Iliadic and Odyssean heroics : Apollonius’ Argonautica and the epic tradition

In this dissertation, I demonstrate how a different heroic model dominates in each of the first three books of Apollonius’ Argonautica. In Book 1, the star of the expedition is Heracles, whose heroic persona is founded on physical strength, martial prowess, eris, and mēnis. He thereby embodies the spirit of the Iliad’s protagonist, Achilles. Book 2 turns its attention to Polydeuces and the helmsmen. When they employ intellect and mētis to safeguard the expedition, they evoke the heroic attributes of Odysseus. The first half of the Argonautica, therefore, revolves around the performance of Homeric heroic models as Heracles channels Achilles and the leading characters of Book 2 channel Odysseus. In Book 3, these Homeric models become defunct and are replaced by a new heroic apparatus founded on Hellenistic values of realism and collaboration. Jason is the representative of this modern heroism, possessing skills that are plausible and even prevalent in Apollonius’ own world: camaraderie, diplomacy, and romance. When Iliadic biē and Odyssean mētis fail at Colchis, it is Jason’s credible skills that prove effective, signifying the triumph of human Hellenistic heroism over superhuman Homeric heroics. The first three books of the Argonautica, therefore, explore book-by-book through the lens of heroism what the epic genre means for the audiences of both Homer and the Hellenistic world. But when Jason’s realism—that element at the core of his Hellenistic credibility—is disrupted during the magical contest at the end of Book 3, his collaborative and diplomatic values also fracture. Book 4, therefore, goes on to perform the dissolution of Jason’s Hellenistic heroic identity and its subsequent renewal at two locations that are reminiscent of Apollonius’ home: Drepane (the twin of Alexandria with its own Ptolemaic-inspired royal couple) and Libya (a proto-Alexandria). When the Argonauts experience their first cooperative aristeia at Libya by performing collective Iliadic and Odyssean values, it is the final confirmation that in a modern, realistic world such as that in which Apollonius and his audience live, superheroes are obsolete