{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_13977/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_13977","id":"gutenberg_13977","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13977","summary":null,"tags":["Argonauts (Greek mythology)","Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Poetry","Classical Antiquity","Jason -- (Mythological character)","Medea, consort of Aegeus, King of Athens (Mythological character)"],"text":"APOLLONIUS RHODIUS\n\n                     THE ARGONAUTICA\n\n\n              With An English Translation By\n\n                     R.C. SEATON, M.A.\n\n        Formerly Fellow Of Jesus College, Cambridge\n\n\n\n                        _ 1912 _\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\nBOOK I\nBOOK II\nBOOK III\nBOOK IV\nSTEMMA MEDEAE\nINDEX\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nMuch has been written about the chronology of Alexandrian literature and\nthe famous Library, founded by Ptolemy Soter, but the dates of the chief\nwriters are still matters of conjecture. The birth of Apollonius Rhodius\nis placed by scholars at various times between 296 and 260 B.C., while\nthe year of his death is equally uncertain. In fact, we have very little\ninformation on the subject. There are two \"lives\" of Apollonius in the\nScholia, both derived from an earlier one which is lost. From these we\nlearn that he was of Alexandria by birth,[1] that he lived in the time\nof the Ptolemies, and was a pupil of Callimachus; that while still a\nyouth he composed and recited in public his _Argonautica_, and that the\npoem was condemned, in consequence of which he retired to Rhodes; that\nthere he revised his poem, recited it with great applause, and hence\ncalled himself a Rhodian. The second \"life\" adds: \"Some say that he\nreturned to Alexandria and again recited his poem with the utmost\nsuccess, so that he was honoured with the libraries of the Museum[2] and\nwas buried with Callimachus.\" The last sentence may be interpreted by\nthe notice of Suidas, who informs us that Apollonius was a contemporary\nof Eratosthenes, Euphorion and Timarchus, in the time of Ptolemy\nEuergetes, and that he succeeded Eratosthenes in the headship of the\nAlexandrian Library. Suidas also informs us elsewhere that Aristophanes\nat the age of sixty-two succeeded Apollonius in this office. Many modern\nscholars deny the \"bibliothecariate\" of Apollonius for chronological\nreasons, and there is considerable difficulty about it. The date of\nCallimachus' _Hymn to Apollo,_ which closes with some lines (105-113)\nthat are admittedly an allusion to Apollonius, may be put with much\nprobability at 248 or 247 B.C. Apollonius must at that date have been at\nleast twenty years old. Eratosthenes died 196-193 B.C. This would make\nApollonius seventy-two to seventy-five when he succeeded Eratosthenes.\nThis is not impossible, it is true, but it is difficult. But the\ndifficulty is taken away if we assume with Ritschl that Eratosthenes\nresigned his office some years before his death, which allows us to put\nthe birth of Apollonius at about 280, and would solve other\ndifficulties. For instance, if the Librarians were buried within the\nprecincts, it would account for the burial of Apollonius next to\nCallimachus--Eratosthenes being still alive. However that may be, it is\nrather arbitrary to take away the \"bibliothecariate\" of Apollonius,\nwhich is clearly asserted by Suidas, on account of chronological\ncalculations which are themselves uncertain. Moreover, it is more\nprobable that the words following \"some say\" in the second \"life\" are a\nremnant of the original life than a conjectural addition, because the\nfirst \"life\" is evidently incomplete, nothing being said about the end\nof Apollonius' career.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Or of Naucratis,\" according to Aelian and Athenaeus.]\n\n[Footnote 2: [Greek: h\u00f4s kai t\u00f4n biblioth\u00eak\u00f4n tou mouseiou axi\u00f4th\u00eanai\nauton.]]\n\nThe principal event in his life, so far as we know, was the quarrel with\nhis master Callimachus, which was most probably the cause of his\ncondemnation at Alexandria and departure to Rhodes. This quarrel appears\nto have arisen from differences of literary aims and taste, but, as\nliterary differences often do, degenerated into the bitterest personal\nstrife. There are references to the quarrel in the writings of both.\nCallimachus attacks Apollonius in the passage at the end of the _Hymn to\nApollo_, already mentioned, also probably in some epigrams, but most of\nall in his _Ibis_, of which we have an imitation, or perhaps nearly a\ntranslation, in Ovid's poem of the same name. On the part of Apollonius\nthere is a passage in the third book of the _Argonautica_ (11. 927-947)\nwhich is of a polemical nature and stands out from the context, and the\nwell-known savage epigram upon Callimachus.[1] Various combinations have\nbeen attempted by scholars, notably by Couat, in his _Po\u00e9sie\nAlexandrine_, to give a connected account of the quarrel, but we have\nnot _data_ sufficient to determine the order of the attacks, and\nreplies, and counter-attacks. The _Ibis_ has been thought to mark the\ntermination of the feud on the curious ground that it was impossible for\nabuse to go further. It was an age when literary men were more inclined\nto comment on writings of the past than to produce original work.\nLiterature was engaged in taking stock of itself. Homer was, of course,\nprofessedly admired by all, but more admired than imitated. Epic poetry\nwas out of fashion and we find many epigrams of this period--some by\nCallimachus--directed against the \"cyclic\" poets, by whom were meant at\nthat time those who were always dragging in conventional and commonplace\nepithets and phrases peculiar to epic poetry. Callimachus was in\naccordance with the spirit of the age when he proclaimed \"a great book\"\nto be \"a great evil,\" and sought to confine poetical activity within the\nnarrowest limits both of subject and space. Theocritus agreed with him,\nboth in principle and practice. The chief characteristics of\nAlexandrianism are well summarized by Professor Robinson Ellis as\nfollows: \"Precision in form and metre, refinement in diction, a learning\noften degenerating into pedantry and obscurity, a resolute avoidance of\neverything commonplace in subject, sentiment or allusion.\" These traits\nare more prominent in Callimachus than in Apollonius, but they are\ncertainly to be seen in the latter. He seems to have written the\n_Argonautica_ out of bravado, to show that he _could_ write an epic\npoem. But the influence of the age was too strong. Instead of the unity\nof an Epic we have merely a series of episodes, and it is the great\nbeauty and power of one of these episodes that gives the poem its\npermanent value--the episode of the love of Jason and Medea. This\noccupies the greater part of the third book. The first and second books\nare taken up with the history of the voyage to Colchis, while the fourth\nbook describes the return voyage. These portions constitute a metrical\nguide book, filled no doubt with many pleasing episodes, such as the\nrape of Hylas, the boxing match between Pollux and Amycus, the account\nof Cyzicus, the account of the Amazons, the legend of Talos, but there\nis no unity running through the poem beyond that of the voyage itself.\n\n[Footnote 1: Anth. Pal. xi. 275.]\n\nThe Tale of the Argonauts had been told often before in verse and prose,\nand many authors' names are given in the Scholia to Apollonius, but\ntheir works have perished. The best known earlier account that we have\nis that in Pindar's fourth Pythian ode, from which Apollonius has taken\nmany details. The subject was one for an epic poem, for its unity might\nhave been found in the working out of the expiation due for the crime of\nAthamas; but this motive is barely mentioned by our author.\n\nAs we have it, the motive of the voyage is the command of Pelias to\nbring back the golden fleece, and this command is based on Pelias'\ndesire to destroy Jason, while the divine aid given to Jason results\nfrom the intention of Hera to punish Pelias for his neglect of the\nhonour due to her. The learning of Apollonius is not deep but it is\ncurious; his general sentiments are not according to the Alexandrian\nstandard, for they are simple and obvious. In the mass of material from\nwhich he had to choose the difficulty was to know what to omit, and much\nskill is shewn in fusing into a tolerably harmonious whole conflicting\nmythological and historical details. He interweaves with his narrative\nlocal legends and the founding of cities, accounts of strange customs,\ndescriptions of works of art, such as that of Ganymede and Eros playing\nwith knucklebones,[1] but prosaically calls himself back to the point\nfrom these pleasing digressions by such an expression as \"but this would\ntake me too far from my song.\" His business is the straightforward tale\nand nothing else. The astonishing geography of the fourth book reminds\nus of the interest of the age in that subject, stimulated no doubt by\nthe researches of Eratosthenes and others.\n\n[Footnote 1: iii. 117-124.]\n\nThe language is that of the conventional epic. Apollonius seems to have\ncarefully studied Homeric glosses, and gives many examples of isolated\nuses, but his choice of words is by no means limited to Homer. He freely\navails himself of Alexandrian words and late uses of Homeric words.\nAmong his contemporaries Apollonius suffers from a comparison with\nTheocritus, who was a little his senior, but he was much admired by\nRoman writers who derived inspiration from the great classical writers\nof Greece by way of Alexandria. In fact Alexandria was a useful bridge\nbetween Athens and Rome. The _Argonautica_ was translated by Varro\nAtacinus, copied by Ovid and Virgil, and minutely studied by Valerius\nFlaccus in his poem of the same name. Some of his finest passages have\nbeen appropriated and improved upon by Virgil by the divine right of\nsuperior genius.[1] The subject of love had been treated in the romantic\nspirit before the time of Apollonius in writings that have perished, for\ninstance, in those of Antimachus of Colophon, but the _Argonautica_ is\nperhaps the first poem still extant in which the expression of this\nspirit is developed with elaboration. The Medea of Apollonius is the\ndirect precursor of the Dido of Virgil, and it is the pathos and passion\nof the fourth book of the Aeneid that keep alive many a passage of\nApollonius.\n\n[Footnote 1: e.g. compare _Aen._ iv. 305 foll, with Ap. Rh. iv. 355\nfoll., _Aen._ iv. 327-330 with Ap. Rh. i. 897, 898, _Aen._ iv. 522\nfoll., with Ap. Rh. iii. 744 foll.]\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY.\n\n\nTwo editions of the Argonautica were published by Apollonius. Of these\nwe have only the second. The Scholia preserve a few passages of the\nfirst edition, from which the second seems to have differed only\nslightly. The old opinion that our MSS. preserve any traces of the first\nedition has long been given up. The principal MSS. are the following:--\n\n     The Laurentian, also called the Medicean, XXXII. 9, of the early\n     eleventh century, the excellent MS. at Florence which contains\n     Sophocles, Aeschylus and Apollonius Rhodius. This is far the best\n     authority for the text (here denoted by L).\n\n     The Guelferbytanus of the thirteenth century, which closely agrees\n     with another Laurentian, XXXII. 16, of the same date (here denoted\n     by G and L^2 respectively).\n\nThere were in the early eleventh century two types of text, the first\nbeing best known to us by L, the second by G and L^2 and the corrections\nmade in L. Quotations in the Etymologicum Magnum agree with the second\ntype and show that this is as old as the fifth century. Besides these\nthere are, of inferior MSS., four Vatican and five Parisian which are\noccasionally useful. Most of them have Scholia; the best Scholia are\nthose of L.\n\nThe principal editions are:--\n\nFlorence, 1496, 4to. This is the _editio princeps_, by Lascaris, based\non L, with Scholia, a very rare book.\n\nVenice, 1521, 8vo. The Aldine, by Franciscus Asulanus, with Scholia.\n\nParis, 1541, 8vo, based on the Parisian MSS.\n\nGeneva, 1574, 4to, by Stephanus, with Scholia.\n\nLeyden, 1641, 2 vols., 8vo, by J. H\u00f6lzlin, with a Latin version.\n\nOxford, 1777, 2 vols., 4to, by J. Shaw, with a Latin version.\n\nStrassburg, 1780, 8vo and 4to, by R.F.P. Brunck.\n\nRome, 1791-1794, 2 vols., 4to, by Flangini, with an Italian translation.\n\nLeipzig, 1797, 8vo, by Ch. D. Beck, with a Latin version. A second\nvolume, to contain the Scholia and a commentary, was never published.\n\nLeipzig, 1810-1813, 2 vols., 8vo. A second edition of Brunck by G.H.\nSch\u00e4fer, with the Florentine and Parisian Scholia, the latter printed\nfor the first time.\n\nLeipzig, 1828, 8vo, by A. Wellauer, with the Scholia, both Florentine\nand Parisian.\n\nParis, 1811, 4to, by F.S. Lehrs, with a Latin version. In the Didot\nseries.\n\nLeipzig, 1852, 8vo, by R. Merkel, \"ad cod. MS. Laurentianum.\" The\nTeubner Text.\n\nLeipzig, 1854, 2 vols., 8vo, by R. Merkel. The second volume contains\nMerkel's prolegomena and the Scholia to L, edited by H. Keil.\n\nOxford, 1900, 8vo, by R.C. Seaton. In the \"Scriptorum Classicorum\nBibliotheca Oxoniensis\" series.\n\nThe text of the present edition is, with a few exceptions, that of the\nOxford edition prepared by me for the Delegates of the Clarendon Press,\nwhom I hereby thank for their permission to use it.\n\nThe English translations of Apollonius are as follows:--\n\nBy E.B. Greene, by F. Fawkes, both 1780; by W. Preston, 1803. None of\nthese are of value. There is a prose translation by E.P. Coleridge in\nthe Bohn Series. The most recent and also the best is a verse\ntranslation by Mr. A.S. Way, 1901, in \"The Temple Classics.\"\n\nI may also mention the excellent translation in French by Prof. H. de La\nVille de Mirmont of the University of Bordeaux, 1892.\n\nUpon Alexandrian literature in general Couat's _Po\u00e9sie Alexandrine, sous\nles trois premiers Ptoletm\u00e9es_, 1882, may be recommended. Susemihl's\n_Geschichte der Griechischen Litteratur in der Alexandinerzeit_, 2\nvols., 1891, is a perfect storehouse of facts and authorities, but more\nadapted for reference than for general reading. Morris' _Life and Death\nof Jason_ is a poem that in many passages singularly resembles\nApollonius in its pessimistic tone and spirit.\n\n\n\n\nAPOLLONIUS RHODIUS\n\nTHE ARGONAUTICA\n\nBOOK I\n\n\nSUMMARY OF BOOK I\n\n     Invocation of Phoebus and cause of the expedition\n     (1-22).--Catalogue of the Argonauts (23-233).--March of the heroes\n     to the port: farewell of Jason and Alcimede\n     (234-305).--Preparations for departure and launching of Argo:\n     sacrifice to Apollo: prediction of Idmon (306-447).--The festival,\n     insolence of Idas, song of Orpheus and departure (448-558).--Voyage\n     along the coast of Thessaly and across to Lemnos (559-608).--Recent\n     history of Lemnos and stay of the Argonauts there: farewell of\n     Jason and Hypsipyle (609-909).--Voyage from Lemnos by Samothrace to\n     the Propontis: reception by the Doliones of Cyzicus\n     (910-988).--Fight against the Giants: departure and return of the\n     Argonauts to Cyzicus: sacrifice to Rhea on Mt. Dindymum\n     (989-1152).--Arrival among the Mysians: rape of Hylas, which is\n     announced to Heracles (1153-1260).--While Heracles and Polyphemus\n     search for Hylas they are left behind (1261-1328).--The fate of\n     Heracles and Polyphemus: arrival of Argo among the Bebrycians\n     (1329-1362).\n\n\n\nAPOLLONIUS RHODIUS THE ARGONAUTICA\n\nBOOK I\n\n\nBeginning with thee, O Phoebus, I will recount the famous deeds of men\nof old, who, at the behest of King Pelias, down through the mouth of\nPontus and between the Cyanean rocks, sped well-benched Argo in quest of\nthe golden fleece.\n\nSuch was the oracle that Pelias heard, that a hateful doom awaited\nhim--to be slain at the prompting of the man whom he should see coming\nforth from the people with but one sandal. And no long time after, in\naccordance with that true report, Jason crossed the stream of wintry\nAnaurus on foot, and saved one sandal from the mire, but the other he\nleft in the depths held back by the flood. And straightway he came to\nPelias to share the banquet which the king was offering to his father\nPoseidon and the rest of the gods, though he paid no honour to Pelasgian\nHera. Quickly the king saw him and pondered, and devised for him the\ntoil of a troublous voyage, in order that on the sea or among strangers\nhe might lose his home-return.\n\nThe ship, as former bards relate, Argus wrought by the guidance of\nAthena. But now I will tell the lineage and the names of the heroes, and\nof the long sea-paths and the deeds they wrought in their wanderings;\nmay the Muses be the inspirers of my song!\n\nFirst then let us name Orpheus whom once Calliope bare, it is said,\nwedded to Thracian Oeagrus, near the Pimpleian height. Men say that he\nby the music of his songs charmed the stubborn rocks upon the mountains\nand the course of rivers. And the wild oak-trees to this day, tokens of\nthat magic strain, that grow at Zone on the Thracian shore, stand in\nordered ranks close together, the same which under the charm of his lyre\nhe led down from Pieria. Such then was Orpheus whom Aeson's son welcomed\nto share his toils, in obedience to the behest of Cheiron, Orpheus ruler\nof Bistonian Pieria.\n\nStraightway came Asterion, whom Cometes begat by the waters of eddying\nApidanus; he dwelt at Peiresiae near the Phylleian mount, where mighty\nApidanus and bright Enipeus join their streams, coming together from\nafar.\n\nNext to them from Larisa came Polyphemus, son of Eilatus, who aforetime\namong the mighty Lapithae, when they were arming themselves against the\nCentaurs, fought in his younger days; now his limbs were grown heavy\nwith age, but his martial spirit still remained, even as of old.\n\nNor was Iphiclus long left behind in Phylace, the uncle of Aeson's son;\nfor Aeson had wedded his sister Alcimede, daughter of Phylacus: his\nkinship with her bade him be numbered in the host.\n\nNor did Admetus, the lord of Pherae rich in sheep, stay behind beneath\nthe peak of the Chalcodonian mount.\n\nNor at Alope stayed the sons of Hermes, rich in corn-land, well skilled\nin craftiness, Erytus and Echion, and with them on their departure their\nkinsman Aethalides went as the third; him near the streams of Amphrysus\nEupolemeia bare, the daughter of Myrmidon, from Phthia; the two others\nwere sprung from Antianeira, daughter of Menetes.\n\nFrom rich Gyrton came Coronus, son of Caeneus, brave, but not braver\nthan his father. For bards relate that Caeneus though still living\nperished at the hands of the Centaurs, when apart from other chiefs he\nrouted them; and they, rallying against him, could neither bend nor slay\nhim; but unconquered and unflinching he passed beneath the earth,\noverwhelmed by the downrush of massy pines.\n\nThere came too Titaresian Mopsus, whom above all men the son of Leto\ntaught the augury of birds; and Eurydamas the son of Ctimenus; he dwelt\nat Dolopian Ctimene near the Xynian lake.\n\nMoreover Actor sent his son Menoetius from Opus that he might accompany\nthe chiefs.\n\nEurytion followed and strong Eribotes, one the son of Teleon, the other\nof Irus, Actor's son; the son of Teleon renowned Eribotes, and of Irus\nEurytion. A third with them was Oileus, peerless in courage and well\nskilled to attack the flying foe, when they break their ranks.\n\nNow from Euboea came Canthus eager for the quest, whom Canethus son of\nAbas sent; but he was not destined to return to Cerinthus. For fate had\nordained that he and Mopsus, skilled in the seer's art, should wander\nand perish in the furthest ends of Libya. For no ill is too remote for\nmortals to incur, seeing that they buried them in Libya, as far from the\nColchians as is the space that is seen between the setting and the\nrising of the sun.\n\nTo him Clytius and Iphitus joined themselves, the warders of Oechalia,\nsons of Eurytus the ruthless, Eurytus, to whom the Far-shooting god gave\nhis bow; but he had no joy of the gift; for of his own choice he strove\neven with the giver.\n\nAfter them came the sons of Aeacus, not both together, nor from the same\nspot; for they settled far from Aegina in exile, when in their folly\nthey had slain their brother Phocus. Telamon dwelt in the Attic island;\nbut Peleus departed and made his home in Phthia.\n\nAfter them from Cecropia came warlike Butes, son of brave Teleon, and\nPhalerus of the ashen spear. Alcon his father sent him forth; yet no\nother sons had he to care for his old age and livelihood. But him, his\nwell-beloved and only son, he sent forth that amid bold heroes he might\nshine conspicuous. But Theseus, who surpassed all the sons of\nErechtheus, an unseen bond kept beneath the land of Taenarus, for he had\nfollowed that path with Peirithous; assuredly both would have lightened\nfor all the fulfilment of their toil.\n\nTiphys, son of Hagnias, left the Siphaean people of the Thespians, well\nskilled to foretell the rising wave on the broad sea, and well skilled\nto infer from sun and star the stormy winds and the time for sailing.\nTritonian Athena herself urged him to join the band of chiefs, and he\ncame among them a welcome comrade. She herself too fashioned the swift\nship; and with her Argus, son of Arestor, wrought it by her counsels.\nWherefore it proved the most excellent of all ships that have made trial\nof the sea with oars.\n\nAfter them came Phlias from Araethyrea, where he dwelt in affluence by\nthe favour of his father Dionysus, in his home by the springs of Asopus.\n\nFrom Argos came Talaus and Areius, sons of Bias, and mighty Leodocus,\nall of whom Pero daughter of Neleus bare; on her account the Aeolid\nMelampus endured sore affliction in the steading of Iphiclus.\n\nNor do we learn that Heracles of the mighty heart disregarded the eager\nsummons of Aeson's son. But when he heard a report of the heroes'\ngathering and had readied Lyrceian Argos from Arcadia by the road along\nwhich he carried the boar alive that fed in the thickets of Lampeia,\nnear the vast Erymanthian swamp, the boar bound with chains he put down\nfrom his huge shoulders at the entrance to the market-place of Mycenae;\nand himself of his own will set out against the purpose of Eurystheus;\nand with him went Hylas, a brave comrade, in the flower of youth, to\nbear his arrows and to guard his bow.\n\nNext to him came a scion of the race of divine Danaus, Nauplius. He was\nthe son of Clytonaeus son of Naubolus; Naubolus was son of Lernus;\nLernus we know was the son of Proetus son of Nauplius; and once Amymone\ndaughter of Danaus, wedded to Poseidon, bare Nauplius, who surpassed all\nmen in naval skill.\n\nIdmon came last of all them that dwelt at Argos, though he had learnt\nhis own fate by augury, he came, that the people might not grudge him\nfair renown. He was not in truth the son of Abas, but Leto's son himself\nbegat him to be numbered among the illustrious Aeolids; and himself\ntaught him the art of prophecy--to pay heed to birds and to observe the\nsigns of the burning sacrifice.\n\nMoreover Aetolian Leda sent from Sparta strong Polydeuces and Castor,\nskilled to guide swift-footed steeds; these her dearly-loved sons she\nbare at one birth in the house of Tyndareus; nor did she forbid their\ndeparture; for she had thoughts worthy of the bride of Zeus.\n\nThe sons of Aphareus, Lynceus and proud Idas, came from Arene, both\nexulting in their great strength; and Lynceus too excelled in keenest\nsight, if the report is true that that hero could easily direct his\nsight even beneath the earth.\n\nAnd with them Neleian Periclymenus set out to come, eldest of all the\nsons of godlike Neleus who were born at Pylos; Poseidon had given him\nboundless strength and granted him that whatever shape he should crave\nduring the fight, that he should take in the stress of battle.\n\nMoreover from Arcadia came Amphidamas and Cepheus, who inhabited Tegea\nand the allotment of Apheidas, two sons of Aleus; and Ancaeus followed\nthem as the third, whom his father Lycurgus sent, the brother older than\nboth. But he was left in the city to care for Aleus now growing old,\nwhile he gave his son to join his brothers. Ancaeus went clad in the\nskin of a Maenalian bear, and wielding in his right hand a huge\ntwo-edged battleaxe. For his armour his grandsire had hidden in the\nhouse's innermost recess, to see if he might by some means still stay\nhis departure.\n\nThere came also Augeias, whom fame declared to be the son of Helios; he\nreigned over the Eleans, glorying in his wealth; and greatly he desired\nto behold the Colchian land and Aeetes himself the ruler of the\nColchians.\n\nAsterius and Amphion, sons of Hyperasius, came from Achaean Pellene,\nwhich once Pelles their grandsire founded on the brows of Aegialus.\n\nAfter them from Taenarus came Euphemus whom, most swift-footed of men,\nEurope, daughter of mighty Tityos, bare to Poseidon. He was wont to skim\nthe swell of the grey sea, and wetted not his swift feet, but just\ndipping the tips of his toes was borne on the watery path.\n\nYea, and two other sons of Poseidon came; one Erginus, who left the\ncitadel of glorious Miletus, the other proud Ancaeus, who left\nParthenia, the seat of Imbrasion Hera; both boasted their skill in\nsea-craft and in war.\n\nAfter them from Calydon came the son of Oeneus, strong Meleagrus, and\nLaocoon--Laocoon the brother of Oeneus, though not by the same mother,\nfor a serving-woman bare him; him, now growing old, Oeneus sent to guard\nhis son: thus Meleagrus, still a youth, entered the bold band of heroes.\nNo other had come superior to him, I ween, except Heracles, if for one\nyear more he had tarried and been nurtured among the Aetolians. Yea, and\nhis uncle, well skilled to fight whether with the javelin or hand to\nhand, Iphiclus son of Thestius, bare him company on his way.\n\nWith him came Palaemonius, son of Olenian Lernus, of Lernus by repute,\nbut his birth was from Hephaestus; and so he was crippled in his feet,\nbut his bodily frame and his valour no one would dare to scorn.\nWherefore he was numbered among all the chiefs, winning fame for Jason.\n\nFrom the Phocians came Iphitus sprung from Naubolus son of Ornytus; once\nhe had been his host when Jason went to Pytho to ask for a response\nconcerning his voyage; for there he welcomed him in his own halls.