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Herculeo Sub Nomine Pendent an Intertextual Research Into the Character of Hercules in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica

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Herculeo Sub Nomine Pendent an Intertextual Research Into the Character of Hercules in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica Herculeo sub nomine pendent An intertextual research into the character of Hercules in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica Name: M. Liebregts Study: MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations: Classics Student number: 10173730 University: University of Amsterdam Thesis supervisor: dr. M.A.J. Heerink Second reader: dr. P.S. Gerbrandy Date: 30-06-2016 Word count: 18.456 I hereby declare that this thesis is an original piece of work, written by myself alone. Any information and ideas from other sources are fully acknowledged in the text and notes. Amsterdam, the 30th of June 2016. 2 Contents Introduction 4 1. The Argonautica: a belated epic 4 2. Intertextuality and Valerius’ character Hercules as 6 an intertextual test case 3. The Apollonian Hercules: the archaic hero 8 4. Hercules in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica 9 1. Hercules’ arrival (book 1) 10 1. Pelias the poet (Arg. 1.31-7) 10 2. Hercules’ actual arrival (Arg. 1.107-19) 14 3. The catalogue of Argonauts (Arg. 1.353-489) 18 4. The child Achilles (Arg. 1.255-70) 19 5. Jupiter’s speech (Arg. 1.563-7) 20 6. Conclusion 22 2. The Hesione episode (Arg. 2.445-578) 24 1. The divergence from Apollonius of Rhodes 25 2. An Ovidian narrative structure 27 3. The archaic hero in archaic Troy 32 4. Conclusion 35 3. Reflections on Hercules (Arg. 3.598-725) 37 1. Divergences from Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica 38 2. A Virgilian narrative structure? 42 3. Telamon versus Meleager 43 4. Conclusion 50 Conclusion 52 Appendix 1: Hercules’ presence in the Argonautica, both in real person 55 and in references. Bibliography 57 3 Introduction Herculeo sub nomine pendent. Val. Fl. Arg. 3.600 It’s Hercules upon whose name they hang.1 Hercules is an important character in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica. Although research into the intertextual relationships of this epic pertaining to the literary tradition is thriving, a character analysis with this particular focus is lacking. In this study, I hope to show that the examination of scenes in which one specific character, Hercules, features, will yield new insights into the interpretation of this character and of Valerius Flaccus’ poem. I will conduct three case studies in three different chapters, in order to better understand Hercules’ remarkable role in the Argonautica. I will now introduce my subject and research question. 1. The Argonautica: a belated epic In Greek mythology, the Argo is believed to be the very first ship to have traversed the seas. The primacy of this event is highlighted in the opening lines of Valerius Flaccus’ epic about Jason’s famous quest for the Golden Fleece in Colchis, the Argonautica: prima deum magnis canimus freta pervia natis faticidamque ratem, Scythici quae Phasidis oras ausa sequi mediosque inter iuga concita cursus rumpere flammifero tandem consedit Olympo. Val. Fl. Arg. 1.1-2 First crossing of the sea I sing, by the gods’ | own mighty sons, and the prophetic ship | that dared to seek the shores of Scythian Phasis | and forge a path between the Crashing Rocks, | to rest at last with heaven’s fiery stars. 1 Translations of Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica used in this chapter are by Barich (2009), who bases 4 This declaration of primacy could also be read in a metapoetical way: the poet is claiming to embark upon something that has not been done before. 2 Valerius, however, was certainly not the first to write on Jason’s quest. References to the Argonautic myth can already be observed in the Homeric epics.3 By stating to be the first, Valerius Flaccus is in fact, paradoxically, calling attention to the epic’s relatively late position in the literary tradition: the Latin poem is written in the first century CE, during the Flavian era.4 This way, the ‘belated’ Argonautica is able to respond to and interact with a multi-generic tradition.5 Between texts, interconnections exist, that may be deliberate or accidental. Especially since the last quarter of the twentieth century, scholars have paid attention to these intertextual relationships in Latin poetry, for, as Braund puts it, ‘an awareness of intertextuality and of literary texture is crucial to an understanding of Latin literature’. 6 Multiple theoretical concepts regarding referentiality, allusions, and repetition in Latin texts have been outlined.7 These tools are useful to detect the way in which texts respond and react to each other. This interplay is not limited to Latin literature. By contrast, many Latin texts are deeply indebted to Greek literature too. Scholars agree that Apollonius of Rhodes’ Greek epic on the same mythological expedition, written in the third century BCE, is Valerius Flaccus’ primary source model.8 The language and style, however, are mostly Virgilian.9 Therefore, the poem has been regarded for a long time as imitative. In the early twentieth century, Wilamowitz-Moellendorf judged Valerius Flaccus for ‘seine sklavische Abhängigkeit von Virgil’ and Mehmel concludes that ‘Valerius glaubte Virgils imitator zu sein’.10 Nowadays, in general, this ‘Virgilization’ is not seen as imitation anymore; rather, it is understood that Valerius Flaccus uses the Virgilian intertext to create and innovate.11 It is not only allusions to Apollonius’ and Virgil’s works, however, that 2 Hershkowitz (1998) 35. 