Orpheus and the Argonauts

Orpheus sailed on the ship Argo with Jason in search of the golden Fleece, but critics generally paid no attention to this episode of the myth of Orpheus, though it is present in antique literature and has been dealt with modern and even contemporary writers. How can we explain Orpheus' presence on the ship Argo? after Robert Graves, Pierre Brunel ponders over the question. He examines antique Greek literature and Latin literature, from the fourth Pythic by Pindar to Medea by Seneca, before analyzing French poetry, from Mallarme to Pierre Emmanuel and Apollinaire, also referring to Rilke and Seferis. He concludes that the image of the "murdered poet" can be balanced by the representation of the poet as a triumphant hero.