This commentary represents the culmination of Cristiano Castelletti's work on the Argonautica, and is a fitting testament to his impressive erudition and ability to connect the finest points of syntactical and verbal analysis to a wide-ranging and insightful interpretation of the whole. Completed after his untimely death by three leading scholars of Flavian epic — Antony Augoustakis, Marco Fucecchi and Gesine Manuwald — it is thus a labour of love on two counts.
C.'s commentary joins two recent works on Argonautica 8 (Lazzarini and Pelluchi, both 2012). In scope, however, it looks much further, using Valerius’ final book as the basis for holistic interpretation of the entire poem.
The introduction is brief, summarily touching on issues of the poem's date, scope and textual tradition, while offering a wealth of bibliography for further exploration. It centres on a case study of Valerius’ sphragis (2.357–77) that showcases C.'s particular expertise in wordplay and acrostics. C. suggests catasterism as the Argonautica's unifying theme, uniting the poetic (the Argo as vehicle of epic immortality) with the political (Vespasian's anticipated deification).
The introduction's secondary focus is to elucidate Book 8's place in the poem as a whole — no small topic, given its incomplete nature. The poem's abrupt ending receives abbreviated treatment; C.'s interest is rather in the correspondences between Books 1 and 8, and the ‘closural gestures’ that permeate the latter. C. shows how Valerius’ innovations within the Argonautic myth enhance the historical and mythic trajectories that his version advances. Within Book 8, C. points out, the addition of the markedly Vergilian Styrus as Medea's spurned suitor constructs a Gigantomachic showdown between East and West. This ties neatly to Argonautica 1, in which Jupiter sets out a comprehensive scheme of translatio imperii. Similarly, C. illustrates the importance of Book 8 for long-standing debates about Valerius’ protagonists. Aratean intertextuality, so prominent in the scene of Jason and Medea's retrieval of the Golden Fleece, shows Jason's ultimate failure to live up to Hercules, while underscoring the complexity of his heroic persona.
Overall, this introduction will prove sparse for those unfamiliar with Valerian scholarship — understandably so, given the circumstances of its publication — and thus falls somewhat short of the accessibility at which this series aims. Paul Murgatroyd's commentary on Argonautica 7 in the same series offers a useful supplement, providing a comprehensive overview of the evidence and debates surrounding the poem's length and date, along with discussion of its politics, style and mythic tradition.
The text is the product of C.'s extensive study of earlier editions and is accompanied by a thorough apparatus criticus. The translation is lively, very readable and accessible: by way of example, I offer a few points of praise and critique. C.'s translation of l. 5 (‘quamcumque … scandere puppem’), ‘to climb aboard any ship she can find’, brilliantly uses the indefinite pronoun to capture Medea's desperation in the moment of her flight. C. consistently replaces epithets and patronymics with proper names (e.g. ‘Latmius … venator’ (l. 28) is translated as ‘Endymion’) — helpful for the student, but perhaps losing the sense of Valerius’ signature elliptical style and the work he requires of his reader.
At some points the text, commentary and translation seem at odds. At l. 55, for example, the text has miseratur while the translation reads ‘he admires her’; the commentary argues that miratur is the correct reading. At l. 263, Medea, seen through her brother's eyes, is described as ‘diram … sororem’. C. emphasises the importance of Absyrtus’ perspective and notes the invocation of the Dirae: consequently, the translation ‘poor sister’ seems bland.
Turning to the commentary proper, the wealth of material prohibits full discussion, so I focus on a few instances that demonstrate the unique strengths of this volume. Opening summaries introduce each episode with attention to its place in the poem. These notes enable the reader not only to dip into individual passages with an abundance of textual, syntactical and interpretive information, but also to read each episode in a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Consistent with C.'s interest in wordplay, the commentary emphasises intra- as well as intertextual allusion, aptly illustrating how Book 8 fits into Valerius’ deeply interwoven poetics.
C. thoroughly unpacks the poem's narratological effects (continuation, perspective, etc.) and the significance of titles and descriptors, thus evincing how a contemporary audience, well-versed in literary and mythological traditions, might have received Valerius’ style and content. C.'s discussion of the dragon (ll. 60ff) is particularly fine, explicating the wealth of allusion that Valerius integrates into this climactic episode. Intertexts with Roman cultural practice provide a fascinating window into Valerius’ world. For example, C. offers a rich explanation of the ritual practices and signification embedded in the wedding scene at ll. 217ff, and analyses Medea's stance in the book's final scene (ll. 462–3) through the rites of translatio deorum and evocatio.
Textual variants are thoroughly discussed with attention to comparanda, style and prosody as well as interpretive significance, showcasing C.'s command of his material and methodology. He consistently presents his (persuasive) conclusions in dialogue with other scholars, enabling the reader to assess the evidence for her- or himself and offering a superb exemplum of highly interesting textual criticism.
The bibliography has been usefully and comprehensively updated by C.'s editors. The General Index is brief but helpfully cross-listed, enabling the reader to find not only names but also important moments of interpretation. This indeed is the volume's great strength: C. has created a fascinating and accessible guide to the Argonautica's dense poetics, useful to novice and expert alike.
