Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

poet who flourished during the " Silver Age" under the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as ...

, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

' more famous epic. Gaius Valerius Flaccus
at britannica.com.Tim Stover
Valerius Flaccus
at oxfordbibliographies.com.

Life

The only widely accepted mention of Valerius Flaccus by his contemporaries is by

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...

(10.1.90), who laments the recent death of "Valerius Flaccus" as a great loss; as Quintilian's work was finished about 90 AD, this traditionally gives a limit for the death of Valerius Flaccus. Recent scholarship, however, puts forward an alternative date of about 95 AD, and definitely before the death of

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

in 96 AD. It has been claimed that he was a member of the College of Fifteen, who had charge of the

Sibylline books The ''Sibylline Books'' ( la, Libri Sibyllini) were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and were consulted at mo ...

, based on a reference in his work to the presence of a tripod in a "pure home" (1.5). The assumption that this indicates he himself was a member, however, has also been contested. A contested mention of a poet of the name "Valerius Flaccus" is by

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

(1.76), who refers to a native of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. A subscription in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

manuscript adds the name ''Setinus Balbus'', a name which suggests that its holder was a native of Setia in

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

, however it is not clear if this inscription refers to "Valerius Flaccus" or someone else. The connection of this "Valerius Flaccus" to Gaius Valerius Flaccus has been contested under the assumption that Martial was referring to the friend's financial strife, and that Gaius Valerius Flaccus was a member of the College of Fifteen, and therefore likely to have been wealthy.

''Argonautica''

Valerius Flaccus' only surviving work, the ''Argonautica'', was dedicated to Vespasian on his setting out for

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. It was written during the siege, or shortly after the capture of Jerusalem by

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

in 70 AD. As the

eruption of Vesuvius Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in southern Italy, the best-known is its eruption in 79 AD, which was one of the deadliest in European history. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of the best-known in h ...

in 79 AD is alluded to, its composition must have occupied him a long time. The ''Argonautica'' is an

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

probably intended to be in eight books (though intended totals of ten and twelve books, the latter corresponding to

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

,'' an important poetic model, have also been proposed) written in traditional

dactylic hexameter Dactylic hexameter (also known as heroic hexameter and the meter of epic) is a form of meter or rhythmic scheme frequently used in Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The scheme of the hexameter is usually as follows (writing – for a long syllable, ...

s, which recounts

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

's quest for the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...

. The Argonautica was lost until 1411, when the first 4½ volumes were found at St Gall in 1417 and published at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

in 1474. The poem's text, as it has survived, is in a very corrupt state; it ends so abruptly with the request of

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

to accompany

on his homeward voyage, that it is assumed by most modern scholars that it was never finished. It is a free imitation and in parts a translation of the ''Argonautica'' of

, "to whom he is superior in arrangement, vividness, and description of character" (Loeb Classical Library). The familiar subject had already been treated in Latin verse in the popular version of

Varro Atacinus Publius Terentius Varro Atacinus (; 82 – c. 35 BC) was a Roman poet, more polished in his style than the more famous and learned Varro Reatinus, his contemporary, and therefore more widely read by the Augustan writers.Charles Thomas Cruttwell'' ...

. The object of the work has been described as the glorification of Vespasian's achievements Valerius Flaccus, Gaius active 1st century
at World cat identies. in securing Roman rule in

and opening up the ocean to navigation (as the

Euxine The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

was opened up by the ''

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...

''). In 1911, the compilers of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'' remarked, More modern analysis has been more accepting of Valerius Flaccus' style, noting how it fits in the "long and energetic Roman tradition of appropriation of the golden age and iron age myths" and commenting on his narrative technique:

Editions

;Older editions *

Editio princeps In classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand. For ...

, Bologna 1474 * Giovanni Battista Pio, Bologna 1519 (with commentary and continuation of the poem: remainder of book 8, book 9, and book 10) * Aldine edition, Venice 1523 * Louis Carrion, Antwerp 1565 (2nd ed. 1566) (Plantin edition) * Nicolaas Heinius, Leiden 1680 (2nd ed. Utrecht 1702 y Pieter Burman 3rd ed. Padua 1720 y Giuseppe Comino* Pieter Burman, Leiden 1724 (variorum edition) * Bipontine edition, Zweibrücken 1786 * J.A. Wagner, Göttingen 1805 (with commentary) ;Modern editions * G. Thilo, Halle 1863 * C. Schenkl, Berlin 1871 * E. Baehrens, Leipzig 1875 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * P. Langen, Berlin 1896-7 * J.B. Bury, London 1900 (in Postgate's Corpus Poetarum Latinorum) * C. Giarratano, Palermo 1904 * O. Kramer, Leipzig 1913 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * J.H. Mozley, London & Cambridge, MA, 1934 (Loeb Classical Library) * E. Courtney, Leipzig 1970 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * W.W. Ehlers, Stuttgart 1980 (Bibliotheca Teubneriana) * G. Liberman, Paris 1997 (Collection Budé) – Books 1–4 * F. Caviglia, Milan 1999 (Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli UR * G. Liberman, Paris 2002 (Collection Budé) – Books 5–8 ;English translations * J.H. Mozley, London & Cambridge, MA, 1934 (Loeb Classical Library) * D.R. Slavitt, Baltimore 1999 * Michael Barich, Gambier, OH 2009

In popular culture

Valerius Flaccus appears as a recurring character in

Caroline Lawrence Caroline Lawrence (born 1954) is an English American author, best known for '' The Roman Mysteries'' series of historical novels for children. The series is about a Roman girl called Flavia and her three friends: Nubia (a freed slave girl), Jo ...

's '' Roman Mysteries'' series of children's novels. He is the husband of the main character, Flavia Gemina. In the television adaptations, the character is played by British actor

Ben Lloyd-Hughes Benedict Lloyd-Hughes (born 14 April 1988) is a British actor. He is known for portraying Josh Stock in the British series '' Skins'' (2007) and for his role as Will in the film '' Divergent'' (2014). He plays Tsar Alexander in the 2016 BBC tel ...

References

Sources

External links

* *
Works by Valerius Flaccus at Perseus Digital Library

* ttp://www.thelatinlibrary.com/valeriusflaccus.html Online text: Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica (Latin)
Extensive bibliography

Silver Muse project: reading guides, essays, commentaries etc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaccus, Gaius Valerius Roman-era poets Epic poets Silver Age Latin writers 1st-century Roman poets 90 deaths Year of birth unknown 1st-century Romans Valerii 1st-century Latin writers