Valerius Flaccus

This paper analyses the intertextual relations between some passages of the Medea cento and Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica, a relationship mediated by Virgil’s Aeneid, the poetic langue of Hosidius’ cento. The
numerous Virgilian allusions in the Argonautica, later reused in the cento, are probably a Hosidius’ rereading of the Argonautica based on the use of the same Virgilian lines. The hypothesis is, then, that Hosidius rereads, through the use of Virgil’s poetic langue, not only some Aeneid’s characters under the light of the Medea myth, but also some elements and aspects of Valerian characters, based on the economy of allusion.

Current engineering design methods for evaluating the seismic lateral earth pressures of retaining walls are based on limit equilibrium Mononobe-Okabe method. In limit equilibrium method, the effect of dynamic loading is introduced to the soil wedge behind the retaining wall as lateral and vertical inertia forces. The two most important simplifications of these methods are application of pseudo-static solution procedure for a fully dynamic problem and assumption of cohesionless backfill material. In this investigation, a full dynamic numerical modeling on a retaining wall with low frictional angle backfill material is conducted to evaluate seismic performance of retaining wall and lateral earth pressure variation during the earthquake. A 6-meter high cantilever wall with a base width of 4 meters and thickness of 0.5 meter is represented by structural element. The concrete wall was assumed to perform elastically and the Mohr-Coulomb constitutive model was selected for soil material. The interaction between concrete wall and soil was modeled by using elasto-plastic bilinear model to account for shear sliding and normal separation of wall and soil. The performance of the retaining wall was analyzed under three distinct earthquakes. The lateral earth pressure distribution along the wall height was evaluated during the earthquakes and was compared to static earth pressure. Furthermore, a set of dynamic analysis were conducted with normalized peak ground acceleration, PGA, of the earthquakes. The dynamic lateral earth pressure coefficients along the stem, middle and heel of the wall during the earthquake were analyzed for various horizontal PGAs induced by earthquakes. Consequently, the lateral earth pressure coefficients along the wall were compared to those concluded by Mononobe-Okabe method. According to the results, in low frictional angle soil backfills with some cohesion, the lateral earth pressures are overestimated by Mononobe-Okabe method.

The analyses of retaining walls in California showed many backfills are coarse material with some cohesion. In this investigation, seismic response of cantilever retaining walls, backfilled with dirty sandy materials with up to 30 kPa cohesion, is evaluated using fully dynamic analysis. The numerical simulation procedure is first validated using reported centrifuge test results. The validated methodology is then used to investigate the effects of three earthquake ground motions including Kobe, Loma Prieta, and Chi-Chi on seismic response of retaining walls. In addition, the input peak ground acceleration values are varied to consider a wide range of earthquake acceleration intensity.

Esta traducción de las Argonáuticas de Valerio Flaco es la tercera en lengua española, tras la de Javier de León Bendicho y Qüilty (Madrid, Viuda de Aguado, 1868) y la de Santiago López Moreda (Madrid, Akal, 1996). Se basa en el texto latino establecido por W.-W. Ehlers (Stuttgart, Teubner,1980), aun cuando la fecunda labor crítica de que ha sido objeto el poema de Valerio Flaco en los últimos tiempos ha llevado al traductor a disentir del último editor teubneriano en no pocos pasajes, consignados en una nutrida tabla de discrepancias. La introducción y las notas a pie de página están principalmente encaminadas a poner la obra del épico flavio al alcance del lector culto no especialista.

General introduction to the epic genre in Rome after Vergil's and Lucan's experiences. Translation with stylistic and philological commentary of Valerius Flaccus’ 'Argonautica', 7, 1.25 and 101-152; Statius' 'Thebais' 10, 827-939; Silius' 'Punica' 9, 66-167.

Part I of this study argued that Aratus’s decision to base his LEPTĒ acrostic, which occurs during a discussion of moonlight (Phaen. 783-87), on Homer’s LEUKĒ acrostic (Il. 24.1-5) was motivated by the connection in Homer between the adjective λευκός and various types of light from the sky, including the light of dawn, which appears shortly after the acrostic (Il. 24.12), and the light of the moon (Il. 23.455). In Part II, I argue that a study of the reception of Aratus’s acrostic in Greek and Latin poetry reveals that many ancient poets solved the “riddle” of how Aratus’s acrostic relates to Homer’s.

