M.A.J. Heerink

Going a Step Further: Valerius Flaccus’ Metapoetical Reading of Propertius 1.20

Propertius 1.20 poses many interpretative questions, which scholars have tried to solve not least by comparing the poem with other versions of the Hylas myth, notably those of Apollonius (Argon. 1.1153ff.) and Theocritus (Id. 13). The relationship of Propertius’ poem to Valerius Flaccus’ Hylas episode (Argon. 3.481ff.), however, has received little attention, although Valerius offers the most elaborate version of the myth. Recently, Philip Hardie has initiated the approach of ‘retrospective interpretation’ for Valerius Flaccus’ reading of Virgil’s Aeneid. He has shown that Valerius—and other Flavian epic poets—read and interpret their most important model, Virgil’s Aeneid, in a way that anticipates modern studies of intertextuality; it is therefore attractive to use Valerius’ readings and interpretations of Virgil as a critical tool for our own reading of the Aeneid. But what about Valerius’ other models? I would like to show through a few examples that in his Hylas episode Valerius has carefully read and interpreted Propertius 1.20 in a way that bears close resemblance to modern readings of Latin poetry. In addition I hope to show that Valerius also provides us with an interesting new interpretation of Propertius 1.20.

Brill's companion to Valerius Flaccus

Brills Companion to Valerius Flaccus is the first English-language survey on all key aspects of this Flavian poet and his epic Argonautica (1st century CE). A team of international specialists offers both an account of the state of the art and new insights. Topics covered include textual transmission, language, poetic techniques, main themes, characters, relationship to intertexts and reception. This will be a standard point of departure for anyone interested in Valerius Flaccus or Flavian epic more generally. Contributors are: Antony Augoustakis, Michael Barich, Neil Bernstein, Emma Buckley, Cristiano Castelletti, James Clauss, Robert Cowan, Peter Davis, Alain Deremetz, Attila Ferenczi, Marco Fucecchi, Randall Ganiban, Mark Heerink, Alison Keith, Helen Lovatt, Gesine Manuwald, Ruth Parkes, Tim Stover, Ruth Taylor-Briggs, and Andrew Zissos.

Valerius Flaccus, Virgil and the Poetics of Ekphrasis

Descriptions of works of art in classical poetry are often susceptible to interpretation as instances of mise en abyme, i.e. miniature representations of (an aspect of) the work of which they are part. The Argonautica features two major instances of ekphrasis: the description of the pictures that adorn the Argo’s hull (1.130–48) and the description of the reliefs on the doors of the temple of Sol in Colchis (5.407–55). In this chapter This chapter shows how both passages, positioned at two crucial moments in the narrative (at the very beginning of the voyage in book 1 and right after the arrival of the Argonauts in Colchis in Book 5 respectively) reflect the poetics of the entire epic. The metapoetical significance of the ekphrasis in Book 1 is suggested by its close link to the immediately preceding passage describing the construction of the Argo. It is argued that the ‘Callimachean’ and Ovidian subject matter of the pictures on the hull should be read accordingly and point in the direction of Valerius’ positioning of his epic vis-a-vis his main model, Virgil’s Aeneid. This ekphrasis is clearly linked to the description of the temple in Book 5, which also features the construction of the Argo and has ‘Ovidian’ overtones as well. For instance, Valerius reads his main model – Virgil’s description of the temple of Juno in Aeneid 1 – through Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in which the palace of Sol is described (2.1–19). Together, these two interconnected ekphraseis reveal Valerius’ self-conscious positioning of his Argonautica in the epic tradition.

Virgil, Lucan, and the Meaning of Civil War in Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica

In his recent monograph (2012) Tim Stover has provided the first full-scale study of Valerius Flaccus’ interaction with Lucan’s Bellum Civile, arguing that the Argonautica restores epic after Lucan and optimistically supports Vespasian’s restoration of the Principate after the civil wars of 68-69 AD. Focusing on the ‘civil war’ between the Argonauts and the Doliones in Book 3 of Valerius’ epic, I will propose an alternative reading of the influence of Lucan as well as Virgil’s Aeneid. Although Valerius at first sight seems to set up the Cyzicus episode in Virgilian fashion, he in fact deconstructs this reading, revealing the impossibility of (re)writing an Aeneid in the Flavian age.

Index of Passages

Brill’s Companion to Valerius Flaccus is the first English-language survey on all key aspects of this Flavian poet. A team of international specialists offers both an account of the state of the art and new insights.

Abstracts of Chapters

Brill’s Companion to Valerius Flaccus is the first English-language survey on all key aspects of this Flavian poet. A team of international specialists offers both an account of the state of the art and new insights.