The Argonautica

by Rhodius Apollonius

"The Argonautica" by Apollonius Rhodius is a Greek epic poem written in the 3rd century BC. It recounts Jason and the Argonauts' voyage to retrieve the Golden Fleece from distant Colchis. The poem focuses on their heroic adventures and Jason's relationship with Medea, a Colchian princess and sorceress. Apollonius pioneered the study of love's emotional complexity in narrative poetry, incorporating scholarly research in geography, ethnography, and religion while reimagining Homeric epic for Hellenistic audiences.