In some contexts, when used as an attribute of waters, the Latin adjective purpureus does not “purple” or sim., as it is commonly interpreted, but it can mean “seething”, “rough”, “foaming” (see, e.g., Verg. georg. iv 273; Prop. ii 26a, 5), on the model of the  Homeric use of porphyreos  (see, e.g., Il. i 482; xvi 391).

The infamous and formidable mythological figure of Medea has deservedly held an enduring appeal throughout the ages. This has perhaps never been more true than in the Silver Age of Latin literature, when the taste for rhetorical excess and the macabre made the heroine, and especially her notorious acts of witchcraft and the slaughter of her own children in revenge for her husband’s infidelity, a particularly suitable and attractive topic for literary treatment. By examining the portrayal of this remarkable figure in the works of Ovid, Seneca and Valerius Flaccus, Virgo to Virago: Medea in the Silver Age offers a comprehensive study of the representation of the heroine, not only in this specific period, but in the entire Roman era, since these three authors provide the only substantial accounts of this figure to have survived in Classical Latin. Through close analysis of the texts, Virgo to Virago explores the characterisation of Medea, whose mythical life was inevitably overshadowed...

In his prologue to the first Spanish translation of the Latin Argonautica (Madrid, 1868-1869), Javier de León Bendicho y Qüilty regretted that the work of Valerius Flaccus had not received in Spain as much attention as in other European countries. Nevertheless, the Argonautica generated great interest among sixteenth century humanists, and it was edited by Lorenzo Balbo (Alcalá de Henares, 1524) and by Alfonso Ayllón (Osuna, 1553). Moreover, the influence of Flaccus’ poem in literary circles during the Spanish Golden Age seems to have been more important than it has been hitherto believed.

En su prólogo a la primera traducción al español de las Argonáuticas latinas (Madrid, 1868-1869), Javier de León Bendicho y Qüilty lamentaba que la obra de Valerio Flaco no hubiera recibido en España la atención de la que había sido objeto en otros países europeos. Fue, sin embargo, notable el interés despertado por las Argonáuticas entre algunos humanistas del siglo XVI, del que datan las ediciones de Lorenzo Balbo (Alcalá de Henares, 1524) y de Alfonso Ayllón (Osuna, 1553). Además, la influencia del poema de Flaco en los círculos literarios del Siglo de Oro parece haber sido más relevante de lo que se ha creído hasta ahora.

By introducing a multifaceted approach to epic geography, the editors of the volume wish to provide a critical assessment of spatial perception, of its repercussions on shaping narrative as well as of its discursive traits and cultural contexts. Taking the genre-specific boundaries of Greco-Roman epic poetry as a case in point, a team of international scholars examines issues that lie at the heart of modern criticism on human geography. Modern and ancient discourse on space representations revolves around the nation-shaping force of geography, the gendered dynamics of landscapes, the topography of isolation and integration, the politics of imperialism, globalization, environmentalism as well as the power of language and narrative to turn space into place. One of the major aims of the volume is to show that the world of the Classics is not just the origin, but the essence of current debates on spatial constructions and reconstructions.

This article makes the case for the importance of Seneca’s Agamemnon as a model, in terms of both language and content, for the account of the Lemnian massacre in the second Book of Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica, an episode which has been much discussed or disputed because of its extensive and digressive character. It will thus become evident that the semantics of adultery and crime, combined with those of vengeance elaborated on in the Agamemnon, have exercised a
significant influence on Valerius’ detailed sketching of the slaughter conducted by the Lemnian women as well as on the thematic coherence of the second Book as a whole.

El capítulo parte de la consideración de cómo la teo­ría griega relativa a los efectos morales que la música puede causar en el ánimo del oyente se presenta en la Roma del siglo I con la distinción entre un tipo de música que calma y otro que excita. Mientras Ovidio ve la música como un medio empleado por Quirón para sosegar al belicoso Aquiles, Séneca acusa al centauro de haberla utilizado para embravecerlo. La oposición en que, mediante una estili­zación literaria de las doctrinas sobre el ethos de la música, se sitúa el poeta nero­niano con respecto al augústeo, deja abierta una cuestión a la cual cada uno de los tres épicos flavios querrá procurar su propia respuesta. Se analiza detalladamente cada una de ellas.

