COMMENTARY – End of the Hylas episode. In III, prompted by Juno, a water nymph abducted Hylas, and the Argonauts after arguing sailed off without Her- cules, as he searched frenziedly for the boy. Here (at –) Jupiter up- braids Juno for her meddling and gives Hercules the relief of sleep. Next (at –) Hylas’ phantom appears to the hero in a dream, explaining what has happened; he tries in vain to embrace it, bewails their separa- tion, but finally departs, resigned. Then (at –) as he heads for Troy, Jupiter at Apollo’s instigation sends Iris to tell him to free Prometheus instead, and he gladly obeys. The transition from the end of book is managed with care. Rather unexpectedly but smoothly enough VF continues with the same episode (in particular ea in . picks up directly Hercules’ suffering at .ff.). To ease the progression further, there are verbal echoes (especially pater of a god at ., .; amor at ., .; solus at ., .; comes at ., .), and thematic links (the aporia of the static Hercules at . and .ff.; the Argonauts’ abandonment of him at .f. and .f.; fear at .f. and .; and futile calling for Hylas at .f. and .f.). On a larger scale the angry speech by Jupiter about the loss of Hercules at .ff. recalls that by Telamon at . ff. (both mention how much joy (gaudia) his absence causes in some quarters, criticize the Argonauts for leaving him, and talk of how much he will be missed amid fearsome dangers); and there are two parallel similes applied to the sorrowing Hercules— the halcyon (. ff.) and the lioness (. ff.) mourning the loss of their young. This is a striking start to the book, with the abrupt switch to a higher plane (for which cf. Stat. Theb. .ff.), the very emotional speech by Jupiter, the surprising and novel continuation of the Hylas narrative (which acts as a ‘hook’, making us read on to see how things develop) and the lively progression (Jupiter goes from anger to gentleness, Her- cules’ shouts are silenced, Hylas suddenly reappears and so on). This is also a playful start. VF opens the book with closure (of the Hylas episode, and of Hercules’ relationship with the boy and participation in Jason’s quest), as well as ending the Hylas story with beginnings (of his commentary existence as a deity, and of the liberation of Prometheus). The poet tricks his readers too, making it seem initially that the serious and gloomy tone of III will be maintained in IV. In fact before too long a lightness of mood emerges (which suits this book’s generally more cheerful and upbeat atmosphere), and there is a happy ending at f., which looks for- ward to all the other happy endings in IV. An apt introduction to what ensues is also provided by the strong emotional appeal here (tempered by subtle point and humour, so that the pathos does not become mawkish- ness) and the various intellectual aspects (the elegance, ingenuity, inno- vation, combative and functional doctrina etc.). There is thematic fore- shadowing as well. For example, on a minor level Juno’s harrying of Her- culesispickedupbyherpersecutionofIo(atff.),andtheprophecyby JupiterandHylasprefigurestheseerPhineus.Moresubstantially,closure is important: unpleasantness ends here for Hercules and (in prospect) Prometheus, as it will in the major sections that follow (Amycus’ killing is stopped, the suffering of Io and Phineus is terminated, and the Sym- plegades cease clashing). In addition, divine intervention bulks large at –, and will also be a factor in all four of those major sections later in this book. In his handling of the earlier part of the Hylas episode in III VF had made major deviations from AR’s version (.–), such as drop- ping Polyphemus, introducing the stag for Hylas to chase and making Juno the one behind the abduction of the boy (see esp. Koch ff., Gar- son , Adamietz ff., Traglia ff., Mauerhofer ff.). That pro- cess is in evidence here too. At .ff. AR ends the Hylas narrative with an enraged Hercules rushing around futilely in the area where Hylas vanished and occasionally pausing to shout his name, like a bull stung by a gadfly. At . ff. VF depicts a helpless Hercules refusing to leave theplaceoftheboy’sdisappearanceandlikenstheherotoagrieving lioness that has lost her cub. Because there are clear similarities between these two passages, and VF has reached the end of book there, and no other author takes the story of Hylas beyond that point, most readers will assume that the incident is over as book concludes, and that the final twist lies in the more pointed choice of the lioness for the simile (and the contaminatio,ifthatanimalwassuggestedbyTheoc.Id. .ff.). But there is false closure, and a much more substantial variation, as IV opens with an intriguing brand-new addition and a series of surprises (taking us up into heaven, giving Hercules respite etc.). VF also inverts extensively and tops Hercules’ exit from the Argo’s quest in AR (where he just drops out of the narrative, fruitlessly raging, roaming and stop-.