Structure

As scholars have observed, Apollonius paid special attention to the arrangement of his episodes.^[27] Although one might disagree on the configuration of a particular episode or on a section within, it should be clear to anyone who looks at the flow of the narrative that Apollonius organized his material in the symmetrically balanced ring-composition form; that is, one or more things mentioned at the beginning of a section or subsection are echoed at the end. He advertises this structural principle in the Proemium and continues it with great regularity throughout the poem. Naturally, if he applied the straightforward ring (A–B–A ) in every case, the movement of the poem would become overly regular and eventually soporific. Instead, the poet varies the basic ring in a number of ways. The ring can be extended (e.g., A–B–C–D–C –B –A ; cf. Chapter 3) or its main components can have balanced structures particular to themselves (e.g., A [a–b–a ]–B–A [a–b–c–d–c –b –a ]; cf. Chapter 6). The structural symmetry at times becomes so involved that even the subsections themselves have a ring format (e.g., A [a{a –b –a }–b{a –b –a }]–B–A [a–b–c–b –a ]; cf. Chapter 8). Not every episode possesses a neat, thematically balanced structure; yet even in such episodes, subsections can be found with a symmetrical organization (e.g., A [a–b–a ]–B [a–b–a ]–C [a–b–c–d–e]; cf. Chapter 4). In short, Apollonius uses the

[27] In addition to passing comments regarding Apollonius's symmetrical structure in or within specific episodes (e.g., Blumberg 17; Vian 255 ad 579; Levin 38; A. Köhnken, Apollonios Rhodios und Theokrit [Göttingen 1965]17–25), there are three studies that have looked exclusively at this aspect of the Argonautic narrative: Hurst; P. Thierstein, Bau der Szenen in den Argonautika des Apollonios Rhodios (Bern 1971); and J. Preininger, Der Aufbau der Argonautika des Apollonios Rhodios (Vienna 1976). Hurst's analysis is by far the most exhaustive (he deals with the entire poem), sensitive, and informative of the three. Thierstein too makes many fine comments on the interrelationships between elements in the episodes that he discusses (4.1232–1619, 1.1153–1362, 2.720–898, 2.899–1029, 4.109–82). Both, however, have created and employed a complex system of terms that gives undue importance to a structural approach that is fundamentally simple. In the Argonautica , the medium is not the message. Preininger pushes his structural interpretation to the extreme, suggesting that the structure of the poem is a reflection of the poet's model, the temple of Apollo at Bassae, whose dimensions he calculated and imitated in such a way that 100 verses equals 100 centimeters; in their various combinations, he argues, the verses are to be read as musical notation.

ancient ring-composition technique throughout the book in a variety of configurations.^[28] This asymmetrical symmetry, as it were, enlivens the flow of the narrative and provides clear evidence of the extraordinary control that Apollonius exerted over his narrative, which embraces so vast an amount of learning, both literary and antiquarian.^[29]

Discussions of structure can be tedious, and I shall keep mine to a minimum. As I mentioned above, I do not aver that the structure of the episodes is significant per se ; nor do I think that it necessarily reveals the soul of the writer or his time. Rather, I have found that when dealing with the Argonautica , recognition of the structure can be almost as crucial as the identification of an allusion; for the regularity of the structure in a poem as involved and erudite as this allows the reader to observe the important thematic and conceptual correspondences that the poet wants to highlight. Important images, dramatic moments, and/or allusions often lie in the central positions of the various rings. Very simply put, by locating the focal points of the rings the reader can isolate a significant element or elements of the narrative. Therefore, for each episode I shall briefly discuss the structure, using the system employed above: I employ capital letters to mark the main sections of the episode (A–B–C), minuscule for the subsections (a–b–c), Greek minuscule for the sub-subsections (a –b –g ), and italics in all three to mark corresponding sections (A–B–A , a–b–a , a –b –a ). Although such a system may appear clumsy, the results will justify the attention given this technical feature of the poem.

Each chapter begins with a short introduction. After I analyze the structure of an episode and establish what its focal points are, I shall examine the sections and subsections in the order of occurrence, except in Chapter 3, where it proved to be more useful to start in the middle. The discussion of each episode will conclude with a summary statement in which I pull together the various

[28] On ring composition in archaic literature, cf., for example, B. A. van Groningen, La composition littéraire archaïque grecque (Amsterdam 1958); and J. H. Gaisser, "A Structural Analysis of the Digressions in the Iliad and Odyssey," HSCPh 73 (1969) 1–43.

[29] On the tension between these two features of the narrative, cf. Händel 7–8, Hurst 9–35.

strands of my argument and relate them to the larger and more important issue of Book 1: the nature and identity of the best of the Argonauts.^[30]

It may seem odd that the present study of the hero of the Argonautica is limited to Book 1 and that a sequential reading of the text has been preferred over a thematic analysis. The narrative of this book and of the poem in general, however, encourages the approach I have taken. First, it is at the conclusion of Book 1 that Apollonius identifies Jason as the hero of the epic and fully exposes the nature of his heroism in contradistinction to the quintessential archaic hero, Heracles. As such, the book has a unity and integrity that, not having been observed, merits our attention. Readers of the Argonautica must come to terms with who Jason is and what he represents within the epic tradition before leaving the familiar Hellenic topography and entering the strange world that lies beyond the crashing Symplegades. Second, the identification of the "best" among the Argonauts unfolds gradually and in a linear fashion, beginning from the Proemium and extending through to the final moment of the book; each episode provides another angle from which to view Jason, all heading to a disquieting but inevitable conclusion.

[30] The text I use throughout is that of Vian unless I specify otherwise.