Aspects of Transgression in Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica Thesis submitted in accordance with the

307 Pages·2013·1.6 MB·English

Aspects of Transgression in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica

Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the

University of Liverpool

for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy

by Beverley Scott

September 2012
Abstract

In a literary era seemingly obsessed with transgression, Valerius’ own interest in the
theme should come as no surprise. For the Romans, the Argo was the first ship in
existence; thus the entire Argonautic enterprise is underpinned with transgression. This
study sets out to interrogate the complex ways in which Valerius engages with
transgression, offering new readings of his Argonautica in the process. He presents a
world where expected boundaries are tested, or entirely collapsed, and where the
characters and the narrator, grasping for something familiar upon which to hold, are left
wanting.
This thesis focuses on three major areas of enquiry, all fruitful in making useful
conclusions when thinking about transgression in Valerius Flaccus. Firstly, the location
of Jason and Medea’s wedding on the island of Peuce is examined, a seemingly
insignificant departure from Apollonius Rhodius’ narrative. In fact, a number of
transgressive issues are conflated at the point at which their marriage begins, enhancing
the sense of unease at the union. The second section springs from the transgressive
nature of Peuce’s landscape itself, in that caves, whilst suitable for weddings and
sometimes the site of rapes, are often the home of monsters. Monsters pervade the text,
appearing at familiar junctures (such as the Harpies, Amycus, and the sown men), but
also at unexpected moments, where, for example, gods display monstrous
characteristics. The ocular activity of ‘real’ monsters is shown to foreshadow the same
curious phenomenon in Medea herself. She is revealed to be a potently transgressive
character, and in assuming the hybrid role of character in the work and Muse, she is able
to step out of the poem into a position of narrative control. The final section considers
the technological aspects of Valerius’ poem against a background of science fiction
receptions of the Argonautic myth, all of which are particularly concerned with
exploring ideas of technological advance. Modern science fiction writers such as H. G.
Wells and Robert J. Sawyer ‘use’ Argonautic themes, imagery and motifs in their work
to routinely explore the hazards of progress. These modern receptions allow us to revisit
the ancient material Valerius’ Argonautica, and to see that a world without boundaries
is not a consequence-free world, since the far-reaching ramifications of technological
advance are brought sharply into focus when read through the ‘lens’ of science fiction.
The Argonautica, a poem rich in transgressive themes, is a work which poses
more questions than it answers. In that final quality, the significance and potency of its
transgression is revealed.
Acknowledgements

The research and preparation of this work was made possible through the generous
financial support of The University of Liverpool, through the Alumnus Scholarship,
Graduate Teaching Fellowship, and a tuition fees scholarship. In addition, the
department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at Liverpool has provided access
to the necessary facilities, resources, and administrative support.

I would like to thank my fellow PGs at Liverpool for their help, friendship, and
encouragement in working towards this goal. Thanks are also due to the outstanding
departmental staff at Liverpool, with whom I have worked and taught. They have kindly
given me the benefit of their wisdom, advice, and guidance over the years. In addition to
the department’s support staff, special thanks go to Colin Adams, Tom Harrison, Fred
Jones, Graham Oliver, Christopher Tuplin, Zosia Archibald, Alexei Zadorozhnyy, Joe
Skinner, Amy Coker, and Glenn Godenho. I must also express my gratitude to Andy
Sawyer of the Science Fiction Foundation at Liverpool.

Outside of Liverpool I would like to thank Nick Lowe, Karen Ni-Mheallaigh, Dunstan
Lowe, Tony Keen, Helen Lovatt, Andrew Zissos, Tim Stover, Dalida Agri, Dani Frisby,
Jamie McIntyre, Katharine Earnshaw, Gill Scott, and Shaun Hegarty, all of whom have
commented on or discussed various aspects of transgression in Valerius’ poem with me.

I would also like to express my gratitude to my examiners, Fiona Hobden and Emma
Buckley; moreover, I owe special thanks to my supervisors, Bruce Gibson and Joanna
Paul. Without their unfailing patience, constant willingness to read new drafts of my
work, encouragement, advice, and helpful comments and suggestions, I would not have
been able to complete this project.

My final thanks are to my wonderful parents, and to Tony, who continues to be an
abiding source of immense strength and inspiration to me.
Abbreviations ii
Introduction: 1

1: The ‘mysterious island’ of Peuce 10
1.1 The wedding of Jason and Medea: Apollonius Rhodius 13
1.2 She’s leaving home: Medea’s flight and the geography of Peuce 16
1.3 Jason and Medea’s wedding: Valerius’ version 31
1.4 The rape of Peuce 40
1.5 Initial thoughts on interpretation 51

2: The island of Peuce: rape, metamorphosis, recompense? 55
2.1 Descriptions of Peuce in other texts 57
2.2 Shadows of the future: Argonautica 1 and the Ovidian connection 64
2.3 The first time ever I saw your face: Jason and Medea meet 76
2.4 Peuce: a suitable location for this wedding 91

