heroic body, flavian ideal: a reading of Valerius flaccus’ Argonautica

• Autor(a) principal: Taveira Baptista , Natan Henrique
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: ArtCultura (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/artcultura/article/view/50160
• topic: Argonáutica; Valério flaco; corpo heroico; argonautica; Valerius Flac-cus; heroic body

In this article, the representations of the heroic body in Valerius Flaccus’ argonautica are interpreted, and then located politically in the newly initiated Principality of Vespasian. First, the contributions that the examination of the mythological epic genre, especially its factual and fictional components, offer for Historical Epistemology are presented. Then, the mythopoetic aspects related to the Valerian heroic body, from the agonistic and emulative spirit of the literary tradition in Classics, are investigated and analyzed. Finally, it is concluded that the construction of the hero by Flaccus, as well as his corporal dimension, are based first on athletic, martial and expansionist virtues, such as boldness, honor, fame and glory. Thus, Flaccus renews the epic hero to the context of the Flavian rise, when the emphasis on military abilities was expected, since the then current government had ascended by the mastery of this skill. The conclusion is therefore that the Valerian epic and the heroic ideal of Jason, in particular, allude and promote the new regime and the newly founded dynasty.