Valerius Flaccus and the Rewriting of the Argonautica

This book offers an intertextual study of the Argonauts’ departure from Pagasae in Book 1 (ll. 481–850) of Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica. The episode is examined from structural and verbal perspectives to show how the poet’s literary models interact in shaping the text. The three main scenes – the council of the gods, the storm and the death of Jason’s parents – are analyzed in their broader development and through a line-by-line intertextual commentary, with attention to Valerius Flaccus’ imitative techniques. The final chapter (Venturing beyond) presents a metapoetic reading that explores the reworking of the Flavian poet’s principal models.