The scenes in ancient literature in which one or more individuals watch and comment on a fight or battle, usually from an elevated position – e.g. the ramparts of a fortress  , present an outsiders’ perspective: the persons involved are not taking an active part in the war. However, most of them are indeed involved in the events in some way, in most cases by being related, acquainted or emotionally linked in some other way to one of the combatants. This role is usually given to women (or to individuals who cannot fight, for some specific reason, because of physical weakness or on account of their profession).
The paper aims to examine a series of such teichoskopia scenes within depictions of battles or fights, addressing the question of how war is ‘seen’ through this presentation of a female perspective – that is, through the internal focalisation from the viewpoint of a woman who is not a participant in the fighting – and thereby perhaps commented upon critically or affirmatively. Central to the discussion are epic (Iliad, Statius, Valerius Flaccus) and lyric texts (Horace).

Typically, temporary soil nailing systems are not required to provide for design level earthquake occurrences consistent with the building or structure being constructed inside the excavation. However, the seismic response of the permanent soil nail walls during the earthquakes should be evaluated. On the other hand, evaluation of 3D response of soil nailing walls have some strange manners that should be considered in the numerical analysis. In this paper, numerical simulations of soil nail walls under vibrational input have been carried out, and the results are compared with the function of soil nail walls under ordinary statistical loading. The behaviour of geometry of nails are mentioned under static and seismic analysis. After that some investigations are carried out to find respond of soil nailing walls in some 3D excavation forms. The analysis is performed with finite difference software called FLAC3D. The results are prepared as lateral displacement of the walls and normalized maximum tensile forces for nails. These results can demonstrate the behavior of external and internal resistance of soil nail walls under seismic and static analysis. The deformation of wall under the static and dynamic manner varies in a wide range. On the other hand, tensile loads that are produced in nails under the static manner are namely 50% less than the dynamic manner.

In Aen. 8.685 hinc ope barbarica variisque Antonius armis Vergil describes Marc Antony’s forces at
Actium. Here variisque, found in all the extant manuscripts, has been suspected by some scholars and Niklaas
Heinsius proposed the correction Phariisque (‘Egyptian’). His conjecture, however, although elegant and very
close to the transmitted text, failed to persuade. The proposal has on the contrary strong evidence, not yet
adduced, to support it. According to Octavian's official propaganda and in order to remove the idea of civil war,
Vergil describes the battle as a war between Rome and a foreign enemy, Egypt (as can be gathered from vv. 696,
where Cleopatra leads the fleet with the sistrum, 698-700, where Egyptian theriomorphic gods, and especially
latrator Anubis, face Olympic gods, or 711-3, where the Nilus, pictured as a river-god, offers shelter to the
losers). Furthermore, the depiction of Actium’s battle on the shield owes much to Callimachus’ Hymn to Delos
and particularly to Apollo's second prophecy (vv. 171-90), which prefigures Ptolemy II’s defeat of the Gauls in
278 B.C.; in Aen. 8.685 Vergil imitates closely Del. 172 s. οἱ μὲν ἐφ’ Ἑλλήνεσσι μάχαιραν / βαρβαρικὴν καὶ
Κελτὸν ἀναστήσαντες Ἄρηα. Especially noteworthy is the dicolon μάχαιραν / βαρβαρικὴν καὶ Κελτὸν ...
Ἄρηα, paralleled by Vergil’s ope barbarica variisque ... armis, and the alliteration between the last two words
(ἀναστήσαντες Ἄρηα ~ Antonius armis). In Callimachus the rare βαρβαρικός is variated by the ethnic Κελτός,
which strongly supports Pharius in Vergil. Finally, Flavian poets (Martial, Valerius Flaccus and Statius),
indipendently of each other, imitate Vergil’s verse, showing that they read Phariisque there.

In this dissertation I will show that references to epic in Juvenal’s Satires, through allusions to epic subject matter or use of epic language, have a more prominent role than has often been assumed. Rather than labelling these epic elements ‘mock-epic’ or ‘epic parody’, I will examine epic references from across the Juvenalian corpus in order to build a picture of the central themes with which epic is associated in Juvenal. I do not have space to discuss every reference to epic, and so I will be selective: I have focussed on Juvenal’s use of epic in relation to the typical satirist’s themes of greed and luxury (which stand in opposition to traditionally Roman virtues). For Juvenal, those at both ends of the social hierarchy are guilty of the moral crimes of avaritia and mollitia, but in different ways. Aristocrats evoke the heroes of martial epic while engaging in no such virtuous activity, while upstart merchants and other ‘lower’ characters evoke the heroes of adventure epic, and although they embark on adventures, they are compromised either by their desire for financial gain, or by their unheroic effeminacy. In the final chapter I will explore the possibility that the epic past to which Juvenal’s characters are so desperate to lay claim holds none of the prestige it is assumed to hold: at times, Juvenal follows the topos of decline and nostalgia, idealising the past, but at others he undermines it, denigrating the past in the same way he denigrates the present. This may have ramifications for the actions of his Roman characters, removing any hopes they have of elevating themselves through epic associations.

