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Title: Voyage of the Argo: The Argonautica of Gaius Valerius Flaccus by David R. Slavitt, Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Gaius Valerius Flaccus ISBN: 0-8018-6178-0 Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr Pub. Date: October, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A vital piece of translation
Comment: David Slavitt's translation of Gaius Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica, has served to make this eminent Latin poet far more accessible to the twenty-first century reader. One of the only pieces of classical verse where we have a direct comparison to another - in this case Apollonius of Rhodes' version written some four hundred years earlier, the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece (further immortalized in a Hollywood epic) - it is given an entirely new look by Flaccus and is now brought to the attention of the modern reader.
The Argonautica is split into eight books and deals with Jason's search for fleece and his dealings with Medea. Book I opens with his uncle Pelias, enticing Jason to search for the fleece in Colchis, hoping that his nephew will find his death and thereby prevent the prophecy that Pelias will find his doom from his own kin. We are treated to a lengthy tabulation of all the heroes and demi-mortals that have chosen to participate in the voyage, yet Flacchus is very aware that a list of names does not grip a reader's attention. After the ship sets sail we are treated to the Olympian Gods threats and favors, Flacchus following a well-trodden path of depicting the Gods as taking sides over a game, each keen to encourage their favorites and stop their opponents.
In Book II the Argo's main visit is to Lemnos which has undergone a purging of the island's husbands caused by the trickery of Venus. The Argonauts spend some time Jason and Hypsipyle forming a union. However, they leave and the book ends with Hercules' rescue of the sacrifical maid from the Hydra monster at the legendary city of Troy.
Book III has them visiting the friendly land of Cyzicus. However, post-departure the goddess Cybele turns the Argo around and the shipmates blindly attack their new-won allies at night in utter confusion. A further adventure sees them stopping in a thickly wooded land (to repair Hercules' oar). During the sojourn, Hylas is lured to a watery death by nymphs and Hercules searches for him forcing the Argonauts to debate the merits of teamwork and eventually leave him there.
During Book IV Jove rescues Hercules and sends him to save Prometheus. Meanwhile, the Argo approaches Bebrycian ruled by the tyrannical King Amycus who kills all with a cestus. One half of the famous twins, Castor, defeats him in combat, thus saving an oppressed people. Sailing on there is a minor interlude as Orpheus recounts story of Io who was transformed by Jove into cow to avoid the wrath of Juno (she became Egyptian Isis, according to Flacchus, thus neatly placing Egyptian mythology secondary to Roman). Once this is recounted they land again and meet Phineus and his woeful tale of the Harpies that deny him decent substenance. Once the winged brothers, Calais and Zetes, defeat them Phineus foretells the coming adventures and they sail on to navigate the treacherous Cyanean rocks to the mouth of Pontus and reach the land of King Lycus.
Book V opens with pestilence as both the helmsman, Tiphys, and Idmon dying. Arriving at the Colchis shores the Argonauts meeting King Aeetes and request the Fleece. He coerces them into fighting on his side against his brother, Perses, the Fleece being the reward. The remainder of the book reverts to hero tabulation, namely of Aeetes warriors and we move swiftly into the battle against Perses in Book VI with yet more listing of whom slew whom, all the while avidly encouraged by Mars and Palla Minerva. The battle ends and we move into the Olympian actions with Juno enticing Medea - who is known as the greatest witch of her time - to assist Jason when Aeetes asks him to sow the dragons teeth (as a delaying tactic to giving him the Fleece). Juno takes Medea to the midst of the battle and using Venus' girdle, ensnares Medea's heart, as we move through some hundred-plus lines of a battle paean to Jason. The book ends with Aeetes' victory over Perses.
Book VII moves from the passion of war into the passion of the heart as Medea struggles to understand her feelings for Jason. It is at this moment that Aeetes hidden scorn for Jason pours forth, as he challenges Jason to prove yet further his valor by harnessing the bulls to sow the dragon's teeth. There follows Medea's subjective soliloquy as she strives to decide between aiding Jason (and thus Greece) or not aiding him and thus betraying her father. It takes a visitation from Venus disguised as Circe to convince her to aid Jason and to betray her country, her king, her father. Having decided she meets Jason in secret and he implores her to accept his hand. Thus captivated she explains what he needs to do with both it and on the further perils that await him. The next day dawns and with it Jason's fufillment of the task, to Aeetes dismay. We reach Book VII and Jason claims both Medea and the Fleece, fleeing away in the Argo, receiving the acclaimation of peoples on his return voyage. A chasing ship headed by Medea's brother, Absyrtus overhauls and blocks them in. Jason is convinced by his men to leave Medea behind and he agrees. When Medea finds out there is a terrible argument....
At this point the poem ends (due to Flaccus death?) and the poem is completed by Slavitt using the knowledge from other authors in order that the reader isn't left hanging on.
Slavitt's blank verse has rendered Flaccus extremely readable and the translator has retained much of the general sense of the original without reverting to the modern vernacular. What he has certainly achieved is to make this lesser known Latin poet far more accessible to the modern reader and has achieved it in a manner that gives new life to the myth of the voyage of the Argo.
Rating: 5
Summary: Epic. Lyrical. Brilliant.
Comment: Slavitt's landmark translation of the seldom seen Argonautica of Imperial Roman Gaius Valerius Flaccus is a seminal work of the periods' literature. For many readers of antiquity, sadly, Roman literature ends with Ovid or Petronius. Valerius has been largely neglected for two thousand years. But he has his charms. His work is incomparably witty, with undeniable poetic genius and skill. With the exception of the Argonautic(k)a of Apollonios Rhodios, Valerius' Jason has never been surpassed. But to compare the two stylistically is a mistake; Apollonios set out to create a flawed hero with whom the audience could empathize. Valerius aims for an exciting and captivating adventure, succeeding spectacularly. This magnificent translation may yet launch Valerius into the pantheon of great ancient writers.
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Title: The Argonautika: The Story of Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece (Hellenistic Culture and Society, No 25) by Apollonios Rhodios, Peter Green, Apollonius ISBN: 0520076877 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Metamorphoses of Ovid by Ovid, Allen Mandelbaum ISBN: 0156001268 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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