Jason is compared to a young girl who catches moon beams on her dress, not a particularly masculine image (4-.167-171) Perhaps the growing strength of Medea emasculates Jason. At any rate, it is clear that the poet has avoided all men­ tion of the beauty Jason possessed. This silence is in stark contrast to the former significance it had. Book 4 contains another important change in the hero's portrayal. ^ Prom the very beginning of the Argonautica

Q Hurst, Apollonios de Rhodes Maniere et Coherence (Geneva 1967)* 11)5-106, discusses the parallelism of this simile and the speech of the'moon, Mene, at 1.57-65* ^Some changes are not so significant and their very subtlety makes them difficult to interpret. Por example, the adverb TxapapXnhriv is used of Jason’s speeches at 1.835* 138

the poet is concerned-to present a detailed psychological profile of the hero. Suelv treatment is not an outstanding feature of the other‘Argonauts* characterizations. The most emphasized aspects of his behavior are his reflec­ tive or depressed states and the perplexed helplessness he exhibits v/hen he is confronted with reality. Even be­ fore the Argo sets sail} the hero falls into a brooding mood which contrasts with the exuberance of the other Argo­ nauts who are enjoying a splendid party (1.4-50-461). While Jason may be concerned for the voyage, there seems to be no reason for him to be c*qiriX<*vJOQ. Xdmon has just prophesied a successful "venture (1.444-447) and the hero himself said that the prospects of the expedition were ex­ cellent. , .

OApoeL be auvr)tJ.oatv^aiv ’AOrjvriQ,

it) 6 e: OeoTcpoTcCriaiv, ii&Xa 6e£ux ? 3o 'l (3o q

eXPhi & T a p p.eTE7te l t & y* &pbcn;T)u>v ^Tiaptoyrj. (1.300-302) Hence, his moodiness appears to be peculiar and unwarran­ ted. The poet is drawing attention to the inner Jason who is set apart by his sensitive nature. It is left up to the reader to speculate about the subject of his thoughts. The first time Jason faces a real dilemma, he seems ■unable to respond to the actual facts of the situation,

£.621, and 3 .1 0 7 8 . ’Ifet Y if doesn't characterize any of his speeches in Book 4. Similarly, his addresses in Books 1-2 were s^tppovetov (1*331, 2.437) or £n;i,cppa&&u)c (1.1336 2.1134) are not so in Books 3-4. 139

much less to assume a role as captain. He is too bewil­ dered even to take sides in the dispute among the crew members over the abandonment of Heracles. The poet says that,

6 6* dprixavCflcriv

* \ oi;Te t i t o Tov ^ txoq peTscptoveev bu-re t l t o i o v

AtoovCbriQ, &W* ^oto papeCr) velo0ev Ovpov e6wv. (1.1286—1289) The phrase Bupbv £&wv is particularly striking to the modern reader who may recognize in it psychoneurotic be­ havior. This bewildered state brings on Jason the truly unjustified attack of Telamon. The single most informative illustration of the hero's personal psychology occurs at 2.851-898. Briefly, Tiphys, the helmsman, dies “unexpectedly and the entire crew falls into depression. Their behavior has all the symptoms of withdrawal from reality. Then, Hera inspires Ancaeus to recall his own piloting ability. Ancaeus rouses Peleus with the nev/s that he can do the job and so can several other crew members. Peleus is cheered by the speech and in turn addresses the others. He exhorts them in an appeal to both logic and emotions. For all except Jason the speech renews former enthusiasm and literally revives the will to live. But Jason rejects the appeal of Peleus. He sees the rest as being more depressed than himself, o'£&e I'lO

Karri cpfi croc v t c q £p.et3 rcXeov <5ccrxa^6cocrLv (2.888)! Furthermore, he says fatalistically, a bad end will come to them, either stranded there or somewhere else, if they leave. The crew, luckily, ignores Jason, perhaps because they have come to know him well and to recognize his loss of heart as a characteristic psychological state. The scene has di­ verse interpretations and its implications for the hero's character are many. A solid conclusion which may be drawn is that Apollonius is deliberately emphasizing Ja­ son's attitudes toward himself, his comrades, and the whole undertaking. VThat is important for the present discussion is that Apollonius displays for the reader an inner Jason. His concern for the hero's psychological self is very im­ portant in the entire characterization. In these three passages, Jason has been set apart from the rest of the crew in terms of his interior self. That is, the crew does or feels one th,ing, but Jason is set apart, sometimes by an opposite response. The poet appears to em­ phasize stx*ongly this point, but he is not concerned solely with Jason as emotionally separate from the others. Nor­ mal feelings of inadequacy in the face of problems are attributed to the hero, as they are to the other Minyans and Medea. For instance, Jason is at hearing

11The poet's use of words meaning "helpless" is dis­ cussed well by J. Collins, Studies 141

jPhineus' prophecy. He is both dqir)xav£(ov (5*423) and Ap-nxtxvCip (3e3oXripevoQ (3*432) when he hears about the con­ test with the bulls of Aeetes. These are not abnormal re­ sponses and the poet attributes them to the entire group as they face real, frightening prospects* Clearly, the poet is very much interested in this in­ ner Jason. Jason is second only to Medea in terms of the glimpses given into his psyche. One more example should be noted in this discussion to demonstrate Apollonius' practice in this portrayal. In the contest with the bulls and the earthbred warriors, the poet notes Jason's in­ terior, psychological reactions, even though the narra­ tive is related predominately from the viewpoint of an onlooker at the physical scene. The hero's motivation for turning back is said to be:

[Lf\ o l Tt&pOQ &VT idOGLGV

YT]Yev6 (]0v dvbptov bXooQ cnr&x^Q* (3*1357-1538) His heart fills with courage (3.1350*1551)* He recalls the advice of Medea, ot&rap 'Irjcrtov |ivf)oaTo Mtj&eCtiq noXvKsp&bdc; &vveaiacov* (3.1503-1564) Thus, even here the poet wants to convey what is happen­ ing inside Jason. In the characterization after the contest on the Areion, extensive insights Into Jason's personality are no 142 longer provided. He becomes a very flat•character whose psychological dimensions are no longer in evidence. Has the hero changed or does the poet cease to care? If the hero has changed in his attitudes or make-up, the causes, processes, and occasions of the alteration must be inferred from very little information, because the poet has stopped commenting. Jason's mental states are infrequently and briefly mentioned. For instance, he fears, 7i;ecpo(3r)n,£voQ (4.149), the serpent who guards the fleece or Medea's IP threats frighten him, 67io5&E£aaQ (4.594). These are certainly short notes on his behavior. No details are provided and nowhere in Book 4 does Apollonius single out Jason's responses for special comment, whether they are like the crew's or not. The poet's insights into the Minyan's thoughts and feelings are rare.1^ The most lengthy is:

6 6' &7tsiToc, BeonpoTttaQ *Ehc5ctolo

eupfi ne\ni<5c£wv, dveveCnaTo cpftvncrev te# (4.1747-1748) It is difficult even to make inferences about Jason's thoughts, feelings, or moods based on the material Apollon­ ius presents.

