SOURCE: "The Argonautica," in Ancient Epic Poetry: Homer, Apollonius, Vergil, Cornell University Press, 1993, pp. 187-218.

In the following excerpt, Beye explores the literary background of the Argonautica, outlines the plot of the work, and argues that its difficult structure and unanswered questions create difficulties for readers.

She would have taken out her soul from her
   breast,
 and given it to him, so thrilled was she at his
   desiring her.
 Desire cast its sweet flame out from Jason's
   blond head;
 It captured her gleaming eyes. Her wits
   relaxed in the warmth,
 melting, fading, as the dew fades, warmed in
   dawn's early rays.
—Argonautica 3.1016-21

Relentless Love, great bane of the human
   race, abomination,
 from you comes destructive strife, come
   groans and lamentations,
 from you come countless woes to trouble and
   cause confusion.
—Argonautica 4.445-47

Tradition had it that the sixth-century Athenian tyrant Pisistratus established the custom of reciting the...