provided by OhioLINK Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Center View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE Emotions in the Argonautica of Apollonius Elizabeth Barnes July 22, 2015 Degrees held: M.A. Classics, University of Kentucky B.A. Classical Studies, University of Florida B.A. English, University of Florida Degree to be conferred: M.A. Classics Department of Classics McMicken College of Arts and Sciences Committee Chair: Kathryn Gutzwiller Abstract The Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius has been the focus of increasing scholarly interest as of late and most critics now recognize the great innovation and creativity of this epic. Yet despite the recent explosion of studies on ancient emotions, this aspect of Apollonius' narrative technique has yet to be explored to its fullest. In this thesis I examine the representation of emotions in the Argonautica with the purpose of providing a broader perspective on their function in the narrative and the effect they have on the characters in it. In the first chapter I give a survey of the most significant emotions in the Argonautica, including the role of individual emotions in the narrative, the contexts in which they appear, and the vocabulary and nuances of meaning associated with them. In the second chapter I examine emotion similes in the narrative, in particular paired similes and similes of deliberate non parallelism and the ways in which Apollonius uses these two techniques to show the effects of emotions on different characters. Finally, in the last chapter I evaluate the strength of several emotional relationships between characters and the realistic portrayal of human interactions they demonstrate. ii iii Acknowledgements My interest in the Argonautica stems from a course I took on Apollonius in my first semester as a graduate student at the University of Kentucky with Professor Robert J. Rabel in the fall semester of 2009. Apollonius' realistic depiction of emotions, which formed the foundation for my final paper in this course, especially stuck with me. The following semester I finished reading the complete Argonautica in an independent study supervised by Professor Rabel and my appreciation for this epic grew even more. Since then, Apollonius' Argonautica has been a consistent source of fascination, excitement, inspiration, and motivation, which carried me through several subsequent years of further graduate study. This blossomed into a much deeper interest in Hellenistic poetry and Ptolemaic Alexandria more broadly while studying under Professor Kathryn Gutzwiller in several courses on Greek poetry, particularly Hellenistic, and in a Special Author project on the poetry of Callimachus. I would like to express my gratitude to both members of my committee, Professor Kathryn Gutzwiller and Professor Lauren Ginsberg, for their patient feedback and corrections on drafts, wisdom when I found myself lost, and faith in the project and commitment to seeing it through. This thesis could not have come about without the direction and expertise of Professor Gutzwiller who advised it. More generally, Professor Ginsberg has provided much tireless feedback and mentoring on my writing over the years which improved it considerably. I am very grateful for all of the knowledge and enjoyment I have received during my time spent at the University of Cincinnati, in particular from the instruction of Professors Gutzwiller and Ginsberg, and also Professor Susan Prince. The guidance and support of each has aided my development as a student and critic of Greek and Latin literature immensely. iv Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Survey of Emotions ........................................................................................................................ 3 Emotion Similes ........................................................................................................................... 22 Emotional Relationships Between Characters ............................................................................. 40 v Introduction The Argonautica is a retelling of Jason's quest for the golden fleece written in the third century BCE by Apollonius of Rhodes, a resident of the Library at Alexandria and rough contemporary of Theocritus and Callimachus.1 As the only complete epic to come down to us from this period, it is a valuable representation of Hellenistic aesthetics and interests. Yet scholars for many generations criticized the epic and labeled Apollonius as merely an imitator of Callimachus2 and Homer. Recent years have seen a heightened appreciation of the epic, however, and much fascinating scholarship has come about as a result. