The Argonauts’ Specialized Roles and oratio recta in Apollonius Rhodius: A Case Study Using the Pilots

Kris F. Fletcher (Western Michigan University)

In the Argonautica’s opening catalogue, Apollonius provides the names of, and basic biographical details for, each member of the ship’s crew.  Though we know all of the participants, we only hear a small group of them speak in direct discourse.  Not counting Jason, who speaks often in the poem, only thirteen of the fifty-two Argonauts listed in the beginning catalogue ever speak, and only eight of these do so more than once.  Having shown that Apollonius is sparing in his use of direct discourse among the Argonauts, I will argue that this use is connected with specialized knowledge, meaning that those who speak are people of whom the narrative requires direct speech at key moments, like pilots and seers. 

Using the Argo’s two pilots, Tiphys and Ankaios, as a case study, I will examine the connection between specialized knowledge and direct discourse in the Argonautica.  As pilots, they speak only when matters of navigation and piloting are at issue, so only in Books 2 and 4.  While Book 1 deals largely with the preliminaries of the voyage and Book 3 takes place on land at Colchis, Books 2 and 4 find the Argonauts facing difficult times at sea – and thus the role of the pilots comes to the fore. Accordingly, Apollonius allows the pilots to speak directly only in such situations. 

This connection between oratio recta and specialized roles on the voyage can help us develop a clearer idea of how Apollonius constructs his characters, and also shed light on how Jason himself differs from his epic predecessors, especially Homer’s Achilles and Odysseus.  I will argue that Apollonius’ use of direct discourse for the Argonauts helps differentiate his heroes from Homer’s, who are often good at everything, including speaking, and so speak often.  In the more realistic world of the Argonautica, the heroes play limited and specialized roles, and Apollonius’ use of oratio recta highlights and reflects their specialization.