Reading of Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica: The Poetics of Uncertainty (Studies in Classics, V. 20) [Hardcover]

Calvin S. Byre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002 | ISBN-10: 0773471162 | ISBN-13: 978-0773471160

In this book Dr. Byre suggests that perhaps Apollonius was not a blunderer and that perhaps he was not trying to be Homer. Dr. Byre further suggests that much of what has been criticized in Argonautica-Jason's indecisiveness, the confused and conflicting aims of the gods-reflect thesame skillful psychology for which his portrait of Medea is praised: an awareness of the conflicts that are a continual part of all our behavior, and our uncertainty about the respective roles of fate and chance in our careers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 178 pages
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Pr (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773471162
• ISBN-13: 978-0773471160
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,089,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Argonautica gets Its Due, July 27, 2004

By 

P. Nagy "revreader" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reading of Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica: The Poetics of Uncertainty (Studies in Classics, V. 20) (Hardcover)

Apollonius has few enthusiasts. Ever since its first appearance, when Callimachus called it a great evil, Argonautica has been regarded as a weak imitation of Homer. And yet all the critics (except perhaps Callimachus) have agreed that Apollonius' treatment, in Book III, of Medea's falling in love is sensitive, skillful, and shows a deep understanding of human psychology. How can a blunderer like Apollonius have created something so sublime?

In this work Byre gives this neglected some refreshing analysis, if not dispelling the distain with which it is held, then at least demonstrating that this text has more literary levels than previously supposed.

Byre raises the daring suggestion that perhaps Apollonius was not a blunderer and that perhaps he was not trying to be Homer. Byre further suggests that much of what has been criticized in Argonautica- Jason's indecisiveness, the confused and conflicting aims of the gods-reflect the same skillful psychology for which his portrait of Medea is praised; an awareness of the conflicts that are a continual part of all our behavior, and our uncertainty about the respective roles of fate and chance in our careers.

Byre shares with Apollonius a shrewd appreciation of the human mind, combined with the kind of scholarly meticulousness that shaped Argonautica. In this book he reveals Argonautica to be a poem of surprising depth and complexity, in which things are seldom what they seem and never to completely understood. Perhaps Apollonius would have approved.