A reading of Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica : the poetics of uncertainty

Abstract

In this book Dr. Byre suggests that perhaps Apollonius was not a blunderer and that perhaps he was not trying to be Homer. Dr. Byre further suggests that much of what has been criticized in Argonautica-Jason's indecisiveness, the confused and conflicting aims of the gods-reflect thesame skillful psychology for which his portrait of Medea is praised: an awareness of the conflicts that are a continual part of all our behavior, and our uncertainty about the respective roles of fate and chance in our careers.