What significations did Egypt have for the Romans a century after Actium and afterwards? How did Greek imperial authors respond to the Roman fascination with the Nile? This book explores Egypt's aftermath beyond the hostility of Augustan rhetoric, and Greek and Roman topoi of Egyptian "barbarism." Set against history and material culture, Julio-Claudian, Flavian, Antonine, and Severan authors reveal a multivalent Egypt that defines Rome's increasingly diffuse identity while remaining a tertium quid between Roman Selfhood and foreign Otherness.
Vespasian's Alexandrian uprising, his recognition of Egypt as his power basis, and his patronage of Isis re-conceptualize Egypt past the ideology of Augustan conquest. The imperialistic exhilaration and moral angst attending Rome's Flavian cosmopolitanism find an expressive means in the geographically and semantically nebulous Nile. The rapprochement with Egypt continues in the second and early third centuries. The "Hellenic" Antonines and the African-Syrian Severans expand perceptions of geography and identity within an increasingly decentralized and diverse empire. In the political and cultural discourses of this period, the capacious symbolics of Egypt validate the empire's religious and ethnic pluralism.

By comparing two speeches of Jason (Val. Fl. 1.194-203, 241- 251) with the speeches of Aeneas on which they are based (Verg. A. 4.333- 361; 1.198-207), this paper shows the way in which Valerius Flaccus exploits rhetoric in order to move away from Virgil.

The reminiscence of the tragic epilogue of the Argonautic journey, which impregnates with increasing intensity the second half of Valerius Flaccus’ poem, reaches its height in book 8, where the prefiguration of Medea's abandonment and of her criminal revenge overlaps the narration of the epic nostos.

El recuerdo del epílogo trágico de la travesía argonáutica, que impregna con intensidad creciente la segunda parte del poema de Valerio Flaco, alcanza su apogeo en el libro 8, donde a la narración del nostos épico se sobrepone la prefiguración del abandono de Medea y de su venganza criminal.""

This article contributes to the discussion for the significance of the Latin Love Elegy, with regard to its language, themes and conventions, as a means of generic innovation in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica.  In particular, it will be demonstrated that in the scenes of lament and separation that take place in books 2 and 3, Valerius incorporates a selection of elegiac themes and motifs to enhance the effect and sensationalism of these episodes as well as the pathos in the rhetoric of his female protagonists (in particular the Lemnian wives and Hypsipyle as well as Clite, the wife of king Cyzicus). At the same time he will be seen to take a step further by inverting and/or refashioning some of these topoi and tropes so as to leave his own metapoetic comment on his negotiations with other genres in the Argonautica.

This is the introduction to the edited volume on "Family in Flavian Epic". It discusses the importance of family to both ancient literature and Roman society, with a particular focus on epic poetry of the Flavian period (AD69-96). It also provides the reader with an overview of the family relationships, recurrent themes, literary models, and links to contemporary (Flavian) concerns examined by each of the eleven contributions.

This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of an important cultural process that receives renewed emphasis under the Flavian emperors, namely what we might call ‘the Hellenization of the Roman empire’, a complex phenomenon that entails a redefinition of Roman imperial ideology in a broader, Mediterranean fashion, with a stronger emphasis on Greek culture and the hybridization of Greek and Roman identities. This paper analyzes some of the effects of this process on the ways in which Flavian epic poets approach their mythological subjects and interact with their predecessors. In par- ticular, I draw attention to two interconnected phenomena: (1) a renewed interest in the topic of foreign conquest and the encounter with the barbarians which is associated with (2) a change in the perception of the empire’s cultural identity. This moves away from a view of the Mediterranean as a fragmented reality, in which the cultural difference between Rome and Greece is emphasized, to a view of the Mediterranean as one cultural block, characterized by the fusion of Greek and Roman culture and contrasted with the barbarian world. This research will allow me to show that Flavian poets promote an understanding of the correlation between imperialism and civil war that is essentially ab- sent from the cultural horizon of the Aeneid.