\n\nNext came Zetes and Calais, sons of Boreas, whom once Oreithyia,\ndaughter of Erechtheus, bare to Boreas on the verge of wintry Thrace;\nthither it was that Thracian Boreas snatched her away from Cecropia as\nshe was whirling in the dance, hard by Ilissus' stream. And, carrying\nher far off, to the spot that men called the rock of Sarpedon, near the\nriver Erginus, he wrapped her in dark clouds and forced her to his will.\nThere they were making their dusky wings quiver upon their ankles on\nboth sides as they rose, a great wonder to behold, wings that gleamed\nwith golden scales: and round their backs from the top of the head and\nneck, hither and thither, their dark tresses were being shaken by the\nwind.\n\nNo, nor had Acastus son of mighty Pelias himself any will to stay behind\nin the palace of his brave sire, nor Argus, helper of the goddess\nAthena; but they too were ready to be numbered in the host.\n\nSo many then were the helpers who assembled to join the son of Aeson.\nAll the chiefs the dwellers thereabout called Minyae, for the most and\nthe bravest avowed that they were sprung from the blood of the daughters\nof Minyas; thus Jason himself was the son of Alcimede who was born of\nClymene the daughter of Minyas.\n\nNow when all things had been made ready by the thralls, all things that\nfully-equipped ships are furnished withal when men's business leads them\nto voyage across the sea, then the heroes took their way through the\ncity to the ship where it lay on the strand that men call Magnesian\nPagasae; and a crowd of people hastening rushed together; but the heroes\nshone like gleaming stars among the clouds; and each man as he saw them\nspeeding along with their armour would say:\n\n\"King Zeus, what is the purpose of Pelias? Whither is he driving forth\nfrom the Panachaean land so great a host of heroes? On one day they\nwould waste the palace of Aeetes with baleful fire, should he not yield\nthem the fleece of his own goodwill. But the path is not to be shunned,\nthe toil is hard for those who venture.\"\n\nThus they spake here and there throughout the city; but the women often\nraised their hands to the sky in prayer to the immortals to grant a\nreturn, their hearts' desire. And one with tears thus lamented to her\nfellow:\n\n\"Wretched Alcimede, evil has come to thee at last though late, thou hast\nnot ended with splendour of life. Aeson too, ill-fated man! Surely\nbetter had it been for him, if he were lying beneath the earth enveloped\nin his shroud, still unconscious of bitter toils. Would that the dark\nwave, when the maiden Helle perished, had overwhelmed Phrixus too with\nthe ram: but the dire portent even sent forth a human voice, that it\nmight cause to Alcimede sorrows and countless pains hereafter.\"\n\nThus the women spake at the departure of the heroes. And now many\nthralls, men and women, were gathered together, and his mother, smitten\nwith grief for Jason. And a bitter pang seized every woman's heart; and\nwith them groaned the father in baleful old age, lying on his bed,\nclosely wrapped round. But the hero straightway soothed their pain,\nencouraging them, and bade the thralls take up his weapons for war; and\nthey in silence with downcast looks took them up. And even as the mother\nhad thrown her arms about her son, so she clung, weeping without stint,\nas a maiden all alone weeps, falling fondly on the neck of her hoary\nnurse, a maid who has now no others to care for her, but she drags on a\nweary life under a stepmother, who maltreats her continually with ever\nfresh insults, and as she weeps, her heart within her is bound fast with\nmisery, nor can she sob forth all the groans that struggle for\nutterance; so without stint wept Alcimede straining her son in her arms,\nand in her yearning grief spake as follows:\n\n\"Would that on that day when, wretched woman that I am, I heard King\nPelias proclaim his evil behest, I had straightway given up my life and\nforgotten my cares, so that thou thyself, my son, with thine own hands,\nmightest have buried me; for that was the only wish left me still to be\nfulfilled by thee, all the other rewards for thy nurture have I long\nenjoyed. Now I, once so admired among Achaean women, shall be left\nbehind like a bondwoman in my empty halls, pining away, ill-fated one,\nfor love of thee, thee on whose account I had aforetime so much splendour\nand renown, my only son for whom I loosed my virgin zone first and last.\nFor to me beyond others the goddess Eileithyia grudged abundant\noffspring. Alas for my folly! Not once, not even in my dreams did I\nforebode this, that the flight of Phrixus would bring me woe.\"\n\nThus with moaning she wept, and her handmaidens, standing by, lamented;\nbut Jason spake gently to her with comforting words:\n\n\"Do not, I pray thee, mother, store up bitter sorrows overmuch, for thou\nwilt not redeem me from evil by tears, but wilt still add grief to\ngrief. For unseen are the woes that the gods mete out to mortals; be\nstrong to endure thy share of them though with grief in thy heart; take\ncourage from the promises of Athena, and from the answers of the gods\n(for very favourable oracles has Phoebus given), and then from the help\nof the chieftains. But do thou remain here, quiet among thy handmaids,\nand be not a bird of ill omen to the ship; and thither my clansmen and\nthralls will follow me.\"\n\nHe spake, and started forth to leave the house. And as Apollo goes forth\nfrom some fragrant shrine to divine Delos or Claros or Pytho or to broad\nLycia near the stream of Xanthus, in such beauty moved Jason through the\nthrong of people; and a cry arose as they shouted together. And there\nmet him aged Iphias, priestess of Artemis guardian of the city, and\nkissed his right hand, but she had not strength to say a word, for all\nher eagerness, as the crowd rushed on, but she was left there by the\nwayside, as the old are left by the young, and he passed on and was gone\nafar.\n\nNow when he had left the well-built streets of the city he came to the\nbeach of Pagasae, where his comrades greeted him as they stayed together\nnear the ship Argo. And he stood at the entering in, and they were\ngathered to meet him. And they perceived Acastus and Argus coming from\nthe city, and they marvelled when they saw them hasting with all speed,\ndespite the will of Pelias. The one, Argus, son of Arestor, had cast\nround his shoulders the hide of a bull reaching to his feet, with the\nblack hair upon it, the other, a fair mantle of double fold, which his\nsister Pelopeia had given him. Still Jason forebore from asking them\nabout each point but bade all be seated for an assembly. And there, upon\nthe folded sails and the mast as it lay on the ground, they all took\ntheir seats in order. And among them with goodwill spake Aeson's son:\n\n\"All the equipment that a ship needs--for all is in due order--lies\nready for our departure. Therefore we will make no long delay in our\nsailing for these things' sake, when the breezes but blow fair. But,\nfriends,--for common to all is our return to Hellas hereafter, and\ncommon to all is our path to the land of Aeetes--now therefore with\nungrudging heart choose the bravest to be our leader, who shall be\ncareful for everything, to take upon him our quarrels and covenants with\nstrangers.\"\n\nThus he spake; and the young heroes turned their eves towards bold\nHeracles sitting in their midst, and with one shout they all enjoined\nupon him to be their leader; but he, from the place where he sat,\nstretched forth his right hand and said:\n\n\"Let no one offer this honour to me. For I will not consent, and I will\nforbid any other to stand up. Let the hero who brought us together,\nhimself be the leader of the host.\"\n\nThus he spake with high thoughts, and they assented, as Heracles bade;\nand warlike Jason himself rose up, glad at heart, and thus addressed the\neager throng:\n\n\"If ye entrust your glory to my care, no longer as before let our path\nbe hindered. Now at last let us propitiate Phoebus with sacrifice and\nstraightway prepare a feast. And until my thralls come, the overseers of\nmy steading, whose care it is to choose out oxen from the herd and drive\nthem hither, we will drag down the ship to the sea, and do ye place all\nthe tackling within, and draw lots for the benches for rowing. Meantime\nlet us build upon the beach an altar to Apollo Embasius[1] who by an\noracle promised to point out and show me the paths of the sea, if by\nsacrifice to him I should begin my venture for King Pelias.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. God of embarcation.]\n\nHe spake, and was the first to turn to the work, and they stood up in\nobedience to him; and they heaped their garments, one upon the other, on\na smooth stone, which the sea did not strike with its waves, but the\nstormy surge had cleansed it long before. First of all, by the command\nof Argus, they strongly girded the ship with a rope well twisted\nwithin,[1] stretching it tight on each side, in order that the planks\nmight be well compacted by the bolts and might withstand the opposing\nforce of the surge. And they quickly dug a trench as wide as the space\nthe ship covered, and at the prow as far into the sea as it would run\nwhen drawn down by their hands. And they ever dug deeper in front of the\nstem, and in the furrow laid polished rollers; and inclined the ship\ndown upon the first rollers, that so she might glide and be borne on by\nthem. And above, on both sides, reversing the oars, they fastened them\nround the thole-pins, so as to project a cubit's space. And the heroes\nthemselves stood on both sides at the oars in a row, and pushed forward\nwith chest and hand at once. And then Tiphys leapt on board to urge the\nyouths to push at the right moment; and calling on them he shouted\nloudly; and they at once, leaning with all their strength, with one push\nstarted the ship from her place, and strained with their feet, forcing\nher onward; and Pelian Argo followed swiftly; and they on each side\nshouted as they rushed on. And then the rollers groaned under the sturdy\nkeel as they were chafed, and round them rose up a dark smoke owing to\nthe weight, and she glided into the sea; but the heroes stood there and\nkept dragging her back as she sped onward. And round the thole-pins they\nfitted the oars, and in the ship they placed the mast and the well-made\nsails and the stores.\n\n[Footnote 1: Or, reading [Greek: ektothen], \"they strongly girded the\nship outside with a well-twisted rope.\" In either case there is probably\nno allusion to [Greek: hupoz\u00f4mata] (ropes for undergirding) which-were\ncarried loose and only used in stormy weather.]\n\nNow when they had carefully paid heed to everything, first they\ndistributed the benches by lot, two men occupying one seat; but the\nmiddle bench they chose for Heracles and Ancaeus apart from the other\nheroes, Ancaeus who dwelt in Tegea. For them alone they left the middle\nbench just as it was and not by lot; and with one consent they entrusted\nTiphys with guarding the helm of the well-stemmed ship.\n\nNext, piling up shingle near the sea, they raised there an altar on the\nshore to Apollo, under the name of Actius[1] and Embasius, and quickly\nspread above it logs of dried olive-wood. Meantime the herdsmen of\nAeson's son had driven before them from the herd two steers. These the\nyounger comrades dragged near the altars, and the others brought lustral\nwater and barley meal, and Jason prayed, calling on Apollo the god of\nhis fathers:\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. God of the shore.]\n\n\"Hear, O King, that dwellest in Pagasae and the city Aesonis, the city\ncalled by my father's name, thou who didst promise me, when I sought thy\noracle at Pytho, to show the fulfilment and goal of my journey, for thou\nthyself hast been the cause of my venture; now do thou thyself guide the\nship with my comrades safe and sound, thither and back again to Hellas.\nThen in thy honour hereafter we will lay again on thy altar the bright\nofferings of bulls--all of us who return; and other gifts in countless\nnumbers I will bring to Pytho and Ortygia. And now, come, Far-darter,\naccept this sacrifice at our hands, which first of all we have offered\nthee for this ship on our embarcation; and grant, O King, that with a\nprosperous weird I may loose the hawsers, relying on thy counsel, and\nmay the breeze blow softly with which we shall sail over the sea in fair\nweather.\"\n\nHe spake, and with his prayer cast the barley meal. And they two girded\nthemselves to slay the steers, proud Ancaeus and Heracles. The latter\nwith his club smote one steer mid-head on the brow, and falling in a\nheap on the spot, it sank to the ground; and Ancaeus struck the broad\nneck of the other with his axe of bronze, and shore through the mighty\nsinews; and it fell prone on both its horns. Their comrades quickly\nsevered the victims' throats, and flayed the hides: they sundered the\njoints and carved the flesh, then cut out the sacred thigh bones, and\ncovering them all together closely with fat burnt them upon cloven wood.\nAnd Aeson's son poured out pure libations, and Idmon rejoiced beholding\nthe flame as it gleamed on every side from the sacrifice, and the smoke\nof it mounting up with good omen in dark spiral columns; and quickly he\nspake outright the will of Leto's son:\n\n\"For you it is the will of heaven and destiny that ye shall return here\nwith the fleece; but meanwhile both going and returning, countless\ntrials await you. But it is my lot, by the hateful decree of a god, to\ndie somewhere afar off on the mainland of Asia. Thus, though I learnt my\nfate from evil omens even before now, I have left my fatherland to\nembark on the ship, that so after my embarking fair fame may be left me\nin my house.\"\n\nThus he spake; and the youths hearing the divine utterance rejoiced at\ntheir return, but grief seized them for the fate of Idmon. Now at the\nhour when the sun passes his noon-tide halt and the ploughlands are just\nbeing shadowed by the rocks, as the sun slopes towards the evening dusk,\nat that hour all the heroes spread leaves thickly upon the sand and lay\ndown in rows in front of the hoary surf-line; and near them were spread\nvast stores of viands and sweet wine, which the cupbearers had drawn off\nin pitchers; afterwards they told tales one to another in turn, such as\nyouths often tell when at the feast and the bowl they take delightful\npastime, and insatiable insolence is far away. But here the son of\nAeson, all helpless, was brooding over each event in his mind, like one\noppressed with thought. And Idas noted him and assailed him with loud\nvoice:\n\n\"Son of Aeson, what is this plan thou art turning over in mind. Speak\nout thy thought in the midst. Does fear come on and master thee, fear,\nthat confounds cowards? Be witness now my impetuous spear, wherewith in\nwars I win renown beyond all others (nor does Zeus aid me so much as my\nown spear), that no woe will be fatal, no venture will be unachieved,\nwhile Idas follows, even though a god should oppose thee. Such a\nhelpmeet am I that thou bringest from Arene.\"\n\nHe spake, and holding a brimming goblet in both hands drank off the\nunmixed sweet wine; and his lips and dark cheeks were drenched with it;\nand all the heroes clamoured together and Idmon spoke out openly:\n\n\"Vain wretch, thou art devising destruction for thyself before the time.\nDoes the pure wine cause thy bold heart to swell in thy breast to thy\nruin, and has it set thee on to dishonour the gods? Other words of\ncomfort there are with which a man might encourage his comrade; but thou\nhast spoken with utter recklessness. Such taunts, the tale goes, did the\nsons of Aloeus once blurt out against the blessed gods, and thou dost no\nwise equal them in valour; nevertheless they were both slain by the\nswift arrows of Leto's son, mighty though they were.\"\n\nThus he spake, and Aphareian Idas laughed out, loud and long, and eyeing\nhim askance replied with biting words:\n\n\"Come now, tell me this by thy prophetic art, whether for me too the\ngods will bring to pass such doom as thy father promised for the sons of\nAloeus. And bethink thee how thou wilt escape from my hands alive, if\nthou art caught making a prophecy vain as the idle wind.\"\n\nThus in wrath Idas reviled him, and the strife would have gone further\nhad not their comrades and Aeson's son himself with indignant cry\nrestrained the contending chiefs; and Orpheus lifted his lyre in his\nleft hand and made essay to sing.\n\nHe sang how the earth, the heaven and the sea, once mingled together in\none form, after deadly strife were separated each from other; and how\nthe stars and the moon and the paths of the sun ever keep their fixed\nplace in the sky; and how the mountains rose, and how the resounding\nrivers with their nymphs came into being and all creeping things. And he\nsang how first of all Ophion and Eurynome, daughter of Ocean, held the\nsway of snowy Olympus, and how through strength of arm one yielded his\nprerogative to Cronos and the other to Rhea, and how they fell into the\nwaves of Ocean; but the other two meanwhile ruled over the blessed\nTitan-gods, while Zeus, still a child and with the thoughts of a child,\ndwelt in the Dictaean cave; and the earthborn Cyclopes had not yet armed\nhim with the bolt, with thunder and lightning; for these things give\nrenown to Zeus.\n\nHe ended, and stayed his lyre and divine voice. But though he had ceased\nthey still bent forward with eagerness all hushed to quiet, with ears\nintent on the enchanting strain; such a charm of song had he left behind\nin their hearts. Not long after they mixed libations in honour of Zeus,\nwith pious rites as is customary, and poured them upon the burning\ntongues, and bethought them of sleep in the darkness.\n\nNow when gleaming dawn with bright eyes beheld the lofty peaks of\nPelion, and the calm headlands were being drenched as the sea was\nruffled by the winds, then Tiphys awoke from sleep; and at once he\nroused his comrades to go on board and make ready the oars. And a\nstrange cry did the harbour of Pagasae utter, yea and Pelian Argo\nherself, urging them to set forth. For in her a beam divine had been\nlaid which Athena had brought from an oak of Dodona and fitted in the\nmiddle of the stem. And the heroes went to the benches one after the\nother, as they had previously assigned for each to row in his place, and\ntook their seats in due order near their fighting gear. In the middle\nsat Ancaeus and mighty Heracles, and near him he laid his club, and\nbeneath his tread the ship's keel sank deep. And now the hawsers were\nbeing slipped and they poured wine on the sea. But Jason with tears held\nhis eyes away from his fatherland. And just as youths set up a dance in\nhonour of Phoebus either in Pytho or haply in Ortygia, or by the waters\nof Ismenus, and to the sound of the lyre round his altar all together in\ntime beat the earth with swiftly-moving feet; so they to the sound of\nOrpheus' lyre smote with their oars the rushing sea-water, and the surge\nbroke over the blades; and on this side and on that the dark brine\nseethed with foam, boiling terribly through the might of the sturdy\nheroes. And their arms shone in the sun like flame as the ship sped on;\nand ever their wake gleamed white far behind, like a path seen over a\ngreen plain. On that day all the gods looked down from heaven upon the\nship and the might of the heroes, half-divine, the bravest of men then\nsailing the sea; and on the topmost heights the nymphs of Pelion\nwondered as they beheld the work of Itonian Athena, and the heroes\nthemselves wielding the oars. And there came down from the mountain-top\nto the sea Chiron, son of Philyra, and where the white surf broke he\ndipped his feet, and, often waving with his broad hand, cried out to\nthem at their departure, \"Good speed and a sorrowless home-return!\" And\nwith him his wife, bearing Peleus' son Achilles on her arm, showed the\nchild to his dear father.\n\nNow when they had left the curving shore of the harbour through the\ncunning and counsel of prudent Tiphys son of Hagnias, who skilfully\nhandled the well-polished helm that he might guide them steadfastly,\nthen at length they set up the tall mast in the mast-box, and secured it\nwith forestays, drawing them taut on each side, and from it they let\ndown the sail when they had hauled it to the top-mast. And a breeze came\ndown piping shrilly; and upon the deck they fastened the ropes\nseparately round the well-polished pins, and ran quietly past the long\nTisaean headland. And for them the son of Oeagrus touched his lyre and\nsang in rhythmical song of Artemis, saviour of ships, child of a\nglorious sire, who hath in her keeping those peaks by the sea, and the\nland of Iolcos; and the fishes came darting through the deep sea, great\nmixed with small, and followed gambolling along the watery paths. And as\nwhen in the track of the shepherd, their master, countless sheep follow\nto the fold that have fed to the full of grass, and he goes before gaily\npiping a shepherd's strain on his shrill reed; so these fishes followed;\nand a chasing breeze ever bore the ship onward.\n\nAnd straightway the misty land of the Pelasgians, rich in cornfields,\nsank out of sight, and ever speeding onward they passed the rugged sides\nof Pelion; and the Sepian headland sank away, and Sciathus appeared in\nthe sea, and far off appeared Piresiae and the calm shore of Magnesia on\nthe mainland and the tomb of Dolops; here then in the evening, as the\nwind blew against them, they put to land, and paying honour to him at\nnightfall burnt sheep as victims, while the sea was tossed by the swell:\nand for two days they lingered on the shore, but on the third day they\nput forth the ship, spreading on high the broad sail. And even now men\ncall that beach Aphetae[1] of Argo.\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. The Starting.]\n\nThence going forward they ran past Meliboea, escaping a stormy beach and\nsurf-line. And in the morning they saw Homole close at hand leaning on\nthe sea, and skirted it, and not long after they were about to pass by\nthe outfall of the river Amyrus. From there they beheld Eurymenae and\nthe sea-washed ravines of Ossa and Olympus; next they reached the slopes\nof Pallene, beyond the headland of Canastra, running all night with the\nwind. And at dawn before them as they journeyed rose Athos, the Thracian\nmountain, which with its topmost peak overshadows Lemnos, even as far as\nMyrine, though it lies as far off as the space that a well-trimmed\nmerchantship would traverse up to mid-day. For them on that day, till\ndarkness fell, the breeze blew exceedingly fresh, and the sails of the\nship strained to it. But with the setting of the sun the wind left them,\nand it was by the oars that they reached Lemnos, the Sintian isle.\n\nHere the whole of the men of the people together had been ruthlessly\nslain through the transgressions of the women in the year gone by. For\nthe men had rejected their lawful wives, loathing them, and had\nconceived a fierce passion for captive maids whom they themselves\nbrought across the sea from their forays in Thrace; for the terrible\nwrath of Cypris came upon them, because for a long time they had grudged\nher the honours due. O hapless women, and insatiate in jealousy to their\nown ruin! Not their husbands alone with the captives did they slay on\naccount of the marriage-bed, but all the males at the same time, that\nthey might thereafter pay no retribution for the grim murder. And of all\nthe women, Hypsipyle alone spared her aged father Thoas, who was king\nover the people; and she sent him in a hollow chest to drift over the\nsea, if haply he should escape. And fishermen dragged him to shore at\nthe island of Oenoe, formerly Oenoe, but afterwards called Sicinus from\nSicinus, whom the water-nymph Oenoe bore to Thoas. Now for all the women\nto tend kine, to don armour of bronze, and to cleave with the\nplough-share the wheat-bearing fields, was easier than the works of\nAthena, with which they were busied aforetime. Yet for all that did they\noften gaze over the broad sea, in grievous fear against the Thracians'\ncoming. So when they saw Argo being rowed near the island, straightway\ncrowding in multitude from the gates of Myrine and clad in their harness\nof war, they poured forth to the beach like ravening Thyiades; for they\ndeemed that the Thracians were come; and with them Hypsipyle, daughter\nof Thoas, donned her father's harness. And they streamed down speechless\nwith dismay; such fear was wafted about them.\n\nMeantime from the ship the chiefs had sent Aethalides the swift herald,\nto whose care they entrusted their messages and the wand of Hermes, his\nsire, who had granted him a memory of all things, that never grew dim;\nand not even now, though he has entered the unspeakable whirlpools of\nAcheron, has forgetfulness swept over his soul, but its fixed doom is to\nbe ever changing its abode; at one time to be numbered among the\ndwellers beneath the earth, at another to be in the light of the sun\namong living men. But why need I tell at length tales of Aethalides? He\nat that time persuaded Hypsipyle to receive the new-comers as the day\nwas waning into darkness; nor yet at dawn did they loose the ship's\nhawsers to the breath of the north wind.\n\nNow the Lemnian women fared through the city and sat down to the\nassembly, for Hypsipyle herself had so bidden. And when they were all\ngathered together in one great throng straightway she spake among them\nwith stirring words:\n\n\"O friends, come let us grant these men gifts to their hearts' desire,\nsuch as it is fitting that they should take on ship-board, food and\nsweet wine, in order that they may steadfastly remain outside our\ntowers, and may not, passing among us for need's sake, get to know us\nall too well, and so an evil report be widely spread; for we have\nwrought a terrible deed and in nowise will it be to their liking, should\nthey learn it. Such is our counsel now, but if any of you can devise a\nbetter plan let her rise, for it was on this account that I summoned you\nhither.\"\n\nThus she spake and sat upon her father's seat of stone, and then rose up\nher dear nurse Polyxo, for very age halting upon her withered feet,\nbowed over a staff, and she was eager to address them. Near her were\nseated four virgins, unwedded, crowned with white hair. And she stood in\nthe midst of the assembly and from her bent back she feebly raised her\nneck and spake thus:\n\n\"Gifts, as Hypsipyle herself wishes, let us send to the strangers, for\nit is better to give them. But for you what device have ye to get profit\nof your life if the Thracian host fall upon us, or some other foe, as\noften happens among men, even as now this company is come unforeseen?