|
Argonautica
The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callimachus' ''Aetia'' is substantially extant through fragments), the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from remote Colchis. Their heroic adventures and Jason's relationship with the Colchian princess/sorceress Medea were already well known to Hellenistic audiences, which enabled Apollonius to go beyond a simple narrative, giving it a scholarly emphasis suitable to the times. It was the age of the great Library of Alexandria, and his epic incorporates his research in geography, ethnography, comparative religion, and Homeric literature. However, his main contribution to the epic tradition lies in his development of the love between hero and heroine – he seems to have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apollonius Rhodius
Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is one of the few extant examples of the epic genre and it was both innovative and influential, providing Ptolemaic Egypt with a "cultural mnemonic" or national "archive of images", and offering the Latin poets Virgil and Gaius Valerius Flaccus a model for their own epics. His other poems, which survive only in small fragments, concerned the beginnings or foundations of cities, such as Alexandria and Cnidus places of interest to the Ptolemies, whom he served as a scholar and librarian at the Library of Alexandria. A literary dispute with Callimachus, another Alexandrian librarian/poet, is a topic much discussed by modern scholars since it is thought to give some insight into their poetry, although there is very little evidence that there ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apollonius Of Rhodes
Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is one of the few extant examples of the epic genre and it was both innovative and influential, providing Ptolemaic Egypt with a "cultural mnemonic" or national "archive of images", and offering the Latin poets Virgil and Gaius Valerius Flaccus a model for their own epics. His other poems, which survive only in small fragments, concerned the beginnings or foundations of cities, such as Alexandria and Cnidus places of interest to the Ptolemies, whom he served as a scholar and librarian at the Library of Alexandria. A literary dispute with Callimachus, another Alexandrian librarian/poet, is a topic much discussed by modern scholars since it is thought to give some insight into their poetry, although there is very little ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argonauts
The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after its builder, Argus (Argonaut), Argus. They were sometimes called Minyans, after a prehistoric tribe in the area. Mythology The Golden Fleece After the death of King Cretheus, the Aeolian Pelias usurped the throne from his half-brother Aeson and became king of Iolcus in ancient Thessaly, Thessaly (near the modern city of Volos). Because of this unlawful act, an oracle warned him that a descendant of Aeolus would seek revenge. Pelias put to death every prominent descendant of Aeolus he could, but spared Aeson because of the pleas of their mother Tyro. Instead, Pelias kept Aeson prisoner and forced him to renounce his inheritance. Aeson married Alcimede, who bore him a son named Jason. Pelias intended to kill the baby at once, but Alcimede ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valerius Flaccus (poet)
Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century Roman poet who flourished during the "Silver Age" under the Flavian dynasty, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic. Gaius Valerius Flaccus at Britannica.Tim Stover, Valerius Flaccus at Oxford Bibliographies. Life The only widely accepted mention of Valerius Flaccus by his contemporaries is by (10.1.90), who laments t ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medea
In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high-priestess of the goddess Hecate. She is a mythical granddaughter of the sun god Helios and a niece of Circe, an enchantress goddess. Her mother may have been Idyia. She first appears in Hesiod's ''Theogony'' around 700 BC, but is best known from Euripides's 5th-century BC tragedy ''Medea (play), Medea'' and Apollonius of Rhodes's 3rd-century BC epic ''Argonautica''. In the myth of the Argonauts, she aids Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece. Medea later marries him, but eventually kills their children and his other bride according to some versions of her story. In the ''Argonautica'', Medea plays the archetypal role of helper-maiden, aiding Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece, using her magic to save his life and kills her bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea, the granddaughter of the sungod Helios. Jason appeared in various literary works in the classical world of Greece and Rome, including the epic poem ''Argonautica'' and the tragedy '' Medea''. In the modern world, Jason has emerged as a character in various adaptations of his myths, such as the 1963 film '' Jason and the Argonauts'' and the 2000 TV miniseries of the same name. Persecution by Pelias Pelias (Aeson's half-brother) was power-hungry and sought to gain dominion over all of Thessaly. Pelias was the progeny of a union between their shared mother, Tyro ("high born Tyro"), the daughter of Salmoneus, and the sea god Poseidon. In a bitter feud, he overthrew Aeson (the rightful king), killing all the descendants of Aeson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Murray