In Argonautica 2, Valerius’ Argonauts are intertextually analogized to Lucretius’ ideal Epicurean “distant observer” while behaving contrary to Epicurean ethics; meanwhile, the helmsman Tiphys espouses a consolatory Stoic viewpoint of cosmic rationality. The resulting philosophical tug-of-war is critical for future interpretations of Valerius’ divine machinery and his epic overall.

Del interés despertado por la épica flavia entre los estudiosos de la literatura romana durante los últimos años ha nacido esta primera monografía española sobre Valerio Flaco, versión aumentada de un trabajo que obtuvo de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Clásicos el Premio a la Mejor Tesis Doctoral de Filología Latina correspondiente al año 2006. En ella se indaga el modo en que la obra de Valerio tematiza las dificultades que plantea el restablecimiento de la causalidad divina heredada de Homero por Virgilio después de que esta haya sido suprimida por Lucano. Desde el momento en que canta la conquista de los mares como una gesta de los hombres regida por los dioses, Flaco restaura la doble motivación narrativa propia del género épico, pero el designio de Júpiter que debe subsumir las hazañas humanas se ve relegado a medida que la epopeya de Jasón se aproxima a la tragedia de Medea. El problema de la causalidad épica excede así el ámbito de la coherencia intratextual para abarcar el conflicto intertextual que subyace a un poema consciente de su retardo con respecto a la poderosa tradición literaria de la que es deudor.

The prominence and interrelations of brothers and other close companions in Valerius Flaccus's Argonautica can be read against the epic's Stoic framework and its innovative and pervasive theme of civil discord. The Catalogue of Argonauts, which follows the order of Argonauts aboard the Argo, helps to illuminate the Argonauts' fraternal and social relations, but as the epic progresses, the piecemeal removal of Argonauts from the Argo causes a shift in their societal structure that echoes the cosmic dissolution perpetrated by their voyage.

(N.B. This paper was written in 2012 and updated in 2014; some marginalia in the PDF indicate a few further changes, but it should be taken for a work of that time. Like some others, I am posting it so that it can see the light of day.)

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Mit der vorliegenden Studie wird eine Neuinterpretation von Riesenfiguren in ausgewählten antiken Epen unter Zuhilfenahme literaturtheoretischer Methoden vorgelegt. Titanen, Giganten und einzelne Riesenfiguren sind in dieser Gattung kontinuierlich präsent und lassen eine Vielzahl von Funktionalisierungen im jeweiligen Werkkontext erkennen. Dazu gehören insbesondere ihr hybrides Wesen, ihre Bedeutung für die Darstellung literarischer Räume oder ihre Rolle als Vergleichsfolien in Gleichnissen zur Figurencharakterisierung.

Vielfach ermöglichen diese Verwendungsarten auch poetologische Reflexionen zur Werkprogrammatik der Epen. Anhand ausgewählter Passagen aus Homer, Hesiod, Apollonios Rhodios, Valerius Flaccus und Quintus Smyrnaeus werden diese Funktionalisierungen systematisch untersucht. Bei der Interpretation werden neben etablierten literaturtheoretischen Methoden wie Intertextualität, Narratologie und Wirkungsästhetik auch neuere Ansätze zur Hybridität und Geopoetik herangezogen.

Rezensionen:
S. Schreiner, Wiener Studien 133: https://austriaca.at/wst133_rez
S. Bär, Phoenix 73.1 (2019).
A. M. Reinke, Classical Review 70.2 (2020) 304-307: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X20001158
J. A. Fernández Delgado, Emerita 89.1 (2021) 174-176.
S. Finkmann, Museum Helveticum 78.2 (2021) 319f.
J. Kortmann, Gnomon 94.4 (2022) 289-293.

The influence of Senecan drama on the literature of the Flavian Age remains, more or less, a rather uncharted area in recent bibliography, even if many critical studies have appeared in the last two decades suggesting that scholarly interest in (especially)
the epic poetry of this period has almost reached its climax. This seems to be particularly true in the case of Valerius Flaccus, since Seneca has been found at the core of many interpretative works examining the intertextual landscape of his Argonautica.

"In the well known apostrophe fortunati ambo (Aen. IX 446-449), Virgil ties literary durableness, which is a traditional aim of epic poetry, to the permanence of Roman empire. Nevertheless, this Virgilian analogy is put into question not only by Lucan, who overtly refutes it, but also by the epigones who, like Valerius Flaccus, Silius Italicus and Statius, look for their own way following in the great predecessor’s footsteps.

