Beginning from Apollo: Studies in Apollonius Rhodius And the Argonautic Tradition

Beginning from Apollo is the sixth volume of Caeculus and contains the Proceedings of the sixth Fransum Colloquium, held on 8 March 2003. The theme of this colloquium was Apollonius Rhodius, the third c. BC poet who wrote the epic Argonautica as well as a number of other works, now preserved only in fragments. Apollonius' work was the subject of two doctoral dissertations completed at the University of Groningen, by Burkhard Scherer and by Iris Schmakeit, who have organised the colloquium and chosen the speakers. The papers in this volume share a focus on the position of Apollonius within the Greek cultural tradition. We see on the one hand how he engages the literary tradition before him and expects his readers to know the material of earlier poets, such as Homer, Pindar and the tragedians, and of the earlier Argonautic epics. On the other hand we get an impression of the way in which Apollonius incorporates antiquarian material, including traditions about obscure cults. Finally we learn how Apollonius and the Argonauts were the object of attention of later poets and scholars. Taken together the articles in this volume provide the reader with a good picture of Apollonius' central position in a long chain of reception and interaction.