\nBut if one of the blessed gods should turn this aside yet countless\nother woes worse than battle, remain behind, when the aged women die off\nand ye younger ones, without children, reach hateful old age. How then\nwill ye live, hapless ones? Will your oxen of their own accord yoke\nthemselves for the deep ploughlands and draw the earth-cleaving share\nthrough the fallow, and forthwith, as the year comes round, reap the\nharvest? Assuredly, though the fates till now have shunned me in horror,\nI deem that in the coming year I shall put on the garment of earth, when\nI have received my meed of burial even so as is right, before the evil\ndays draw near. But I bid you who are younger give good heed to this.\nFor now at your feet a way of escape lies open, if ye trust to the\nstrangers the care of your homes and all your stock and your glorious\ncity.\"\n\nThus she spake, and the assembly was filled with clamour. For the word\npleased them. And after her straightway Hypsipyle rose up again, and\nthus spake in reply.\n\n\"If this purpose please you all, now will I even send a messenger to the\nship.\"\n\nShe spake and addressed Iphinoe close at hand: \"Go, Iphinoe, and beg\nyonder man, whoever it is that leads this array, to come to our land\nthat I may tell him a word that pleases the heart of my people, and bid\nthe men themselves, if they wish, boldly enter the land and the city\nwith friendly intent.\"\n\nShe spake, and dismissed the assembly, and thereafter started to return\nhome. And so Iphinoe came to the Minyae; and they asked with what intent\nshe had come among them. And quickly she addressed her questioners with\nall speed in these words:\n\n\"The maiden Hypsipyle daughter of Thoas, sent me on my way here to you,\nto summon the captain of your ship, whoever he be, that she may tell him\na word that pleases the heart of the people, and she bids yourselves, if\nye wish it, straightway enter the land and the city with friendly\nintent.\"\n\nThus she spake and the speech of good omen pleased all. And they deemed\nthat Thoas was dead and that his beloved daughter Hypsipyle was queen,\nand quickly they sent Jason on his way and themselves made ready to go.\n\nNow he had buckled round his shoulders a purple mantle of double fold,\nthe work of the Tritonian goddess, which Pallas had given him when she\nfirst laid the keel-props of the ship Argo and taught him how to measure\ntimbers with the rule. More easily wouldst thou cast thy eyes upon the\nsun at its rising than behold that blazing splendour. For indeed in the\nmiddle the fashion thereof was red, but at the ends it was all purple,\nand on each margin many separate devices had been skilfully inwoven.\n\nIn it were the Cyclops seated at their imperishable work, forging a\nthunderbolt for King Zeus; by now it was almost finished in its\nbrightness and still it wanted but one ray, which they were beating out\nwith their iron hammers as it spurted forth a breath of raging flame.\n\nIn it too were the twin sons of Antiope, daughter of Asopus, Amphion and\nZethus, and Thebe still ungirt with towers was lying near, whose\nfoundations they were just then laying in eager haste. Zethus on his\nshoulders was lifting the peak of a steep mountain, like a man toiling\nhard, and Amphion after him, singing loud and clear on his golden lyre,\nmoved on, and a rock twice as large followed his footsteps.\n\nNext in order had been wrought Cytherea with drooping tresses, wielding\nthe swift shield of Ares; and from her shoulder to her left arm the\nfastening of her tunic was loosed beneath her breast; and opposite in\nthe shield of bronze her image appeared clear to view as she stood.\n\nAnd in it there was a well-wooded pasturage of oxen; and about the oxen\nthe Teleboae and the sons of Electryon were fighting; the one party\ndefending themselves, the others, the Taphian raiders, longing to rob\nthem; and the dewy meadow was drenched with their blood, and the many\nwere overmastering the few herdsmen.\n\nAnd therein were fashioned two chariots, racing, and the one in front\nPelops was guiding, as he shook the reins, and with him was Hippodameia\nat his side, and in pursuit Myrtilus urged his steeds, and with him\nOenomaus had grasped his couched spear, but fell as the axle swerved and\nbroke in the nave, while he was eager to pierce the back of Pelops.\n\nAnd in it was wrought Phoebus Apollo, a stripling not yet grown up, in\nthe act of shooting at mighty Tityos who was boldly dragging his mother\nby her veil, Tityos whom glorious Elare bare, but Earth nursed him and\ngave him second birth.\n\nAnd in it was Phrixus the Minyan as though he were in very deed\nlistening to the ram, while it was like one speaking. Beholding them\nthou wouldst be silent and wouldst cheat thy soul with the hope of\nhearing some wise speech from them, and long wouldst thou gaze with that\nhope.\n\nSuch then were the gifts of the Tritonian goddess Athena. And in his\nright hand Jason held a far-darting spear, which Atalanta gave him once\nas a gift of hospitality in Maenalus as she met him gladly; for she\neagerly desired to follow on that quest; but he himself of his own\naccord prevented the maid, for he feared bitter strife on account of her\nlove.\n\nAnd he went on his way to the city like to a bright star, which maidens,\npent up in new-built chambers, behold as it rises above their homes, and\nthrough the dark air it charms their eyes with its fair red gleam and\nthe maid rejoices, love-sick for the youth who is far away amid\nstrangers, for whom her parents are keeping her to be his bride; like to\nthat star the hero trod the way to the city. And when they had passed\nwithin the gates and the city, the women of the people surged behind\nthem, delighting in the stranger, but he with his eyes fixed on the\nground fared straight on, till he reached the glorious palace of\nHypsipyle; and when he appeared the maids opened the folding doors,\nfitted with well-fashioned panels. Here Iphinoe leading him quickly\nthrough a fair porch set him upon a shining seat opposite her mistress,\nbut Hypsipyle turned her eyes aside and a blush covered her maiden\ncheeks, yet for all her modesty she addressed him with crafty words:\n\n\"Stranger, why stay ye so long outside our towers? for the city is not\ninhabited by the men, but they, as sojourners, plough the wheat-bearing\nfields of the Thracian mainland. And I will tell out truly all our evil\nplight, that ye yourselves too may know it well. When my father Thoas\nreigned over the citizens, then our folk starting from their homes used\nto plunder from their ships the dwellings of the Thracians who live\nopposite, and they brought back hither measureless booty and maidens\ntoo. But the counsel of the baneful goddess Cypris was working out its\naccomplishment, who brought upon them soul destroying infatuation. For\nthey hated their lawful wives, and, yielding to their own mad folly,\ndrove them from their homes; and they took to their beds the captives of\ntheir spear, cruel ones. Long in truth we endured it, if haply again,\nthough late, they might change their purpose, but ever the bitter woe\ngrew, twofold. And the lawful children were being dishonoured in their\nhalls, and a bastard race was rising. And thus unmarried maidens and\nwidowed mothers too wandered uncared for through the city; no father\nheeded his daughter ever so little even though he should see her done to\ndeath before his eyes at the hands of an insolent step-dame, nor did\nsons, as before, defend their mother against unseemly outrage; nor did\nbrothers care at heart for their sister. But in their homes, in the\ndance, in the assembly and the banquet all their thought was only for\ntheir captive maidens; until some god put desperate courage in our\nhearts no more to receive our lords on their return from Thrace within\nour towers so that they might either heed the right or might depart and\nbegone elsewhither, they and their captives. So they begged of us all\nthe male children that were left in the city and went back to where even\nnow they dwell on the snowy tilths of Thrace. Do ye therefore stay and\nsettle with us; and shouldst them desire to dwell here, and this finds\nfavour with thee, assuredly thou shalt have the prerogative of my father\nThoas; and I deem that thou wilt not scorn our land at all; for it is\ndeep-soiled beyond all other islands that lie in the Aegaean sea. But\ncome now, return to the ship and relate my words to thy comrades, and\nstay not outside our city.\"\n\nShe spoke, glozing over the murder that had been wrought upon the men;\nand Jason addressed her in answer:\n\n\"Hypsipyle, very dear to our hearts is the help we shall meet with,\nwhich thou grantest to us who need thee. And I will return again to the\ncity when I have told everything in order due. But let the sovereignty\nof the island be thine; it is not in scorn I yield it up, but grievous\ntrials urge me on.\"\n\nHe spake, and touched her right hand; and quickly he turned to go back:\nand round him the young maids on every side danced in countless numbers\nin their joy till he passed through the gates. And then they came to the\nshore in smooth-running wains, bearing with them many gifts, when now he\nhad related from beginning to end the speech which Hypsipyle had spoken\nwhen she summoned them; and the maids readily led the men back to their\nhomes for entertainment. For Cypris stirred in them a sweet desire, for\nthe sake of Hephaestus of many counsels, in order that Lemnos might be\nagain inhabited by men and not be ruined.\n\nThereupon Aeson's son started to go to the royal home of Hypsipyle; and\nthe rest went each his way as chance took them, all but Heracles; for he\nof his own will was left behind by the ship and a few chosen comrades\nwith him. And straightway the city rejoiced with dances and banquets,\nbeing filled with the steam of sacrifice; and above all the immortals\nthey propitiated with songs and sacrifices the illustrious son of Hera\nand Cypris herself. And the sailing was ever delayed from one day to\nanother; and long would they have lingered there, had not Heracles,\ngathering together his comrades apart from the women, thus addressed\nthem with reproachful words:\n\n\"Wretched men, does the murder of kindred keep us from our native land?\nOr is it in want of marriage that we have come hither from thence, in\nscorn of our countrywomen? Does it please us to dwell here and plough\nthe rich soil of Lemnos? No fair renown shall we win by thus tarrying so\nlong with stranger women; nor will some god seize and give us at our\nprayer a fleece that moves of itself. Let us then return each to his\nown; but him leave ye to rest all day long in the embrace of Hypsipyle\nuntil he has peopled Lemnos with men-children, and so there come to him\ngreat glory.\"\n\nThus did he chide the band; but no one dared to meet his eye or to utter\na word in answer. But just as they were in the assembly they made ready\ntheir departure in all haste, and the women came running towards them,\nwhen they knew their intent. And as when bees hum round fair lilies\npouring forth from their hive in the rock, and all around the dewy\nmeadow rejoices, and they gather the sweet fruit, flitting from one to\nanother; even so the women eagerly poured forth, clustering round the\nmen with loud lament, and greeted each one with hands and voice, praying\nthe blessed gods to grant him a safe return. And so Hypsipyle too\nprayed, seizing the hands of Aeson's son, and her tears flowed for the\nloss of her lover:\n\n\"Go, and may heaven bring thee back again with thy comrades unharmed,\nbearing to the king the golden fleece, even as thou wilt and thy heart\ndesireth; and this island and my father's sceptre will be awaiting thee,\nif on thy return hereafter thou shouldst choose to come hither again;\nand easily couldst thou gather a countless host of men from other\ncities. But thou wilt not have this desire, nor do I myself forbode that\nso it will be. Still remember Hypsipyle when thou art far away and when\nthou hast returned; and leave me some word of bidding, which I will\ngladly accomplish, if haply heaven shall grant me to be a mother.\"\n\nAnd Aeson's son in admiration thus replied: \"Hypsipyle, so may all these\nthings prove propitious by the favour of the blessed gods. But do thou\nhold a nobler thought of me, since by the grace of Pelias it is enough\nfor me to dwell in my native land; may the gods only release me from my\ntoils. But if it is not my destiny to sail afar and return to the land\nof Hellas, and if thou shouldst bear a male child, send him when grown\nup to Pelasgian Iolcus, to heal the grief of my father and mother if so\nbe that he find them still living, in order that, far away from the\nking, they may be cared for by their own hearth in their home.\"\n\nHe spake, and mounted the ship first of all; and so the rest of the\nchiefs followed, and, sitting in order, seized the oars; and Argus\nloosed for them the hawsers from under the sea-beaten rock. Whereupon\nthey mightily smote the water with their long oars, and in the evening\nby the injunctions of Orpheus they touched at the island of Electra,[1]\ndaughter of Atlas, in order that by gentle initiation they might learn\nthe rites that may not be uttered, and so with greater safety sail over\nthe chilling sea. Of these I will make no further mention; but I bid\nfarewell to the island itself and the indwelling deities, to whom belong\nthose mysteries, which it is not lawful for me to sing.\n\n[Footnote 1: Samothrace.]\n\nThence did they row with eagerness over the depths of the black Sea,\nhaving on the one side the land of the Thracians, on the other Imbros on\nthe south; and as the sun was just setting they reached the foreland of\nthe Chersonesus. There a strong south wind blew for them; and raising\nthe sails to the breeze they entered the swift stream of the maiden\ndaughter of Athamas; and at dawn the sea to the north was left behind\nand at night they were coasting inside the Rhoeteian shore, with the\nland of Ida on their right. And leaving Dardania they directed their\ncourse to Abydus, and after it they sailed past Percote and the sandy\nbeach of Abarnis and divine Pityeia. And in that night, as the ship sped\non by sail and oar, they passed right through the Hellespont\ndark-gleaming with eddies.\n\nThere is a lofty island inside the Propontis, a short distance from the\nPhrygian mainland with its rich cornfields, sloping to the sea, where an\nisthmus in front of the mainland is flooded by the waves, so low does it\nlie. And the isthmus has double shores, and they lie beyond the river\nAesepus, and the inhabitants round about call the island the Mount of\nBears. And insolent and fierce men dwell there, Earthborn, a great\nmarvel to the neighbours to behold; for each one has six mighty hands to\nlift up, two from his sturdy shoulders, and four below, fitting close to\nhis terrible sides. And about the isthmus and the plain the Doliones had\ntheir dwelling, and over them Cyzicus son of Aeneus was king, whom\nAenete the daughter of goodly Eusorus bare. But these men the Earthborn\nmonsters, fearful though they were, in nowise harried, owing to the\nprotection of Poseidon; for from him had the Doliones first sprung.\nThither Argo pressed on, driven by the winds of Thrace, and the Fair\nhaven received her as she sped. There they cast away their small\nanchorstone by the advice of Tiphys and left it beneath a fountain, the\nfountain of Artacie; and they took another meet for their purpose, a\nheavy one; but the first, according to the oracle of the Far-Darter, the\nIonians, sons of Neleus, in after days laid to be a sacred stone, as was\nright, in the temple of Jasonian Athena.\n\nNow the Doliones and Cyzicus himself all came together to meet them with\nfriendliness, and when they knew of the quest and their lineage welcomed\nthem with hospitality, and persuaded them to row further and to fasten\ntheir ship's hawsers at the city harbour. Here they built an altar to\nEcbasian[1] Apollo and set it up on the beach, and gave heed to\nsacrifices. And the king of his own bounty gave them sweet wine and\nsheep in their need; for he had heard a report that whenever a godlike\nband of heroes should come, straightway he should meet it with gentle\nwords and should have no thought of war. As with Jason, the soft down\nwas just blooming on his chin, nor yet had it been his lot to rejoice in\nchildren, but still in his palace his wife was untouched by the pangs of\nchild-birth, the daughter of Percosian Merops, fair-haired Cleite, whom\nlately by priceless gifts he had brought from her father's home from the\nmainland opposite. But even so he left his chamber and bridal bed and\nprepared a banquet among the strangers, casting all fears from his\nheart. And they questioned one another in turn. Of them would he learn\nthe end of their voyage and the injunctions of Pelias; while they\nenquired about the cities of the people round and all the gulf of the\nwide Propontis; but further he could not tell them for all their desire\nto learn. In the morning they climbed mighty Dindymum that they might\nthemselves behold the various paths of that sea; and they brought their\nship from its former anchorage to the harbour, Chytus; and the path they\ntrod is named the path of Jason.\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. god of disembarcation.]\n\nBut the Earthborn men on the other side rushed down from the mountain\nand with crags below blocked up the mouth of vast Chytus towards the\nsea, like men lying in wait for a wild beast within. But there Heracles\nhad been left behind with the younger heroes and he quickly bent his\nback-springing bow against the monsters and brought them to earth one\nafter another; and they in their turn raised huge ragged rocks and\nhurled them. For these dread monsters too, I ween, the goddess Hera,\nbride of Zeus, had nurtured to be a trial for Heracles. And therewithal\ncame the rest of the martial heroes returning to meet the foe before\nthey reached the height of outlook, and they fell to the slaughter of\nthe Earthborn, receiving them with arrows and spears until they slew\nthem all as they rushed fiercely to battle. And as when woodcutters cast\nin rows upon the beach long trees just hewn down by their axes, in order\nthat, once sodden with brine, they may receive the strong bolts; so\nthese monsters at the entrance of the foam-fringed harbour lay stretched\none after another, some in heaps bending their heads and breasts into\nthe salt waves with their limbs spread out above on the land; others\nagain were resting their heads on the sand of the shore and their feet\nin the deep water, both alike a prey to birds and fishes at once.\n\nBut the heroes, when the contest was ended without fear, loosed the\nship's hawsers to the breath of the wind and pressed on through the\nsea-swell. And the ship sped on under sail all day; but when night came\nthe rushing wind did not hold steadfast, but contrary blasts caught them\nand held them back till they again approached the hospitable Doliones.\nAnd they stepped ashore that same night; and the rock is still called\nthe Sacred Rock round which they threw the ship's hawsers in their\nhaste. Nor did anyone note with care that it was the same island; nor in\nthe night did the Doliones clearly perceive that the heroes were\nreturning; but they deemed that Pelasgian war-men of the Macrians had\nlanded. Therefore they donned their armour and raised their hands\nagainst them. And with clashing of ashen spears and shields they fell on\neach other, like the swift rush of fire which falls on dry brushwood and\nrears its crest; and the din of battle, terrible and furious, fell upon\nthe people of the Doliones. Nor was the king to escape his fate and\nreturn home from battle to his bridal chamber and bed. But Aeson's son\nleapt upon him as he turned to face him, and smote him in the middle of\nthe breast, and the bone was shattered round the spear; he rolled\nforward in the sand and filled up the measure of his fate. For that no\nmortal may escape; but on every side a wide snare encompasses us. And\nso, when he thought that he had escaped bitter death from the chiefs,\nfate entangled him that very night in her toils while battling with\nthem; and many champions withal were slain; Heracles killed Telecles and\nMegabrontes, and Acastus slew Sphodris; and Peleus slew Zelus and\nGephyrus swift in war. Telamon of the strong spear slew Basileus. And\nIdas slew Promeus, and Clytius Hyacinthus, and the two sons of Tyndareus\nslew Megalossaces and Phlogius. And after them the son of Oeneus slew\nbold Itomeneus, and Artaceus, leader of men; all of whom the inhabitants\nstill honour with the worship due to heroes. And the rest gave way and\nfled in terror just as doves fly in terror before swift-winged hawks.\nAnd with a din they rushed in a body to the gates; and quickly the city\nwas filled with loud cries at the turning of the dolorous fight. But at\ndawn both sides perceived the fatal and cureless error; and bitter grief\nseized the Minyan heroes when they saw before them Cyzicus son of Aeneus\nfallen in the midst of dust and blood. And for three whole days they\nlamented and rent their hair, they and the Doliones. Then three times\nround his tomb they paced in armour of bronze and performed funeral\nrites and celebrated games, as was meet, upon the meadow-plain, where\neven now rises the mound of his grave to be seen by men of a later day.\nNo, nor was his bride Cleite left behind her dead husband, but to crown\nthe ill she wrought an ill yet more awful, when she clasped a noose\nround her neck. Her death even the nymphs of the grove bewailed; and of\nall the tears for her that they shed to earth from their eyes the\ngoddesses made a fountain, which they call Cleite,[1] the illustrious\nname of the hapless maid. Most terrible came that day from Zeus upon the\nDoliones, women and men; for no one of them dared even to taste food,\nnor for a long time by reason of grief did they take thought for the\ntoil of the cornmill, but they dragged on their lives eating their food\nas it was, untouched by fire. Here even now, when the Ionians that dwell\nin Cyzicus pour their yearly libations for the dead, they ever grind the\nmeal for the sacrificial cakes at the common mill.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Cleite means illustrious.]\n\n[Footnote 2: i.e. to avoid grinding it at home.]\n\nAfter this, fierce tempests arose for twelve days and nights together\nand kept them there from sailing. But in the next night the rest of the\nchieftains, overcome by sleep, were resting during the latest period of\nthe night, while Acastus and Mopsus the son of Ampycus kept guard over\ntheir deep slumbers. And above the golden head of Aeson's son there\nhovered a halcyon prophesying with shrill voice the ceasing of the\nstormy winds; and Mopsus heard and understood the cry of the bird of the\nshore, fraught with good omen. And some god made it turn aside, and\nflying aloft it settled upon the stern-ornament of the ship. And the\nseer touched Jason as he lay wrapped in soft sheepskins and woke him at\nonce, and thus spake:\n\n\"Son of Aeson, thou must climb to this temple on rugged Dindymum and\npropitiate the mother[1] of all the blessed gods on her fair throne, and\nthe stormy blasts shall cease. For such was the voice I heard but now\nfrom the halcyon, bird of the sea, which, as as it flew above thee in\nthy slumber, told me all. For by her power the winds and the sea and all\nthe earth below and the snowy seat of Olympus are complete; and to her,\nwhen from the mountains she ascends the mighty heaven, Zeus himself, the\nson of Cronos, gives place. In like manner the rest of the immortal\nblessed ones reverence the dread goddess.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: Rhea.]\n\nThus he spake, and his words were welcome to Jason's ear. And he arose\nfrom his bed with joy and woke all his comrades hurriedly and told them\nthe prophecy of Mopsus the son of Ampycus. And quickly the younger men\ndrove oxen from their stalls and began to lead them to the mountain's\nlofty summit. And they loosed the hawsers from the sacred rock and rowed\nto the Thracian harbour; and the heroes climbed the mountain, leaving a\nfew of their comrades in the ship. And to them the Macrian heights and\nall the coast of Thrace opposite appeared to view close at hand. And\nthere appeared the misty mouth of Bosporus and the Mysian hills; and on\nthe other side the stream of the river Aesepus and the city and Nepeian\nplain of Adrasteia. Now there was a sturdy stump of vine that grew in\nthe forest, a tree exceeding old; this they cut down, to be the sacred\nimage of the mountain goddess; and Argus smoothed it skilfully, and they\nset it upon that rugged hill beneath a canopy of lofty oaks, which of\nall trees have their roots deepest. And near it they heaped an altar of\nsmall stones, and wreathed their brows with oak leaves and paid heed to\nsacrifice, invoking the mother of Dindymum, most venerable, dweller in\nPhrygia, and Titias and Cyllenus, who alone of many are called\ndispensers of doom and assessors of the Idaean mother,--the Idaean\nDactyls of Crete, whom once the nymph Anchiale, as she grasped with both\nhands the land of Oaxus, bare in the Dictaean cave. And with many\nprayers did Aeson's son beseech the goddess to turn aside the stormy\nblasts as he poured libations on the blazing sacrifice; and at the same\ntime by command of Orpheus the youths trod a measure dancing in full\narmour, and clashed with their swords on their shields, so that the\nill-omened cry might be lost in the air--the wail which the people were\nstill sending up in grief for their king. Hence from that time forward\nthe Phrygians propitiate Rhea with the wheel and the drum. And the\ngracious goddess, I ween, inclined her heart to pious sacrifices; and\nfavourable signs appeared. The trees shed abundant fruit, and round\ntheir feet the earth of its own accord put forth flowers from the tender\ngrass. And the beasts of the wild wood left their lairs and thickets and\ncame up fawning on them with their tails. And she caused yet another\nmarvel; for hitherto there was no flow of water on Dindymum, but then\nfor them an unceasing stream gushed forth from the thirsty peak just as\nit was, and the dwellers around in after times called that stream, the\nspring of Jason. And then they made a feast in honour of the goddess on\nthe Mount of Bears, singing the praises of Rhea most venerable; but at\ndawn the winds had ceased and they rowed away from the island.