1? Also, 4.181-182. Fear is not a new item in his emotional repertoire, e.g., 5.1221. 1*5 ■^It is interesting to read 4.595 where Jason tells Modea, who is enraged at the thought of being abandoned, tcx, pev d.v6dvGL obb* £no\ octroi • This speech is signifi­ cant for the final development of Jason's moral weakness, but, it does not qualify as a comment on his psychology. II. Frankel, No ten. 485, analyzes the speech in part. 143

This discussion of Jason1s portrayal in Book 4 may now be summarised: all the hallmarks of the hero are missing. The poet omits references to the attributes of courage and. beauty which were carefully established as integral to his character in Books 1-5• These traits are not mentioned by the poem's narrator or the speeches of fellow characters. The situations in which they could be displayed are never created by Apollonius. What is more, the inner Jason, who concerned the poet previously, scarcely merits a passing comment. His attitudes, feelings, and mental activities are not described in any detail. It should be asked whether the Jason of the last 1800 lines is the same hero who sailed to Colchis and won the contest of Aeetes. Based on this study so far, the answer must be no. The signs by which Jason became familiar are gone. Such discontinuity must raise questions about any identification of Jason as 'The Hero' of the Argonautica. Several issues should be investigated including which attributes, if any, are pro­ vided Jason in Book 4 and what their relationship is to those of Books 1-5* If* in fact, "Jason's triumphant role in Book 3 thus crowns both the narrative plot of the 14 poem and the metaphysical visxon of the poet," that role should be evident in Book 4, even if its force is

14 * G. lawall, "Apollonius' Argonautica: Jason as Anti-Hero," YCS 19 (1966) 123. Lawall almost totally dismisses Book 4 in his discussion of Jason as the epic's hero. 144

somewhat diminished. In lieu of courage, beauty, and psychological com­ plexity, the poet seems to be reluctant to provide new attributes to Jason, He has no characterizing epithets. His behavior is free of descriptive elaboration or judgment from Apollonius. Few literary figures are used to extend the narrative of his actions beyond its barest literal meaning. This dearth of direct evidence creates a hiatus in the portrayal'of Jason. Faced with the poet’s unwil­ lingness to make explicit statements, inferential evidence must be sought. John Carspecken, who concludes that the entire band of Minyans is the hero of the poem, has eval­ uated Jason’s behavior in Book 4. In the series of events following the capture of the fleece, Jason now successful reveals other and, in some instances, even less pleasant aspects of his nature, a dis­ position to betray Medea to her father in or­ der to escape his pursuit and vengeance, a ready acquiescence to her- proposal to murder Apsyrtus, and a cold-blooded accomplishment of it (4.468-469). Even his marriage with Medea is a matter of expediency rather than of love, and although Jason may, through his lionlike voice, bring courage to the Argonauts when they are lost in the desert, it is not his wit but Peleus' that first interprets Jason's vision of the goddesses and the portent of the monstrous horse which leaps out of the sea (4.1318-1579) and thus leads the group to safety.15

The attribute which Carspecken find3 in Jason's actions is

15J. Carspecken, YCS 15 (1952) 101. 145 an amoral pragmatism, a concern for the useful consequences of his actions. He is doubtless correct in this analysis. The roots of this characteristic go as far back as Jason's inclination to rely on Medea's help in the contest despite Idas' protest. They may go back as far as the "lessons" of i the cloak in Book 1. This tendency to do the expedient thing comes to full development in Book 4 and appears to be his predominate trait. For, in Book 4 Jason initiates little action and whatever he does is directed toward es- 1 r* cape from his present situation. Other than this pragmatism, it is difficult to iso— lage any characteristics in the hero* This is due mainly to the fact that he is not the central figure of the ac­ tion of Book 4 noi* even of those episodes in which he is a participant. Consider the winning of the fleece. Medea is totally responsible for that triumph in every way ex­ cept actually lifting the fleece off the tree. It is Medea's plan to kill Apsyrtus and his companions. She sets up the ambush and gives the signal to the others when the deed has been done. Jason has only to. stab him and hide the body. In the Circe episode he is scarcely a player other than to stand still silently. The sojourn at Drepane and the wedding scenes feature Medea, Arete, and Alcinous far

16 E.g., the Mt|k£ti vuv x &Z^g o g o Qe cptXou Tt&'rpTiv&e v£sa0oci# speech at 4.190-205 or the prayer to Apollo for light at 4.1701-1705. 146 more than Jason who again does not speak at all. In Libya Jason provides the means of escape but only in the capacity of messenger. When the AipJrjQ Tipvdpou (4.1309) address Jason, he listens, is unable to understand, rouses the others, and repeats the message. 'J?he only ma^or action of Jason in the Fourth Book is his interpretation of Euphe- mus’ dream (4.1746-1754), hardly a crucial contribution. So, it may be concluded that Jason is a non-essential ac­ tor in many events of Book 4; even when he takes part his role is not the central one. In general, Jason is not the primary focus of the narrative, although he often appears as logically necessary to it. Because he is treated in this way by the poet, there are no new attri­ butes or characteristics revealed to the reader except the pragmatic aspect of his acquiescence to the decisions of others. In this discussion it has been observed that Apollon­ ius does not affirm in Book 4 the depiction of Jason which was carefully drawn earlier. In its place he offers no new explicit attributes and shows only through indirection the hero's willingness to do whatever will most expedite escape from danger. This is perhaps the development of a previously existing tendency. Furthermore, Jason in the Fourth Book is virtually a minor character. In an inter­ pretation of the epic as a whole, then, it should be empha- 14-7 sized that Boole 4- is not balanced against Books 1-2 in terms of Jason’s portrayal or his eminence. This analysis demonstrates that Jason does not merely assume his previous status following the triumphs in Book 3; he loses his im­ portance altogether. Jason is much less significant as a fleshed-out character and as an active participant in Book 4- than the rest of the poem. This decline prompts a closer look at the nature of the last Book. Other changes in roles and identities should be investigated and the gen­ eral content of the narratives should be examined. The concept of the Arreonautica as a whole may be influenced by our conclusions. Carspecken has made a statement which may provide a starting point for further consideration. He says: But in the latter portions of the poem the adventures are, in general, passive, for the fate of the Argonauts on their return rests in the hands of others, the gods, or Medea, or Circe, or Alcinous and Arete. As a group they accept the sufferings imposed upon them and the decisions made for them, and their individuality submits to external forces. Nov; their capabilities and proper functions known to each other and to the reader, the Argonauts can be conceived as o. unit, chastened by the experiences of the outward voyage, bound together by the com­ mon sufferings of the return, and with Hera­ cles removed as dissident factor. And one further element contributes to their unity, an overwhelming common desire to sxirvive and to return, far stronger than the former desire for honor and adventure.17

17J. Carspecken, YGS 13 (1952) 115 148

Taking the lead from this statement, it seems logical first to consider the characterization and role of the crew, then the nature of the adventures they experience. The Argonauts may indeed he thought of as a unit in ■ Book 4; this is not to say that they have unity# In the last part of the poem, individuals for the most part cease to exhibit their own particular skills# There are no scenes camparable to the fight of Amycus and Ploydeuces, Zetes' and Calais' pursuit of the Harpies, or even the heroes in battle with the Doliones. The only crew member about whom new material is supplied is Peleus. His story is related (4.865-881), but it does not elaborate any heroic attribute# Rarely is the reader even reminded that some Minyans have IS peculiar traits and skills# So, the crew does seem to function as a collective character in the sense that there is little differentiation among members. This collective nature is emphasized by passages such as 4#1457“14-60 and 4. 1250-1258 where the group's thoughts find expression in a single, representative speech. Caution should be exercised, however,, in imputing to the Argonauts a new unity. Unity connotes an internal co­ hesion, an active psychological force. There is little evidence in the texb that the crew is any more "bound toge-

^One instance is 4# 1454-1471* 149 ther" than they ever were."^ Any change felt by the rea­ der is not a development in the character of the men, but an altered treatment by Apollonius, Like Jason, the crew is a necessary, continuous character in the story, but the poet is no longer seriously concerned with them in­ dividually or as a group.' The men's actions and reactions which occur in such verses as 4.206-207, 584-585» 9 2 0 , 1125-H26, 1365, 1580, etc., are not new descriptions. They are fully paralleled by passages in Books 1-3. The text cannot be cited for proof of a new emotional com­ monality. The disputes between crew members and the dis­ ruptive role of Idas are conspicuous for their absence. In place of dissent, however, Book 4 offers no strong statement of unanimity, no emergent solidarity. These are active forces. The poet merely uses the Argonauts as a single, collective character, while no information is given which would point to a substantial change in their personality. Whereas in Books 1-3 Jason and the men were the focal point of the narrative, in Book 4 they are its instrument.

