Ancient Greek & Roman
Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius of Rhodes was a Greek poet of the third century BC, born at Alexandria or, according to some ancient sources, Naucratis. Ancient biographies connect him with the Library of Alexandria and with the poet Callimachus, and say that he later lived on Rhodes, from which his usual name comes.
His surviving work is the Argonautica, an epic in four books on Jason's voyage to Colchis for the Golden Fleece and on Medea's love for him. Written in the Homeric manner but with a learned Hellenistic sensibility, it strongly influenced later poets, Virgil among them.
Major Works (2)
- The Argonautica — translated by R. C. Seaton (1912)
- The Tale of the Argonauts — translated by Arthur S. Way (1901)
Poems (1)