The Argonautica is the best known work by the 3rd Century BCE Hellenistic poet and scholar Apollonius of Rhodes. It is an epic poem in the style of Homer and tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. But it is Greek epic poetry updated for the tastes of a more discerning and rational Hellenistic audience. Little regarded in ancient times it has since come to be recognized for its own intrinsic merit and for its influence on later Latin poets.