^Carspecken's interesting idea about an overwhelming desire to survive certainly does not a^ply at 4.204-205, 5* in* £pe t&emi £cpop|iT) T)i HaTrifpeCpv rf hu&oc ApeoQat,. ' Furthermore it is confuted by 4.1254-1255, T f (5Ev v.ai unsp. Aloq aTaav Loucfiv p£A/rspov vjv p£ya 6*n p-evotvdjovTaQ 6A,ecr0aL. 1 5 0

Not only does the portrayal of the Argonauts decrease in scope, but the role that they play is also substantially less crucial to the plot. This is not to say that they are superfluous in the various adventures, since they do perform deeds necessary to the advancement of the story, such as killing the Oolchians after Apsyrtus falls (4.4-82-4-91) or carrying the Argo across the Libyan desert (4.1381-1592). However, their influence in determining the course of all the major episodes is greatly diminished. In Books 1-3, as individuals or as a group, the Argo­ nauts were leading actors in events like the defeat of the Loliones, Amycus and the Bebrycians, rescue of Phin- eus, meeting with Lycis, rout of Ares' birds, etc. But in later episodes such as the winning of the fleece, the death of Apsyrtus, the visit to Circe, escape from the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis, the wedding of Jason and Medea, death of Talos, etc., the Minyans appear only in the background. The poet requires the presence, not the participation, of the crew. Events seem to take place around them, whereas previously they were often the preci­ pitators of the action. John Carspecken suggests one further distinction of the men's role which deserves elaboration. Of the last Book he says, "the adventures are, in general, passive for the fate of the Argonauts on their return rests in the hands 151

p o of others. This is a true, but incomplete, evaluation. Being dependent on the help of others is not a new condi­ tion for the heroes, including Jason. Earlier they had to rely on Phineus to lay out the route, Athena to move them through the Symplegades, Aphrodite to conquer Medea, and Phrixus' sons to approach Chalciope and Aeetes. V/hat is unusual about Book 4- is the extreme degree to which the men are dependent on others. They exhibit virtually no initiative. Every single episode is dependent on a non- Greek for direction. The successful completion of the return voyage wholly hangs on the support and co-oper­ ation of outsiders, the majority of whom are goddesses and women. This utter lack of independence and self-direction is extraordinary. An analysis of the adventures of Book 4- shows the de­ gree to which the plot lies in the hands of other players. Medea subdues the serpent and gains the fleece for the Minyans (4-.82-211). She instructs the crew to land and sacrifice to Hecate (4-.24-1-252). Argus, the son of Phri- xus, provides the route of return and .Hera, 0s&, sanc­ tions it (4-.256-297) • Medea is the author of the piot to murder her brother and the Colchians (4-.550-4-91). The Hylleans assist the voyagers (4-.527)- The Argo herself

20J. Carspecken, TCS 15 (1952) 115. 152

reports to the Argonauts the anger of Zeus and the need to seek absolution from Circe (4.580-591)* Hera prevents the sailors from following the wrong route at sea (4.655- 644), and she surrounds them with a protective cloud (4.647-648). Circe provides the expiatory ceremony for bloodshed (4.662-752). Hera, Iris, and Thetis work to safeguard and direct the passage of the Argo (4.755-884). The dangers of the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis are avoided for all the crew through the intervention of Cypris, Hephaestus, Thetis and the Nereids, and Aeolu3 (4.891- 967). Arete and Hera, as Apollonius especially empha- 21 sizes, prevent a battle and cause the wedding of Jason and Medea (4.995-1222). The local goddesses save the men from fatal dispair in Iybia (4.1505-1579)* while the Hes- perides save them from a terrible thirst (4.1595-1456). Triton shows the way out of his lake and actually moves the ship through to the sea (4.1557-1619)- Medea subdues Talos (4.1656-1691)- Apollo provides a light in the total darkness for the lost ship (4.1694-1718). Thus, the only self-initiated activities of the crev/ consist of an occa- 22 sional assembly or departure. All episodes of Book 4 receive their impetus from non-Argonauts.

214.1199-1200. 22 The Argonauts' one attempt to act on their own be­ half is thwarted by Medea. When the Colchians have actu­ ally surrounded the band on the Brygean island, the crew makes an agreement to turn Medea over for Judgment. This 155

The evidence overwhelmingly indicates that the Argo­ nauts have lost control of their destiny. This is not an isolated development of the last portion of the epic. Ra­ ther, it is the culmination of a progressive reliance on 2-5 others which began early in the poem. ^ Book 4 completes the process. The godly band of heroes travels from a world • where they could exert some self-determination to a world where survival depends on the assistance of gods, demi­ gods, matrons, and maidens. As the transition is made from the realm of heroic actions to that of human helpless­ ness, the Minyans meet situations with which they are in­ treaty is vitiated when Medea suddenly dominates the situa­ tion through rebukes and threats to Jason, It is she who provides the method of resolving the situation. This forceful Medea sharply contrasts with Jason, who was pre­ viously so powerful. I'T.B., at 1.34-0 Jason asks the crew to choose a leader whose concern would be quarrels and agreements with, strangers. Medea very much assumes this role in Book 4 beginning with her attack on the (4.340) which the Minyans had with the Colchians. ^Idas provides the last symbolic resistance to the complete abandonment of self-reliance when he tries to prove Medea's magic is weak (3•1252-1254). The Argo­ nauts' dependence on Medea signals the final loss of their control over matters. How ironic Idas' speech at 3*556- 563 seems in light of subsequent events! Not only will Medea do much more for them than win the contest, but as­ sistance is to come from Oirce, Arete, Thetis, Hesperides, and others whom Idas would disdain. It is no mere coin­ cidence that Idas is unmentioned in Book 4 even though he has been named In Books 1, 2 and 3- He represents the initiative of the Greeks which has been lost following the contest on the Areion. It is interesting to consider’ Heracles as the person­ ification of self-sufficiency. He continues to set an example for that virtue throughout the poem. His separa­ tion from the Other Argonauts becomes even more symbolic since they do so little and Heracles continues to be so active in the course of Book 4. 154-

adequate to deal until they no longer even attempt ac- .. tion, heroic or otherwise. It is not surprising that Apollonius does not allot poetic emphasis to them or to Jason. The narrative and the reader's attention focus on other characters and the telling of the adventures them­ selves. • There is one other piece of evidence to support the proposition that Book 4* does not deal with Jason and the Argonauts in the same manner as Books 1-5- Dialogue and direct speeches are one means by which a poet may develop his dramatis personae. Speeches provide dimensions and psychological complexity in characterizations. They are the poet's method of focusing a particular situation or role, much like a cinematic close-up. The use of dialogue can also be an indicator of the importance of the portrayed persons and their relationships. Among other things the speech conveys Apollonius' interest and emphasis. It is instructive to look at the distribution of direct discourse in the Argonautica by Books and by the type of persons who .. are permitted to apeak. Bor this purpose, let us observe the content of Table 1 which deals .with speeches in the epic. TABIE 1