\n\nThereupon a spirit of contention stirred each chieftain, who should be\nthe last to leave his oar. For all around the windless air smoothed the\nswirling waves and lulled the sea to rest. And they, trusting in the\ncalm, mightily drove the ship forward; and as she sped through the salt\nsea, not even the storm-footed steeds of Poseidon would have overtaken\nher. Nevertheless when the sea was stirred by violent blasts which were\njust rising from the rivers about evening, forspent with toil, they\nceased. But Heracles by the might of his arms pulled the weary rowers\nalong all together, and made the strong-knit timbers of the ship to\nquiver. But when, eager to reach the Mysian mainland, they passed along\nin sight of the mouth of Rhyndacus and the great cairn of Aegaeon, a\nlittle way from Phrygia, then Heracles, as he ploughed up the furrows of\nthe roughened surge, broke his oar in the middle. And one half he held\nin both his hands as he fell sideways, the other the sea swept away with\nits receding wave. And he sat up in silence glaring round; for his hands\nwere unaccustomed to lie idle.\n\nNow at the hour when from the field some delver or ploughman goes gladly\nhome to his hut, longing for his evening meal, and there on the\nthreshold, all squalid with dust, bows his wearied knees, and, beholding\nhis hands worn with toil, with many a curse reviles his belly; at that\nhour the heroes reached the homes of the Cianian land near the\nArganthonian mount and the outfall of Cius. Them as they came in\nfriendliness, the Mysians, inhabitants of that land, hospitably\nwelcomed, and gave them in their need provisions and sheep and abundant\nwine. Hereupon some brought dried wood, others from the meadows leaves\nfor beds which they gathered in abundance for strewing, whilst others\nwere twirling sticks to get fire; others again were mixing wine in the\nbowl and making ready the feast, after sacrificing at nightfall to\nApollo Ecbasius.\n\nBut the son of Zeus having duly enjoined on his comrades to prepare the\nfeast took his way into a wood, that he might first fashion for himself\nan oar to fit his hand. Wandering about he found a pine not burdened\nwith many branches, nor too full of leaves, but like to the shaft of a\ntall poplar; so great was it both in length and thickness to look at.\nAnd quickly he laid on the ground his arrow-holding quiver together with\nhis bow, and took off his lion's skin. And he loosened the pine from the\nground with his bronze-tipped club and grasped the trunk with both hands\nat the bottom, relying on his strength; and he pressed it against his\nbroad shoulder with legs wide apart; and clinging close he raised it\nfrom the ground deep-rooted though it was, together with clods of earth.\nAnd as when unexpectedly, just at the time of the stormy setting of\nbaleful Orion, a swift gust of wind strikes down from above, and\nwrenches a ship's mast from its stays, wedges and all; so did Heracles\nlift the pine. And at the same time he took up his bow and arrows, his\nlion skin and club, and started on his return.\n\nMeantime Hylas with pitcher of bronze in hand had gone apart from the\nthrong, seeking the sacred flow of a fountain, that he might be quick in\ndrawing water for the evening meal and actively make all things ready in\ndue order against his lord's return. For in such ways did Heracles\nnurture him from his first childhood when he had carried him off from\nthe house of his father, goodly Theiodamas, whom the hero pitilessly\nslew among the Dryopians because he withstood him about an ox for the\nplough. Theiodamas was cleaving with his plough the soil of fallow land\nwhen he was smitten with the curse; and Heracles bade him give up the\nploughing ox against his will. For he desired to find some pretext for\nwar against the Dryopians for their bane, since they dwelt there\nreckless of right. But these tales would lead me far astray from my\nsong. And quickly Hylas came to the spring which the people who dwell\nthereabouts call Pegae. And the dances of the nymphs were just now being\nheld there; for it was the care of all the nymphs that haunted that\nlovely headland ever to hymn Artemis in songs by night. All who held the\nmountain peaks or glens, all they were ranged far off guarding the\nwoods; but one, a water-nymph was just rising from the fair-flowing\nspring; and the boy she perceived close at hand with the rosy flush of\nhis beauty and sweet grace. For the full moon beaming from the sky smote\nhim. And Cypris made her heart faint, and in her confusion she could\nscarcely gather her spirit back to her. But as soon as he dipped the\npitcher in the stream, leaning to one side, and the brimming water rang\nloud as it poured against the sounding bronze, straightway she laid her\nleft arm above upon his neck yearning to kiss his tender mouth; and with\nher right hand she drew down his elbow, and plunged him into the midst\nof the eddy.\n\nAlone of his comrades the hero Polyphemus, son of Eilatus, as he went\nforward on the path, heard the boy's cry, for he expected the return of\nmighty Heracles. And he rushed after the cry, near Pegae, like some\nbeast of the wild wood whom the bleating of sheep has reached from afar,\nand burning with hunger he follows, but does not fall in with the\nflocks; for the shepherds beforehand have penned them in the fold, but\nhe groans and roars vehemently until he is weary. Thus vehemently at\nthat time did the son of Eilatus groan and wandered shouting round the\nspot; and his voice rang piteous. Then quickly drawing his great sword\nhe started in pursuit, in fear lest the boy should be the prey of wild\nbeasts, or men should have lain in ambush for him faring all alone, and\nbe carrying him off, an easy prey. Hereupon as he brandished his bare\nsword in his hand he met Heracles himself on the path, and well he knew\nhim as he hastened to the ship through the darkness. And straightway he\ntold the wretched calamity while his heart laboured with his panting\nbreath.\n\n\"My poor friend, I shall be the first to bring thee tidings of bitter\nwoe. Hylas has gone to the well and has not returned safe, but robbers\nhave attacked and are carrying him off, or beasts are tearing him to\npieces; I heard his cry.\"\n\nThus he spake; and when Heracles heard his words, sweat in abundance\npoured down from his temples and the black blood boiled beneath his\nheart. And in wrath he hurled the pine to the ground and hurried along\nthe path whither his feet bore on his impetuous soul. And as when a bull\nstung by a gadfly tears along, leaving the meadows and the marsh land,\nand recks not of herdsmen or herd, but presses on, now without check,\nnow standing still, and raising his broad neck he bellows loudly, stung\nby the maddening fly; so he in his frenzy now would ply his swift knees\nunresting, now again would cease from toil and shout afar with loud\npealing cry.\n\nBut straightway the morning star rose above the topmost peaks and the\nbreeze swept down; and quickly did Tiphys urge them to go aboard and\navail themselves of the wind. And they embarked eagerly forthwith; and\nthey drew up the ship's anchors and hauled the ropes astern. And the\nsails were bellied out by the wind, and far from the coast were they\njoyfully borne past the Posideian headland. But at the hour when\ngladsome dawn shines from heaven, rising from the east, and the paths\nstand out clearly, and the dewy plains shine with a bright gleam, then\nat length they were aware that unwittingly they had abandoned those men.\nAnd a fierce quarrel fell upon them, and violent tumult, for that they\nhad sailed and left behind the bravest of their comrades. And Aeson's\nson, bewildered by their hapless plight, said never a word, good or bad;\nbut sat with his heavy load of grief, eating out his heart. And wrath\nseized Telamon, and thus he spake:\n\n\"Sit there at thy ease, for it was fitting for thee to leave Heracles\nbehind; from thee the project arose, so that his glory throughout Hellas\nshould not overshadow thee, if so be that heaven grants us a return\nhome. But what pleasure is there in words? For I will go, I only, with\nnone of thy comrades, who have helped thee to plan this treachery.\"\n\nHe spake, and rushed upon Tiphys son of Hagnias; and his eyes sparkled\nlike flashes of ravening flame. And they would quickly have turned back\nto the land of the Mysians, forcing their way through the deep sea and\nthe unceasing blasts of the wind, had not the two sons of Thracian\nBoreas held back the son of Aeacus with harsh words. Hapless ones,\nassuredly a bitter vengeance came upon them thereafter at the hands of\nHeracles, because they stayed the search for him. For when they were\nreturning from the games over Pelias dead he slew them in sea-girt Tenos\nand heaped the earth round them, and placed two columns above, one of\nwhich, a great marvel for men to see, moves at the breath of the\nblustering north wind. These things were thus to be accomplished in\nafter times. But to them appeared Glaucus from the depths of the sea,\nthe wise interpreter of divine Nereus, and raising aloft his shaggy head\nand chest from his waist below, with sturdy hand he seized the ship's\nkeel, and then cried to the eager crew:\n\n\"Why against the counsel of mighty Zeus do ye purpose to lead bold\nHeracles to the city of Aeetes? At Argos it is his fate to labour for\ninsolent Eurystheus and to accomplish full twelve toils and dwell with\nthe immortals, if so be that he bring to fulfilment a few more yet;\nwherefore let there be no vain regret for him. Likewise it is destined\nfor Polyphemus to found a glorious city at the mouth of Cius among the\nMysians and to fill up the measure of his fate in the vast land of the\nChalybes. But a goddess-nymph through love has made Hylas her husband,\non whose account those two wandered and were left behind.\"\n\nHe spake, and with a plunge wrapped him about with the restless wave;\nand round him the dark water foamed in seething eddies and dashed\nagainst the hollow ship as it moved through the sea. And the heroes\nrejoiced, and Telamon son of Aeacus came in haste to Jason, and grasping\nhis hand in his own embraced him with these words:\n\n\"Son of Aeson, be not wroth with me, if in my folly I have erred, for\ngrief wrought upon me to utter a word arrogant and intolerable. But let\nme give my fault to the winds and let our hearts be joined as before.\"\n\nHim the son of Aeson with prudence addressed: \"Good friend, assuredly\nwith an evil word didst thou revile me, saying before them all that I\nwas the wronger of a kindly man. But not for long will I nurse bitter\nwrath, though indeed before I was grieved. For it was not for flocks of\nsheep, no, nor for possessions that thou wast angered to fury, but for a\nman, thy comrade. And I were fain thou wouldst even champion me against\nanother man if a like thing should ever befall me.\"\n\nHe spake, and they sat down, united as of old. But of those two, by the\ncounsel of Zeus, one, Polyphemus son of Eilatus, was destined to found\nand build a city among the Mysians bearing the river's name, and the\nother, Heracles, to return and toil at the labours of Eurystheus. And he\nthreatened to lay waste the Mysian land at once, should they not\ndiscover for him the doom of Hylas, whether living or dead. And for him\nthey gave pledges choosing out the noblest sons of the people and took\nan oath that they would never cease from their labour of search.\nTherefore to this day the people of Cius enquire for Hylas the son of\nTheiodamas; and take thought for the well-built Trachis. For there did\nHeracles settle the youths whom they sent from Cius as pledges.\n\nAnd all day long and all night the wind bore the ship on, blowing fresh\nand strong; but when dawn rose there was not even a breath of air. And\nthey marked a beach jutting forth from a bend of the coast, very broad\nto behold, and by dint of rowing came to land at sunrise.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK II\n\n\nSUMMARY OF BOOK II\n\n     Fight between Polydeuces and Amycus, King of the Bebrycians; defeat\n     and death of Amycus (1-97).--Victory of the Argonauts over the\n     Bebrycians; arrival at the abode of Phineus (98-177).--History of\n     Phineus and the Harpies, who are chased by Zetes and Calais, sons\n     of Boreas (178-300).--Prediction of Phineus and return of the sons\n     of Boreas (301-447).--Episode of Paraebius (448-499).--Origin of\n     the Etesian winds (500-527).--Argo passes between the Symplegades\n     by the aid of Athena (528-647).--Arrival at the isle Thynias;\n     apparition of Apollo, to whom they pay honour (648-719).--Arrival\n     among the Mariandyni, where King Lycus welcomes them\n     (720-814).--Deaths of Idmon and Tiphys: Ancaeus chosen pilot\n     (815-910).--The Argonauts pass Sinope and the Cape of the Amazons,\n     and reach the Chalybes (911-1008).--Customs of the Tibareni and\n     Mossynoeci (1009-1029).--Contest with the birds of the isle\n     Aretias, where they meet with the sons of Phrixus, shipwrecked on\n     their way to Hellas (1030-1225).--Arrival in Colchis (1226-1285).\n\n\n\nBOOK II\n\n\nHere were the oxstalls and farm of Amycus, the haughty king of the\nBebrycians, whom once a nymph, Bithynian Melie, united to Poseidon\nGenethlius, bare--the most arrogant of men; for even for strangers he\nlaid down an insulting ordinance, that none should depart till they had\nmade trial of him in boxing; and he had slain many of the neighbours.\nAnd at that time too he went down to the ship and in his insolence\nscorned to ask them the occasion of their voyage, and who they were, but\nat once spake out among them all:\n\n\"Listen, ye wanderers by sea, to what it befits you to know. It is the\nrule that no stranger who comes to the Bebrycians should depart till he\nhas raised his hands in battle against mine. Wherefore select your\nbravest warrior from the host and set him here on the spot to contend\nwith me in boxing. But if ye pay no heed and trample my decrees under\nfoot, assuredly to your sorrow will stern necessity come upon you.\"\n\nThus he spake in his pride, but fierce anger seized them when they heard\nit, and the challenge smote Polydeuces most of all. And quickly he stood\nforth his comrades' champion, and cried:\n\n\"Hold now, and display not to us thy brutal violence, whoever thou art;\nfor we will obey thy rules, as thou sayest. Willingly now do I myself\nundertake to meet thee.\"\n\nThus he spake outright; but the other with rolling eyes glared on him,\nlike to a lion struck by a javelin when hunters in the mountains are\nhemming him round, and, though pressed by the throng, he recks no more\nof them, but keeps his eyes fixed, singling out that man only who struck\nhim first and slew him not. Hereupon the son of Tyndareus laid aside his\nmantle, closely-woven, delicately-wrought, which one of the Lemnian\nmaidens had given him as a pledge of hospitality; and the king threw\ndown his dark cloak of double fold with its clasps and the knotted crook\nof mountain olive which he carried. Then straightway they looked and\nchose close by a spot that pleased them and bade their comrades sit upon\nthe sand in two lines; nor were they alike to behold in form or in\nstature. The one seemed to be a monstrous son of baleful Typhoeus or of\nEarth herself, such as she brought forth aforetime, in her wrath against\nZeus; but the other, the son of Tyndareus, was like a star of heaven,\nwhose beams are fairest as it shines through the nightly sky at\neventide. Such was the son of Zeus, the bloom of the first down still on\nhis cheeks, still with the look of gladness in his eyes. But his might\nand fury waxed like a wild beast's; and he poised his hands to see if\nthey were pliant as before and were not altogether numbed by toil and\nrowing. But Amycus on his side made no trial; but standing apart in\nsilence he kept his eyes upon his foe, and his spirit surged within him\nall eager to dash the life-blood from his breast. And between them\nLycoreus, the henchman of Amycus, placed at their feet on each side two\npairs of gauntlets made of raw hide, dry, exceeding tough. And the king\naddressed the hero with arrogant words:\n\n\"Whichever of these thou wilt, without casting lots, I grant thee\nfreely, that thou mayst not blame me hereafter. Bind them about thy\nhands; thou shalt learn and tell another how skilled I am to carve the\ndry oxhides and to spatter men's cheeks with blood.\"\n\nThus he spake; but the other gave back no taunt in answer, but with a\nlight smile readily took up the gauntlets that lay at his feet; and to\nhim came Castor and mighty Talaus, son of Bias, and they quickly bound\nthe gauntlets about his hands, often bidding him be of good courage. And\nto Amycus came Aretus and Ornytus, but little they knew, poor fools,\nthat they had bound them for the last time on their champion, a victim\nof evil fate.\n\nNow when they stood apart and were ready with their gauntlets,\nstraightway in front of their faces they raised their heavy hands and\nmatched their might in deadly strife. Hereupon the Bebrycian king--even\nas a fierce wave of the sea rises in a crest against a swift ship, but\nshe by the skill of the crafty pilot just escapes the shock when the\nbillow is eager to break over the bulwark--so he followed up the son of\nTyndareus, trying to daunt him, and gave him no respite. But the hero,\never unwounded, by his skill baffled the rush of his foe, and he quickly\nnoted the brutal play of his fists to see where he was invincible in\nstrength, and where inferior, and stood unceasingly and returned blow\nfor blow. And as when shipwrights with their hammers smite ships'\ntimbers to meet the sharp clamps, fixing layer upon layer; and the blows\nresound one after another; so cheeks and jaws crashed on both sides, and\na huge clattering of teeth arose, nor did they cease ever from striking\ntheir blows until laboured gasping overcame both. And standing a little\napart they wiped from their foreheads sweat in abundance, wearily\npanting for breath. Then back they rushed together again, as two bulls\nfight in furious rivalry for a grazing heifer. Next Amycus rising on\ntiptoe, like one who slays an ox, sprung to his full height and swung\nhis heavy hand down upon his rival; but the hero swerved aside from the\nrush, turning his head, and just received the arm on his shoulder; and\ncoming near and slipping his knee past the king's, with a rush he struck\nhim above the ear, and broke the bones inside, and the king in agony\nfell upon his knees; and the Minyan heroes shouted for joy; and his life\nwas poured forth all at once.\n\nNor were the Bebrycians reckless of their king; but all together took up\nrough clubs and spears and rushed straight on Polydeuces. But in front\nof him stood his comrades, their keen swords drawn from the sheath.\nFirst Castor struck upon the head a man as he rushed at him: and it was\ncleft in twain and fell on each side upon his shoulders. And Polydeuces\nslew huge Itymoneus and Mimas. The one, with a sudden leap, he smote\nbeneath the breast with his swift foot and threw him in the dust; and as\nthe other drew near he struck him with his right hand above the left\neyebrow, and tore away his eyelid and the eyeball was left bare. But\nOreides, insolent henchman of Amycus, wounded Talaus son of Bias in the\nside, but did not slay him, but only grazing the skin the bronze sped\nunder his belt and touched not the flesh. Likewise Aretus with\nwell-seasoned club smote Iphitus, the steadfast son of Eurytus, not yet\ndestined to an evil death; assuredly soon was he himself to be slain by\nthe sword of Clytius. Then Ancaeus, the dauntless son of Lycurgus,\nquickly seized his huge axe, and in his left hand holding a bear's dark\nhide, plunged into the midst of the Bebrycians with furious onset; and\nwith him charged the sons of Aeacus, and with them started warlike\nJason. And as when amid the folds grey wolves rush down on a winter's\nday and scare countless sheep, unmarked by the keen-scented dogs and the\nshepherds too, and they seek what first to attack and carry off, often\nglaring around, but the sheep are just huddled together and trample on\none another; so the heroes grievously scared the arrogant Bebrycians.\nAnd as shepherds or beekeepers smoke out a huge swarm of bees in a rock,\nand they meanwhile, pent up in their hive, murmur with droning hum,\ntill, stupefied by the murky smoke, they fly forth far from the rock; so\nthey stayed steadfast no longer, but scattered themselves inland through\nBebrycia, proclaiming the death of Amycus; fools, not to perceive that\nanother woe all unforeseen was hard upon them. For at that hour their\nvineyards and villages were being ravaged by the hostile spear of Lycus\nand the Mariandyni, now that their king was gone. For they were ever at\nstrife about the ironbearing land. And now the foe was destroying their\nsteadings and farms, and now the heroes from all sides were driving off\ntheir countless sheep, and one spake among his fellows thus:\n\n\"Bethink ye what they would have done in their cowardice if haply some\ngod had brought Heracles hither. Assuredly, if he had been here, no\ntrial would there have been of fists, I ween, but when the king drew\nnear to proclaim his rules, the club would have made him forget his\npride and the rules to boot. Yea, we left him uncared for on the strand\nand we sailed oversea; and full well each one of us shall know our\nbaneful folly, now that he is far away.\"\n\nThus he spake, but all these things had been wrought by the counsels of\nZeus. Then they remained there through the night and tended the hurts of\nthe wounded men, and offered sacrifice to the immortals, and made ready\na mighty meal; and sleep fell upon no man beside the bowl and the\nblazing sacrifice. They wreathed their fair brows with the bay that grew\nby the shore, whereto their hawsers were bound, and chanted a song to\nthe lyre of Orpheus in sweet harmony; and the windless shore was charmed\nby their song; and they celebrated the Therapnaean son of Zeus.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. Polydeuces.]\n\nBut when the sun rising from far lands lighted up the dewy hills and\nwakened the shepherds, then they loosed their hawsers from the stem of\nthe bay-tree and put on board all the spoil they had need to take; and\nwith a favouring wind they steered through the eddying Bosporus.\nHereupon a wave like a steep mountain rose aloft in front as though\nrushing upon them, ever upheaved above the clouds; nor would you say\nthat they could escape grim death, for in its fury it hangs over the\nmiddle of the ship, like a cloud, yet it sinks away into calm if it\nmeets with a skilful helmsman. So they by the steering-craft of Tiphys\nescaped, unhurt but sore dismayed. And on the next day they fastened the\nhawsers to the coast opposite the Bithynian land.\n\nThere Phineus, son of Agenor, had his home by the sea, Phineus who above\nall men endured most bitter woes because of the gift of prophecy which\nLeto's son had granted him aforetime. And he reverenced not a whit even\nZeus himself, for he foretold unerringly to men his sacred will.\nWherefore Zeus sent upon him a lingering old age, and took from his eyes\nthe pleasant light, and suffered him not to have joy of the dainties\nuntold that the dwellers around ever brought to his house, when they\ncame to enquire the will of heaven. But on a sudden, swooping through\nthe clouds, the Harpies with their crooked beaks incessantly snatched\nthe food away from his mouth and hands. And at times not a morsel of\nfood was left, at others but a little, in order that he might live and\nbe tormented. And they poured forth over all a loathsome stench; and no\none dared not merely to carry food to his mouth but even to stand at a\ndistance; so foully reeked the remnants of the meal. But straightway\nwhen he heard the voice and the tramp of the band he knew that they were\nthe men passing by, at whose coming Zeus' oracle had declared to him\nthat he should have joy of his food. And he rose from his couch, like a\nlifeless dream, bowed over his staff, and crept to the door on his\nwithered feet, feeling the walls; and as he moved, his limbs trembled\nfor weakness and age; and his parched skin was caked with dirt, and\nnaught but the skin held his bones together. And he came forth from the\nhall with wearied knees and sat on the threshold of the courtyard; and a\ndark stupor covered him, and it seemed that the earth reeled round\nbeneath his feet, and he lay in a strengthless trance, speechless. But\nwhen they saw him they gathered round and marvelled. And he at last drew\nlaboured breath from the depths of his chest and spoke among them with\nprophetic utterance:\n\n\"Listen, bravest of all the Hellenes, if it be truly ye, whom by a\nking's ruthless command Jason is leading on the ship Argo in quest of\nthe fleece. It is ye truly. Even yet my soul by its divination knows\neverything. Thanks I render to thee, O king, son of Leto, plunged in\nbitter affliction though I be. I beseech you by Zeus the god of\nsuppliants, the sternest foe to sinful men, and for the sake of Phoebus\nand Hera herself, under whose especial care ye have come hither, help\nme, save an ill-fated man from misery, and depart not uncaring and\nleaving me thus as ye see. For not only has the Fury set her foot on my\neyes and I drag on to the end a weary old age; but besides my other woes\na woe hangs over me--the bitterest of all. The Harpies, swooping down\nfrom some unseen den of destruction ever snatch the food from my mouth.\nAnd I have no device to aid me. But it were easier, when I long for a\nmeal, to escape my own thoughts than them, so swiftly do they fly\nthrough the air. But if haply they _do_ leave me a morsel of food it\nreeks of decay and the stench is unendurable, nor could any mortal bear\nto draw near even for a moment, no, not if his heart were wrought of\nadamant. But necessity, bitter and insatiate, compels me to abide and\nabiding to put food in my curs\u00e8d belly. These pests, the oracle\ndeclares, the sons of Boreas shall restrain. And no strangers are they\nthat shall ward them off if indeed I am Phineus who was once renowned\namong men for wealth and the gift of prophecy, and if I am the son of my\nfather Agenor; and, when I ruled among the Thracians, by my bridal gifts\nI brought home their sister Cleopatra to be my wife.