3: Argonautic monsters 93
3.1 Defining the monster 95
3.2 Monstrous beginnings in the Argonautica 100
3.3 Monsters as motivation for the mission 106
3.4 Home is where the heart is: monsters at Iolchos 112

4: Figurative monsters: Lemnos, Cyzicus and Colchis 123
4.1 ‘The summit of beauty and love’? Venus at Lemnos 124
4.2 ‘And Venus was her name’: Venus at Colchis 138
4.3 Cyzicus, the noua signa and the noua monstra 147

5: The monstrous and the ocular 160
5.1 Sigeum 161
5.2 Bebrycia 164
5.3 Medea the monster: eyes and vision 171
5.4 Medea’s introduction 175
5.5 Gods and Monsters at Colchis 181
5.6 It’s all in the eyes: the Teichoscopia and its aftermath 184
5.7 Medea, Monsters and the Muses 206

6: Science Fiction receptions of the Argonautic myth 221
6.1 Science Fiction – a very brief overview 227
6.2 Wells and his Argonauts – ‘The Chronic Argonauts’ (1888) 234
6.3 ‘The Argonauts of the Air’ (1895) 244
6.4 The plot of The Time Machine (1895) 247
6.5 The Golden Fleece: Sawyer’s Space Argo 254
6.6 Analysis: Science Fiction receptions of the Argonautica 259

Conclusion 266

i
Abbreviations

Names of ancient authors and works are abbreviated following the usage of the
Oxford Latin Dictionary and Liddle & Scott’s A Greek-English Lexicon. Exceptions
to this convention and abbreviations of modern works are listed below.

OLD Glare, P. G. W. Oxford Latin Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. 1982.

TLL Thesaurus Linguae Latinae. Leipzig: Teubner. 1900-

ii
Introduction

Valerius Flaccus is the first of the Flavian epic poets. The period in which he lived
was one of great change, in that during this time the Julio-Claudian line, members of
which had reigned in Rome until the demise of Nero in 68 CE, was replaced by the
Flavian dynasty. Following 69 CE, a tumultuous year of conflict known as the ‘Year
of the Four Emperors’,1 Vespasian was finally installed as Emperor, and it is during
his reign that Valerius produced his Argonautica. Vespasian’s leadership brought a
period of calm stability to the Roman Empire. His modesty and unassuming
behaviour during sweeping successes in his earlier military career showed him to be
the ideal candidate to take Rome forward in this new era, and this led to an increase
in Roman power, an accumulation of wealth, and an expansion of the Empire’s
administrative borders.
Valerius’ work begins with overt praise for the Emperor and his sons (1.7-
21),2 a stamp of approval for the new regime. Valerius’ Argonautica has recently
been interpreted both as a paean to the new era,3 as a pessimistic view of
progressivism,4 and conversely as deflating both arguments for progressivism and
primitivism,5 all viewpoints which in some way seek to historicise the work and to
link it explicitly with the new era. The Romans believed that the extent of their
power was without limit, a sentiment encapsulated by the phrase imperium sine fine.
This new era of calm was of course welcome, and there were undoubtedly those who
felt a sense of relief that with the installation of a new and stable seat of power, the

1 Levick (1999).
2 See Nauta (2006) for more on the opening of Valerius’ poem.
3 Stover (2012).
4 M. Davis (1990).
5 Zissos (2006b).
1
Roman Empire could get back to fighting outside enemies rather than enduring the
internal fighting which had plagued the administration for so long.
However there were of course still boundaries to Roman power. The
sentiment imperium sine fine was not a statement of true fact. Geographical
limitations or steadfast opposition from enemies of the Roman plan still affected the
Empire, whoever was in power. Perhaps this is a contributory factor to the en vogue
theme of Flavian literature: boundary-breaking, and transgression. Epic poetry of this
era deals with issues such as ‘Romanisation’, civil war, gigantomachic themes, the
impacts of an accumulation of wealth, history, myth, and anachronisms, and
Valerius’ work is no different. The present study sets out to examine a number of
transgressive episodes to be found in the epic, to discover whether there may in fact
be another way to interpret this retelling of a very old myth, and one which in fact
throws the reaction to this new era into some confusion.
For the Romans, the Argo was the first ship in existence. This first sea
journey was not only pioneering, but also potentially an offence to the gods, since the
sea was put in place by them at the time of creation to provide an insurmountable
boundary, and to keep humans apart from each other. Once the daring urges of
humans overtook the fear of the unknown, these boundaries could be broken.
Ironically, the struggle to maintain one’s own territorial boundaries arises once the
geographical boundaries, which previously limited human expansion, are broken. For
the Romans, the inception of sea travel is conflated with the end of the nomadic,
peaceful Golden Age; the harsh realities of the Iron Age follow in its wake, bringing
industry, trade, expansion and war.6 Roman poets such as Catullus (Carm. 64) and
Horace (Carm. 1.3) explore the folly of sea travel, and the latter work in particular