DISTRIBUTION OR DIRECT DISCOURSE

# of Book in # of Direct Dis­ # of Direct Discourse Book Direct Discourse course by Argonauts by Others

Uason Others Total Men Women Immortals Total

1 20# 2 !% 25/o 50# ro 44# 4# 50#

2 33 1? 20 37 62 0 1 63

3 33 23 6 29 22 35 16 71

4 25 • 13 14 27 11 31 31 73 156

Caution must; be used in drawing any conclusions frojn such data. However, several interesting ideas arise from the material of Table 1. Clearly, the Argonauts as a group speak fewer and fewer lines in the course of the poem, while others who come and go begin to dominate, orally at least. Jason in Book 1 shares exactly half of the lines spoken by the crew. In Book 4 the ratio of lines pronounced by Jason to the others' lines is almost the same 1:1. Yet, as a whole, the Minyans lose nearly half their verbal repre­ sentation from Book 1 to Book 4. This supports the obser­ vation that Jason and the crew jointly slip out of the limelight while the central, i.e., speaking parts go to new players• The Argonauts' diminishing role creates a kind of vacuum which the poet fills by developing several strong characters, especially among the immortals and the women. They seem to exist in lieu of the prominence which the Minyans had in the first part of the poem. In the epi­ sodes of the last 1800 lines, the poet's depiction of psychological identity and personal attributes centers on others. It appears that the usual function of these" others in the plot is to provide the cz'ew a means of escaping one dangerous predicament after another. The poet *s new em­ phasis on others constitutes a fundamental change in the viewpoint of the poem. The shift is not utterly abrupt^ 157 however, for Book 3 provides a partial transition be­ ginning when Jason starts to share centrality with Medea. Since we have established that Book 4- does not star Jason and/or the Argonauts, it seems logical to take a close look at exactly what Book 4- is about. One striking feature of the Fourth Book is the proli­ feration of deities. Table 1 becomes relevant here again. The poet's allotment of verbal expression to the immortals parallels their growing significance to the plot. The gods, it .should be noted, are virtually unheard in Books 1-2 24- and the two who speak are minor actors. The appearance of Athena, Hera and Cypris in Book 3 introduces the major Olympians as real personalities and establishes them as figures important enough to warrant dramatized depictions. Still they have only about one-sixth of the dialogue. In Book 4-, however, the number and kinds of gods increase. One indicator of their emergence is their share of the spo­ ken lines, 31#? which is almost double that of the preceding Book. All the major Olympians except Hestia arc mentioned at least once in the Fourth Book. Several of them actively determine the course of the voyage and the crew's survival through their interference and'participation. Others are

?4- Glaucus speaks briefly, 1.1315-1523* Even shorter is Iris’ pronouncement at 2.288-290. 158 virtually superfluous to the narrative. Most important are Hera, Zeus, Hephaestus, and Cypris. Apollonius remains interested in Hera as a character. He continues to ela­ borate on her portrayal, especially in the scene she shares with Thetis (4.7 8 0 -8 4 -1 ). The increment in active roles by minor deities is more interesting, however. Lesser gods certainly appear in the earlier episodes, notably Glaucus, Iris, Eros, and Hecate. But in Book 4 the prevalance of minor deities grows numerically and effectively until the world in which the Argonauts find themselves seems to be populated by a host of odd immortals. These leading characters are drawn from a world even less ’real* than the world of Harpies, Symplegades, and fire-breathing oxen. The mao'or realms of universal divinity are represented. The heavens are personified by Helios, Mene, and Aeolus, earth by the Lybian goddesses and the Hesperides, the sea by Triton, Thetis, the Nereids, Araphitrite, etc., the underworld by the Keres, Hecate, and the Erinys. As though they have entered some eerie world where the cosmos is alive, the Minyans come upon one god after another. A number of mon­ sters and other supernatural creatures also have roles, al­ though they are quite small. Usually, these phenomena are dangerous and must be escaped, e.g., the Sirens or Talos. The means of escape is inevibably provided by some agency. 159 human or divine, outside the "band of heroes. The minor deities do not appear only as impersonal foi'ces in nature. Just as the poet elaborates his char­ acterization of Hera in the last Book, so also he depicts some other immortals with the detail and concern that are missing in the character of the Argonauts. Consider the treatment of the Nereid, Thetis, who appears only in Book 4. Her actions from 4.757-96? are crucial to the well­ being of the crew, a fact which is plain in the narrative. However, the poet is not concerned solely, or even primar­ ily, with what she does. Rather, he explains subtly through his role as narrator and through speeches who she is, what her history is, what she feels and thinks, and how she af­ fects others. This intimate portrait is begun in a speech of Hera where Thetis* relationship with Zeus is reviewed and we are given information about her past and future (4.?82-832). Thetis reacts to Hera's injunctions in a businesslike manner. She is an efficient messenger in the address to Peleus until the last line of her speech,

v6o> 6' exe * M-B X°^&0pQ

ttAe Tov s t * ff t o wxpoLOsv ATrnXsySioQ [3£v0sa ttSv t o u * (4.863-864) A bitter sternness is evident. Suddenly the unexplained question of Hera, t C t o i x ^Aoq &cm'iputToct,; (4.816), comes to mind. Immediately Apollonius relates the story of Thetis* 160 desertion of Feleus because he interrupted her efforts to make their son immortal. Thetis* background and per­ sonal make-up thus receive considerable poetic elaboration, whereas her actual contribution to the action of the story is told in a few straightforward lines. A final indica­ tion of Thetis * significance is that she is given the epi­ thet 6Ta (A.785, 952). With Thetis in the spotlight of the story are also the Hesperides and Triton. In conclusion, the emergence of the Olympians as major characters in Book 3 lays the foundation for their roles in the Fourth Book. Even more important than the major gods, however, are the minor gods whose roles increase great­ ly; some of them are developed into multi-dimensional per­ sonalities. They have crucial roles within the plot. Their share of the dialogue is one indication of the pro­ minence which they are given. This increased presence and importance of the lesser gods seems to accompany a decrease in the same status of the Argonauts. Women are even more vital in the narrative of the Fourth Book than immortals. As comp? 'x individuals, female characterizations are outstanding. They virtually supplant the Argonauts in terms of leading roles. The women intro­ duced in the latter parts of the poem transcend the stereo­ types of Book 1 and they are endowed with great power over the fate of the men; It is women, especially Medea, whose 161 intimate selves are examined by the poet. They are subject to a psychological scrutiny which was previously reserved for the Minyans. While the developments of Book 4- cannot be completely separated from those of' Book they do dif­ fer in kind and degree. In some respects, at least, v/omen come into their own in the Fourth Book. Medea is the most important female role in the last Book. Her character originates in the Third Book when the Argonauts arrive in the court of Aeetes. Her portrait fol­ lowing the contest on the Areion is not static. It shows rapid, intense change. There is a remarkable transfor­ mation from the opening of.the Book until the last lines show a radically different girl from the helpless target of Eros. This transition is the subject of a study by Edward Phinney which should be summarized since it is rele­ vant to our ovm discussion.2^ Phinney responds to criti­ cism by Brooks Otis and others that the love affair of Jason and Medea is not narrated in a "structurally coherent 2 6 manner." That is, the depiction of Medea*s emotions lacks psychological continuity as the poem moves from Book 5 to Book 4-'. Some commentators complain that the woman’s characterization changes from that of maiden to witch with

2^e . Phinney, "Narrative Unity in the Argonautica, The Medea-Jason Romance," TAPA 98 (1967) 327-34TT 2 6 1 Ac Phinney notes, Ulrich von V/ilamowitz-Moellendorff shares these criticisms, Hellenistische Dlchtung, 2, 212-214. 162

little transitional development by the poet. Phinney ar­ gues that these criticisms arise from a failure to recog­ nize the subtle transitions which the poet has indicated. The change is not truly an abrupt.one, as.though Apollon- ius forsakes one Medea to embrace an entirely.new charac­ ter. Rather, from the opening lines of Boole A Medea's changing motivation is emphasized. Her struggle to deal with guilt and fear is plainly drawn. These emotions provide the psychological -background for the decisions and deeds of the woman. The new motivation, fear, which the poet attributes to her, is the origin of Medea's attitu- dinal and behavioral changes. The portrait is continuous because the reader is witness to the interior conflicts which manifest themselves in deeds. As Phinney says, Since Medea could not love without fear, Apollonius did not construe all of Medea's actions in the light of her passion alone. That way he would have over-simplified the story, although he might thereby have made it more straightforward. What Apollonius did was to keep Medea's zigzagging course between lover and father at the structural center of her love story. Sometimes Medea loved, sometimes she was afraid. And al­ though, psychologically speaking, she felt both emotions at once, Apollonius described them one at a time and then usually in terms of their effects, not as emotions per se. The new prooemium, or re-invocation, of Book 4 is the formal link betv/een the sec­ tion in which love is 'emphasized as the mo­ tive of her actions (Book-A).

