Apollonius Rhodius

Apollonius of Rhodes was born around 295 BC, probably in Alexandria, and served as head of the Library of Alexandria. His Argonautica, in four books, tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece.

The poem is the major surviving epic of the Hellenistic period. It combines Homeric narrative with Alexandrian learning, psychological subtlety, and a romantic sensibility that was new in Greek epic. The portrait of Medea falling in love with Jason in Book 3 — her sleeplessness, her agonised internal debate, her shame and desire — is one of the great achievements of ancient poetry and a direct influence on Virgil's Dido.

Apollonius was said to have quarrelled with his teacher Callimachus over the proper length of a poem. Whether or not the quarrel was real, the Argonautica proves that a long poem could meet Alexandrian standards of polish and learning.