From dramatic to epic: the presence of tragedy in Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica

Abstract

This paper discusses the relationship between the epic poem Argonautica, by Apollonius Rhodius, and the Greek tragedies before it. The tragedies are considered, next to the Homeric poetry, important sources to the author’s approach to myth and, subsequently, to Rhodius’ narrative. Beyond this, the narrative and the expressive resources that the poet uses are very close to Euripides and Aeschylus tragedies, and this relationship helps us on understand how an Alexandrian poet works with the epic matter after the rising of classical Greek tragedy.