27E. Phinney, TAPA 98 (1967) 340 165

Therefore, the emerging strength of Medea and her ruthless- V' ness have their basis' in psychological developments which are both implicit and ’directly expressed. The iraplicati&hs of Phinney's study for this inquiry are plain. Xt is Medea whose inner self is the concern of the poet in Book 4. The psychological aspects of her. per­ sonality are explored with greater depth and intensity than even Jason* In complexity of character Medea supplants Jason. There are other indications of Medea's new centrality too. The first verses -of the Fourth Book set the narrative on a new course which, details the h&hoctov and the Sfivea of Medea (4-. 1-2). The anguish which precedes her decision to flee with her cousins is a part of the Kdtparov and the speech of Mene relates to Medea's ndpocTov (4-.57-65)• On the other hand the &rjveot. constitute a much broader topic. Their presence continues like a thread through the Fourth Book and the deeds of Medea ape not complete until Talos falls ■ onto the Cretan rocks (4-. 164-9-1688). The leading craft of Medea is her skilled use of charms and potions. Apollonius seems fascinated with her magical practices and reminds the reader often that they are the source of her power. Pas­ sages such as 4.20—25? 50-55? 156—161, and 442-444 testify to her ability to rnianij>ulate through charms. The poet's ultimate tribute on- this, subject occurs at 4.1677 where the 164

bronze man is brought lew by the strength of Mti&slti TCoXucpctpn&HOQ- Another important ability is speaking per­ suasively, altering the truth to fit the needs of the situ­ ation, as is shown in the conversation with the Colchian heralds (4.4-35-441) and Arete (4.1014-1028).28 When Book 4 is'hhalyzed for the important determin­ ants of the action, * then Medea and her Sijvect loom large. Medea through her beguilement and pharmaceuticals overcomes the serpent who guards the fleece. She commands the rites to Hecate among the Paphlagonians. After thwarting the negotiations betweeiwfche Colchians and Minyans, she plots the entrapment of Apsyrtus, lures him into striking dis­ tance, and gives the signal that the deed has been done. Medea sophisically persuades Arete of her innocence and virginity, thereby saving the crew from the bloody combat which was imminent. Since Medea will someday be the daughter-in-law of Thetis, as Hera foretells, she is the cause of that divine assistance. Finally, Medea overcomes Talos in a manner which banishes any doubt that she is a first-class witch. It is obvious that many adventures turn on the action of the Colchian princess. Even when she does not directly participate in some episode, however, the poet

28 Medea, the witch, co-exists with Medea, the maiden, until the end of Book 4. While Apollonius develops her dark nature, he. reminds us that she is still a victim of Bove and tormented by guilt. How unv/itchy is the figure who must be led weeping from Circe's presence (4.749-752)! 165 is often careful to note her presence in the scene, e.g.,

4.188-189, 4 9 2 - W , 1296-1297 and. 1521-1522. In Book 4, then, Medea's characterization undergoes substantial changes. The poet examines her conflicting allegiances, her guilt and anxiety, ,apd the behavioral con­ sequences of her decision to leave Colchis. He pays par­ ticular attention to her personal attributes and abilities. Medea is allotted an even more active role in Book 4 than in Book 5* Hot only are her deeds crucial to the survival of the Minyans in the present, Apollonius hints that she will have a great effect on the future, especially Jason's. Therefore, Medea is what the Argonauts are not in Book 4— a main character. In several respects she usurps Jason's role as hero. The Colchian princess is the strongest female charac­ ter in the Argonautlca. In Book 4 she is joined- by othe^ important feminine characters who are also depicted as in­ dependent possessors of power. These women differ in se­ veral respects from the figures of Books 1-3. In the first half of the poem women appear mainly in tv/o capacities, mother and lover. The only speaking parts allowed women belong to Alcimede and Hypsipyle. Their roles are somewhat limited in respect to the insights provided into their personalities. They cannot be known intimately. Alcimede is a self-pitying mother who weeps hysterically at her 166 son's departure (1.268-305)- The poet is fairly obvious in structuring the scene so that Alcimede is a particu­ larization o.f the sentiments of the whole populace. Franz Stoessl is correct to point out the similarities between pQ this episode and scenes from Greek tragedies. 7 Alcimede is not a multi-dimensional character and little can be known of her psychologically or attributively. The same is true of Hypsipyle. Seemingly, she has an important part in the episode on Lemnos and she has the facade of power in her role as queen. A close examination shows, however, that the poet reveals only her deeds in the past and pre­ sent.. Her reactions and actions are, once more, a particu­ larization of those of the general populace. Personal feel­ ings, thoughts, and motivations are not mentioned until the very end of the episode (1.886-898)- Even there, the scene betv/een Jason and Hypsipyle is clearly representa­ tive of the emotions of all the Lemnians. It should be noted as well that the Lemnian queen has no real power over the Argonauts. Their survival never depends on her or the other women who are only a pleasant diversion in the outward voyage. The episode's humorous tone, which arises from the parodial elements, contrasts the charac­ ters of Hypsipyle and Medea. Tlie simple passion of the

Stoessl, Apollonios RhoAioa, Interpretationen zur^Erzahlungsicunst und Qnollenvcrwertung (Leipzig 19AX) 167

of the Leranians has no serious consequences in the story, a and the potential impact of Hypsipyle on the plot is un­ dercut by the comedy of the events in which she appears. In summary, even in the adventures where Alcimede and Hypsipyle appear, their inner selves remain veiled, Apol­ lonius presents these women for the sake of their relation­ ship to Jason. The emphasis in each instance is still on the Argonauts and Jason, not other players in the scene. Alcimede and Hypsipyle also have little real effect on the crew or the course of the voyage. Shallowness in the roles of women begins to diminish in Boole 3 with the depiction of Medea in love and to a les­ ser extent with the role of Chalciope. Medea is drawn with depth, but her characterization is also elaborate and satis­ fying in Book 4-. It is noteworthy that both Medea and Chal­ ciope are used as tools by the men of Book 3 to gain their ovm ends. Argus and his brothers use their mother no less than Jason uses Medea. These women are potentially power­ ful in the men's survival once the men have committed them­ selves to negotiation rather than war. Book 4- contains the fullest portrayals of women-in the Argonautica. The development of Medea's personality has already been discussed. Two other women appear in well-developed roles, Circe and Arete. Both of these wornen hold the fate of the Minyans in their hands. Both are 168 powerful women whose assistance to the men is necessary for their survivalI In each case the Argonauts are passiv recipients of aid which they have done little to deserve. Medea, Circe and Arete are not the tools of any one; they are in control. Circe, "an imperious and awesome woman,"^ appears in less than 100 lines of Book 4 (662-752). Nevertheless, the poet looks deeply into her inner self. Her emotional and intellectual reactions to Jason and Medea are expressed through the narrator and her speech. The reader is told how she reacts to the arrival of the suppliants, that she recalls her strange dream, that she longs to hear Medea speak, and that she pities Medea. The women completely dominate the scene since Circe establishes a relationship only with Medea, as Apollonius emphasises. 3 ^ 1 Circe has no relationship to Jason and is not introduced as a foil to his character. She holds the. exalted position as dispensor of absolution according to the will of Zeus (4.700-703) which makes her one of the most prestigious mortals in the Argonautica. Yet, she is capable of fear (4.683) and error in prophecy (4.740-7£'2) • This characterisation is

Phinney, Apollonitis Hhodjus (Diss. Berkeley 1963) 103. He says also &idt~ Circe'’is ’11 ah__opposite type to Alci- mede and Chalciope." ^Even their common use of magical charms is mentioned (4.666). E. Phinney, Apol3.on.iu3 Rhodims 104, recognizes 169

complex and contradictory. What is clear is that Circe is a strong figure who saves the sinners. Her attitudes and intellectual processes are expressed to a degree which is lacking in the portrayal of the Argonauts. Finally, Arete is an important figure in Book 4. Al­ though she shares the spotlight with Alcinous, Arete is the central benefactor of the Minyans. Medea appeals to Arete for the protection which must come ultimately from Alcinous. Arete discovers Alcinous' intentions and secretly reports them to the Minyans so that a marriage can be arranged im­ mediately. Without Arete's intervention the story would not be the same. This woman has been described as having "all the strength of Circe and Thetis and the cunning of Medea.. The latter trait is her distinguishing characteris- ^52 tic." The poet does not tell us directly what Arete feels or how she responds to Medea's plea. In this respect she is not as fully depicted as one would expect. Her speech does show her responses, however. What the poet is interested in is Arete*s words and deeds in her role as wedded wife and c.onsort. Her status

as &\oxoq is mentioned twice (4.1013, 1 0 7 0 ) and she addres-

Apollonius’ eagerness to connect Medea and Circe closely. He offers little explanation except that "Circe is an im- px’essive woman" and "Medea has met her match."