Jackie Murray is Associate Professor of Classics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is an expert on imperial Greek literature, Hellenistic poetry, and the reception of Classics in African American and Afro-Caribbean literature. Education Murray received her PhD in Classics from the University of Washington in 2005. Her doctoral thesis was entitled ''Polyphonic Argo''. Murray completed her BA (Summa Cum Laude) at the University of Guelph in Classical Studies and Latin, and she was awarded an MA in classics from the University of Western Ontario. Career Murray's published research focuses on Roman and Hellenistic literature, especially Apollonius, and race and ethnicity in the ancient world. Murray received the Andrew Heiskell/National Endowment for the Humanities Post-Doctoral Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome (2011–12). She was the first black woman to be awarded the Rome Prize in ancient studies. Her research project focused on Apollonius’ A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Library Of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts.Murray, S. A., (2009). The library: An illustrated history. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, p. 17 The idea of a universal library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy I Soter, who may have established plans for the Library, but the Library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The Library quickly acquired many papyrus scrolls, owing largely to the Ptolemaic kings' aggressive and well-funded policies for procuring texts. It is unknown precisely how many scrolls were housed at any given time, but estimates range from 40,000 to 400,000 at its height. Alexandria came to be regarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clashing Rocks
The Symplegades (; , ''Symplēgádes''), also known as Clashing Rocks or Cyanean Rocks (Κυανέαι), were, according to Greek mythology, a pair of rocks at the Bosphorus that clashed together whenever a vessel went through. They were defeated by Jason and the Argonauts, who would have been lost and killed by the rocks except for Phineus's advice. Jason let a dove fly between the rocks to see exactly how fast they'd have to row to beat the rocks; the dove lost only its tail feathers. The Argonauts rowed mightily to get through and lost only part of the stern ornament. After that, the Symplegades stopped moving permanently. The European rock is usually identified with an islet, about wide and long, which stands about off the shore of a village called Rumelifeneri ('Lighthouse of Rumeli'), and is connected to it by a modern concrete jetty. At its highest point, there is an ancient altar known as the Pillar of Pompey, though it has nothing to do with Pompey. Dionysius of Byz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colchis
In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the Colchians, are generally thought to have been mainly an early Kartvelian-speaking tribe ancestral to contemporary western Georgians, namely Svans and Zans. According to David Marshall Lang: "one of the most important elements in the modern Georgian nation, the Colchians were probably established in the Caucasus by the Middle Bronze Age." It has been described in modern scholarship as "the earliest Georgian formation", which, along with the Kingdom of Iberia, would later contribute significantly to the development of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Georgian nation. Colchis is known in Greek mythology as the destination of the Argonauts, as well as the home to Medea and the Golden Fleece. It was also described as a land rich with g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planctae
In Greek mythology, the Planctae (, ''Planktai'', "Wanderers"), also known as Wandering Rocks, were a group of rocks, between which the sea was mercilessly violent. The ''Argo'' (led by Jason) was the only ship to navigate them successfully (with divine help from Hera, Thetis, and the Nereids). Jason chose to brave the Planctae instead of braving Scylla and Charybdis. In the ''Odyssey'' of Homer, the sorceress Circe tells Odysseus of the "Wandering Rocks" or "Roving Rocks" that have only been successfully passed by the ''Argo'' when ''homeward'' bound. These rocks smash ships and the remaining timbers are scattered by the sea or destroyed by flames. The rocks lie on one of two potential routes to Ithaca; the alternative, which is taken by Odysseus, leads to Scylla and Charybdis. Furthermore, in the ''Argonautica'', it was Hera, for her love of Jason, who sped the ''Argo'' through the Symplegades safely. The rocks also appear on the journey in the ''Argonautica'' by Apollonius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myth Of Origins
An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place after the initial origin. These stories aim to explain the origins of natural phenomena or human institutions within an already existing world. In Greco-Roman scholarship, the terms founding myth or etiological myth (from 'cause') are occasionally used to describe a myth that clarifies an origin, particularly how an object or custom came into existence. In modern political discourse the terms "founding myth", "foundational myth", etc. are often used as critical references to official or widely accepted narratives about the origins or early history of a nation, a society, a culture, etc. Nature of origin myths Origin myths are narratives that explain how a particular reality came into existence.Eliade 1963, p. 21 They often serve to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
