poetry

I don't approve of poems being translated into prose form as a matter of principle. In the case of this poem, which has so many features derived from Homer (e. g. Apollonius' hero list as compared to Homer's ship list or the description of Jason's shield after that of Achilles'), it would be even more interesting to have a line-by-line rendering. Were it not for this and Mr. Hunter's translation would be just nice as his clear and useful introduction is. Therefore I have to go for another translation which suits my requirements, I guess Peter Green's. By the way, this same problem unfortunately seems to occur in the Loeb Classical Collection translations of poetry.

This is an anti-heroic epic,whit a protagonist that is a whiny wimp, an anaemic and weak leader,who unaccountably wins the love of the Morgan le Fay of Colchis: Medea, the real protagonist and heroine of the poem.Her story is narrated whit alexandrine sensibility,less tragedy than pathos. But the charm of the poem lies in the strange,dreamlike athmosphere. Many scenes (like the appearance of Apollo at dawn ) are rendered as if seen in an hypnagogic vision. For the heroes of old ,Apollonius seen to say, life was really a dream.