\"\n\nSo spake Agenor's son; and deep sorrow seized each of the heroes, and\nespecially the two sons of Boreas. And brushing away a tear they drew\nnigh, and Zetes spake as follows, taking in his own the hand of the\ngrief-worn sire:\n\n\"Unhappy one, none other of men is more wretched than thou, methinks.\nWhy upon thee is laid the burden of so many sorrows? Hast thou with\nbaneful folly sinned against the gods through thy skill in prophecy? For\nthis are they greatly wroth with thee? Yet our spirit is dismayed within\nus for all our desire to aid thee, if indeed the god has granted this\nprivilege to us two. For plain to discern to men of earth are the\nreproofs of the immortals. And we will never check the Harpies when they\ncome, for all our desire, until thou hast sworn that for this we shall\nnot lose the favour of heaven.\"\n\nThus he spake; and towards him the aged sire opened his sightless eyes,\nand lifted them up and replied with these words:\n\n\"Be silent, store not up such thoughts in thy heart, my child. Let the\nson of Leto be my witness, he who of his gracious will taught me the\nlore of prophecy, and be witness the ill-starred doom which possesses me\nand this dark cloud upon my eyes, and the gods of the underworld--and\nmay their curse be upon me if I die perjured thus--no wrath from heaven\nwill fall upon you two for your help to me.\"\n\nThen were those two eager to help him because of the oath. And quickly\nthe younger heroes prepared a feast for the aged man, a last prey for\nthe Harpies; and both stood near him, to smite with the sword those\npests when they swooped down. Scarcely had the aged man touched the food\nwhen they forthwith, like bitter blasts or flashes of lightning,\nsuddenly darted from the clouds, and swooped down with a yell, fiercely\ncraving for food; and the heroes beheld them and shouted in the midst of\ntheir onrush; but they at the cry devoured everything and sped away over\nthe sea afar; and an intolerable stench remained. And behind them the\ntwo sons of Boreas raising their swords rushed in pursuit. For Zeus\nimparted to them tireless strength; but without Zeus they could not have\nfollowed, for the Harpies used ever to outstrip the blasts of the west\nwind when they came to Phineus and when they left him. And as when, upon\nthe mountain-side, hounds, cunning in the chase, run in the track of\nhorned goats or deer, and as they strain a little behind gnash their\nteeth upon the edge of their jaws in vain; so Zetes and Calais rushing\nvery near just grazed the Harpies in vain with their finger-tips. And\nassuredly they would have torn them to pieces, despite heaven's will,\nwhen they had overtaken them far off at the Floating Islands, had not\nswift Iris seen them and leapt down from the sky from heaven above, and\nchecked them with these words:\n\n\"It is not lawful, O sons of Boreas, to strike with your swords the\nHarpies, the hounds of mighty Zeus; but I myself will give you a pledge,\nthat hereafter they shall not draw near to Phineus.\"\n\nWith these words she took an oath by the waters of Styx, which to all\nthe gods is most dread and most awful, that the Harpies would never\nthereafter again approach the home of Phineus, son of Agenor, for so it\nwas fated. And the heroes yielding to the oath, turned back their flight\nto the ship. And on account of this men call them the Islands of Turning\nthough aforetime they called them the Floating Islands. And the Harpies\nand Iris parted. They entered their den in Minoan Crete; but she sped up\nto Olympus, soaring aloft on her swift wings.\n\nMeanwhile the chiefs carefully cleansed the old man's squalid skin and\nwith due selection sacrificed sheep which they had borne away from the\nspoil of Amycus. And when they had laid a huge supper in the hall, they\nsat down and feasted, and with them feasted Phineus ravenously,\ndelighting his soul, as in a dream. And there, when they had taken their\nfill of food and drink, they kept awake all night waiting for the sons\nof Boreas. And the aged sire himself sat in the midst, near the hearth,\ntelling of the end of their voyage and the completion of their journey:\n\n\"Listen then. Not everything is it lawful for you to know clearly; but\nwhatever is heaven's will, I will not hide. I was infatuated aforetime,\nwhen in my folly I declared the will of Zeus in order and to the end.\nFor he himself wishes to deliver to men the utterances of the prophetic\nart incomplete, in order that they may still have some need to know the\nwill of heaven.\n\n\"First of all, after leaving me, ye will see the twin Cyanean rocks\nwhere the two seas meet. No one, I ween, has won his escape between\nthem. For they are not firmly fixed with roots beneath, but constantly\nclash against one another to one point, and above a huge mass of salt\nwater rises in a crest, boiling up, and loudly dashes upon the hard\nbeach. Wherefore now obey my counsel, if indeed with prudent mind and\nreverencing the blessed gods ye pursue your way; and perish not\nfoolishly by a self-sought death, or rush on following the guidance of\nyouth. First entrust the attempt to a dove when ye have sent her forth\nfrom the ship. And if she escapes safe with her wings between the rocks\nto the open sea, then no more do ye refrain from the path, but grip your\noars well in your hands and cleave the sea's narrow strait, for the\nlight of safety will be not so much in prayer as in strength of hands.\nWherefore let all else go and labour boldly with might and main, but ere\nthen implore the gods as ye will, I forbid you not. But if she flies\nonward and perishes midway, then do ye turn back; for it is better to\nyield to the immortals. For ye could not escape an evil doom from the\nrocks, not even if Argo were of iron.\n\n\"O hapless ones, dare not to transgress my divine warning, even though\nye think that I am thrice as much hated by the sons of heaven as I am,\nand even more than thrice; dare not to sail further with your ship in\ndespite of the omen. And as these things will fall, so shall they fall.\nBut if ye shun the clashing rocks and come scatheless inside Pontus,\nstraightway keep the land of the Bithynians on your right and sail on,\nand beware of the breakers, until ye round the swift river Rhebas and\nthe black beach, and reach the harbour of the Isle of Thynias. Thence ye\nmust turn back a little space through the sea and beach your ship on the\nland of the Mariandyni lying opposite. Here is a downward path to the\nabode of Hades, and the headland of Acherusia stretches aloft, and\neddying Acheron cleaves its way at the bottom, even through the\nheadland, and sends its waters forth from a huge ravine. And near it ye\nwill sail past many hills of the Paphlagonians, over whom at the first\nEneteian Pelops reigned, and of his blood they boast themselves to be.\n\n\"Now there is a headland opposite Helice the Bear, steep on all sides,\nand they call it Carambis, about whose crests the blasts of the north\nwind are sundered. So high in the air does it rise turned towards the\nsea. And when ye have rounded it broad Aegialus stretches before you;\nand at the end of broad Aegialus, at a jutting point of coast, the\nwaters of the river Halys pour forth with a terrible roar; and after it\nIris flowing near, but smaller in stream, rolls into the sea with white\neddies. Onward from thence the bend of a huge and towering cape reaches\nout from the land, next Thermodon at its mouth flows into a quiet bay at\nthe Themiscyreian headland, after wandering through a broad continent.\nAnd here is the plain of Doeas, and near are the three cities of the\nAmazons, and after them the Chalybes, most wretched of men, possess a\nsoil rugged and unyielding--sons of toil, they busy themselves with\nworking iron. And near them dwell the Tibareni, rich in sheep, beyond\nthe Genetaean headland of Zeus, lord of hospitality. And bordering on it\nthe Mossynoeci next in order inhabit the well-wooded mainland and the\nparts beneath the mountains, who have built in towers made from trees\ntheir wooden homes and well-fitted chambers, which they call Mossynes,\nand the people themselves take their name from them. After passing them\nye must beach your ship upon a smooth island, when ye have driven away\nwith all manner of skill the ravening birds, which in countless numbers\nhaunt the desert island. In it the Queens of the Amazons, Otrere and\nAntiope, built a stone temple of Ares what time they went forth to war.\nNow here an unspeakable help will come to you from the bitter sea;\nwherefore with kindly intent I bid you stay. But what need is there that\nI should sin yet again declaring everything to the end by my prophetic\nart? And beyond the island and opposite mainland dwell the Philyres: and\nabove the Philyres are the Macrones, and after them the vast tribes of\nthe Becheiri. And next in order to them dwell the Sapeires, and the\nByzeres have the lands adjoining to them, and beyond them at last live\nthe warlike Colchians themselves. But speed on in your ship, till ye\ntouch the inmost bourne of the sea. And here at the Cytaean mainland and\nfrom the Amarantine mountains far away and the Circaean plain eddying\nPhasis rolls his broad stream to the sea. Guide your ship to the mouth\nof that river and ye shall behold the towers of Cytaean Aeetes and the\nshady grove of Ares, where a dragon, a monster terrible to behold, ever\nglares around, keeping watch over the fleece that is spread upon the top\nof an oak; neither by day nor by night does sweet sleep subdue his\nrestless eyes.\"\n\nThus he spake, and straightway fear seized them as they heard. And for a\nlong while they were struck with silence; till at last the hero, son of\nAeson, spake, sore dismayed at their evil plight:\n\n\"O aged sire, now hast thou come to the end of the toils of our\nsea-journeying and hast told us the token, trusting to which we shall\nmake our way to Pontus through the hateful rocks; but whether, when we\nhave escaped them, we shall have a return back again to Hellas, this too\nwould we gladly learn from thee. What shall I do, how shall I go over\nagain such a long path through the sea, unskilled as I am, with\nunskilled comrades? And Colchian Aea lies at the edge of Pontus and of\nthe world.\"\n\nThus he spake, and him the aged sire addressed in reply: \"O son, when\nonce thou hast escaped through the deadly rocks, fear not; for a deity\nwill be the guide from Aea by another track; and to Aea there will be\nguides enough. But, my friends, take thought of the artful aid of the\nCyprian goddess. For on her depends the glorious issue of your venture.\nAnd further than this ask me not.\"\n\nThus spake Agenor's son, and close at hand the twin sons of Thracian\nBoreas came darting from the sky and set their swift feet upon the\nthreshold; and the heroes rose up from their seats when they saw them\npresent. And Zetes, still drawing hard breath after his toil, spake\namong the eager listeners, telling them how far they had driven the\nHarpies and how Iris prevented their slaying them, and how the goddess\nof her grace gave them pledges, and how those others in fear plunged\ninto the vast cave of the Dictaean cliff. Then in the mansion all their\ncomrades were joyful at the tidings and so was Phineus himself. And\nquickly Aeson's son, with good will exceeding, addressed him:\n\n\"Assuredly there was then, Phineus, some god who cared for thy bitter\nwoe, and brought us hither from afar, that the sons of Boreas might aid\nthee; and if too he should bring sight to thine eyes, verily I should\nrejoice, methinks, as much as if I were on my homeward way.\"\n\nThus he spake, but Phineus replied to him with downcast look: \"Son of\nAeson, that is past recall, nor is there any remedy hereafter, for\nblasted are my sightless eyes. But instead of that, may the god grant me\ndeath at once, and after death I shall take my share in perfect bliss.\"\n\nThen they two returned answering speech, each to other, and soon in the\nmidst of their converse early dawn appeared; and round Phineus were\ngathered the neighbours who used to come thither aforetime day by day\nand constantly bring a portion of their food. To all alike, however poor\nhe was that came, the aged man gave his oracles with good will, and\nfreed many from their woes by his prophetic art; wherefore they visited\nand tended him. And with them came Paraebius, who was dearest to him,\nand gladly did he perceive these strangers in the house. For long ere\nnow the seer himself had said that a band of chieftains, faring from\nHellas to the city of Aeetes, would make fast their hawsers to the\nThynian land, and by Zeus' will would check the approach of the Harpies.\nThe rest the old man pleased with words of wisdom and let them go;\nParaebius only he bade remain there with the chiefs; and straightway he\nsent him and bade him bring back the choicest of his sheep. And when he\nhad left the hall Phineus spake gently amid the throng of oarsmen:\n\n\"O my friends, not all men are arrogant, it seems, nor unmindful of\nbenefits. Even as this man, loyal as he is, came hither to learn his\nfate. For when he laboured the most and toiled the most, then the needs\nof life, ever growing more and more, would waste him, and day after day\never dawned more wretched, nor was there any respite to his toil. But he\nwas paying the sad penalty of his father's sin. For he when alone on the\nmountains, felling trees, once slighted the prayers of a Hamadryad, who\nwept and sought to soften him with plaintive words, not to cut down the\nstump of an oak tree coeval with herself, wherein for a long time she\nhad lived continually; but he in the arrogance of youth recklessly cut\nit down. So to him the nymph thereafter made her death a curse, to him\nand to his children. I indeed knew of the sin when he came; and I bid\nhim build an altar to the Thynian nymph, and offer on it an atoning\nsacrifice, with prayer to escape his father's fate. Here, ever since he\nescaped the god-sent doom, never has he forgotten or neglected me; but\nsorely and against his will do I send him from my doors, so eager is he\nto remain with me in my affliction.\"\n\nThus spake Agenor's son; and his friend straightway came near leading\ntwo sheep from the flock. And up rose Jason and up rose the sons of\nBoreas at the bidding of the aged sire. And quickly they called upon\nApollo, lord of prophecy, and offered sacrifice upon the hearth as the\nday was just sinking. And the younger comrades made ready a feast to\ntheir hearts' desire. Thereupon having well feasted they turned\nthemselves to rest, some near the ship's hawsers, others in groups\nthroughout the mansion. And at dawn the Etesian winds blew strongly,\nwhich by the command of Zeus blow over every land equally.\n\nCyrene, the tale goes, once tended sheep along the marsh-meadow of\nPeneus among men of old time; for dear to her were maidenhood and a\ncouch unstained. But, as she guarded her flock by the river, Apollo\ncarried her off far from Haemonia and placed her among the nymphs of the\nland, who dwelt in Libya near the Myrtosian height. And here to Phoebus\nshe bore Aristaeus whom the Haemonians, rich in corn-land, call \"Hunter\"\nand \"Shepherd.\" Her, of his love, the god made a nymph there, of long\nlife and a huntress, and his son he brought while still an infant to be\nnurtured in the cave of Cheiron. And to him when he grew to manhood the\nMuses gave a bride, and taught him the arts of healing and of prophecy;\nand they made him the keeper of their sheep, of all that grazed on the\nAthamantian plain of Phthia and round steep Othrys and the sacred stream\nof the river Apidanus. But when from heaven Sirius scorched the Minoan\nIsles, and for long there was no respite for the inhabitants, then by\nthe injunction of the Far-Darter they summoned Aristaeus to ward off the\npestilence. And by his father's command he left Phthia and made his home\nin Ceos, and gathered together the Parrhasian people who are of the\nlineage of Lycaon, and he built a great altar to Zeus Icmaeus, and duly\noffered sacrifices upon the mountains to that star Sirius, and to Zeus\nson of Cronos himself. And on this account it is that Etesian winds from\nZeus cool the land for forty days, and in Ceos even now the priests\noffer sacrifices before the rising of the Dog-star.\n\nSo the tale is told, but the chieftains stayed there by constraint, and\nevery day the Thynians, doing pleasure to Phineus, sent them gifts\nbeyond measure. And afterwards they raised an altar to the blessed\ntwelve on the sea-beach opposite and laid offerings thereon and then\nentered their swift ship to row, nor did they forget to bear with them a\ntrembling dove; but Euphemus seized her and brought her all quivering\nwith fear, and they loosed the twin hawsers from the land.\n\nNor did they start unmarked by Athena, but straightway swiftly she set\nher feet on a light cloud, which would waft her on, mighty though she\nwas, and she swept on to the sea with friendly thoughts to the oarsmen.\nAnd as when one roveth far from his native land, as we men often wander\nwith enduring heart, nor is any land too distant but all ways are clear\nto his view, and he sees in mind his own home, and at once the way over\nsea and land seems plain, and swiftly thinking, now this way, now that,\nhe strains with eager eyes; so swiftly the daughter of Zeus darted down\nand set her foot on the cheerless shore of Thynia.\n\nNow when they reached the narrow strait of the winding passage, hemmed\nin on both sides by rugged cliffs, while an eddying current from below\nwas washing against the ship as she moved on, they went forward sorely\nin dread; and now the thud of the crashing rocks ceaselessly struck\ntheir ears, and the sea-washed shores resounded, and then Euphemus\ngrasped the dove in his hand and started to mount the prow; and they, at\nthe bidding of Tiphys, son of Hagnias, rowed with good will to drive\nArgo between the rocks, trusting to their strength. And as they rounded\na bend they saw the rocks opening for the last time of all. Their spirit\nmelted within them; and Euphemus sent forth the dove to dart forward in\nflight; and they all together raised their heads to look; but she flew\nbetween them, and the rocks again rushed together and crashed as they\nmet face to face. And the foam leapt up in a mass like a cloud; awful\nwas the thunder of the sea; and all round them the mighty welkin roared.\n\nThe hollow caves beneath the rugged cliffs rumbled as the sea came\nsurging in; and the white foam of the dashing wave spurted high above\nthe cliff. Next the current whirled the ship round. And the rocks shore\naway the end of the dove's tail-feathers; but away she flew unscathed.\nAnd the rowers gave a loud cry; and Tiphys himself called to them to row\nwith might and main. For the rocks were again parting asunder. But as\nthey rowed they trembled, until the tide returning drove them back\nwithin the rocks. Then most awful fear seized upon all; for over their\nhead was destruction without escape. And now to right and left broad\nPontus was seen, when suddenly a huge wave rose up before them, arched,\nlike a steep rock; and at the sight they bowed with bended heads. For it\nseemed about to leap down upon the ship's whole length and to overwhelm\nthem. But Tiphys was quick to ease the ship as she laboured with the\noars; and in all its mass the wave rolled away beneath the keel, and at\nthe stern it raised Argo herself and drew her far away from the rocks;\nand high in air was she borne. But Euphemus strode among all his\ncomrades and cried to them to bend to their oars with all their might;\nand they with a shout smote the water. And as far as the ship yielded to\nthe rowers, twice as far did she leap back, and the oars were bent like\ncurved bows as the heroes used their strength.\n\nThen a vaulted billow rushed upon them, and the ship like a cylinder ran\non the furious wave plunging through the hollow sea. And the eddying\ncurrent held her between the clashing rocks; and on each side they shook\nand thundered; and the ship's timbers were held fast. Then Athena with\nher left hand thrust back one mighty rock and with her right pushed the\nship through; and she, like a winged arrow, sped through the air.\nNevertheless the rocks, ceaselessly clashing, shore off as she passed\nthe extreme end of the stern-ornament. But Athena soared up to Olympus,\nwhen they had escaped unscathed. And the rocks in one spot at that\nmoment were rooted fast for ever to each other, which thing had been\ndestined by the blessed gods, when a man in his ship should have passed\nbetween them alive. And the heroes breathed again after their chilling\nfear, beholding at the same time the sky and the expanse of sea\nspreading far and wide. For they deemed that they were saved from Hades;\nand Tiphys first of all began to speak:\n\n\"It is my hope that we have safely escaped this peril--we, and the ship;\nand none other is the cause so much as Athena, who breathed into Argo\ndivine strength when Argus knitted her together with bolts; and she may\nnot be caught. Son of Aeson, no longer fear thou so much the best of thy\nking, since a god hath granted us escape between the rocks; for Phineus,\nAgenor's son, said that our toils hereafter would be lightly\naccomplished.\"\n\nHe spake, and at once he sped the ship onward through the midst of the\nsea past the Bithynian coast. But Jason with gentle words addressed him\nin reply: \"Tiphys, why dost thou comfort thus my grieving heart? I have\nerred and am distraught in wretched and helpless ruin. For I ought, when\nPelias gave the command, to have straightway refused this quest to his\nface, yea, though I were doomed to die pitilessly, torn limb from limb,\nbut now I am wrapped in excessive fear and cares unbearable, dreading to\nsail through the chilling paths of the sea, and dreading when we shall\nset foot on the mainland. For on every side are unkindly men. And ever\nwhen day is done I pass a night of groans from the time when ye first\ngathered together for my sake, while I take thought for all things; but\nthou talkest at thine ease, caring only for thine own life; while for\nmyself I am dismayed not a whit; but I fear for this man and for that\nequally, and for thee, and for my other comrades, if I shall not bring\nyou back safe to the land of Hellas.\"\n\nThus he spake, making trial of the chiefs; but they shouted loud with\ncheerful words. And his heart was warmed within him at their cry and\nagain he spake outright among them: \"My friends, in your valour my\ncourage is quickened. Wherefore now, even though I should take my way\nthrough the gulfs of Hades, no more shall I let fear seize upon me,\nsince ye are steadfast amid cruel terrors. But now that we have sailed\nout from the striking rocks, I trow that never hereafter will there be\nanother such fearful thing, if indeed we go on our way following the\ncounsel of Phineus.\"\n\nThus he spake, and straightway they ceased from such words and gave\nunwearying labour to the oar; and quickly they passed by the swiftly\nflowing river Rhebas and the peak of Colone, and soon thereafter the\nblack headland, and near it the mouth of the river Phyllis, where\naforetime Dipsacus received in his home the son of Athamas, when with\nhis ram he was flying from the city of Orchomenus; and Dipsacus was the\nson of a meadow-nymph, nor was insolence his delight, but contented by\nhis father's stream he dwelt with his mother, pasturing his flocks by\nthe shore. And quickly they sighted and sailed past his shrine and the\nbroad banks of the river and the plain, and deep-flowing Calpe, and all\nthe windless night and the day they bent to their tireless oars. And\neven as ploughing oxen toil as they cleave the moist earth, and sweat\nstreams in abundance from flank and neck; and from beneath the yoke\ntheir eyes roll askance, while the breath ever rushes from their mouths\nin hot gasps; and all day long they toil, planting their hoofs deep in\nthe ground; like them the heroes kept dragging their oars through the\nsea.\n\nNow when divine light has not yet come nor is it utter darkness, but a\nfaint glimmer has spread over the night, the time when men wake and call\nit twilight, at that hour they ran into the harbour of the desert island\nThynias and, spent by weary toil, mounted the shore. And to them the son\nof Leto, as he passed from Lycia far away to the countless folk of the\nHyperboreans, appeared; and about his cheeks on both sides his golden\nlocks flowed in clusters as he moved; in his left hand he held a silver\nbow, and on his back was slung a quiver hanging from his shoulders; and\nbeneath his feet all the island quaked, and the waves surged high on the\nbeach. Helpless amazement seized them as they looked; and no one dared\nto gaze face to face into the fair eyes of the god. And they stood with\nheads bowed to the ground; but he, far off, passed on to the sea through\nthe air; and at length Orpheus spake as follows, addressing the chiefs:\n\n\"Come, let us call this island the sacred isle of Apollo of the Dawn\nsince he has appeared to all, passing by at dawn; and we will offer such\nsacrifices as we can, building an altar on the shore; and if hereafter\nhe shall grant us a safe return to the Haemonian land, then will we lay\non his altar the thighs of horned goats. And now I bid you propitiate\nhim with the steam of sacrifice and libations. Be gracious, O king, be\ngracious in thy appearing.\"\n\nThus he spake, and they straightway built up an altar with shingle; and\nover the island they wandered, seeking if haply they could get a glimpse\nof a fawn or a wild goat, that often seek their pasture in the deep\nwood. And for them Leto's son provided a quarry; and with pious rites\nthey wrapped in fat the thigh bones of them all and burnt them on the\nsacred altar, celebrating Apollo, Lord of Dawn. And round the burning\nsacrifice they set up a broad dancing-ring, singing, \"All hail, fair god\nof healing, Phoebus, all hail,\" and with them Oeagrus' goodly son began\na clear lay on his Bistonian lyre; how once beneath the rocky ridge of\nParnassus he slew with his bow the monster Delphyne, he, still young and\nbeardless, still rejoicing in his long tresses. Mayst thou be gracious!\nEver, O king, be thy locks unshorn, ever unravaged; for so is it right.\nAnd none but Leto, daughter of Coeus, strokes them with her dear hands.\nAnd often the Corycian nymphs, daughters of Pleistus, took up the\ncheering strain crying \"Healer\"; hence arose this lovely refrain of the\nhymn to Phoebus.\n\nNow when they had celebrated him with dance and song they took an oath\nwith holy libations, that they would ever help each other with concord\nof heart, touching the sacrifice as they swore; and even now there\nstands there a temple to gracious Concord, which the heroes themselves\nreared, paying honour at that time to the glorious goddess.