Phrixus in the Argonautica of Valerius Flaccus

Hugh Parker (University of North Carolina, Greensboro)

Some years before Jason set out to win the Golden Fleece, Phrixus and his sister, Helle, fled from Greece on a golden ram.  Phrixus arrived safely in Colchis (Helle had drowned on the journey), sacrificed the ram, and gave its fleece to King Aeetes.  This was the golden fleece that Jason later sought.  In Greek myth Phrixus is an important precursor to Jason, but he does not actually appear as a character in accounts of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece.  In fact, by the time Jason sets out for Colchis, Phrixus has died.  Valerius Flaccus, however, treats Phrixus as an important figure in his Argonautica, making him an actual character in the poem.  This paper will examine Valerius’ treatment of Phrixus and will suggest reasons for his importance in the Latin Argonautica.

The central characters in Valerius’ Argonautica (i.e. Jason, Medea, Aeetes, Pelias, Chalciope, and the sons of Phrixus) all see the deceased Phrixus in different ways, and often what motivates their actions in the poem is how they perceive their relationship to Phrixus.  For Jason, Phrixus is the key to obtaining the Golden Fleece.  Upon his arrival in Colchis, Jason goes immediately to Phrixus’ tomb and prays to him for help, and in the second half of the poem he relies on the fact that he is a kinsman of Phrixus, who had been married to Chalciope, Aeetes’ older daughter.  Jason clearly hopes to ingratiate himself with Aeetes through this relationship, but there are two important things that he fails to understand.  First, he does not realize that Aeetes is angry with Phrixus, and so he does not perceive that his strategy of presenting himself as another Phrixus is doomed to failure.  Secondly, Jason does not know that Phrixus, despite the anger of Aeetes, has severed his Greek roots and has become pro-Colchian.  As the Argonauts arrive in Colchis, Phrixus himself (or at least his ghost) appears to Aeetes and recalls the kindness that the king showed him when he came there as an exile many years earlier.  In gratitude Phrixus warns Aeetes that he is in real danger of losing the fleece and advises him about what he needs to do to avoid this.  This is a striking moment in the poem but one that has not received the attention of critics (e.g. Hershkowitz 1998; Zissos 2004a).  Jason’s primary strategy for much of the second half of the poem will prove to be a faulty one; he relies on the support of Phrixus, not realizing that Phrixus has sided with Aeetes.

Valerius, then, creates a Jason who operates under false assumptions in the second half of the Argonautica.  I would suggest two reasons for this.  First, Jason’s misreading of the situation contributes to his failure to recover the fleece on his own and gives him a good reason to turn to Medea for help.  In addition, this situation also makes Jason a little less the ideal hero.  It has often been noted that Valerius’ Jason is a more heroic figure than that of Apollonius Rhodius (Adamietz 1970; Hershkowitz 1998; Hull 1979; Taylor 1994).  I do not disagree with that assessment, but I do suggest that Jason in the Latin Argonautica is a more nuanced character than he is sometimes given credit for being.  He may be a hero, but he can still make mistakes.  His erroneous assumption about the allegiance of his deceased kinsman Phrixus and his misunderstanding of Aeetes’ feelings towards Phrixus, both of which contribute to his failure to acquire the Golden Fleece before he receives help from Medea, serve to remind readers of that point.