In his lengthy survey of the cosmic devastation wrought by Phaethon's disastrous chariot ride, Ovid includes two catalogues detailing the scorching of the world's mountains and rivers. Ovid enlivens these lists through his usual play with sound patterns and revels in the opportunity to adapt so many Greek names to Latin prosody; for instance the opening line of the catalogue of mountains masterfully illustrates both of these features. The lists are also brimming with playful erudition. To take but a few (...) examples: a dried-up Ida belies its standard epithet πολυπῖδαξ, ‘many-fountained’ ; the sun's heat doubles the flames of volcanic Etna ; burning Xanthus is destined to burn again ; and the famous gold-bearing sands of the Tagus are melting. These features not only ‘relieve monotony’; they warrant the catalogues’ inclusion in the category of Ovid's most entertaining. (shrink)

This paper presents two notes relating to Jason’s prayer to Apollo before the launch of the Argo in Apollonius’ Argonautica. In both cases, I examine what may be termed the “subtextual” facets of the passage: textual data that are significant—productive of meaningful interpretation—and yet hardly apparent on a surface-level reading of the poem. The first note concerns the changing total number of crewmembers aboard the Argo, an evolving figure which Apollonius encourages the reader to track as the narrative progresses. The (...) second proposes a new acrostic that “completes” the ΑΚΤΙΑ acrostic that Selina Stewart recently discovered in Jason’s prayer. In each case, I draw different conclusions from these subliminal data, which have ramifications for questions of gender and inclusivity in Jason’s crew and the role of the gods in the poem. Both readings, however, are a testament to the careful design and unity of purpose that runs through the epic. (shrink)