t and second books are taken
up with the history of the voyage to Colchis, while the fourth book
describes the return voyage. These portions constitute a metrical guide
book, filled no doubt with many pleasing episodes, such as the rape
of Hylas, the boxing match between Pollux and Amyeus, the account of
Cyzicus, the account of the Amazons, the legend of Talos, but there is
no unity running through the poem beyond that of the voyage itself.

The Tale of the Argonauts had been told often before in verse and prose,
and many authors' names are given in the Scholia to Apollonius, but
their works have perished. The best known earlier account that we have
is that in Pindar's fourth Pythian ode, from which Apollonius has taken
many details. The subject was one for an epic poem, for its unity might
have been found in the working out of the expiation due for the crime of
Athamas; but this motive is barely mentioned by our author.

As we have it, the motive of the voyage is the command of Pelias to
bring back the golden fleece, and this command is based on Pelias'
desire to destroy Jason, while the divine aid given to Jason results
from the intention of Hera to punish Pelias for his neglect of the
honour due to her. The learning of Apollonius is not deep but it is
curious; his general sentiments are not according to the Alexandrian
standard, for they are simple and obvious. In the mass of material from
which he had to choose the difficulty was to know what to omit, and much
skill is shown in fusing into a tolerably harmonious whole conflicting
mythological and historical details. He interweaves with his narrative
local legends and the founding of cities, accounts of strange customs,
descriptions of works of art, such as that of Ganymede and Eros playing
with knucklebones, [1003] but prosaically calls himself back to the
point from these pleasing digressions by such an expression as "but this
would take me too far from my song." His business is the straightforward
tale and nothing else. The astonishing geography of the fourth book
reminds us of the interest of the age in that subject, stimulated no
doubt by the researches of Eratosthenes and others.

The language is that of the conventional epic. Apollonius seems to have
carefully studied Homeric glosses, and gives many examples of isolated
uses, but his choice of words is by no means limited to Homer. He freely
avails himself of Alexandrian words and late uses of Homeric words.