Apollonius Rhodius in Catullus 64

Abstract

Catullus' Peleus and Thetis (c. 64) is interpreted in its relation to Apollonius Rhodius and to the tradition of Hellenistic epyllia. In representing his Ariadne as a second Medea, Catullus extended Apollonius' exemplum of Ariadne (Arg. 3,997ff.; 1074ff.; 1096ff.; 4,423ff.) so as to form a digressive parallel story according to the pattern of the epyllia (Moschus' Europa); he replaced Apollonius' ironic ambiguity by a polar opposition between two contrasting images corresponding to a typical pattern of his lyric poems ( quondarn- nunc). However, the tragic circumstances of Thetis' wedding and the happy outcome of Ariadne's story are suppresed in a way that produces an impression of a complementary whole.