Valerii Flacci Argonautica I

Recent years have witnessed a marked increase in scholarly interest in Valerius Flaccus s Argonautica. Numerous analyses, discussions and commentaries on the poetical art of this difficult epic have appeared. This volume provides a philological commentary on the first book of the Argonautica. Special attention is paid to the sources upon which Valerius drew, and a comparison made with earlier literary tradition (in particular with the first book of Vergil s Aeneid, but also with Seneca s tragedies). In addition, the language, style and compositional techniques which were peculiar to epic during the Flavian period are studied.