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zezee's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
bronwyn3791's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
vallisian's review against another edition
4.0
orpheus and medea are the highlights of this poem and they are icons. jason just exists tbh but it was pretty good definitely
mirandaaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Started reading this on holiday as Naomi and I thought the guy was from Rhodes so was thus a given to go read it whilst in Rhodes but he’s actually from Alexandria and all the historians have no idea why he’s got the epithet “of Rhodes” lol.
Interesting and simple book to read and a good story- especially the Medea part. That is when is truely starts to get snazzy but ngl everything else is just a bit meh it was just stealing the tropes of Homer and changing it slightly.
There were lots of altar building in like 2 days which is either very very impressive or just downright sus. Also the whole Argo just accidentally looses Heracles?!? Um the man’s massive idk how you easily do that and they relied on him to row a lot so yeah but odd but anything for the plot line. There is also a chunk of wood that supposedly talks but this only happens once and in fleeting and then it never talks again… so yeah quite a few plot holes I think.
I did find it interesting that Jason literally does nothing in this whole book. He gets helped by everyone or he just stays silent on the matter and someone else steps in. Whereas in popular myth he is the stereotype of a hero, helping everyone. Really think there should be a version done where Jason is awful at everything and cannot do anything good.
Oh Medea was also different as she was seen as an innocent girl, rather than a malicious woman and it was Jason that killer her brothers not her. Interesting indeed- gotta love portraying powerful women as evil.
The ending was really bad, literally just abrubtly was like they all got back the end. I think he was on some kind of word count limit or something with that ending. They had Talis (crazy bronze man) to fight but the fight was simply “Medea said some spell idk he fell next”. Hmm good fun read but a little holey in places :/
Interesting and simple book to read and a good story- especially the Medea part. That is when is truely starts to get snazzy but ngl everything else is just a bit meh it was just stealing the tropes of Homer and changing it slightly.
There were lots of altar building in like 2 days which is either very very impressive or just downright sus. Also the whole Argo just accidentally looses Heracles?!? Um the man’s massive idk how you easily do that and they relied on him to row a lot so yeah but odd but anything for the plot line. There is also a chunk of wood that supposedly talks but this only happens once and in fleeting and then it never talks again… so yeah quite a few plot holes I think.
I did find it interesting that Jason literally does nothing in this whole book. He gets helped by everyone or he just stays silent on the matter and someone else steps in. Whereas in popular myth he is the stereotype of a hero, helping everyone. Really think there should be a version done where Jason is awful at everything and cannot do anything good.
Oh Medea was also different as she was seen as an innocent girl, rather than a malicious woman and it was Jason that killer her brothers not her. Interesting indeed- gotta love portraying powerful women as evil.
The ending was really bad, literally just abrubtly was like they all got back the end. I think he was on some kind of word count limit or something with that ending. They had Talis (crazy bronze man) to fight but the fight was simply “Medea said some spell idk he fell next”. Hmm good fun read but a little holey in places :/
hazelnutmilk's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
jmoravec's review against another edition
5.0
I think I enjoyed this more than the Iliad! Jason is very much a different hero than Achilles is that epic, and while Jason is a bit of a jerk (especially after the events of the epic), I found his story much more interesting to read.
But really, this epic isn't just about Jason, it spends a lot of time with the other Argonauts. Many of them have great heroic or tragic moments in the play that are as fun to read as Jason's.
Then there's Medea. She basically just steals the show in the second half, and her plight is even more devastating to read knowing what eventually happens to her in her own tragedy. The most interesting thing to me about her story is that the gods barely intervene directly in this epic (compared to Homer) Medea getting hit with Eros' (Cupid) arrow eventually leads to her betraying and killing her family, Jason's future bridesmaid, and her own children. Would she have had a better life without the intervention of the gods?
I liked this translation (although I can't say I can compare it to anything else). It was understandable, had good notes, and I always like a good alliteration which the translator likes to use.
But really, this epic isn't just about Jason, it spends a lot of time with the other Argonauts. Many of them have great heroic or tragic moments in the play that are as fun to read as Jason's.
Then there's Medea. She basically just steals the show in the second half, and her plight is even more devastating to read knowing what eventually happens to her in her own tragedy. The most interesting thing to me about her story is that the gods barely intervene directly in this epic (compared to Homer) Medea getting hit with Eros' (Cupid) arrow eventually leads to her betraying and killing her family, Jason's future bridesmaid, and her own children. Would she have had a better life without the intervention of the gods?
I liked this translation (although I can't say I can compare it to anything else). It was understandable, had good notes, and I always like a good alliteration which the translator likes to use.
lroth467's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
tamaraniac's review against another edition
I started it, I tried it, I might not have read the whole thing but I think get the gist.
(I am not good at classics y'all)
(I am not good at classics y'all)