The Argonauts’ saga belongs to an ancient repertory of mythical narratives
set in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, about heroic journeys to a hostile unknown
world in search of an invaluable object with unimaginable power. To obtain it, the hero
and his journey companions must be brave enough to overcome several obstacles, which
include human ensnarement, a wild indomitable nature and monstrous entities, almost
personified entities. The narrative thus evolves around a kind of initiation journey that
only exceptional men can successfully undertake. This type of narrative would come to
inspire the western concept of journey, by land or sea, in quest of other objects with all
sorts of powers. Apollonius would become the inspirational model for Roman poets such
as Valerius Flaccus, Virgil and Ovid. We will briefly explore the contents of the Argonautica
as the result of a new world vision of the Hellenized world that sprung in Alexandria
under the inspiration of the Library.