The Voyage of Argo: The Argonautica (Penguin Classics)
by Apollonius of Rhodes
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Book Summary Information
Author: Apollonius of RhodesTranslator: E. V. Rieu
Introduction: E. V. Rieu
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1959-04-30
ISBN: 0140440852
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of The Voyage of Argo: The Argonautica (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: My new favorite epic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the ancient Greek story of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. It's often neglected in literature classes, though the Greeks regarded it as practically equal to Homer's work. Most people have heard of Jason and the Argonauts, though, mainly due to the 1960's adventure movie with stop-motion monsters. Apollonius' first printing of The Argonautica was universally hated, but years later he rewrote and refined it, and it was finally embraced by his audience, which is an amazing story in itself, because I always think of these old classic works as something the writers didn't have to tweak or revise in any way.
King Pelias sends out the Argonauts on their big quest. He heard a prophecy that his death would come from a man with one bare foot, so when Jason comes to town with one sandal missing, the king knows he's got to get rid of him, and a foolhardy quest is a perfect excuse. A bunch of noble warriors from surrounding lands decide to join up with Jason and help him, and they sail off in the Argo, an extra-special ship. They have a multitude of adventures while getting to their destination and many more on the way home, but the biggest subplot in the story is how Medea, the magic-wielding daughter of mean king Aeetes, falls in love with Jason.
Jason's an unusual hero. If Achilles is a terminator, Odysseus is a genius, and Aeneas is like a priest, Jason is Just Some Guy. Well, that's not quite true. He's a good warrior and a great speaker, but he doesn't stand out among his companions: Jason's fellow Argonauts include the fastest man in the world, a man who can predict the weather, a man with x-ray vision, two men who can fly, two men who can predict the future, and Hercules. Yes, that Hercules. Jason isn't their first choice for a leader, and except for King Aeetes' big challenge, he's generally not the person who solves major problems. He's indecisive and broods over his choices until someone else finally yells at him to pick a course of action, and his Eeyore tendencies lead the text itself to call him "gloomy". Plenty of the traveling scenes go like this:
Argonauts: Yar! Let's go on to the next island!
Jason: We're all going to die, you realize.
Argonauts: You're right, we're doomed.
Telamon/Argus/Hercules: Stop crying and row.
Argonauts: Yeah, rowing, woo-hoo!
But for all this, Jason is very sympathetic, even likable. He's a perfectionist who thinks not just of himself but of everyone else, and he's concerned with getting all of his men home safely. He also helps the hotheads in the crew calm down when necessary. Jason's no standard epic hero, but he's a pretty good one, nonetheless.
I'm definitely fond of the impressive, nuanced supporting cast of Argonauts. These people have actual personalities. In The Odyssey, the hero's companions are basically divided into: 1.Guys who died a few years ago 2.Guys who died a few weeks ago 3.Guys who are probably going to die tomorrow. The crewmen weren't even guest stars on The Odysseus Show--they were extras and redshirts, just there to make the slaughtering scenes seem more effective. But the Argonauts seem like actual people despite their stunning accomplishments, and though they occupy a crazy world, they react to trauma in very familiar, very human ways. Epic connection bonus: Since this takes place before the Trojan War, there's a guest appearance by baby Achilles, and several of the other Argonauts become the fathers of warriors in The Iliad.
There are some hilarious scenes, too. When a brawl is about to break out among the crew, Orpheus immediately grabs his guitar and starts singing. The fight ends because his singing voice is so pretty, no one can remember what they were arguing about. Later, in Colchis, the Argonauts are wondering what to do, and all of a sudden a dove falls out of the sky into Jason's lap and a hawk impales itself on the mast of their ship. Mopsus (an auspex, or bird-reading prophet) interprets the omens, but somehow the immediacy of the dove and hawk plunking down on their ship is seriously funny. Then there's Medea's love for Jason, which is normally a very tragic and agonizing thing, but it looks like a schoolgirl's crush at one point when she's swooning over the way he stands up from the dinner table and walks to the door.
The Argonautica is a short epic and it reads like a novel, not an epic poem; the translation reflects this, dividing the writing into paragraphs instead of poetic lines. It contains some beautiful extended similes that capture very precise emotions, like when Jason's mother is saying goodbye to him, "weeping without restraint, like a girl who in her loneliness falls into the arms of her old nurse, her one remaining friend, to ease her heart, fresh from the blows and insults of the stepmother who makes her life a misery" (pg 43). These similes might not work for everybody, but I love them because after reading those lines, I feel exactly what Jason's mother is feeling. The emotions are vivid (Medea's, especially), the action scenes are perfectly timed, and overall, the book is light-years ahead of its time in terms of characterization. Looks like I've found a new favorite epic.
Summary of The Voyage of Argo: The Argonautica (Penguin Classics)
Written in the third century BC in Alexandria, this is the only full surviving account of Jason's legendary quest for the Golden Fleece. It describes the thrilling adventures of the Argonauts on their voyage to Colchis to plead with king Aeetes for the fleece, his greatest treasure and the Eros-inspired passion felt by his daughter, the beautiful witch-princess Medea, for the scheming Jason. Chronicling a journey that sees Jason and his crew traverse perilous seas, negotiate the treacherous Cyanean Rocks, and confront the lure of the Sirens' song, The Voyage of Argo is a masterful depiction of distinctly human heroism and betrayal caused by love. An eloquent marriage of romance and realism, it tells the definitive version of one of the greatest legends of the classical age: an epic tale of bravery, prophecy and magic.Poetry Books
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