Argonautika

By: Apollonius Rhodius

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Argonautika is the story of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. This epic story of gods and goddesses, mythical beasts, thrilling adventures, and narrow escapes may be the oldest surviving Greek myth, which Homer referred to as something "familiar to all." Listen to this masterpiece of classical literature in an all-new translation that captures the timeless magic and quiet humor of this ancient legend. Discover that Jason is an all-too-human everyman, and his one true talent is making women fall in love with him.

©16 9; 1996 by Peter Green (P)1996 by Peter Green; 16 9

Wonderful narration of meandering tale

This is one of the best audio versions of this odd poem available. I say “odd” because, although it has the general form of an epic, The Argonautika feels more like a loose collection of episodes surrounding the central incident. The overarching plot of the quest for the Golden Fleece plays such a small role in the action that it almost reads like a McGuffin. And the level of detail varies widely. The story in Colchis, with Jason and Medea working against Medea’s father, is told in great detail, but most of the other episodes in the story — especially what follows their escape from Colchis with the fleece in hand — are skimmed over from suborbital heights.

And the “hero”? Jason is an OK guy, but he’s no Achilles. He’s not even really much of a Telemachus.

Juliet Stevenson is a wonderful narrator. After hearing her perform Jane Austen and George Eliot, I wouldn’t have expected her to take so readily to the epic mode, but she does a great job weaving through the episodes. The clear and punchy translation by Peter Green is one of the only recent versions available in audio.

The text is abridged, but the cuts are so minor — and frankly, given Apollonius’s long-winded catalogues of names and places, so much appreciated — that I would still recommend this as a go-to version of the poem. In fact, only about 10-15% of the text is missing. All the major incidents are here, and incoherent jumps in the narrative — that bane of many audio abridgements — are absent. You can listen to this with confidence that you’re getting the gist of the story.

The narration is absolutely wonderful

I knew and respected Juliet Stevenson’s work as an actor, over a couple of decades, in such films as Truly, Madly, Deeply. Her work in audio books has reached me at a completely different level though. I find her a brilliant reader, in every way. I’ve listened to numerous audio books narrated by her and to my ear they are pitch perfect. The Peter Green “Argonautika” is her very best work. I admit to being a fussy listener. I invariably choose audio books based on the reader and, regardless of how much I may love the writing, I will stop listening if I find myself thinking (as is unfortunately often the case) that the reader does not fully understand what they are reading, or frequently misses the pitch and/or rhythm of the text. Through many great, and often long, novels I have found Juliet Stevenson’s intonation almost unbelievably good. She reads from a warm, lively, and penetrating comprehension of the work. I have many favourites by her that I go back to again and again. Classical works from this period often come across as remote, flat, forced, pretentious, or overdone. Her reading of the Agonautika resounds. It sounds effortless, ringing up from her own enjoyment and engagement with the text. Her ability to give each character an unique voice, as though each is speaking through her, and without ever overdoing it, is something I truly enjoy. It has me feel as though I am there, amongst the crowd of characters. There are some other readers I enjoy greatly as well (Patrick Tull, Armando Duran, Stephen Fry, and would like to find others). Juliet Stevenson seems to have done more in audiobooks than any of them. I find her work unfailingly good and, to my ear, this wonderfully alive reading of The Argonautika is her very best. I thank her!