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding and appreciation of one aspect of Apollonius' talent where more scholarly attention still is needed, his portrayal of emotions. While Apollonius' treatment of the love affair between Jason and Medea in book 3 is well-known, this is not the only area where his unique depiction of emotions can be seen. Throughout the work a number of emotions play an important role in the action of the narrative and in the depiction of characters. The fictional world of the Argonautica is populated by divinities and mortals who experience intense emotions which guide their behavior and interactions and help define them as characters. Two areas where Apollonius explores emotions are in similes and in characters' relationships. Through similes structured in thematic pairs and similes with a lack of parallelism in their comparisons Apollonius depicts the nature of several emotions and their effects on characters of varying emotional make-up. In doing so he gives insight into the distinct personalities that many of his characters possess. A second way he explores emotions in the 1 Hunter 1989, 1-8 2 Most notable is DeForest 1994 1 narrative is through the relationships that characters develop which are founded on emotional connections both healthy and unhealthy. In his representation of emotions throughout the Argonautica, Apollonius fashions characters that are both realistic and memorable and he depicts the complexities of human interactions and the role emotions play in the behavior of individuals and their ability to develop and maintain stable relationships with one another. 2 Survey of Emotions The Argonautica of Apollonius is a narrative of emotional intensity and complexity. Apollonius' narration of the Jason and Medea story is especially well-known and contains what is arguably the longest and most insightful treatment of female desire surviving in Greek literature.3 Yet the Argonautica contains many instances of other emotions as well. Apollonius is highly innovative in his representation of emotions and the ways in which they affect the characters' interactions and behavior. This chapter surveys the emotions that occur in the epic, the vocabulary used to describe them, and the nature of their role in the work. The survey is intended to provide more comprehensive and wide-ranging discussion of emotions in Apollonius' Argonautica to bridge the gaps where previous studies on the subject have been lacking. Summary of Scholarship Recent years have seen a surge of interest in the study of classical Greek and Roman emotions. It is not my intention to recount every piece of scholarship on the topic, but to provide a concise summary of the most important studies on ancient emotions and those of most relevance to the project at hand. Most overviews of emotions in ancient literature have tended to omit discussion of Apollonius, and Hellenistic poets more broadly, as have studies produced on individual emotions as well. While several useful discussions of emotions in the epic are contained in works on other related themes in the Argonautica or the epic genre generally, significant discussion of non-erotic emotions in Apollonius, such as αἰδώς and anger, or of the full range of emotions that occur in the narrative, is needed. 3 There survive few other substantial depictions of female desire in Greek literature. The most significant are Sappho fragment 31, Theocritus Idyll 2, and Callimachus fragments 67-75 Pfeiffer. In comparison with these, Apollonius' recounting of the love story of Jason and Medea throughout books 3 and 4 of the narrative stands as by far the longest. Several extended descriptions of Medea's symptoms of lovesickness throughout these books also provide a more detailed and nuanced view of female desire than Sappho, Theocritus, or the surviving Callimachus do. 3 Several comprehensive examinations of ancient emotions have furthered this field of study greatly. Konstan4 challenges the assumption that the Greek vocabulary designating emotions correspond precisely to modern views of emotions. While he acknowledges that there are some similarities and overlap, Konstan analyzes passages and works where the Greek emotions fail to agree with their modern English counterparts. He discusses most of the emotions Aristotle does in the Rhetoric, including anger, shame, envy, fear, love, hatred, pity, jealousy, and grief. This is the most comprehensive study of ancient emotions to date. In addition, Munteanu5 edited a collection of essays examining connections between genres and emotions and gender-based peculiarities of emotions in various genres. These essays stem from a conference panel entitled 'Emotion, Gender and Literary Genre in Antiquity' from 2008. The two volumes of Unveiling Emotions contain essays approaching emotion from a different perspective. The first volume holds essays about the representation of emotions in the surviving source material from ancient Greece, including literary, papyrological, inscriptional, and archaeological,6 and the second, on various aspects of emotions in Greece, Rome, and the Roman empire as manifested in Greek and Latin historiography, oratory, poetry, and inscriptions, archaeological sources, and more.7 The essays in the collections cover emotions such as anger, grief, pride, fear, and joy. From the philosophical view is the 1998 work on emotions in Hellenistic philosophy edited by Sihvola and Engberg-Pedersen, which contains essays on the main Hellenistic debates about the nature and value of emotions.8 Finally, Sistakou provides valuable discussion of emotions in Hellenistic poetry, including in Apollonius as well as other 4 Konstan 2006 5 Munteanu 2011 6 Chaniotis 2012 7 Chaniotis and Ducrey 2013 8 Sihvola and Engberg-Pedersen 1998 4