\n\nNow when the third morning came, with a fresh west wind they left the\nlofty island. Next, on the opposite side they saw and passed the mouth\nof the river Sangarius and the fertile land of the Mariandyni, and the\nstream of Lycus and the Anthemoeisian lake; and beneath the breeze the\nropes and all the tackling quivered as they sped onward. During the\nnight the wind ceased and at dawn they gladly reached the haven of the\nAcherusian headland. It rises aloft with steep cliffs, looking towards\nthe Bithynian sea; and beneath it smooth rocks, ever washed by the sea,\nstand rooted firm; and round them the wave rolls and thunders loud, but\nabove, wide-spreading plane trees grow on the topmost point. And from it\ntowards the land a hollow glen slopes gradually away, where there is a\ncave of Hades overarched by wood and rocks. From here an icy breath,\nunceasingly issuing from the chill recess, ever forms a glistening rime\nwhich melts again beneath the midday sun. And never does silence hold\nthat grim headland, but there is a continual murmur from the sounding\nsea and the leaves that quiver in the winds from the cave. And here is\nthe outfall of the river Acheron which bursts its way through the\nheadland and falls into the Eastern sea, and a hollow ravine brings it\ndown from above. In after times the Nisaean Megarians named it\nSo\u00f6nautes[1] when they were about to settle in the land of the\nMariandyni. For indeed the river saved them with their ships when they\nwere caught in a violent tempest. By this way the heroes took the ship\nthrough[2] the Acherusian headland and came to land over against it as\nthe wind had just ceased.\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. Saviour of sailors.]\n\n[Footnote 2: i.e. through the ravine that divides the headland.]\n\nNot long had they come unmarked by Lycus, the lord of that land, and the\nMariandyni--they, the slayers of Amycus, according to the report which\nthe people heard before; but for that very deed they even made a league\nwith the heroes. And Polydeuces himself they welcomed as a god, flocking\nfrom every side, since for a long time had they been warring against the\narrogant Bebrycians. And so they went up all together into the city, and\nall that day with friendly feelings made ready a feast within the palace\nof Lycus and gladdened their souls with converse. Aeson's son told him\nthe lineage and name of each of his comrades and the behests of Pelias,\nand how they were welcomed by the Lemnian women, and all that they did\nat Dolionian Cyzicus; and how they reached the Mysian land and Cius,\nwhere, sore against their will, they left behind the hero Heracles, and\nhe told the saying of Glaucus, and how they slew the Bebrycians and\nAmycus, and he told of the prophecies and affliction of Phineus, and how\nthey escaped the Cyanean rocks, and how they met with Leto's son at the\nisland. And as he told all, Lycus was charmed in soul with listening;\nand he grieved for Heracles left behind, and spake as follows among them\nall:\n\n\"O friends, what a man he was from whose help ye have fallen away, as ye\ncleave your long path to Aeetes; for well do I know that I saw him here\nin the halls of Dascylus my father, when he came hither on foot through\nthe land of Asia bringing the girdle of warlike Hippolyte; and me he\nfound with the down just growing on my cheeks. And here, when my brother\nPriolas was slain by the Mysians--my brother, whom ever since the people\nlament with most piteous dirges--he entered the lists with Titias in\nboxing and slew him, mighty Titias, who surpassed all the youths in\nbeauty and strength; and he dashed his teeth to the ground. Together\nwith the Mysians he subdued beneath my father's sway the Phrygians also,\nwho inhabit the lands next to us, and he made his own the tribes of the\nBithynians and their land, as far as the mouth of Rhebas and the peak of\nColone; and besides them the Paphlagonians of Pelops yielded just as\nthey were, even all those round whom the dark water of Billaeus breaks.\nBut now the Bebrycians and the insolence of Amycus have robbed me, since\nHeracles dwells far away, for they have long been cutting off huge\npieces of my land until they have set their bounds at the meadows of\ndeep-flowing Hypius. Nevertheless, by your hands have they paid the\npenalty; and it was not without the will of heaven, I trow, that he\nbrought war on the Bebrycians this day--he, the son of Tyndareus, when\nhe slew that champion. Wherefore whatever requital I am now able to pay,\ngladly will I pay it, for that is the rule for weaker men when the\nstronger begin to help them. So with you all, and in your company, I bid\nDascylus my son follow; and if he goes, you will find all men friendly\nthat ye meet on your way through the sea even to the mouth of the river\nThermodon. And besides that, to the sons of Tyndareus will I raise a\nlofty temple on the Acherusian height, which all sailors shall mark far\nacross the sea and shall reverence; and hereafter for them will I set\napart outside the city, as for gods, some fertile fields of the\nwell-tilled plain.\"\n\nThus all day long they revelled at the banquet. But at dawn they hied\ndown to the ship in haste; and with them went Lycus himself, when he had\ngiven them countless gifts to bear away; and with them he sent forth his\nson from his home.\n\nAnd here his destined fate smote Idmon, son of Abas, skilled in\nsoothsaying; but not at all did his soothsaying save him, for necessity\ndrew him on to death. For in the mead of the reedy river there lay,\ncooling his flanks and huge belly in the mud, a white-tusked boar, a\ndeadly monster, whom even the nymphs of the marsh dreaded, and no man\nknew it; but all alone he was feeding in the wide fen. But the son of\nAbas was passing along the raised banks of the muddy river, and the boar\nfrom some unseen lair leapt out of the reed-bed, and charging gashed his\nthigh and severed in twain the sinews and the bone. And with a sharp cry\nthe hero fell to the ground; and as he was struck his comrades flocked\ntogether with answering cry. And quickly Peleus with his hunting spear\naimed at the murderous boar as he fled back into the fen; and again he\nturned and charged; but Idas wounded him, and with a roar he fell\nimpaled upon the sharp spear. And the boar they left on the ground just\nas he had fallen there; but Idmon, now at the last gasp, his comrades\nbore to the ship in sorrow of heart, and he died in his comrades' arms.\n\nAnd here they stayed from taking thought for their voyaging and abode in\ngrief for the burial of their dead friend. And for three whole days they\nlamented; and on the next they buried him with full honours, and the\npeople and King Lycus himself took part in the funeral rites; and, as is\nthe due of the departed, they slaughtered countless sheep at his tomb.\nAnd so a barrow to this hero was raised in that land, and there stands a\ntoken for men of later days to see, the trunk of a wild olive tree, such\nas ships are built of; and it flourishes with its green leaves a little\nbelow the Acherusian headland. And if at the bidding of the Muses I must\ntell this tale outright, Phoebus strictly commanded the Boeotians and\nNisaeans to worship him as guardian of their city, and to build their\ncity round the trunk of the ancient wild olive; but they, instead of the\ngod-fearing Aeolid Idmon, at this day honour Agamestor.\n\nWho was the next that died? For then a second time the heroes heaped up\na barrow for a comrade dead. For still are to be seen two monuments of\nthose heroes. The tale goes that Tiphys son of Hagnias died; nor was it\nhis destiny thereafter to sail any further. But him there on the spot a\nshort sickness laid to rest far from his native land, when the company\nhad paid due honours to the dead son of Abas. And at the cruel woe they\nwere seized with unbearable grief. For when with due honours they had\nburied him also hard by the seer, they cast themselves down in\nhelplessness on the sea-shore silently, closely wrapped up, and took no\nthought for meat or drink; and their spirit drooped in grief, for all\nhope of return was gone. And in their sorrow they would have stayed from\ngoing further had not Hera kindled exceeding courage in Ancaeus, whom\nnear the waters of Imbrasus Astypalaea bore to Poseidon; for especially\nwas he skilled in steering and eagerly did he address Peleus:\n\n\"Son of Aeacus, is it well for us to give up our toils and linger on in\na strange land? Not so much for my prowess in war did Jason take me with\nhim in quest of the fleece, far from Parthenia, as for my knowledge of\nships. Wherefore, I pray, let there be no fear for the ship. And so\nthere are here other men of skill, of whom none will harm our voyaging,\nwhomsoever we set at the helm. But quickly tell forth all this and\nboldly urge them to call to mind their task.\"\n\nThus he spake; and Peleus' soul was stirred with gladness, and\nstraightway he spake in the midst of all: \"My friends, why do we thus\ncherish a bootless grief like this? For those two have perished by the\nfate they have met with; but among our host are steersmen yet, and many\na one. Wherefore let us not delay our attempt, but rouse yourselves to\nthe work and cast away your griefs.\"\n\nAnd him in reply Aeson's son addressed with helpless words: \"Son of\nAeacus, where are these steersmen of thine? For those whom we once\ndeemed to be men of skill, they even more than I are bowed with vexation\nof heart. Wherefore I forebode an evil doom for us even as for the dead,\nif it shall be our lot neither to reach the city of fell Aeetes, nor\never again to pass beyond the rocks to the land of Hellas, but a\nwretched fate will enshroud us here ingloriously till we grow old for\nnaught.\"\n\nThus he spake, but Ancaeus quickly undertook to guide the swift ship;\nfor he was stirred by the impulse of the goddess. And after him Erginus\nand Nauplius and Euphemus started up, eager to steer. But the others\nheld them back, and many of his comrades granted it to Ancaeus.\n\nSo on the twelfth day they went aboard at dawn, for a strong breeze of\nwesterly wind was blowing. And quickly with the oars they passed out\nthrough the river Acheron and, trusting to the wind, shook out their\nsails, and with canvas spread far and wide they were cleaving their\npassage through the waves in fair weather. And soon they passed the\noutfall of the river Callichorus, where, as the tale goes, the Nysean\nson of Zeus, when he had left the tribes of the Indians and came to\ndwell at Thebes, held revels and arrayed dances in front of a cave,\nwherein he passed unsmiling sacred nights, from which time the\nneighbours call the river by the name of Callichorus[1] and the cave\nAulion.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. river of fair dances.]\n\n[Footnote 2: i.e. the bedchamber.]\n\nNext they beheld the barrow of Sthenelus, Actor's son, who on his way\nback from the valorous war against the Amazons--for he had been the\ncomrade of Heracles--was struck by an arrow and died there upon the\nsea-beach. And for a time they went no further, for Persephone herself\nsent forth the spirit of Actor's son which craved with many tears to\nbehold men like himself, even for a moment. And mounting on the edge of\nthe barrow he gazed upon the ship, such as he was when he went to war;\nand round his head a fair helm with four peaks gleamed with its\nblood-red crest. And again he entered the vast gloom; and they looked\nand marvelled; and Mopsus, son of Ampycus, with word of prophecy urged\nthem to land and propitiate him with libations. Quickly they drew in\nsail and threw out hawsers, and on the strand paid honour to the tomb of\nSthenelus, and poured out drink offerings to him and sacrificed sheep as\nvictims. And besides the drink offerings they built an altar to Apollo,\nsaviour of ships, and burnt thigh bones; and Orpheus dedicated his lyre;\nwhence the place has the name of Lyra.\n\nAnd straightway they went aboard as the wind blew strong; and they drew\nthe sail down, and made it taut to both sheets; then Argo was borne over\nthe sea swiftly, even as a hawk soaring high through the air commits to\nthe breeze its outspread wings and is borne on swiftly, nor swerves in\nits flight, poising in the clear sky with quiet pinions. And lo, they\npassed by the stream of Parthenius as it flows into the sea, a most\ngentle river, where the maid, daughter of Leto, when she mounts to\nheaven after the chase, cools her limbs in its much-desired waters. Then\nthey sped onward in the night without ceasing, and passed Sesamus and\nlofty Erythini, Crobialus, Cromna and woody Cytorus. Next they swept\nround Carambis at the rising of the sun, and plied the oars past long\nAegialus, all day and on through the night.\n\nAnd straightway they landed on the Assyrian shore where Zeus himself\ngave a home to Sinope, daughter of Asopus, and granted her virginity,\nbeguiled by his own promises. For he longed for her love, and he\npromised to grant her whatever her heart's desire might be. And she in\nher craftiness asked of him virginity. And in like manner she deceived\nApollo too who longed to wed her, and besides them the river Halys, and\nno man ever subdued her in love's embrace. And there the sons of noble\nDeimachus of Tricca were still dwelling, Deileon, Autolycus and\nPhlogius, since the day when they wandered far away from Heracles; and\nthey, when they marked the array of chieftains, went to meet them and\ndeclared in truth who they were; and they wished to remain there no\nlonger, but as soon as Argestes[1] blew went on ship-board. And so with\nthem, borne along by the swift breeze, the heroes left behind the river\nHalys, and left behind Iris that flows hard by, and the delta-land of\nAssyria; and on the same day they rounded the distant headland of the\nAmazons that guards their harbour.\n\n[Footnote 1: The north-west wind.]\n\nHere once when Melanippe, daughter of Ares, had gone forth, the hero\nHeracles caught her by ambuscade and Hippolyte gave him her glistening\ngirdle as her sister's ransom, and he sent away his captive unharmed. In\nthe bay of this headland, at the outfall of Thermodon, they ran ashore,\nfor the sea was rough for their voyage. No river is like this, and none\nsends forth from itself such mighty streams over the land. If a man\nshould count every one he would lack but four of a hundred, but the real\nspring is only one. This flows down to the plain from lofty mountains,\nwhich, men say, are called the Amazonian mountains. Thence it spreads\ninland over a hilly country straight forward; wherefrom its streams go\nwinding on, and they roll on, this way and that ever more, wherever best\nthey can reach the lower ground, one at a distance and another near at\nhand; and many streams are swallowed up in the sand and are without a\nname; but, mingled with a few, the main stream openly bursts with its\narching crest of foam into the Inhospitable Pontus. And they would have\ntarried there and have closed in battle with the Amazons, and would have\nfought not without bloodshed--for the Amazons were not gentle foes and\nregarded not justice, those dwellers on the Doeantian plain; but\ngrievous insolence and the works of Ares were all their care; for by\nrace they were the daughters of Ares and the nymph Harmonia, who bare to\nAres war-loving maids, wedded to him in the glens of the Acmonian\nwood--had not the breezes of Argestes come again from Zeus; and with the\nwind they left the rounded beach, where the Themiscyreian Amazons were\narming for war. For they dwelt not gathered together in one city, but\nscattered over the land, parted into three tribes. In one part dwelt the\nThemiscyreians, over whom at that time Hippolyte reigned, in another the\nLycastians, and in another the dart-throwing Chadesians. And the next\nday they sped on and at nightfall they reached the land of the Chalybes.\n\nThat folk have no care for ploughing with oxen or for any planting of\nhoney-sweet fruit; nor yet do they pasture flocks in the dewy meadow.\nBut they cleave the hard iron-bearing land and exchange their wages for\ndaily sustenance; never does the morn rise for them without toil, but\namid bleak sooty flames and smoke they endure heavy labour.\n\nAnd straightway thereafter they rounded the headland of Genetaean Zeus\nand sped safely past the land of the Tibareni. Here when wives bring\nforth children to their husbands, the men lie in bed and groan with\ntheir heads close bound; but the women tend them with food, and prepare\nchild-birth baths for them.\n\nNext they reached the sacred mount and the land where the Mossynoeci\ndwell amid high mountains in wooden huts,[1] from which that people take\ntheir name. And strange are their customs and laws. Whatever it is right\nto do openly before the people or in the market place, all this they do\nin their homes, but whatever acts we perform at home, these they perform\nout of doors in the midst of the streets, without blame. And among them\nis no reverence for the marriage-bed, but, like swine that feed in\nherds, no whit abashed in others' presence, on the earth they lie with\nthe women. Their king sits in the loftiest hut and dispenses upright\njudgments to the multitude, poor wretch! For if haply he err at all in\nhis decrees, for that day they keep him shut up in starvation.\n\n[Footnote 1: called \"Mossynes.\"]\n\nThey passed them by and cleft their way with oars over against the\nisland of Ares all day long; for at dusk the light breeze left them. At\nlast they spied above them, hurtling through the air, one of the birds\nof Ares which haunt that isle. It shook its wings down over the ship as\nshe sped on and sent against her a keen feather, and it fell on the left\nshoulder of goodly Oileus, and he dropped his oar from his hands at the\nsudden blow, and his comrades marvelled at the sight of the winged bolt.\nAnd Eribotes from his seat hard by drew out the feather, and bound up\nthe wound when he had loosed the strap hanging from his own\nsword-sheath; and besides the first, another bird appeared swooping\ndown; but the hero Clytius, son of Eurytus--for he bent his curved bow,\nand sped a swift arrow against the bird--struck it, and it whirled round\nand fell close to the ship. And to them spake Amphidamas, son of Aleus:\n\n\"The island of Ares is near us; you know it yourselves now that ye have\nseen these birds. But little will arrows avail us, I trow, for landing.\nBut let us contrive some other device to help us, if ye intend to land,\nbearing in mind the injunction of Phineus. For not even could Heracles,\nwhen he came to Arcadia, drive away with bow and arrow the birds that\nswam on the Stymphalian lake. I saw it myself. But he shook in his hand\na rattle of bronze and made a loud clatter as he stood upon a lofty\npeak; and the birds fled far off, screeching in bewildered fear.\nWherefore now too let us contrive some such device, and I myself will\nspeak, having pondered the matter beforehand. Set on your heads your\nhelmets of lofty crest, then half row by turns, and half fence the ship\nabout with polished spears and shields. Then all together raise a mighty\nshout so that the birds may be scared by the unwonted din, the nodding\ncrests, and the uplifted spears on high. And if we reach the island\nitself, then make mighty noise with the clashing of shields.\"\n\nThus he spake, and the helpful device pleased all. And on their heads\nthey placed helmets of bronze, gleaming terribly, and the blood-red\ncrests were tossing. And half of them rowed in turn, and the rest\ncovered the ship with spears and shields. And as when a man roofs over a\nhouse with tiles, to be an ornament of his home and a defence against\nrain, and one tile fits firmly into another, each after each; so they\nroofed over the ship with their shields, locking them together. And as a\ndin arises from a warrior-host of men sweeping on, when lines of battle\nmeet, such a shout rose upward from the ship into the air. Now they saw\nnone of the birds yet, but when they touched the island and clashed upon\ntheir shields, then the birds in countless numbers rose in flight hither\nand thither. And as when the son of Cronos sends from the clouds a dense\nhail storm on city and houses, and the people who dwell beneath hear the\ndin above the roof and sit quietly, since the stormy season has not come\nupon them unawares, but they have first made strong their roofs; so the\nbirds sent against the heroes a thick shower of feather-shafts as they\ndarted over the sea to the mountains of the land opposite.\n\nWhat then was the purpose of Phineus in bidding the divine band of\nheroes land there? Or what kind of help was about to meet their desire?\n\nThe sons of Phrixus were faring towards the city of Orchomenus from Aea,\ncoming from Cytaean Aeetes, on board a Colchian ship, to win the\nboundless wealth of their father; for he, when dying, had enjoined this\njourney upon them. And lo, on that day they were very near that island.\nBut Zeus had impelled the north wind's might to blow, marking by rain\nthe moist path of Arcturus; and all day long he was stirring the leaves\nupon the mountains, breathing gently upon the topmost sprays; but at\nnight he rushed upon the sea with monstrous force, and with his\nshrieking blasts uplifted the surge; and a dark mist covered the\nheavens, nor did the bright stars anywhere appear from among the clouds,\nbut a murky gloom brooded all around. And so the sons of Phrixus,\ndrenched and trembling in fear of a horrible doom, were borne along by\nthe waves helplessly. And the force of the wind had snatched away their\nsails and shattered in twain the hull, tossed as it was by the breakers.\nAnd hereupon by heaven's prompting those four clutched a huge beam, one\nof many that were scattered about, held together by sharp bolts, when\nthe ship broke to pieces. And on to the island the waves and the blasts\nof wind bore the men in their distress, within a little of death. And\nstraightway a mighty rain burst forth, and rained upon the sea and the\nisland, and all the country opposite the island, where the arrogant\nMossynoeci dwelt. And the sweep of the waves hurled the sons of Phrixus,\ntogether with their massy beam, upon the beach of the island, in the\nmurky night; and the floods of rain from Zeus ceased at sunrise, and\nsoon the two bands drew near and met each other, and Argus spoke first:\n\n\"We beseech you, by Zeus the Beholder, whoever ye are, to be kindly and\nto help us in our need. For fierce tempests, falling on the sea, have\nshattered all the timbers of the crazy ship in which we were cleaving\nour path on business bent. Wherefore we entreat you, if haply ye will\nlisten, to grant us just a covering for our bodies, and to pity and\nsuccour men in misfortune, your equals in age. Oh, reverence suppliants\nand strangers for Zeus' sake, the god of strangers and suppliants. To\nZeus belong both suppliants and strangers; and his eye, methinks,\nbeholdeth even us.\"\n\nAnd in reply the son of Aeson prudently questioned him, deeming that the\nprophecies of Phineus were being fulfilled: \"All these things will we\nstraightway grant you with right good will. But come tell me truly in\nwhat country ye dwell and what business bids you sail across the sea,\nand tell me your own glorious names and lineage.\"\n\nAnd him Argus, helpless in his evil plight, addressed: \"That one Phrixus\nan Aeolid reached Aea from Hellas you yourselves have clearly heard ere\nthis, I trow; Phrixus, who came to the city of Aeetes, bestriding a ram,\nwhich Hermes had made all gold; and the fleece ye may see even now. The\nram, at its own prompting, he then sacrificed to Zeus, son of Cronos,\nabove all, the god of fugitives. And him did Aeetes receive in his\npalace, and with gladness of heart gave him his daughter Chalciope in\nmarriage without gifts of wooing.[1] From those two are we sprung. But\nPhrixus died at last, an aged man, in the home of Aeetes; and we, giving\nheed to our father's behests, are journeying to Orchomenus to take the\npossessions of Athamas. And if thou dost desire to learn our names, this\nis Cytissorus, this Phrontis, and this Melas, and me ye may call Argus.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. without exacting gifts from the bridegroom. So in the\nIliad (ix. 146) Agamemnon offers Achilles any of his three daughters\n[Greek: anhaednos]]\n\nThus he spake, and the chieftains rejoiced at the meeting, and tended\nthem, much marvelling. And Jason again in turn replied, as was fitting,\nwith these words:\n\n\"Surely ye are our kinsmen on my father's side, and ye pray that with\nkindly hearts we succour your evil plight. For Cretheus and Athamas were\nbrothers. I am the grandson of Cretheus, and with these comrades here I\nam journeying from that same Hellas to the city of Aeetes. But of these\nthings we will converse hereafter. And do ye first put clothing upon\nyou. By heaven's devising, I ween, have ye come to my hands in your sore\nneed.\"\n\nHe spake, and out of the ship gave them raiment to put on. Then all\ntogether they went to the temple of Ares to offer sacrifice of sheep;\nand in haste they stood round the altar, which was outside the roofless\ntemple, an altar built of pebbles; within a black stone stood fixed, a\nsacred thing, to which of yore the Amazons all used to pray. Nor was it\nlawful for them, when they came from the opposite coast, to burn on this\naltar offerings of sheep and oxen, but they used to slay horses which\nthey kept in great herds. Now when they had sacrificed and eaten the\nfeast prepared, then Aeson's son spake among them and thus began:\n\n\"Zeus' self, I ween, beholds everything; nor do we men escape his eye,\nwe that be god-fearing and just, for as he rescued your father from the\nhands of a murderous step-dame and gave him measureless wealth besides;\neven so hath he saved you harmless from the baleful storm. And on board\nthis ship ye may sail hither and thither, where ye will, whether to Aea\nor to the wealthy city of divine Orchomenus. For our ship Athena built\nand with axe of bronze cut her timbers near the crest of Pelion, and\nwith the goddess wrought Argus. But yours the fierce surge hath\nshattered, before ye came nigh to the rocks which all day long clash\ntogether in the straits of the sea. But come, be yourselves our helpers,\nfor we are eager to bring to Hellas the golden fleece, and guide us on\nour voyage, for I go to atone for the intended sacrifice of Phrixus, the\ncause of Zeus' wrath against the sons of Aeolus.\"\n\nHe spake with soothing words; but horror seized them when they heard.