La analogía que, en el célebre apóstrofe fortunati ambo (Aen. IX 446-449), establece Virgilio entre la tradicional pretensión de perdurabilidad de la poesía épica y la vocación de eternidad del imperio romano deviene problemática no sólo para Lucano, que la refuta resueltamente, sino también para los epígonos que, como Valerio Flaco, Silio Itálico y Estacio, buscan su propio camino tras las huellas del precursor."

Before Odysseus wound his way homeward from the battlefields of Troy, Jason and his Argonautic companions lit out eastward across the Aegean, bound for the sunrise land of Aea on their quest for the Golden Fleece. According to Herodotus, nearly a generation separates the journey of the Argonauts from the famous exploits of Homer’s heroes in the Iliad. These early depictions of ancient Greek nautical peregrinations intimate strata of mythological and narrative histories stretching back well beyond all recorded memory. It has been argued persuasively that the poet of the Homeric epics drew as much upon pre-existing Argonautic myths as from sources originating farther east. Martin West cites the Gilgamesh epic as a possible source of inspiration, not only to Homer, but also for the body of stories represented by the nascent Argonautic myths. Others beside West have argued for the presence of a number of possible eastern Anatolian or Hittite influences on the Argonautic tradition. In the introduction to Robert Fagle’s translation of the Odyssey, for example, Bernard Knox says “what Homer has done is to transfer episodes from a mythical epic journey in eastern waters to the western seas.” This ‘mythical epic journey in eastern waters’, as Knox calls it, seems to hint at a  tradition of myths and stories which made their way westward into the Greek world by way of adoption and retelling.

Considerando as múltiplas representações que o herói Jasão recebe desde a Antiguidade, escolheu-se a epopeia de Valério Flaco, autor do século I d.C., como principal objeto de análise para refletir sobre a construção do líder dos argonautas. Oferece-se um panorama dos autores que trabalham com as narrativas relacionadas ao herói em obras literárias anteriores a Flaco, de modo a que se possa ter uma visão geral da tradição que foi construída acerca do herói e das diferenças que existem na abordagem do mito, o que poderia impactar a construção do herói. Nessa exposição, dá-se destaque à obra de Apolônio de Rodes, por ser considerada um marco no que se refere a essa construção, tendo em vista que o poeta trata da viagem dos argonautas em gênero épico, o que permitiria um maior detalhamento acerca de diversos aspectos do mito que poderiam não ser possíveis em um gênero mais curto, não predominantemente narrativo e em que a figura central não fosse o herói. Aborda-se a representação dada a Jasão por Valério Flaco, confrontando o herói, intrinsecamente, a seus companheiros de viagem e, extrinsecamente, a seus antecessores, de modo a refletir sobre essa nova inserção do herói em gênero épico em contexto latino. Assim, pretende-se analisar tanto a construção do herói isoladamente na obra em que está inserido quanto, ao mostrar as diversas possibilidades oferecidas por poetas anteriores, quais versões Valério Flaco poderia ter explorado, seja por um processo de eleição de modelo a ser seguido, filiando-se a uma tradição, seja pela negação de um paradigma, gerando, de qualquer modo, efeitos de sentido. Para isso, embora se dê ênfase para as variantes relacionadas ao mito da viagem dos argonautas, apresentam-se também outras possíveis fontes a que o autor poderia ter recorrido. Para que se possa demonstrar que a apropriação do modelo oferecido por Apolônio de Rodes ocorria de maneira vária em Roma e contrastar as abordagens do mito em Latim, refletindo também sobre questões de tradução e imitação, dedica-se uma seção ao estudo da obra de Varrão Atacino que teria produzido uma tradução completa da epopeia de Apolônio. Assim, oferece-se uma versão portuguesa de seus fragmentos supérstites e uma análise efetuada a partir da comparação do texto latino com o grego. Ao longo do texto, espera-se mostrar que Flaco parece construir, com originalidade e com apropriação dos modelos realizada de modos diversos, um herói mais afim aos modelos heroicos homéricos, plasmando algumas características que Jasão apresenta em Apolônio de Rodes com outras que aparecem no herói em outros autores, como Homero, Hesíodo e Píndaro, e acrescentando ainda aquelas presentes em seus pares que não integram o mito argonáutico, como as propostas por Virgílio.