3 For example Od. 12.70: Ἀργὼ πᾶσι µέλουσα. ‘Argo famed of all’. Translation by Murray (1919). 4 On the possible dating of the poem, see Zissos (2008) xiv-xvii. 5 See Hershkowitz (1998) 35-8 on the Argonautica’s belatedness. 6 Braund (2002) 203. 7 See for example Hinds (1998), Wills (1996), Thomas (1986), and Conte (1986). 8 See for example Mehmel (1934) 5-40 on Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica as Valerius Flaccus’ primary source model. 9 See for example Barnes (1995) 273-8. 10 Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (1924) 165n.2; Mehmel (1934) 132. 11 Barnes (1995) 277: ‘Valerius’ language and style both accept and resist the influence of Virgil’s.’ See also Feeney (1991) 313-37 and Hardie (1993) 83-7. 5 can be perceived in the Flavian epic: scholars have detected influences from inter alia Homer, Aratus, Dionysius Scytobrachion, Ovid, Virgil, Lucan, and Seneca.12 Thus, Valerius Flaccus’ poem is deeply indebted to the literary tradition. The Argonautica, then, self-consciously varies and reflects on this literary tradition. Paradoxically, the poem is presented as an archi-epic,13 the subject matter of which is situated before the events described in the monumental Homeric epics. This way, the narrator is able to both comment on the literary tradition and allude to events that will happen in the future, which are already known through other literary works. Meta- literary comments can often be detected in the Argonautica. For example, sometimes the narrator refers to versions of the Argonautic myth that differ from the one that the author chooses to tell.14 Moreover, Valerius presents the Argonautica as a ‘late proto- text’ by ‘allusions in the future tense’,15 which connect the narrative to the events in the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Aeneid.16 To uncover the literary play in Valerius’ Argonautica, intertextual research is fruitful. 2. Intertextuality and Valerius’ character Hercules as an intertextual test case Intertextual research into Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica is thriving17. This type of research, however, often focuses on the influences in one specific scene or from one specific literary work on Valerius’ epic. In my thesis, a different approach is applied; I will examine multiple intertextual influences in the portrayal of one specific character: Hercules. Intertextual research on this character individually has not been done before, despite the prominent role in the Argonautica. Because Hercules is the intertextual hero par excellence, it is likely that many allusions to previous literature can be found in scenes where this hero plays a role.18 I hope that my innovative focus will make this study a relevant addition to the current body of research on 12 See for studies on Valerius’ Latin intertexts especially Heerink and Manuwald (2014). See Galli (2014) on Dionysius Scytobrachion, Castelletti (2014) on Aratus, and Zissos (2002) on Homer. 13 Deremetz (2014) 61. 14 See for example Zissos (1999) on the Argonautic narrative that is not always univocal. 15 See Barchiesi (1993). 16 See Deremetz (2014) 61-2, and Zissos (2008) xl-xli. 17 See for example Heerink and Manuwald (2014) 249-358 for studies on the Argonautica’s interplay with Virgil, Lucan, Ovid, Seneca, Statius and Silius Italicus. I assume that Valerius Flaccus wrote his epic before Statius and Silius Italicus, as the majority of scholars does, so I excluded their epic works from my intertextual research. 18 See Galinsky (1972) and the more recent work by Stafford (2012) on Hercules’ pluriform character in the Greek and Latin literary tradition, and on how ancient poets dealt with him. 6 Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica and its intertextual ratio with respect to the literary tradition. My research question is: How does intertextuality add meaning to episodes in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica in which the character of Hercules plays a role? In Valerius’ narrative on the Argonautic enterprise, Hercules is not just one of the many crew members of the Argo:19 he is among the main characters in the poem, together with Jason and Medea. His presence and enormous strength are highlighted multiple times throughout the narrative. Nevertheless, he is one of the few Argonauts that will not reach Colchis. Instead, Hercules is physically left behind in Mysia, after the loss of his friend Hylas, as early as in book 3. In the additional 5 books, he remains present through his absence, in exclamations, comparisons, and allusions.20 In order to illustrate the significant part Hercules plays in the Argonautica, I have added an appendix to my study, which contains an overview of all scenes which feature Hercules.
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