\nFor they deemed that they would not find Aeetes friendly if they desired\nto take away the ram's fleece. And Argus spake as follows, vexed that\nthey should busy themselves with such a quest:\n\n\"My friends, our strength, so far as it avails, shall never cease to\nhelp you, not one whit, when need shall come. But Aeetes is terribly\narmed with deadly ruthlessness; wherefore exceedingly do I dread this\nvoyage. And he boasts himself to be the son of Helios; and all round\ndwell countless tribes of Colchians; and he might match himself with\nAres in his dread war-cry and giant strength. Nay, to seize the fleece\nin spite of Aeetes is no easy task; so huge a serpent keeps guard round\nand about it, deathless and sleepless, which Earth herself brought forth\non the sides of Caucasus, by the rock of Typhaon, where Typhaon, they\nsay, smitten by the bolt of Zeus, son of Cronos, when he lifted against\nthe god his sturdy hands, dropped from his head hot gore; and in such\nplight he reached the mountains and plain of Nysa, where to this day he\nlies whelmed beneath the waters of the Serbonian lake.\"\n\nThus he spake, and straightway many a cheek grew pale when they heard of\nso mighty an adventure. But quickly Peleus answered with cheering words,\nand thus spake:\n\n\"Be not so fearful in spirit, my good friend. For we are not so lacking\nin prowess as to be no match for Aeetes to try his strength with arms;\nbut I deem that we too are cunning in war, we that go thither, near akin\nto the blood of the blessed gods. Wherefore if he will not grant us the\nfleece of gold for friendship's sake, the tribes of the Colchians will\nnot avail him, I ween.\"\n\nThus they addressed each other in turn, until again, satisfied with\ntheir feast, they turned to rest. And when they rose at dawn a gentle\nbreeze was blowing; and they raised the sails, which strained to the\nrush of the wind, and quickly they left behind the island of Ares.\n\nAnd at nightfall they came to the island of Philyra, where Cronos, son\nof Uranus, what time in Olympus he reigned over the Titans, and Zeus was\nyet being nurtured in a Cretan cave by the Curetes of Ida, lay beside\nPhilyra, when he had deceived Rhea; and the goddess found them in the\nmidst of their dalliance; and Cronos leapt up from the couch with a rush\nin the form of a steed with flowing mane, but Ocean's daughter, Philyra,\nin shame left the spot and those haunts, and came to the long Pelasgian\nridges, where by her union with the transfigured deity she brought forth\nhuge Cheiron, half like a horse, half like a god.\n\nThence they sailed on, past the Macrones and the far-stretching land of\nthe Becheiri and the overweening Sapeires, and after them the Byzeres;\nfor ever forward they clave their way, quickly borne by the gentle\nbreeze. And lo, as they sped on, a deep gulf of the sea was opened, and\nlo, the steep crags of the Caucasian mountains rose up, where, with his\nlimbs bound upon the hard rocks by galling fetters of bronze, Prometheus\nfed with his liver an eagle that ever rushed back to its prey. High\nabove the ship at even they saw it flying with a loud whirr, near the\nclouds; and yet it shook all the sails with the fanning of those huge\nwings. For it had not the form of a bird of the air but kept poising its\nlong wing-feathers like polished oars. And not long after they heard the\nbitter cry of Prometheus as his liver was being torn away; and the air\nrang with his screams until they marked the ravening eagle rushing back\nfrom the mountain on the self-same track. And at night, by the skill of\nArgus, they reached broad-flowing Phasis, and the utmost bourne of the\nsea.\n\nAnd straightway they let down the sails and the yard-arm and stowed them\ninside the hollow mast-crutch, and at once they lowered the mast itself\ntill it lay along; and quickly with oars they entered the mighty stream\nof the river; and round the prow the water surged as it gave them way.\nAnd on their left hand they had lofty Caucasus and the Cytaean city of\nAea, and on the other side the plain of Ares and the sacred grove of\nthat god, where the serpent was keeping watch and ward over the fleece\nas it hung on the leafy branches of an oak. And Aeson's son himself from\na golden goblet poured into the river libations of honey and pure wine\nto Earth and to the gods of the country, and to the souls of dead\nheroes; and he besought them of their grace to give kindly aid, and to\nwelcome their ship's hawsers with favourable omen. And straightway\nAncaeus spake these words:\n\n\"We have reached the Colchian land and the stream of Phasis; and it is\ntime for us to take counsel whether we shall make trial of Aeetes with\nsoft words, or an attempt of another kind shall be fitting.\"\n\nThus he spake, and by the advice of Argus Jason bade them enter a shaded\nbackwater and let the ship ride at anchor off shore; and it was near at\nhand in their course and there they passed the night. And soon the dawn\nappeared to their expectant eyes.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK III\n\n\nSUMMARY OF BOOK III\n\n     Invocation of the Muse, Erato (1-5).--Hera and Athena, after\n     consultation, visit Cypris to ask the aid of her son Eros on behalf\n     of the Argonauts (6-110).--Eros promises to pierce with an arrow\n     Medea, daughter of Aeetes: Jason lays his plans before his comrades\n     (111-209).--Arrival of Jason and a few chosen companions at the\n     palace of Aeetes, which is described: Eros performs his promise\n     (210-298).--Interview between Aeetes and the heroes: Jason\n     undertakes the task imposed by the king as the price of obtaining\n     the golden fleece (299-438).--Anguish of Medea because of her love\n     for Jason (439-470).--On the advice of Argus, it is decided to\n     apply for Medea's aid through Chalciope, mother of Argus and sister\n     of Medea (471-575).--Plans of Aeetes against the Argonauts\n     (576-608).--Medea promises Chalciope to aid her sons and their\n     companions (609-743)--After long hesitation Medea prepares to carry\n     magic drugs to Jason and goes with her attendants to meet him at\n     Hecate's temple (744-911).--Interview of Jason and Medea: return of\n     Medea to the palace (912-1162).--Aeetes hands over the dragons\n     teeth to Jason's messengers. Jason offers a nocturnal sacrifice to\n     Hecate (1163-1224).--Preparations of Jason: he yokes the fiery\n     bulls, sows the dragons teeth, and compels the giants who spring up\n     to slay one another, himself joining in the slaughter: the task is\n     accomplished (1225-1407).\n\n\n\nBOOK III\n\n\nCome now, Erato, stand by my side, and say next how Jason brought back\nthe fleece to Iolcus aided by the love of Medea. For thou sharest the\npower of Cypris, and by thy love-cares dost charm unwedded maidens;\nwherefore to thee too is attached a name that tells of love.\n\nThus the heroes, unobserved, were waiting in ambush amid the thick\nreed-beds; but Hera and Athena took note of them, and, apart from Zeus\nand the other immortals, entered a chamber and took counsel together;\nand Hera first made trial of Athena:\n\n\"Do thou now first, daughter of Zeus, give advice. What must be done?\nWilt thou devise some scheme whereby they may seize the golden fleece of\nAeetes and bear it to Hellas, or can they deceive the king with soft\nwords and so work persuasion? Of a truth he is terribly overweening.\nStill it is right to shrink from no endeavour.\"\n\nThus she spake, and at once Athena addressed her: \"I too was pondering\nsuch thoughts in my heart, Hera, when thou didst ask me outright. But\nnot yet do I think that I have conceived a scheme to aid the courage of\nthe heroes, though I have balanced many plans.\"\n\nShe ended, and the goddesses fixed their eyes on the ground at their\nfeet, brooding apart; and straightway Hera was the first to speak her\nthought: \"Come, let us go to Cypris; let both of us accost her and urge\nher to bid her son (if only he will obey) speed his shaft at the\ndaughter of Aeetes, the enchantress, and charm her with love for Jason.\nAnd I deem that by her device he will bring back the fleece to Hellas.\"\n\nThus she spake, and the prudent plan pleased Athena, and she addressed\nher in reply with gentle words:\n\n\"Hera, my father begat me to be a stranger to the darts of love, nor do\nI know any charm to work desire. But if the word pleases thee, surely I\nwill follow; but thou must speak when we meet her.\"\n\nSo she said, and starting forth they came to the mighty palace of\nCypris, which her husband, the halt-footed god, had built for her when\nfirst he brought her from Zeus to be his wife. And entering the court\nthey stood beneath the gallery of the chamber where the goddess prepared\nthe couch of Hephaestus. But he had gone early to his forge and anvils\nto a broad cavern in a floating island where with the blast of flame he\nwrought all manner of curious work; and she all alone was sitting\nwithin, on an inlaid seat facing the door. And her white shoulders on\neach side were covered with the mantle of her hair and she was parting\nit with a golden comb and about to braid up the long tresses; but when\nshe saw the goddesses before her, she stayed and called them within, and\nrose from her seat and placed them on couches. Then she herself sat\ndown, and with her hands gathered up the locks still uncombed. And\nsmiling she addressed them with crafty words:\n\n\"Good friends, what intent, what occasion brings you here after so long?\nWhy have ye come, not too frequent visitors before, chief among\ngoddesses that ye are?\"\n\nAnd to her Hera replied: \"Thou dost mock us, but our hearts are stirred\nwith calamity. For already on the river Phasis the son of Aeson moors\nhis ship, he and his comrades in quest of the fleece. For all their\nsakes we fear terribly (for the task is nigh at hand) but most for\nAeson's son. Him will I deliver, though he sail even to Hades to free\nIxion below from his brazen chains, as far as strength lies in my limbs,\nso that Pelias may not mock at having escaped an evil doom--Pelias who\nleft me unhonoured with sacrifice. Moreover Jason was greatly loved by\nme before, ever since at the mouth of Anaurus in flood, as I was making\ntrial of men's righteousness, he met me on his return from the chase;\nand all the mountains and long ridged peaks were sprinkled with snow,\nand from them the torrents rolling down were rushing with a roar. And he\ntook pity on me in the likeness of an old crone, and raising me on his\nshoulders himself bore me through the headlong tide. So he is honoured\nby me unceasingly; nor will Pelias pay the penalty of his outrage,\nunless thou wilt grant Jason his return.\"\n\nThus she spake, and speechlessness seized Cypris. And beholding Hera\nsupplicating her she felt awe, and then addressed her with friendly\nwords: \"Dread goddess, may no viler thing than Cypris ever be found, if\nI disregard thy eager desire in word or deed, whatever my weak arms can\neffect; and let there be no favour in return.\"\n\nShe spake, and Hera again addressed her with prudence: \"It is not in\nneed of might or of strength that we have come. But just quietly bid thy\nboy charm Aeetes' daughter with love for Jason. For if she will aid him\nwith her kindly counsel, easily do I think he will win the fleece of\ngold and return to Iolcus, for she is full of wiles.\"\n\nThus she spake, and Cypris addressed them both: \"Hera and Athena, he\nwill obey you rather than me. For unabashed though he is, there will be\nsome slight shame in his eyes before you: but he has no respect for me,\nbut ever slights me in contentious mood. And, overborne by his\nnaughtiness, I purpose to break his ill-sounding arrows and his bow in\nhis very sight. For in his anger he has threatened that if I shall not\nkeep my hands off him while he still masters his temper, I shall have\ncause to blame myself thereafter.\"\n\nSo she spake, and the goddesses smiled and looked at each other. But\nCypris again spoke, vexed at heart: \"To others my sorrows are a jest;\nnor ought I to tell them to all; I know them too well myself. But now,\nsince this pleases you both, I will make the attempt and coax him, and\nhe will not say me nay.\"\n\nThus she spake, and Hera took her slender hand and gently smiling,\nreplied: \"Perform this task, Cytherea, straightway, as thou sayest; and\nbe not angry or contend with thy boy; he will cease hereafter to vex\nthee.\"\n\nShe spake, and left her seat, and Athena accompanied her and they went\nforth both hastening back. And Cypris went on her way through the glens\nof Olympus to find her boy. And she found him apart, in the blooming\norchard of Zeus, not alone, but with him Ganymedes, whom once Zeus had\nset to dwell among the immortal gods, being enamoured of his beauty. And\nthey were playing for golden dice, as boys in one house are wont to do.\nAnd already greedy Eros was holding the palm of his left hand quite full\nof them under his breast, standing upright; and on the bloom of his\ncheeks a sweet blush was glowing. But the other sat crouching hard by,\nsilent and downcast, and he had two dice left which he threw one after\nthe other, and was angered by the loud laughter of Eros. And lo, losing\nthem straightway with the former, he went off empty-handed, helpless,\nand noticed not the approach of Cypris. And she stood before her boy,\nand laying her hand on his lips, addressed him:\n\n\"Why dost thou smile in triumph, unutterable rogue? Hast thou cheated\nhim thus, and unjustly overcome the innocent child? Come, be ready to\nperform for me the task I will tell thee of, and I will give thee Zeus'\nall-beauteous plaything--the one which his dear nurse Adrasteia made for\nhim, while he still lived a child, with childish ways, in the Idaean\ncave--a well-rounded ball; no better toy wilt thou get from the hands of\nHephaestus. All of gold are its zones, and round each double seams run\nin a circle; but the stitches are hidden, and a dark blue spiral\noverlays them all. But if thou shouldst cast it with thy hands, lo, like\na star, it sends a flaming track through the sky. This I will give thee;\nand do thou strike with thy shaft and charm the daughter of Aeetes with\nlove for Jason; and let there be no loitering. For then my thanks would\nbe the slighter.\"\n\nThus she spake, and welcome were her words to the listening boy. And he\nthrew down all his toys, and eagerly seizing her robe on this side and\non that, clung to the goddess. And he implored her to bestow the gift at\nonce; but she, facing him with kindly words, touched his cheeks, kissed\nhim and drew him to her, and replied with a smile:\n\n\"Be witness now thy dear head and mine, that surely I will give thee the\ngift and deceive thee not, if thou wilt strike with thy shaft Aeetes'\ndaughter.\"\n\nShe spoke, and he gathered up his dice, and having well counted them all\nthrew them into his mother's gleaming lap. And straightway with golden\nbaldric he slung round him his quiver from where it leant against a\ntree-trunk, and took up his curved bow. And he fared forth through the\nfruitful orchard of the palace of Zeus. Then he passed through the gates\nof Olympus high in air; hence is a downward path from heaven; and the\ntwin poles rear aloft steep mountain tops--the highest crests of earth,\nwhere the risen sun grows ruddy with his first beams. And beneath him\nthere appeared now the life-giving earth and cities of men and sacred\nstreams of rivers, and now in turn mountain peaks and the ocean all\naround, as he swept through the vast expanse of air.\n\nNow the heroes apart in ambush, in a back-water of the river, were met\nin council, sitting on the benches of their ship. And Aeson's son\nhimself was speaking among them; and they were listening silently in\ntheir places sitting row upon row: \"My friends, what pleases myself that\nwill I say out; it is for you to bring about its fulfilment. For in\ncommon is our task, and common to all alike is the right of speech; and\nhe who in silence withholds his thought and his counsel, let him know\nthat it is he alone that bereaves this band of its home-return. Do ye\nothers rest here in the ship quietly with your arms; but I will go to\nthe palace of Aeetes, taking with me the sons of Phrixus and two\ncomrades as well. And when I meet him I will first make trial with words\nto see if he will be willing to give up the golden fleece for\nfriendship's sake or not, but trusting to his might will set at nought\nour quest. For so, learning his frowardness first from himself, we will\nconsider whether we shall meet him in battle, or some other plan shall\navail us, if we refrain from the war-cry. And let us not merely by\nforce, before putting words to the test, deprive him of his own\npossession. But first it is better to go to him and win his favour by\nspeech. Oftentimes, I ween, does speech accomplish at need what prowess\ncould hardly carry through, smoothing the path in manner befitting. And\nhe once welcomed noble Phrixus, a fugitive from his stepmother's wiles\nand the sacrifice prepared by his father. For all men everywhere, even\nthe most shameless, reverence the ordinance of Zeus, god of strangers,\nand regard it.\"\n\nThus he spake, and the youths approved the words of Aeson's son with one\naccord, nor was there one to counsel otherwise. And then he summoned to\ngo with him the sons of Phrixus, and Telamon and Augeias; and himself\ntook Hermes' wand; and at once they passed forth from the ship beyond\nthe reeds and the water to dry land, towards the rising ground of the\nplain. The plain, I wis, is called Circe's; and here in line grow many\nwillows and osiers, on whose topmost branches hang corpses bound with\ncords. For even now it is an abomination with the Colchians to burn dead\nmen with fire; nor is it lawful to place them in the earth and raise a\nmound above, but to wrap them in untanned oxhides and suspend them from\ntrees far from the city. And so earth has an equal portion with air,\nseeing that they bury the women; for that is the custom of their land.\n\nAnd as they went Hera with friendly thought spread a thick mist through\nthe city, that they might fare to the palace of Aeetes unseen by the\ncountless hosts of the Colchians. But soon when from the plain they came\nto the city and Aeetes' palace, then again Hera dispersed the mist. And\nthey stood at the entrance, marvelling at the king's courts and the wide\ngates and columns which rose in ordered lines round the walls; and high\nup on the palace a coping of stone rested on brazen triglyphs. And\nsilently they crossed the threshold. And close by garden vines covered\nwith green foliage were in full bloom, lifted high in air. And beneath\nthem ran four fountains, ever-flowing, which Hephaestus had delved out.\nOne was gushing with milk, one with wine, while the third flowed with\nfragrant oil; and the fourth ran with water, which grew warm at the\nsetting of the Pleiads, and in turn at their rising bubbled forth from\nthe hollow rock, cold as crystal. Such then were the wondrous works that\nthe craftsman-god Hephaestus had fashioned in the palace of Cytaean\nAeetes. And he wrought for him bulls with feet of bronze, and their\nmouths were of bronze, and from them they breathed out a terrible flame\nof fire; moreover he forged a plough of unbending adamant, all in one\npiece, in payment of thanks to Helios, who had taken the god up in his\nchariot when faint from the Phlegraean fight.[1] And here an inner-court\nwas built, and round it were many well-fitted doors and chambers here\nand there, and all along on each side was a richly-wrought gallery. And\non both sides loftier buildings stood obliquely. In one, which was the\nloftiest, lordly Aeetes dwelt with his queen; and in another dwelt\nApsyrtus, son of Aeetes, whom a Caucasian nymph, Asterodeia, bare before\nhe made Eidyia his wedded wife, the youngest daughter of Tethys and\nOceanus. And the sons of the Colchians called him by the new name of\nPha\u00ebthon,[2] because he outshone all the youths. The other buildings the\nhandmaidens had, and the two daughters of Aeetes, Chalciope and Medea.\nMedea then [they found] going from chamber to chamber in search of her\nsister, for Hera detained her within that day; but beforetime she was\nnot wont to haunt the palace, but all day long was busied in Hecate's\ntemple, since she herself was the priestess of the goddess. And when she\nsaw them she cried aloud, and quickly Chalciope caught the sound; and\nher maids, throwing down at their feet their yarn and their thread,\nrushed forth all in a throng. And she, beholding her sons among them,\nraised her hands aloft through joy; and so they likewise greeted their\nmother, and when they saw her embraced her in their gladness; and she\nwith many sobs spoke thus:\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. the fight between the gods and the giants.]\n\n[Footnote 2: i.e. the Shining One.]\n\n\"After all then, ye were not destined to leave me in your heedlessness\nand to wander far; but fate has turned you back. Poor wretch that I am!\nWhat a yearning for Hellas from some woeful madness seized you at the\nbehest of your father Phrixus. Bitter sorrows for my heart did he ordain\nwhen dying. And why should ye go to the city of Orchomenus, whoever this\nOrchomenus is, for the sake of Athamas' wealth, leaving your mother\nalone to bear her grief?\"\n\nSuch were her words; and Aeetes came forth last of all and Eidyia\nherself came, the queen of Aeetes, on hearing the voice of Chalciope;\nand straightway all the court was filled with a throng. Some of the\nthralls were busied with a mighty bull, others with the axe were\ncleaving dry billets, and others heating with fire water for the baths;\nnor was there one who relaxed his toil, serving the king.\n\nMeantime Eros passed unseen through the grey mist, causing confusion, as\nwhen against grazing heifers rises the gadfly, which oxherds call the\nbreese. And quickly beneath the lintel in the porch he strung his bow\nand took from the quiver an arrow unshot before, messenger of pain. And\nwith swift feet unmarked he passed the threshold and keenly glanced\naround; and gliding close by Aeson's son he laid the arrow-notch on the\ncord in the centre, and drawing wide apart with both hands he shot at\nMedea; and speechless amazement seized her soul. But the god himself\nflashed back again from the high-roofed hall, laughing loud; and the\nbolt burnt deep down in the maiden's heart, like a flame; and ever she\nkept darting bright glances straight up at Aeson's son, and within her\nbreast her heart panted fast through anguish, all remembrance left her,\nand her soul melted with the sweet pain. And as a poor woman heaps dry\ntwigs round a blazing brand--a daughter of toil, whose task is the\nspinning of wool, that she may kindle a blaze at night beneath her roof,\nwhen she has waked very early--and the flame waxing wondrous great from\nthe small brand consumes all the twigs together; so, coiling round her\nheart, burnt secretly Love the destroyer; and the hue of her soft cheeks\nwent and came, now pale, now red, in her soul's distraction.\n\nNow when the thralls had laid a banquet ready before them, and they had\nrefreshed themselves with warm baths, gladly did they please their souls\nwith meat and drink. And thereafter Aeetes questioned the sons of his\ndaughter, addressing them with these words:\n\n\"Sons of my daughter and of Phrixus, whom beyond all strangers I\nhonoured in my halls, how have ye come returning back to Aea? Did some\ncalamity cut short your escape in the midst? Ye did not listen when I\nset before you the boundless length of the way. For I marked it once,\nwhirled along in the chariot of my father Helios, when he was bringing\nmy sister Circe to the western land and we came to the shore of the\nTyrrhenian mainland, where even now she abides, exceeding far from\nColchis. But what pleasure is there in words? Do ye tell me plainly what\nhas been your fortune, and who these men are, your companions, and where\nfrom your hollow ship ye came ashore.\"\n\nSuch were his questions, and Argus, before all his brethren, being\nfearful for the mission of Aeson's son, gently replied, for he was the\nelder-born:\n\n\"Aeetes, that ship forthwith stormy blasts tore asunder, and ourselves,\ncrouching on the beams, a wave drove on to the beach of the isle of\nEnyalius[1] in the murky night; and some god preserved us. For even the\nbirds of Ares that haunted the desert isle beforetime, not even them did\nwe find. But these men had driven them off, having landed from their\nship on the day before; and the will of Zeus taking pity on us, or some\nfate, detained them there, since they straightway gave us both food and\nclothing in abundance, when they heard the illustrious name of Phrixus\nand thine own; for to thy city are they faring. And if thou dost wish to\nknow their errand, I will not hide it from thee. A certain king,\nvehemently longing to drive this man far from his fatherland and\npossessions, because in might he outshone all the sons of Aeolus, sends\nhim to voyage hither on a bootless venture; and asserts that the stock\nof Aeolus will not escape the heart-grieving wrath and rage of\nimplacable Zeus, nor the unbearable curse and vengeance due for Phrixus,\nuntil the fleece comes back to Hellas. And their ship was fashioned by\nPallas Athena, not such a one as are the ships among the Colchians, on\nthe vilest of which we chanced. For the fierce waves and wind broke her\nutterly to pieces; but the other holds firm with her bolts, even though\nall the blasts should buffet her. And with equal swiftness she speedeth\nbefore the wind and when the crew ply the oar with unresting hands. And\nhe hath gathered in her the mightiest heroes of all Achaea, and hath\ncome to thy city from wandering far through cities and gulfs of the\ndread ocean, in the hope that thou wilt grant him the fleece. But as\nthou dost please, so shall it be, for he cometh not to use force, but is\neager to pay thee a recompense for the gift. He has heard from me of thy\nbitter foes the Sauromatae, and he will subdue them to thy sway. And if\nthou desirest to know their names and lineage I will tell thee all. This\nman on whose account the rest were gathered from Hellas, they call\nJason, son of Aeson, whom Cretheus begat. And if in truth he is of the\nstock of Cretheus himself, thus he would be our kinsman on the father's\nside. For Cretheus and Athamas were both sons of Aeolus; and Phrixus was\nthe son of Athamas, son of Aeolus. And here, if thou hast heard at all\nof the seed of Helios, thou dost behold Augeias; and this is Telamon\nsprung from famous Aeacus; and Zeus himself begat Aeacus. And so all the\nrest, all the comrades that follow him, are the sons or grandsons of the\nimmortals.