6 Feeney (2007, ch. 4).
2
conflates the invention of navigation with other Iron Age concerns such as
agriculture. The Argonautic myth is itself concerned with the breaking of boundaries,
but Valerius’ work takes this idea further than any other Roman poet whose work
survives.
In a literary era seemingly obsessed with transgression, in which the works
routinely test boundaries, it should come as no surprise that Valerius should also be
interested in exploring these themes in his own poem. In putting pen to paper,
Valerius was already challenging what went before, and his plotline innovations may
be read as a response to earlier versions of the myth, of which there were many.7 The
story was an enduring one throughout antiquity, and poets and playwrights produced
versions of it, or explored individual episodes. Jason and Medea’s exploits were also
suitable subjects for artistic representations in art. Hesiod (Th. 956-62 and 992-
1002), Pindar (Pyth. 4.70-262), Theocritus (Idyll 13 and 22) and a host of tragedians,
such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, all detailed versions of or episodes
from the myth, while the most familiar version of it was composed by Apollonius
Rhodius in his epic poem of four books, Argonautica.
In the Roman world, Ennius produced a version of the Medea myth in the
form of a tragic play based around Euripides’ Medea, and Varro Atacinus, a poet of
the first century B.C., translated Apollonius Rhodius’ poem into Latin, opening it up
to an even wider audience. In turn, Apollonius’ Argonautica was a great influence on
Virgil’s Aeneid.8 Virgil had hinted at the Argo’s importance earlier in his career, in a
complex poem which appears to speak of the rebirth of the ‘Golden Age’. Here,
Virgil says that another Tiphys (the Argo’s helmsman) and another Argo will
demonstrate the cyclical nature of time: alter erit tum Tiphys et altera quae vehat

7 See Zissos (2008, xvii-xxv) for a useful summary of this.
8 Nelis (2001).
3
Argo | delectos heroas (Ecl. 4.34-5).9 Virgil also seemingly takes a critical swipe at
the myth in his next work, Georgics: cui non dictis Hylas (G. 3.6). It seems that in
this view, the myth may have been popular to the point of over-saturation. Ovid was
also fascinated with Medea, featuring her in Her. 6 and 12, and Met. 7.1-424, as well
as in his own version of the tragedy, now lost. In choosing to rewrite the
transgressive Argonautic myth, Valerius had selected to tackle a story so well-known
that some considered it to be hackneyed;10 however it could be argued that in fact the
myth had in some ways swung back into vogue with appearance in the Neronian
period of the Senecan tragedy Medea. Whatever the literary appetites of the time, the
nature of the Roman view of the story (i.e. the primacy of the Argo) meant that this
well-known myth was fertile ground to explore the testing, and breaking, of
boundaries.
The present study is concerned not only with the way Valerius presents the
more traditionally controversial actions undertaken by the Argonauts, but also how
he builds up layers of transgression throughout the text. Valerius’ characters seem to
display, experience, or encounter transgression in a number of ways. Boundaries
which appear in the course of the plot seem to be set, and then tested, merged, or
entirely broken, and these factors are a source of intrigue and interest when reading
the poem. As discussed above, for the Romans the very mission itself was a
boundary-breaker, so arguably anything experienced during the course of that
mission might be termed as transgressive. The Roman Argonautica utilises and
interrogates the transgressive landscape even as it transgresses boundaries to reach it.
But we can be even more specific, since Valerius showcases transgression in a more

9 See also Ecl. 4.34-5, where Virgil demonstrates his knowledge of the Hylas myth by demonstrating
that Hercules calls for Hylas when he is lost, and metrically represents the fading of the echo of his
name.
10 For example, see Zissos (2004c), Stover (2010).
4
pointed and focused way throughout the poem. Transgression of identity is displayed
in the story of Peuce, the island upon which Jason and Medea marry. We are given a
snapshot of a disturbing story, in which we learn of a nymph named Peuce who is
raped by the savage river Hister, and loses her identity to become an island. This is
but one of a number of rape narratives which feature in the plot. At times, characters
step outside the boundaries of expectation by acting like the opposite gender, or by
taking the reins of the poem itself and seemingly directing its path. At others, we see
characters challenging what is possible, with gods and humans acting like monsters,
creatures which themselves are transgressive in their hybrid status. At other times,
humans act like gods, or are able to match them in power. In terms of martial
transgressions, the Colchian-Scythian civil war takes place in book 6 between Aeetes
and his brother Perses.11 However perhaps a less straightforward transgressive event
is the curious scene in book 3, where the Argonauts mistakenly kill their friends the
Doliones as retributive behaviour for a transgression committed against the gods by
their king, Cyzicus. Why the Argonauts should suffer is unclear, however this is an
interesting and different take on the usual civil war imagery we come to expect in
‘Silver Age’ Latin literature.

*****

The first sections of this thesis deal with an event which occurs toward the end of the
poem as we have it, examining the plight of Peuce as the location of Jason and
Medea’s wedding. This is of course the event which formally unites them and which
must occur if their tragic future, a future detailed in earlier texts, is to take place. This

11 See Buckley (2010).
5