Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

poet who flourished during the "

Silver Age The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...

" under the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty, lasting from 69 to 96 CE, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Th ...

, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to

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 Go ...

' 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

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

(10.1.90), who laments the recent death of "Valerius Flaccus" as a great loss; as Quintilian's work was finished about 90 AD, this traditionally gives a limit for the death of Valerius Flaccus. Recent scholarship, however, puts forward an alternative date of about 95 AD, and definitely before the death of

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

in 96 AD. It has been claimed that he was a member of the College of Fifteen, who had charge of the

Sibylline books The ''Sibylline Books'' () were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameter verses, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and consulted at momentous cri ...

, based on a reference in his work to the presence of a tripod in a "pure home" (1.5). The assumption that this indicates he himself was a member, however, has also been contested. A contested mention of a poet of the name "Valerius Flaccus" is by

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

(1.76), who refers to a native of

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. A subscription in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

manuscript adds the name ''Setinus Balbus'', a name which suggests that its holder was a native of Setia in

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

, however it is not clear if this inscription refers to "Valerius Flaccus" or someone else. The connection of this "Valerius Flaccus" to Gaius Valerius Flaccus has been contested under the assumption that Martial was referring to his friend's financial strife, and that Gaius Valerius Flaccus was a member of the College of Fifteen, and therefore likely to have been wealthy.

''Argonautica''

Valerius Flaccus' only surviving work, the ''Argonautica'', was dedicated to Vespasian on his setting out for

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. It was written during the siege, or shortly after the capture of Jerusalem by

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

in 70 AD. As the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD is alluded to, its composition must have occupied him a long time. The ''Argonautica'' is an

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

probably intended to be in eight books (though intended totals of ten and twelve books, the latter corresponding to

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

,'' an important poetic model, have also been proposed) written in traditional

dactylic hexameter Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter used in Ancient Greek epic and didactic poetry as well as in epic, didactic, satirical, and pastoral Latin poetry. Its name is derived from Greek (, "finger") and (, "six"). Dactylic hexameter consists o ...

s, which recounts

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 Med ...

's quest for the Golden Fleece. The Argonautica was lost until 1411, when the first 4½ volumes were found at

St Gall Gall (; 550 645) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region betwe ...

in 1417 and published at

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1474. The poem's text, as it has survived, is in a very corrupt state; it ends so abruptly with the request of

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- ...

to accompany

on his homeward voyage, that it is assumed by most modern scholars that it was never finished. It is a free imitation and in parts a translation of the ''Argonautica'' of

, "to whom he is superior in arrangement, vividness, and description of character" (Loeb Classical Library). The familiar subject had already been treated in Latin verse in the popular version of

Varro Atacinus Publius Terentius Varro Atacinus (; 82 – c. 35 BC) was a Roman poet, more polished in his style than the more famous and learned Varro Reatinus, his contemporary, and therefore more widely read by the Augustan writers. Charles Thomas Cruttwell ...

. The object of the work has been described as the glorification of Vespasian's achievements Valerius Flaccus, Gaius active 1st century
at World cat identies. in securing Roman rule in

and opening up the ocean to navigation (as the

Euxine The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

was opened up by the ''

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...

''). In 1911, the compilers of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' remarked, More modern analysis has been more accepting of Valerius Flaccus' style, noting how it fits in the "long and energetic Roman tradition of appropriation of the golden age and iron age myths" and commenting on his narrative technique:

Editions

;Older editions *

Editio princeps In Textual scholarship, textual and classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts. These had to be copied by han ...

, Bologna 1474 * Giovanni Battista Pio, Bologna 1519 (with commentary and continuation of the poem: remainder of book 8, book 9, and book 10) * Aldine edition, Venice 1523 * Louis Carrion, Antwerp 1565 (2nd ed. 1566) (Plantin edition) * Nicolaas Heinius, Leiden 1680 (2nd ed. Utrecht 1702 y Pieter Burman 3rd ed. Padua 1720 y Giuseppe Comino* Pieter Burman, Leiden 1724 (variorum edition) * Bipontine edition, Zweibrücken 1786 * J.A. Wagner, Göttingen 1805 (with commentary) ;Modern editions * G. Thilo, Halle 1863 * C. Schenkl, Berlin 1871 * E. Baehrens, Leipzig 1875 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * P. Langen, Berlin 1896-7 * J.B. Bury, London 1900 (in Postgate's Corpus Poetarum Latinorum) * C. Giarratano, Palermo 1904 * O. Kramer, Leipzig 1913 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * J.H. Mozley, London & Cambridge, MA, 1934 (Loeb Classical Library) * E. Courtney, Leipzig 1970 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * W.W. Ehlers, Stuttgart 1980 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * G. Liberman, Paris 1997 (Collection Budé) – Books 1–4 * F. Caviglia, Milan 1999 (Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli UR * G. Liberman, Paris 2002 (Collection Budé) – Books 5–8 ;English translations * J.H. Mozley, London & Cambridge, MA, 1934 (Loeb Classical Library) * D.R. Slavitt, Baltimore 1999 * Michael Barich, Gambier, OH 2009

In popular culture

Valerius Flaccus appears as a recurring character in

Caroline Lawrence Caroline Lawrence (born 1954) is an English American children's author, best known for '' The Roman Mysteries'', a series of historical novels following four child detectives in Ancient Rome. The series has won numerous awards and has been publ ...

's '' Roman Mysteries'' series of children's novels. He is the husband of the main character, Flavia Gemina. In the television adaptations, the character is played by British actor Ben Lloyd-Hughes.

References

Sources

External links

* *
Works by Valerius Flaccus at Perseus Digital Library

* ttp://www.thelatinlibrary.com/valeriusflaccus.html Online text: Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica (Latin)
Extensive bibliography

Silver Muse project: reading guides, essays, commentaries etc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaccus, Gaius Valerius Epic poets Silver Age Latin writers 1st-century Roman poets 1st-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 1st-century Romans Valerii 1st-century writers in Latin