"Homeric" Formularity in the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes

Abstract

Despite several decades of studies on the orality of the composition and transmission of the Homeric poems, it is difficult to be sure about the genesis and function of the formulas and of the various semantically marginal and usually repetitive phrases which are characteristic of Homeric diction. Apollonius also uses a wide range of verba dicendi , rather than resorting to the small number of stereotyped forms to which different literary genres were more and more reduced. Moreover, where the Homerizing appearance of Apollonius' introductory phrases is more prominent, this is hardly ever the result of the Homeric nature of the verbum dicendi , but of the Homeric nature of the other components of the introductory phrase. The idea of formularity in the Argonautica is also well shown by the expressions referring to the object of the venture, namely the Golden Fleece, which is mentioned fifteen times. Keywords: Apollonius Rhodes; Argonautica ; formularity; Homer; Homeric poems