Phinney, Apollonius Rhodius 105. 170

ses Alcinous in ■the capacity of 6&nap to &k o Cttiv//k o v p C6 lov (4.1071“1072). The conspiratorial way in which Arete acts is an ironic comment on married, life, especially since Arete is the catalyst for the wedding. Her assistance to the crew is invaluable in the present crisis. But what Arete is as a wife has far reaching implications for the future of Jason, at least. Her speech (4.1073-1095) is an appear as carefully constructed and directed as Medea's (4.1014-1028, 1031-1052). Arete also resembles Medea in her’devious methods. Therefore, Arete appears as a foil to Medea and her actions should prompt speculation in the reader1s mind about what kind of wife Medea will be. This question takes us beyond the limits of the Argonautica. Of the women in Book 4 it may be said that Medea is the most important and receives the fullest portrayal as a character of depth and complexity. The roles of Circe and Arete are fairly well-developed even though they func­ tion partly as foils to Medea. None of these characters is represented in the Book for her relationship to Jason or the other Argonauts. They are important for their own sakes. They are precipitators of significant action in the plot and control the destinies of the Minyans in their function as benefactors. Medea receives the interest and concern of the poet in personal aspects which is lacking in the treatment of Jason. 1?1

This discussion has dealt with the characters of the Argonautica as they differ in Boole 4 from Books 1-5- It has been shown that Jason and the Argonauts do not receive the same treatment in the poem's last 1800 lines as before. They lack their former hallmarks of psychological analysis, attributive commentary, arid capacity to initiate action. In fact, the poet seems to accept their presence as neces­ sary but not essential to the narrative. The feeling is almost inescapable that the poem is no longer about Jason and the Argonauts, In the place of the Minyans, minor dei­ ties and women come to the fore. Their representations con­ tain many of the attributes which the Argonauts are missing. Furthermore, these characters are much more fully developed than are the minor characters of Books 1-3* Medea in par­ ticular plays a role crucial to the story line and in sev­ eral respects she takes Jason's place as the leading charac­ ter. Changes in characterizations are an important event in an epic poem and should be a substantial factor in any at­ tempts to understand and evaluate it. It seems wise to approach the question of why discontinuity exists with the assumption that a writer as deliberate and precise as Apol­ lonius would not create such major changes unless they were to be meaningful. In seeking the poet's purpose and in interpreting the Fourth Book, we should save for the last 172 resort such hypotheses as: the last Book is unfinished; it v/as written years after the other three Books; or Apol­ lonius is an incompetent after all. By being alert to the possible significance of the discontinuity, we shall find that it is connotative and purposive. The depiction of Medea's darker nature and her ascen­ dancy in the narrative at the cost of Jason's status are not incongruous with the information which Apollonius has already provided. The reader discovers early in Book 3 that Hera is using Jason to wreak vengeance on an irreverent * Pelias. She has been the motivator of the voyage and the quest for the fleece all along. Jason and the others are on the journey because his return to Pelias will somehow facilitate the goddes' revenge. It is not until 3*1134-1136 that the poet reveals in an aside that it is Medea who will be the final and actual instrument of the goddess. Medea is the evil which v/ill return to Pelias' court. Thus, in the divine plan the Argonauts and especially Jason are mere­ ly a vehicle for transporting Medea from Colchis to Iolcus. The role of Medea takes on additional .meaning from this brief remark in the Third Book. The groundwork is laid for her greater weight in the story* The gods are going to use Medea as a helpmate to get the fleece for Jason, but then Jason will be used to convey tin increasingly impor­ tant Medea back to Greece. The gods are the mainspring of * 173

the entire Argonautic voyage and the disclosure of their,, plans justifies Medea's growing strength and activity in Book 4-. The poet has directly foreshadowed the events in Iolcus at 3 • 1134— 1136, The emerging characterization of Medea as a ruthless and devious practitioner of the occult is also a foreshadowing of the future tragedies which will take place beyond the bounds of the Argonautica. Book 4- brings Medea from maiden to the powerful sorceress who was and is familiar in mythology and' litex'ature • The active and dominant role she plays in the course of the narrative is a sign of the centrality that will be hers. After the landing at Pagasae, it is.not Jason, but Medea, who is the subject of the tradition. The secondary role of Jason and the other Argonauts in the Pourth Book is preparatory to the events that will take place in Iolcus after the men have returned. V/e see the Medea emerge who v/ill bring death to Pelias as the gods plan and who will never again be the meek girl at Aeetes* court. The Medea who slays Talos at the end of Book 4- is quite similar to the Euripidean heroine. Apollonius knew well the mytho­ logical and literary precedents of his characters and the Medea who emei*ges at the end of the Argonaut ica fits into the tradition.

Jason and the other Argonauts suffer not only a quan- 174- tit at ive loss of poetic attention; the quality and nature of their characterization also changes. The growth of Medea's character and its forebodings for the future do not fully account for the discontinuity in the crew’s treatment. There is a more fundamental reason for the type of portrayals in the Fourth Book. The poet is concerned with teaching new lessons to supplement those of the ear­ lier Books. The discussions of Chapters One and Two point to the changing ideas evident at the end of the poem. The Argonauts are observers in Book 4- of certain models and behaviors which amplify and clarify the education begun on the outward voyage. The Book begins with an action by the crew based on the modes of behavior they learned during their travels. They carry to its logical conclusions the new, anti-heroic code of behavior which the adventures of the first three Books taught them. Henceforth, the poet defines the boundaries and correct application of this be- haviox-. The Argonauts are taught to accept their limi­ tations as mere men, particularly Jason; they must learn to abide by the will of the gods; they must rely on others to i survive• Apollonius' method is to place the Argonauts in the hands of others and to have them learn some valuable lesson from their dependency. Thus, the crew is quite passive, but their lack of initiative is not purposeless. The Argo- 175 nauts and what they have learned on the outward voyage are already familiar to the reader. The characters and situations they encounter are of primary importance to the poet since these others will now reinforce or temper the attitudes and ideals.which the Greeks acquired in Books 1-5- The men will learn by observing and experienc­ ing, not doing. Xt is not surprising then that Apollonius is preoccupied with the characters and action which modify the experiential lessons of Books 1-3* For he wishes to demonstrate to the reader and the Argonauts themselves the other1 factors which must be considered in proper living. The men who land at Pagasae are truly different from those who set forth from Colchis, not because of what they have done, but because of the things that have happened to them in the strange world of Book 4. The exemplary and correc­ tive aspects of the episodes receive the attention of the poet while the Argonauts virtually become an audience at the scene of their .own adventures. The Argonautica depicts the adventures of a band of men who have set out on a very heroic quest. Jason, a mor­ tal man, represents most of the Argonauts as an unheroic type of character who is required to undertake a task wor-. thy of a Heracles or an Idas. ‘ The world of the first three Books presents many challenges to the crew which they are able to meet, although their methods are less than heroic. 176

For, the heroism of Heracles is discredited. As we have seen in Chapter One, Heracles is a comic figure, a laugh­ ing stock. Violence and force give way to new means, es­ pecially as Jason employs them, and the Heraclean ideals of strength and independence yield to the new virtues which are so successfully exercised by the Argonauts. The men must discover a new method of surviving which will re­ place the tenets of archaic heroism. Gilbert Lawall has made some excellent observations about the educational pro- cess which Jason and the others undergo.In lieu of the old heroism, which Apollonius shows is absent in men like Jason, the Argonauts must learn alternative ways of behaving which will both win them what they want and will insiire their survival. The using of others to gain their own end is one general lesson which the crew learns. This may take the form of exploitation or co-operation. Jason learns to exercise his beautiful sexuality on Lemnos while the women use him and his comrades to repopulate their city. On the other hand, by rescuing the sons of Fhrixus, the Argonauts win an introduction to the court of Aeetes and a path to Medea. Another lesson the Argonauts are pro­ vided is the danger of impiety and the power of the gods. The double example of Phineus and Paraebius warns against transgressing divine will. The tragedy inherent in battle is emx^hasized by the defeat of the Doliones and the unnec-

