Background
Very little is known of Valerius Flaccus’ life, but he may have died about ad 90, because Quintilian mourns his recent death in his Institutio oratoria, a work written before ad 96.
( The story of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest fo...)
The story of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece is one of the oldest and most familiar tales in classical literature. Apollonius of Rhodes wrote the best-known version, in Greek, in the third century B.C.E. The Latin poet Gaius Valerius Flaccus began his own interpretation of the story in the first century of the Christian era, but he died before completing it. With The Voyage of the "Argo," the acclaimed poet and translator David Slavitt recovers for modern readers the only surviving work of this little-known writer. The result is an engaging rendition of Jason's adventures, of particular interest when compared to the Greek version of the story. While Apollonius' tale offers a subtle psychological study of Medea, Valerius Flaccus' achievement is to present Jason as a more complete and compelling heroic figure. Slavitt, for one, enjoyed the rediscovery immensely?and he invites his readers to do the same. "I am content to let my rendition into English speak for Valerius, but for those whom I imagine standing in an aisle of a library or bookstore, trying to decide, I can offer some reassurance. This piece is playful, unpredictable, oddly contrarian, sometimes almost mannerist. Valerius' description in book 8 of Medea's putting the serpent to sleep so Jason can filch the fleece involves a gesture no other Latin poet I know would have thought to try?a brief moment in Medea's head when she allows herself to feel sorry for the snake... It is this kind of droll surprise that drew me to undertake the translation of a work that is not, I freely confess, well known."?David Slavitt
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(Excerpt from C. Valeri Flacci Setini Balbi Argonauticon L...)
Excerpt from C. Valeri Flacci Setini Balbi Argonauticon Libri Octo Panca profecerunt in his studiis ei qui post Burmannum interpretes totias operis exstiterunt; nam Harles in universum satis habuit, interpretationes ah aliis iam prolatas repetere; 'wagner non tam commentarium scripsit quam paraphrasim prosaicam operis poetici et quae dicit, quamquam saepe non inutilia ad verba Valerii intellegenda, magis auctoritate affir mantur quam confirmantur exemplis. Francogalli autem qui hoc saecula poetae interpretando opera...m dederunt: Lemaire, Bureau de Lamalle, Huguet etsi singulis locis lueam attulerunt, tamen multa disceptanda pasteris reliquerunt: atque Huguet quidem nihil ipse praestitit, Bureau artis criticae non satis peritus inter panca utilia multa attulit, quae non ad rem faciant. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.
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(Apollonius Rhodius' epic poem Argonautica, written in Gre...)
Apollonius Rhodius' epic poem Argonautica, written in Greek during the third century BC, has become the de facto standard version of the story of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. Valerius Flaccus' Latin epic of the late first century AD is by contrast little known, even to those otherwise well-read in ancient literature. This translation offers an accurate and appealing presentation in English verse. Flaccus' Argonautica lends keen Roman touches to the tale, developing further the sense of adventure and the erotic passion found in the Greek. It offers vicarious travel to exotic lands, gripping heroism in the face of wondrous monsters and an all-star cast of famous Greek heroes. The stirring sea voyage is interwoven with blossoming love between Jason and Medea, their young passion not yet gone sour. Michael Barich's deft translation and lyrical grace notes will delight devotees and newcomers to this timeless classic.
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Very little is known of Valerius Flaccus’ life, but he may have died about ad 90, because Quintilian mourns his recent death in his Institutio oratoria, a work written before ad 96.
a native of Padua, and in needy circumstances; but as he was a member of the College of Fifteen, who had charge of the Sibylline books (i. 5), he must have been well off.
The Argonautica, his only surviving work, is an epic poem in hexameter verse, dedicated to the Emperor Vespasian. It describes the famous voyage of the ship Argo in which Jason and other heroes sailed to Colchis to bring the Golden Fleece back to Thessaly. The poem breaks off in Book VIII with Medea begging Jason not to send her back to Colchis. The poet may have died at this point, or the end of Book VIII may have been lost in the course of the epic’s transmission.
Valerius clearly borrowed material from the Argonautica of the Alexandrian poet Apollonius Rhodius (fl. about 200 bc); and for his style and treatment he was deeply indebted to Virgil, though his Medea is a much gentler and less passionate figure than Dido. His verse technique owes much to Ovid. But he possessed creative gifts of his own; his work is written in simple and direct language and the narrative reveals strong dramatic talent. Valerius’ work is also free of some of the vices of contemporary Latin poetry, such as display of erudition and exaggerated rhetoric.
The Argonautica was unknown until the first four and a half books were discovered by the Italian Humanist Poggio at Saint-Gall in 1417. The first edition was published in 1474. Late 20th-century editions include those by Edward Courtney (1970) and Widu-Wolfgang Ehlers (1980).
(Apollonius Rhodius' epic poem Argonautica, written in Gre...)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
( The story of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest fo...)
(Excerpt from C. Valeri Flacci Setini Balbi Argonauticon L...)