Jason and the Argonauts
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
The first new Penguin Classics translation of the Argonautica since the 1950s Now in a riveting new verse translation, Jason and the Argonauts (also known as the Argonautica) is the only surviving full account of Jason’s voyage on the Argo in quest of the Golden Fleece aided by the sorceress princess Medea. Written in the third century B.C., this epic story of one of the most beloved heroes of Greek mythology, with its combination of the fantastical and the real, its engagement with traditions of science, astronomy and medicine, winged heroes, and a magical vessel that speaks, is truly without parallel in classical or contemporary Greek literature and is now available in an accessible and engaging translation. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Reviews with the most likes.
This Penguin 60s edition is an excerpt from [b:The Voyage of Argo 3960608 The Voyage of Argo Apollonius of Rhodes http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1304092250s/3960608.jpg 750408].I expected to enjoy this - I was enthralled by Tim Severin's [b:The Jason Voyage. The Quest For The Golden Fleece 1212466 The Jason Voyage. The Quest For The Golden Fleece Tim Severin http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1260132482s/1212466.jpg 1200862], which traced a (theoretical) route of the classic Argo voyage. However, this was hard work - an I don't know whether this is related to the translation, or whether the nature of the original writing. It just didn't flow as a story. There was a painful list of those aboard the Argo, which dragged for several pages, and each time there was a battle, it was explained which characters fought each other (often resorting to listing their fathers name too). It was just hard to get involved in.Just a 3 star book, because I still picked up some of the references I expected, I just found it easy to put down, hard to pick backup.
