Polyxo and the Lemnian Episode – An Inter- and Intratextual Study of Apollonius Rhodius, Valerius Flaccus, and Statius

This paper examines the main similarities and differences in the portrayal of the minor mortal female character Polyxo in Apollonius Rhodius’ and Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica as well as Statius’ Thebaid. In a close reading of the three epics, Polyxo is identified as the key character of the Lemnian episode. Even though she speaks only once in oratio recta and merely appears in propria persona in one section of the episode, Polyxo is the driving force of the Lemnian narrative and her words contain striking intra- and intertextual allusions which draw attention to the drastic change her character undergoes from Apollonius’ to Statius’ adaption of the myth. The comparative analysis of her character portrayal reveals a high level of intertextual engagement and shows that a full appreciation and understanding of the respective Polyxo character and its function in the Lemnian episode and the epic plot as a whole is impossible without a careful examination of its intertexts which can retrospectively affect the interpretation and create a new meaning. As Polyxo’s portrayal is inextricably linked to the depiction of the goddess Venus, the changes in her characterization are not only the result of intertextual rivalry, but they are also reflective of the use and function of the divine apparatus in the three epics under discussion.