What is "argonautica"

The Argonautica ( Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from remote Colchis. Their heroic adventures and Jason's relationship with the dangerous Colchian princess/sorceress Medea were already well known to Hellenistic audiences, which enabled Apollonius to go beyond a simple narrative, giving it a scholarly emphasis suitable to the times. It was the age of the great Library of Alexandria and his epic incorporates his researches in geography, ethnography, comparative religion and Homeric literature. However, his main contribution to the epic tradition lies in his development of the love between hero and heroine – he seems to have been the first narrative poet to study "the pathology of love". His Argonautica had a profound impact on Latin poetry. It was translated by Varro Atacinus and imitated by Valerius Flaccus. It influenced Catullus and Ovid and it provided Virgil with a model for his Roman epic, the Aeneid.

There are several poems titled Argonautica:

• Argonautica, by Apollonius of Rhodes, a Greek epic poem written in the 3rd century BCE
• Argonautica (Valerius Flaccus), by Gaius Valerius Flaccus, a Latin epic poem written in the 2nd century CE
• Argonautica Orphica, attributed to Orpheus, a Greek epic poem probably written sometime in the 4th through 6th centuries CE
• Argonautica (Mary Zimmerman), by Mary Zimmerman, an American play produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company