Further Programmatic Implications of Valerius Flaccus' Description of the Construction of the Argo (1.121-9)

Abstract

As is known, the description of Argo's construction in Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica (1.121-9) plays a significant auto-referential role in advertising the aesthetic principles operative in his epic project as well as his doctrina. In this article I argue that the shape and the structure of the ship also allow the poet to suggest the generic enrichment of his work. Thus, while in this passage Valerius Flaccus implies his adherence to his epic predecessors, at the same time he also hints at his flirtation with a variety of themes and genres, love poetry included, which are harmoniously incorporated in the central epic body of the poem. In this way, the poet both protects his work from many of the accusations of the epic frequently found in ancient literary criticism and projects a poetic programme in which the martial and the amatory theme interact and cooperate, facilitating each other and leading to a sophisticated epic poem.