The Argonautika by Orpheus

Writing Pre-Homeric Poetry in Late Antiquity

Series: 

Is it possible to be better than Homer? For most literary critics in late antiquity, the answer was an unequivocal no, but the anonymous author of the Argonautika by Orpheus disagreed. This book, the first English monograph on this late antique epic poem, demonstrates that the idea of competing with Homer is central to the Argonautika by Orpheus. Through a series of case-studies on the poem’s diction and compositional technique, it proposes a novel approach. Since the mythological bard Orpheus is ostensibly the poem’s author, readers are invited to view it from two perspectives simultaneously: as a late antique epic modelled on Homer’s works, but also a prehistorical model for Homer’s works.
Copyright Year:
2025
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-71568-4
Publication:
02 Dec 2024
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-71384-0
Publication:
06 Dec 2024
Cover The <i>Argonautika</i> by Orpheus

Prices from (excl. shipping):

€117.11€111.00 excl. VAT
Add to Cart
Alexandra Madeła is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Warsaw. She gained her PhD in Classics from Trinity College Dublin. She has previously published on the Argonautica by Orpheus, Dares Phrygius, late antique poetry, and ancient scholarship.
Acknowledgments

Introduction: Orpheus the Poet
 1 The Many Faces of Orpheus
 2 Orpheus of Kroton—a Red Herring
 3 The Argonautika as Part of Orpheus’ Oeuvre
 4 Double Vision
 5 Ps-Orpheus as Imitator and Inspiration for Homer and Apollonios
 6 Ps-Orpheus and Homer
 7 Ps-Orpheus and Apollonios

Edition and Translation: The Argonautika by Orpheus

Part1 Formulaic Language: Between Tradition and Innovation



1 Personal Epithets: Epic Jason, Tragic Medea
 1 Epic Hero Jason
 2 Medea
 3 Conclusions

2 Epithets for ‘Ship’: The ‘Swift’ and the ‘Sluggish’ Argo
 1 Homeric-Archaic Epithets
 2 Epithets Inspired by Archaic Poetry
 3 Apollonian Epithets
 4 Other Epithets
 5 Conclusions

3 Introductions to Direct Speeches: An Old and a New Formulaic Language
 1 Homeric-Archaic Speech Introductions
 2 Other Speech Introductions
 3 Conclusions

Part2 Rewriting the Epic Tradition: Homer and Apollonios



4 Competing with Homer
 1 Metapoetics
 2 The Iliad as a Sequel
 3 Orpheus the Eyewitness and Homer the Liar
 4 Conclusions

5 Rewriting Apollonios
 1 Introduction of Kyzikos
 2 Hospitality
 3 The Mountain Monsters
 4 Night-Time Battle and Death of Kyzikos
 5 Tiphys’ Dream
 6 Rhea’s Wrath
 7 The Funeral Games
 8 Kleite and Rhea
 9 Conclusions

Final Thoughts

Bibliography
Index
This book will be of interest to post-graduate students and specialists in the poetry of late antiquity, and useful for academic institutes as teaching material for advanced undergraduate students.
  • Collapse
  • Expand
Publisher:
Brill
Language:
English
Pages:
viii, 263 pp.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004715684

Manufacturer information:
Koninklijke Brill B.V. 
Plantijnstraat 2
2321 JC
Leiden / The Netherlands
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com