Valerius Flaccus: Argonautica Book III

Description

Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica is one of the most significant surviving works of Flavian epic, which has recently become much more popular as a field of study and teaching in Latin literature. This is the first commentary in English directly tailored to the needs of graduate and advanced undergraduate students. It provides an introduction to the major themes of the poem and the structure and content of Book III in particular which can function as an overview of the key features of Flavian epic. The detailed commentary on Book III discusses linguistic issues, intertextual and mythical allusions and thematic strands. The book consists of two major episodes in the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts which can be read together or independently of each other.

Gesine Manuwald is Professor of Latin at University College London and a Member of Academia Europaea. Her research interests cover Roman epic, Roman drama, Roman oratory and the reception of classical literature, especially in Neo-Latin literature. She has frequently taught courses on Roman epic; she has produced a monograph on one of the episodes covered in this commentary (Die Cyzicus-Episode und ihre Funktion in den Argonautica des Valerius Flaccus, 1999) and, more recently, co-edited Flavian Epic Interactions (2013) and the Companion to Valerius Flaccus (2014). With Cambridge University Press she has published Roman Republican Theatre (2011), and she has compiled an anthology of texts related to Roman drama, Roman Drama: A Reader (2010), which is widely used in teaching.

'Manuwald's notes cumulatively represent a model of well-planned and erudite commentary writing. They are meticulously organized, with generous citations of parallels and scholarship, and a carefully observed balance between the needs of students and those of specialist readers. Students in particular will appreciate how Manuwald consistently chooses the right moments to provide a basic explanation of a difficult passage, and consistently chooses the right way to do so ...' Kyle Gervais, University of Western Ontario