Lav/all, YCS 19 (1966) 119-169- 177 essary death of Cyzicus. So, by learning from their ex­ perience o in Books 1-2, the Argonauts arrive at Colchis where an impossible heroic challenge awaits them. The task is accepted by the Argonauts in Book 3* but it is met by reliance on the unheroic aid of a young girl. In coming to the Areion Jason uses all the lessons he learned so well in the outward voyage. The victory is achieved by methods which disgust Idas and would have disgusted Her ac3.es. Yet, the outcome of the contest shows that the Argo­ nauts have found alternatives to the old, heroic code of violent independence as Heracles represents it. As Book 4- opens we see that the ultimate object of the Argonautic journey is reached by resorting to the girl Medea. There can be no doubt that the education of the men has been a success when they turn to the help of the girl to end the quest which motivated the entire venture. The old heroism is utterly disdained and the lessons of the first three Books are embraced heartily. But the educa­ tion is not yet over. The limits of the new behavior must be discovered and this takes place as,the first episode fol­ lowing the departure from Colchis. . The murder of Ap'syrtus is an example of the extreme degree to which the crew has gone in their tendency to rely on others. 3?or the plan to kill Apsyrtus is devised and acted on mainly by Medea. The Argonauts allow her to do this for them and that is a 178 mistake. The use and abuse of others leads the men to impiety which the murder surely is. The reader knows this from the horror of the description of the murder and the men should have known it too. At any rate, the judgment by Zeus that they must seek the absolution of Circe for their crime is si lesson in the limits to which the men can rightly impose their will on others. The sojourn with Circe is passive for the crew and this is due raain3.y to the poet's interest in depicting her as the embodiment of divine forgiveness and a moral model who lcnov/s that the acts of Medea were wrong. Circe presents a lesson in overstepping the boixnds of just and correct be­ havior. Justice is an important part of the events on Drepane also. The relationship between Arete and her hus­ band are relevant to the marriage and future of Jason and Medea, but even beyond this, the wisdom of Alcinous and the justness of his decision are worthy of emulation. By trusting in the efforts of the king and queen who are moral models for the men, the Argonauts are saved and spared the bloody fight Y^hich would have taken place. They allow the right people to dictate their actions and the limits of reliance on others are further established. Several of the lessons offered in the early parts of the poem are re-emphasized in the Fourth Book. Thus, by observing the rules of correct behavior, these unherioc men 179 can live and make their way in a world which is suitable to supermen. One of ^the .points which is reiterated in Book 4 is. the power- and ubiquity of the gods. Moreover, in Book 4- it is shown "'that sometimes trust in the gods must be absolute, ^he escdfce through the Planctae differs from that through the Syinplegades in respect to the effort which the crew itself exerts toward their salvation. In the second escape the Argonauts do not contribute at all to their rescue; everything is in the hands of the gods who deliver the men. Obedience to the divine will is em­ phasized by the scene with Peleus and Thetis. The role of the gods in so many facets of the Fourth Book underlines their control of the lives of men and the relationship which must exist between mortal and immortal. The gods come to the fore and their omnipotence, which was only inti­ mated in the first part of the epic, is fully displayed. So, in their subservience and obedience to the many gods of the last Book, the Argonauts show that they recognize the role of the gods in the universal order and they are willing to live in harmony with it. Finally, lest the men be inclined to look back to the heroism of Heracles, we have the scene with the Libyan goddesses where the old hero appears in the Hesperides' tale as a grotesque felon. This is a final condemnation of the old codr? and’ an implicit approval of the new atti­ 180 tudes of the Argonauts. The peaceful, co-operative, and mild behavior of the men within correct bounds is endorsed by the poet. The Fourth Boole may be viewed as a continuation of the program which started early in the Argonautica to discover a correct code of living in a world where violence is not a viable alternative for men. The lessons of the last Book refine and reinforce those of the other three Books* The Argonauts learn more from observing and emulating models which the poet creates than from action they initiate. Yet, their one action is a mistake from which they also must learn... The thrust of the poet's efforts is directed at de­ veloping these others in the poem, but they are ulti­ mately significant for their influence on the crew mem­ bers who so happily land at Fagasae. The completed edu­ cation of the Argonauts should be grounds for an' optimis­ tic opinion of the Argonautica. The men who land are better men than those of Heracles' ilk. They are equipped to survive and to live in the world as they will find it in Iolcus. They will even have greater respect for the gods and their fellow men as a result of the epxeriences and lessons of the voyage they have taken. A superior code of behavior has evolved on the journey v/hich will, we trust, not be abandoned upon their return. APPENDIX A

EXAMPLES OP TYPICAL SCENES CITED IN CHAPTER ONE I, Mechanical A, Launching 1.519-541 1.910-914 1.1012-1015 1 .1109-1110 1 .1151-1152 1.1275-1273 II. Substantive A. Assembly: Informal 1 .861-878 3.167-194 3.576-608 3.889-912 4.6-10 4.214-240 4.255-500 4.492-505 B. Assembly: Porraal 1.327-563 1.655-70? 2.860-893 3.490-575 C. Theurgy: Portents and Prophecy 1.436-449 1.1084-1106 3.540-556 3.927-947 4.1731-1757 D. Theurgy: Oracular Sayings

1.5-17 1.9;|8-971

181 2 .194— 207 3.597-605 E. Theurgy: Rescue 2 .531-618 4 .924-965 4.1694-1713 F. Theurgy: Visitation 2.284-298 2.674-684 4.847-884 4.1305-1380 G. Plea Tor Help 2.204-262 2 .1121-1167 3.609-615 3.693-739 3.973-1076 4.350-422 4.1012-105? H. Battle

1.989-997 1 .1026-1052 2 .98-136 3.1373-1404 4.482-491 X. Farewell 1.268-305 1.886-909 4.26-34 J. Death of Heroes 2 .815-850 2.851-858 4.1435-1501 4.1502-1536 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Texts Prankel, Hermann, ed., Apollonii Rhodii Argonautica (Oxford 1961). Gillies, Marshall M., ed., The Argonautica of Apol­ lonius Rhodius, Book III (Cambridge l9£&). Mooney, George W. , ed., The Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius (Dublin 1912). Wellauer, August, ed., Apollonii Rhodii Argonautica (Leipzig 1828).

Relevant Critical Commentary Allen, Walter, Jr., "The Epyllion: A Chapter in the History of Literary Criticism," TAPA 71 (1940) 1-26. Arend, V/alter, Die Typischen Sconen bei Homer (Berlin 1933). Bacon, Janet R., The Voyage of the Argonauts (Boston 1925). Beye, Charles R*, "Jason as Love-hero in Apollonius* Argonautika," GRBS 10 (1969) 31— 55. Blumberg, ICarl W. , Untersuchungen zur epischen Technik des Apollonlos von Rhodos (Diss., Leipzig 19^1). Bundy, Elroy L., "The 1 Quarrel Between Kallimachos and Apollonius' Part I: The Epilogue of Kallimachos1s Hymn Apollo," CSCA 5 (1972) 37-94. Burkert, V/alter, "Jason, Hypsipyle, and the new fire at Lemnos. A study in myth and ritual.,11 C£ 20 (1970) 1-16. Campbell, Malcolm, "Some Methodological Problems in Alexandrine Poetry: A Reply to Dr. Giangrande," CQ 22 (1972) 110-112. —

