Abstract
This paper challenges certain more or less standard interpretations of Valerius Flaccus’Argonauticaprologue, viz. that lines 5–9 reveal that the poet was axvvir sacris faciundis, that thecortina(6) stood in or in front of his house to symbolise his quindecimvirate, and thatCaledonius… |Oceanus(8–9) refers to an exploit of Vespasian during the Claudian invasion of Britain. I argue that Valerius’ quindecimvirate is a mirage, that thecortinastood in a different ‘house’, and that ‘Caledonian Ocean’ refers to an event or events closer in time to the composition of theArgonautica. The alternative interpretations proposed radically alter perceptions of the prologue.
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