185 184

Carspecken, John F., "Apollonius Khodius and the Ho­ meric Epic," YCS 15 (1952) 35-143. Collins, John, Studies in Book One of the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius (hiss., Columbia 1967)* Copley, Frank 0., "The Pathetic Fallacy in Early Greek Poetry," AJP 58 (1957) 194-209. Couat, Auguste, Alexandrian Poetry under the First Three Ptolemies, tran3•, James Loeb (London 1951,). Crump, M* Marjorie, The Epyllion from Theocrltiis to Ovid (Oxford 1971)* Dawson, Christopher M., "The Iambi of Callimachus," YCS 11 (1950) 3-157* . Dolage, Emile, Biographie d*Apol.lonios de Rhodes (Paris 1950). _____, La Geographie dans les Argonautiques d'ApoTlonios de Rhodes (Biss'. 1 Paris l9 5(7) . Duckworth, George E., Foreshadowing and Suspense in the’ Epics of Homer, Apollonius, and Vergil (Diss., Prin'ce-

Dumezil, G., Le^ crime des Lemniennes, Rites et legendes du monde egeen. CDBTssTT^Pa^Ti^X^^iT^- Elderkin, G.W., "Repetition in the Argonautica of Apollonius," AJP 34 (1913) 198-201. Erbse, Hartmut, "Homerscholien und hellenistische Glossare bei Apollonios Rhodios," Hermes 81 (1953) 163-196. Fitch, Edward, "Apollonius Rhodius and Cyzicus," AJP 33 (1912) 43-56. ■ Fornara, Charles V/., Herodotus', An Interpretative Essay (Oxford 1971)* Frankel, Hermann, "ApollonPus Rhodius as a Narrator in Argonautica 2.1-140," TAPA 83 (1952) 144-155• „ "Das Argonautenepos des Apollonios," MunHelv X4 (l9573 1-19- 185

______, "Ein Don Quijote unter den Argonauten- des Apollonios,Tt FiusHelv 17 (i960) 1-20,

______, ElnleitunR: 2 ur kritischen Ausgabe der Argon1nitlkg.~ des 'Anollonios (Abliandlungen der Akademie der Wxssenschaften in Gbttingen, Gbttingen 1964). _____ , Noten zu den Argonautika des Apollonios (Munich 19^8). ______, "Problems of Text and Interpretation in Apollonius1 Argonautica ,11 AJP 71 (1950) 113-155* Galinsky, Karl G., The Herakles Theme (Totowa, New Jersey 1972). Garson, R.W., "An Aspect of Theocritean Humor," CP 68 (1975) 296-297* ______, "Homeric Echoes in Apollonius Rhodius1 Argonaut!c a,11 CO 67 (1972) 1-9 George, Edward V., "Poet and Characters in Apollonius Rhodius1 Lemnian Episode," Hermes 100 (1972) 47-63* Giangrande, Guiseppe, "’Arte Allusive* and Alexan­ drian Epic Poetry," C£ 61 (1967) 85-97* , "Hellenistic Poetry and Homer," AntCl 39 (1970) 46-vTT , "Use of the Vocative in Alexandrian Epic," C& 62 (1968) 52-59* Giangrande, Lawrence, The Use of Spoudaiogelion in Greek and Roman Literature (The Hague 1972)1 Goodwin, C.J,, Apollonitis Rhodius: His Figures, Syntax, and Vocabulary ”*(Baltimore 1819)- Griffiths, A. H. , "Hellenistic.., .Poetry? BIGS’ 15 (1968) 145-146. Gunn, David, "Thematic Composition and Homeric Authorship," HSCP 75 (1971) 1-31* Hadas, Moses, "Apollonius Called the Rhodian," CW 26 (1952) 41-^6, 49-54. ' 186

, "The Tradition of a Feeble Jason," CP 31 (1*936) lb6-lSS'. Handel, Paul, Beobachtungen zur Teclmik des Apollonios Rhodios (Zetemata 7l Munich I934-). " Herter, Hans, "Beitrage zu Apollonios von Rhodes," RhM 91 (194-2) 226-24-9. , "Bericht iiber die literatur zur hellenis- tischifrr Dichtung seit dem Jahre 1929- 11 Teil: Apollonios von Rhodos," Jahresbericht uber die Fortschritte der klassiachen ATtei^urasv/issenschaft 283 (19^-4-/1935) 213-4-10. Hurst, Andre, Apollonios de Rhodes Maniere et Co­ herence (Bibliotheca Helvatica Romana 7; Geneva 1967/• Kaibel, Georg, "Sontentiarum liber quartus," Hermes 22 (1887) 4-97-514*. Klein, Ludwig, "Die Gottertechnik in den Argonautika des Apollonios Rhodios," Ph 86 (1930-1931) 18-51? 2l5-23'7• Knauer, Georg N., "Vergil's Aeneid and Homex%" GEBS 3 (1964) 61-8A. Korte, Alfred, Hellenistic Poetry, trans., J. Hammer and M. Hadas (New York" 19259. Lawall, Gilbert, "Apollonius' Argonautica: Jason as Anti-Hero," YCS 19 (1966) 119-169. ' Levin, Donald N., Apollonius' Argonautica Re-examined, I The Neglected First and. Second Books IBibliothcca dlassica Batava, Pin Suppl .13; Leiden 1971) • , "Apollonius' Heracles," CJ 67 (1971) 22-28” , "Two Epithets of Aristaeus," Hermes 97 (1969T^5S^59r ------Mackail, J.W., Lectures on Greek Poetry (London 1926). Means, Thomas, "Incidental Observations on the Argo— nautica and Post Hcmerica," CJ 4-6' (1951) 335-34*0. Minton, William W., "The Fallacy of the Structural Formula," TAPA 96 (1963) 24-1-235. 18?

Moore, Clifford H., "Prophecy in Ancient Epic," HSCP 52 (1921) 99-175- Murray, Oswyn, "Herodotus and Hellenistic Culture," CQ 22 (1972) 200—215* Naber, S.A., "Ad Apollonium Rhodium," Mn 54- (1906) 1-59. Otis, Brooks, Virgil: A Study in Civilized Poetry (Oxford 1965). Pearson, Lionel, "Apollonius of Rhodes and the old Geographers," AJP 59 (1955) 44-3-4*59• Pfeiffer, Rudolf, "The Puture of Studies in the Pield of Hellenistic Poetry," JHS 75 (1955) 71-75. ■ , History of Classical Scholarship from the Beginnings to the End. of the Hellenistic Age QOxford" O T T r ^------:------Phinney, Edward S., Jr., Apollonius Rhodius (Biss., Berkeley 19&5)• ______, "Narrative Unity in the Argonautica, the Medea-Jason Romance, TAPA 93 (1967; 527-54-1. Platt, Arthur, "On Apollonius Rhodius," JP 35 (1914-) 1-55. Shumaker, John W., Homeric Transformations in the Argonaut5.ca of Apollonius of Rhodes (Biss., University of Pennsylvania------Sikes, E.E., "The Humour of Homor," CR 54- (194-0) 121-126. Snell, Bruno, The Discovery of Mind (Harvard 1955). Sonnenburg, Peter E., "Zur Wurdigung des Apollonios von Rhodos," Neue Jahrbiichcr fur das klassische Altertum Geschichte und cleutsche Literatur u h d ’ .t'tAr Padhgogik 23 • ITO<7) 715-725':------Stanford, William B., Ambiguity in Greek Literature (Oxford 1959). Stoess1, Pranz, Apollonios Rhodios, Interpretationen zur Erzahlungkunst und Qucllenverwertung (Bern 1941). 188

Thiertein, Paul, Bau der Saenen in den Argonaut ilta des Apollonios Rhodios (.Bern I9:5X)- Webster, T.B.L., "Chronological Problems in Early Alexandrian Poetry," WS 76 (1965) 68—78. West, H.L., "Critical Notes on Apollonius Rhodius," CR 15 (1965) 9-12. Wilamowitz-Hoellendorff, Ulrich von, Hellenistische Pichtung in der Zeit des Kallimachos, 2(Berlin 1924-,). Wilkins, Eliza, "A Classification of the Similes in the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius," CU 14- (1920-1921) X62-15ST:------— Wordsworth, J.C., Adventures in Literature (London 1929)-