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: A name of Ares.]\n\nSuch was the tale of Argus; but the king at his words was filled with\nrage as he heard; and his heart was lifted high in wrath. And he spake\nin heavy displeasure; and was angered most of all with the son of\nChalciope; for he deemed that on their account the strangers had come;\nand in his fury his eyes flashed forth beneath his brows:\n\n\"Begone from my sight, felons, straightway, ye and your tricks, from the\nland, ere someone see a fleece and a Phrixus to his sorrow. Banded\ntogether with your friends from Hellas, not for the fleece, but to seize\nmy sceptre and royal power have ye come hither. Had ye not first tasted\nof my table, surely would I have cut out your tongues and hewn off both\nhands and sent you forth with your feet alone, so that ye might be\nstayed from starting hereafter. And what lies have ye uttered against\nthe blessed gods!\"\n\nThus he spake in his wrath; and mightily from its depths swelled the\nheart of Aeacus' son, and his soul within longed to speak a deadly word\nin defiance, but Aeson's son checked him, for he himself first made\ngentle answer:\n\n\"Aeetes, bear with this armed band, I pray. For not in the way thou\ndeemest have we come to thy city and palace, no, nor yet with such\ndesires. For who would of his own will dare to cross so wide a sea for\nthe goods of a stranger? But fate and the ruthless command of a\npresumptuous king urged me. Grant a favour to thy suppliants, and to all\nHellas will I publish a glorious fame of thee; yea, we are ready now to\npay thee a swift recompense in war, whether it be the Sauromatae or some\nother people that thou art eager to subdue to thy sway.\"\n\nHe spake, flattering him with gentle utterance; but the king's soul\nbrooded a twofold purpose within him, whether he should attack and slay\nthem on the spot or should make trial of their might. And this, as he\npondered, seemed the better way, and he addressed Jason in answer:\n\n\"Stranger, why needest thou go through thy tale to the end? For if ye\nare in truth of heavenly race, or have come in no wise inferior to me,\nto win the goods of strangers, I will give thee the fleece to bear away,\nif thou dost wish, when I have tried thee. For against brave men I bear\nno grudge, such as ye yourselves tell me of him who bears sway in\nHellas. And the trial of your courage and might shall be a contest which\nI myself can compass with my hands, deadly though it be. Two bulls with\nfeet of bronze I have that pasture on the plain of Ares, breathing forth\nflame from their jaws; them do I yoke and drive over the stubborn field\nof Ares, four plough-gates; and quickly cleaving it with the share up to\nthe headland, I cast into the furrows for seed, not the corn of Demeter,\nbut the teeth of a dread serpent that grow up into the fashion of armed\nmen; them I slay at once, cutting them down beneath my spear as they\nrise against me on all sides. In the morning do I yoke the oxen, and at\neventide I cease from the harvesting. And thou, if thou wilt accomplish\nsuch deeds as these, on that very day shalt carry off the fleece to the\nking's palace; ere that time comes I will not give it, expect it not.\nFor indeed it is unseemly that a brave man should yield to a coward.\"\n\nThus he spake; and Jason, fixing his eyes on the ground, sat just as he\nwas, speechless, helpless in his evil plight. For a long time he turned\nthe matter this way and that, and could in no way take on him the task\nwith courage, for a mighty task it seemed; and at last he made reply\nwith crafty words:\n\n\"With thy plea of right, Aeetes, thou dost shut me in overmuch.\nWherefore also I will dare that contest, monstrous as it is, though it\nbe my doom to die. For nothing will fall upon men more dread than dire\nnecessity, which indeed constrained me to come hither at a king's\ncommand.\"\n\nThus he spake, smitten by his helpless plight; and the king with grim\nwords addressed him, sore troubled as he was: \"Go forth now to the\ngathering, since thou art eager for the toil; but if thou shouldst fear\nto lift the yoke upon the oxen or shrink from the deadly harvesting,\nthen all this shall be my care, so that another too may shudder to come\nto a man that is better than he.\"\n\nHe spake outright; and Jason rose from his seat, and Augeias and Telamon\nat once; and Argus followed alone, for he signed to his brothers to stay\nthere on the spot meantime; and so they went forth from the hall. And\nwonderfully among them all shone the son of Aeson for beauty and grace;\nand the maiden looked at him with stealthy glance, holding her bright\nveil aside, her heart smouldering with pain; and her soul creeping like\na dream flitted in his track as he went. So they passed forth from the\npalace sorely troubled. And Chalciope, shielding herself from the wrath\nof Aeetes, had gone quickly to her chamber with her sons. And Medea\nlikewise followed, and much she brooded in her soul all the cares that\nthe Loves awaken. And before her eyes the vision still appeared--himself\nwhat like he was, with what vesture he was clad, what things he spake,\nhow he sat on his seat, how he moved forth to the door--and as she\npondered she deemed there never was such another man; and ever in her\nears rung his voice and the honey-sweet words which he uttered. And she\nfeared for him, lest the oxen or Aeetes with his own hand should slay\nhim; and she mourned him as though already slain outright, and in her\naffliction a round tear through very grievous pity coursed down her\ncheek: and gently weeping she lifted up her voice aloud:\n\n\"Why does this grief come upon me, poor wretch? Whether he be the best\nof heroes now about to perish, or the worst, let him go to his doom. Yet\nI would that he had escaped unharmed; yea, may this be so, revered\ngoddess, daughter of Perses, may he avoid death and return home; but if\nit be his lot to be o'ermastered by the oxen, may he first learn this\nthat I at least do not rejoice in his cruel calamity.\"\n\nThus then was the maiden's heart racked by love-cares. But when the\nothers had gone forth from the people and the city, along the path by\nwhich at the first they had come from the plain, then Argus addressed\nJason with these words:\n\n\"Son of Aeson, thou wilt despise the counsel which I will tell thee,\nbut, though in evil plight, it is not fitting to forbear from the trial.\nEre now thou hast heard me tell of a maiden that uses sorcery under the\nguidance of Hecate, Perses' daughter. If we could win her aid there will\nbe no dread, methinks, of thy defeat in the contest; but terribly do I\nfear that my mother will not take this task upon her. Nevertheless I\nwill go back again to entreat her, for a common destruction overhangs us\nall.\"\n\nHe spake with goodwill, and Jason answered with these words: \"Good\nfriend, if this is good in thy sight, I say not nay. Go and move thy\nmother, beseeching her aid with prudent words; pitiful indeed is our\nhope when we have put our return in the keeping of women.\" So he spake,\nand quickly they reached the back-water. And their comrades joyfully\nquestioned them, when they saw them close at hand; and to them spoke\nAeson's son grieved at heart:\n\n\"My friends, the heart of ruthless Aeetes is utterly filled with wrath\nagainst us, for not at all can the goal be reached either by me or by\nyou who question me. He said that two bulls with feet of bronze pasture\non the plain of Ares, breathing forth flame from their jaws. And with\nthese he bade me plough the field, four plough-gates; and said that he\nwould give me from a serpent's jaws seed which will raise up earthborn\nmen in armour of bronze; and on the same day I must slay them. This\ntask--for there was nothing better to devise--I took on myself\noutright.\"\n\nThus he spake; and to all the contest seemed one that none could\naccomplish, and long, quiet and silent, they looked at one another,\nbowed down with the calamity and their despair; but at last Peleus spake\nwith courageous words among all the chiefs: \"It is time to be\ncounselling what we shall do. Yet there is not so much profit, I trow,\nin counsel as in the might of our hands. If thou then, hero son of\nAeson, art minded to yoke Aeetes' oxen, and art eager for the toil,\nsurely thou wilt keep thy promise and make thyself ready. But if thy\nsoul trusts not her prowess utterly, then neither bestir thyself nor sit\nstill and look round for some one else of these men. For it is not I who\nwill flinch, since the bitterest pain will be but death.\"\n\nSo spake the son of Aeacus; and Telamon's soul was stirred, and quickly\nhe started up in eagerness; and Idas rose up the third in his pride; and\nthe twin sons of Tyndareus; and with them Oeneus' son who was numbered\namong strong men, though even the soft down on his cheek showed not yet;\nwith such courage was his soul uplifted. But the others gave way to\nthese in silence. And straightway Argus spake these words to those that\nlonged for the contest:\n\n\"My friends, this indeed is left us at the last. But I deem that there\nwill come to you some timely aid from my mother. Wherefore, eager though\nye be, refrain and abide in your ship a little longer as before, for it\nis better to forbear than recklessly to choose an evil fate. There is a\nmaiden, nurtured in the halls of Aeetes, whom the goddess Hecate taught\nto handle magic herbs with exceeding skill--all that the land and\nflowing waters produce. With them is quenched the blast of unwearied\nflame, and at once she stays the course of rivers as they rush roaring\non, and checks the stars and the paths of the sacred moon. Of her we\nbethought us as we came hither along the path from the palace, if haply\nmy mother, her own sister, might persuade her to aid us in the venture.\nAnd if this is pleasing to you as well, surely on this very day will I\nreturn to the palace of Aeetes to make trial; and perchance with some\ngod's help shall I make the trial.\"\n\nThus he spake, and the gods in their goodwill gave them a sign. A\ntrembling dove in her flight from a mighty hawk fell from on high,\nterrified, into the lap of Aeson's son, and the hawk fell impaled on the\nstern-ornament. And quickly Mopsus with prophetic words spake among them\nall:\n\n\"For you, friends, this sign has been wrought by the will of heaven; in\nno other way is it possible to interpret its meaning better, than to\nseek out the maiden and entreat her with manifold skill. And I think she\nwill not reject our prayer, if in truth Phineus said that our return\nshould be with the help of the Cyprian goddess. It was her gentle bird\nthat escaped death; and as my heart within me foresees according to this\nomen, so may it prove! But, my friends, let us call on Cytherea to aid\nus, and now at once obey the counsels of Argus.\"\n\nHe spake, and the warriors approved, remembering the injunctions of\nPhineus; but all alone leapt up Aphareian Idas and shouted loudly in\nterrible wrath: \"Shame on us, have we come here fellow-voyagers with\nwomen, calling on Cypris for help and not on the mighty strength of\nEnyalius? And do ye look to doves and hawks to save yourselves from\ncontests? Away with you, take thought not for deeds of war, but by\nsupplication to beguile weakling girls.\"\n\nSuch were his eager words; and of his comrades many murmured low, but\nnone uttered a word of answer back. And he sat down in wrath; and at\nonce Jason roused them and uttered his own thought: \"Let Argus set forth\nfrom the ship, since this pleases all; but we will now move from the\nriver and openly fasten our hawsers to the shore. For surely it is not\nfitting for us to hide any longer cowering from the battle-cry.\"\n\nSo he spake, and straightway sent Argus to return in haste to the city;\nand they drew the anchors on board at the command of Aeson's son, and\nrowed the ship close to the shore, a little away from the back-water.\n\nBut straightway Aeetes held an assembly of the Colchians far aloof from\nhis palace at a spot where they sat in times before, to devise against\nthe Minyae grim treachery and troubles. And he threatened that when\nfirst the oxen should have torn in pieces the man who had taken upon him\nto perform the heavy task, he would hew down the oak grove above the\nwooded hill, and burn the ship and her crew, that so they might vent\nforth in ruin their grievous insolence, for all their haughty schemes.\nFor never would he have welcomed the Aeolid Phrixus as a guest in his\nhalls, in spite of his sore need, Phrixus, who surpassed all strangers\nin gentleness and fear of the gods, had not Zeus himself sent Hermes his\nmessenger down from heaven, so that he might meet with a friendly host;\nmuch less would pirates coming to his land be let go scatheless for\nlong, men whose care it was to lift their hands and seize the goods of\nothers, and to weave secret webs of guile, and harry the steadings of\nherdsmen with ill-sounding forays. And he said that besides all that the\nsons of Phrixus should pay a fitting penalty to himself for returning in\nconsort with evil-doers, that they might recklessly drive him from his\nhonour and his throne; for once he had heard a baleful prophecy from his\nfather Helios, that he must avoid the secret treachery and schemes of\nhis own offspring and their crafty mischief. Wherefore he was sending\nthem, as they desired, to the Achaean land at the bidding of their\nfather--a long journey. Nor had he ever so slight a fear of his\ndaughters, that they would form some hateful scheme, nor of his son\nApsyrtus; but this curse was being fulfilled in the children of\nChalciope. And he proclaimed terrible things in his rage against the\nstrangers, and loudly threatened to keep watch over the ship and its\ncrew, so that no one might escape calamity.\n\nMeantime Argus, going to Aeetes' palace, with manifold pleading besought\nhis mother to pray Medea's aid; and Chalciope herself already had the\nsame thoughts, but fear checked her soul lest haply either fate should\nwithstand and she should entreat her in vain, all distraught as she\nwould be at her father's deadly wrath, or, if Medea yielded to her\nprayers, her deeds should be laid bare and open to view.\n\nNow a deep slumber had relieved the maiden from her love-pains as she\nlay upon her couch. But straightway fearful dreams, deceitful, such as\ntrouble one in grief, assailed her. And she thought that the stranger\nhad taken on him the contest, not because he longed to win the ram's\nfleece, and that he had not come on that account to Aeetes' city, but to\nlead her away, his wedded wife, to his own home; and she dreamed that\nherself contended with the oxen and wrought the task with exceeding\nease; and that her own parents set at naught their promise, for it was\nnot the maiden they had challenged to yoke the oxen but the stranger\nhimself; from that arose a contention of doubtful issue between her\nfather and the strangers; and both laid the decision upon her, to be as\nshe should direct in her mind. But she suddenly, neglecting her parents,\nchose the stranger. And measureless anguish seized them and they shouted\nout in their wrath; and with the cry sleep released its hold upon her.\nQuivering with fear she started up, and stared round the walls of her\nchamber, and with difficulty did she gather her spirit within her as\nbefore, and lifted her voice aloud:\n\n\"Poor wretch, how have gloomy dreams affrighted me! I fear that this\nvoyage of the heroes will bring some great evil. My heart is trembling\nfor the stranger. Let him woo some Achaean girl fair away among his own\nfolk; let maidenhood be mine and the home of my parents. Yet, taking to\nmyself a reckless heart, I will no more keep aloof but will make trial\nof my sister to see if she will entreat me to aid in the contest,\nthrough grief for her own sons; this would quench the bitter pain in my\nheart.\"\n\nShe spake, and rising from her bed opened the door of her chamber,\nbare-footed, clad in one robe; and verily she desired to go to her\nsister, and crossed the threshold. And for long she stayed there at the\nentrance of her chamber, held back by shame; and she turned back once\nmore; and again she came forth from within, and again stole back; and\nidly did her feet bear her this way and that; yea, as oft as she went\nstraight on, shame held her within the chamber, and though held back by\nshame, bold desire kept urging her on. Thrice she made the attempt and\nthrice she checked herself, the fourth time she fell on her bed face\ndownward writhing in pain. And as when a bride in her chamber bewails\nher youthful husband, to whom her brothers and parents have given her,\nnor yet does she hold converse with all her attendants for shame and for\nthinking of him; but she sits apart in her grief; and some doom has\ndestroyed him, before they have had pleasure of each other's charms; and\nshe with heart on fire silently weeps, beholding her widowed couch, in\nfear lest the women should mock and revile her: like, to her did Medea\nlament. And suddenly as she was in the midst of her tears, one of the\nhandmaids came forth and noticed her, one who was her youthful\nattendant; and straightway she told Chalciope, who sat in the midst of\nher sons devising how to win over her sister. And when Chalciope heard\nthe strange tale from the handmaid, not even so did she disregard it.\nAnd she rushed in dismay from her chamber right on to the chamber where\nthe maiden lay in her anguish, having torn her cheeks on each side; and\nwhen Chalciope saw her eyes all dimmed with tears, she thus addressed\nher:\n\n\"Ah me, Medea, why dost thou weep so? What hath befallen thee? What\nterrible grief has entered thy heart? Has some heaven-sent disease\nenwrapt thy frame, or hast thou heard from our father some deadly threat\nconcerning me and my sons? Would that I did not behold this home of my\nparents, or the city, but dwelt at the ends of the earth, where not even\nthe name of Colchians is known!\"\n\nThus she spake, and her sister's cheeks flushed; and though she was\neager to reply, long did maiden shame restrain her. At one moment the\nword rose on the end of her tongue, at another it fluttered back deep\nwithin her breast. And often through her lovely lips it strove for\nutterance; but no sound came forth; till at last she spoke with guileful\nwords; for the bold Loves were pressing her hard:\n\n\"Chalciope, my heart is all trembling for thy sons, lest my father\nforthwith destroy them together with the strangers. Slumbering just now\nin a short-lived sleep such a ghastly dream did I see--may some god\nforbid its fulfilment and never mayst thou win for thyself bitter care\non thy sons' account.\"\n\nShe spake, making trial of her sister to see if she first would entreat\nhelp for her sons. And utterly unbearable grief surged over Chalciope's\nsoul for fear at what she heard; and then she replied: \"Yea, I myself\ntoo have come to thee in eager furtherance of this purpose, if thou\nwouldst haply devise with me and prepare some help. But swear by Earth\nand Heaven that thou wilt keep secret in thy heart what I shall tell\nthee, and be fellow-worker with me. I implore thee by the blessed gods,\nby thyself and by thy parents, not to see them destroyed by an evil doom\npiteously; or else may I die with my dear sons and come back hereafter\nfrom Hades an avenging Fury to haunt thee.\"\n\nThus she spake, and straightway a torrent of tears gushed forth, and low\ndown she clasped her sister's knees with both hands and let her head\nsink on to her breast. Then they both made piteous lamentation over each\nother, and through the halls rose the faint sound of women weeping in\nanguish. Medea, sore troubled, first addressed her sister:\n\n\"God help thee, what healing can I bring thee for what thou speakest of,\nhorrible curses and Furies? Would that it were firmly in my power to\nsave thy sons! Be witness that mighty oath of the Colchians by which\nthou urgest me to swear, the great Heaven, and Earth beneath, mother of\nthe gods, that as far as strength lies in me, never shalt thou fail of\nhelp, if only thy prayers can be accomplished.\"\n\nShe spake, and Chalciope thus replied: \"Couldst thou not then, for the\nstranger--who himself craves thy aid--devise some trick or some wise\nthought to win the contest, for the sake of my sons? And from him has\ncome Argus urging me to try to win thy help; I left him in the palace\nmeantime while I came hither.\"\n\nThus she spake, and Medea's heart bounded with joy within her, and at\nonce her fair cheeks flushed, and a mist swam before her melting eyes,\nand she spake as follows: \"Chalciope, as is dear and delightful to thee\nand thy sons, even so will I do. Never may the dawn appear again to my\neyes, never mayst thou see me living any longer, if I should take\nthought for anything before thy life or thy sons' lives, for they are my\nbrothers, my dear kinsmen and youthful companions. So do I declare\nmyself to be thy sister, and thy daughter too, for thou didst lift me to\nthy breast when an infant equally with them, as I ever heard from my\nmother in past days. But go, bury my kindness in silence, so that I may\ncarry out my promise unknown to my parents; and at dawn I will bring to\nHecate's temple charms to cast a spell upon the bulls.\"\n\nThus Chalciope went back from the chamber, and made known to her sons\nthe help given by her sister. And again did shame and hateful fear seize\nMedea thus left alone, that she should devise such deeds for a man in\nher father's despite.\n\nThen did night draw darkness over the earth; and on the sea sailors from\ntheir ships looked towards the Bear and the stars of Orion; and now the\nwayfarer and the warder longed for sleep, and the pall of slumber\nwrapped round the mother whose children were dead; nor was there any\nmore the barking of dogs through the city, nor sound of men's voices;\nbut silence held the blackening gloom. But not indeed upon Medea came\nsweet sleep. For in her love for Aeson's son many cares kept her\nwakeful, and she dreaded the mighty strength of the bulls, beneath whose\nfury he was like to perish by an unseemly fate in the field of Ares. And\nfast did her heart throb within her breast, as a sunbeam quivers upon\nthe walls of a house when flung up from water, which is just poured\nforth in a caldron or a pail may be; and hither and thither on the swift\neddy does it dart and dance along; even so the maiden's heart quivered\nin her breast. And the tear of pity flowed from her eyes, and ever\nwithin anguish tortured her, a smouldering fire through her frame, and\nabout her fine nerves and deep down beneath the nape of the neck where\nthe pain enters keenest, whenever the unwearied Loves direct against the\nheart their shafts of agony. And she thought now that she would give him\nthe charms to cast a spell on the bulls, now that she would not, and\nthat she herself would perish; and again that she would not perish and\nwould not give the charms, but just as she was would endure her fate in\nsilence. Then sitting down she wavered in mind and said:\n\n\"Poor wretch, must I toss hither and thither in woe? On every side my\nheart is in despair; nor is there any help for my pain; but it burneth\never thus. Would that I had been slain by the swift shafts of Artemis\nbefore I had set eyes on him, before Chalciope's sons reached the\nAchaean land. Some god or some Fury brought them hither for our grief, a\ncause of many tears. Let him perish in the contest if it be his lot to\ndie in the field. For how could I prepare the charms without my parents'\nknowledge? What story can I tell them? What trick, what cunning device\nfor aid can I find? If I see him alone, apart from his comrades, shall I\ngreet him? Ill-starred that I am! I cannot hope that I should rest from\nmy sorrows even though he perished; then will evil come to me when he is\nbereft of life. Perish all shame, perish all glory; may he, saved by my\neffort, go scatheless wherever his heart desires. But as for me, on the\nday when he bides the contest in triumph, may I die either straining my\nneck in the noose from the roof-tree or tasting drugs destructive of\nlife. But even so, when I am dead, they will fling out taunts against\nme; and every city far away will ring with my doom, and the Colchian\nwomen, tossing my name on their lips hither and thither, will revile me\nwith unseemly mocking--the maid who cared so much for a stranger that\nshe died, the maid who disgraced her home and her parents, yielding to a\nmad passion. And what disgrace will not be mine? Alas for my\ninfatuation! Far better would it be for me to forsake life this very\nnight in my chamber by some mysterious fate, escaping all slanderous\nreproach, before I complete such nameless dishonour.\"\n\nShe spake, and brought a casket wherein lay many drugs, some for\nhealing, others for killing, and placing it upon her knees she wept. And\nshe drenched her bosom with ceaseless tears, which flowed in torrents as\nshe sat, bitterly bewailing her own fate. And she longed to choose a\nmurderous drug to taste it, and now she was loosening the bands of the\ncasket eager to take it forth, unhappy maid! But suddenly a deadly fear\nof hateful Hades came upon her heart. And long she held back in\nspeechless horror, and all around her thronged visions of the pleasing\ncares of life. She thought of all the delightful things that are among\nthe living, she thought of her joyous playmates, as a maiden will; and\nthe sun grew sweeter than ever to behold, seeing that in truth her soul\nyearned for all. And she put the casket again from off her knees, all\nchanged by the prompting of Hera, and no more did she waver in purpose;\nbut longed for the rising dawn to appear quickly, that she might give\nhim the charms to work the spell as she had promised, and meet him face\nto face. And often did she loosen the bolts of her door, to watch for\nthe faint gleam: and welcome to her did the dayspring shed its light,\nand folk began to stir throughout the city.\n\nThen Argus bade his brothers remain there to learn the maiden's mind and\nplans, but himself turned back and went to the ship.\n\nNow soon as ever the maiden saw the light of dawn, with her hands she\ngathered up her golden tresses which were floating round her shoulders\nin careless disarray, and bathed her tear-stained cheeks, and made her\nskin shine with ointment sweet as nectar; and she donned a beautiful\nrobe, fitted with well-bent clasps, and above on her head, divinely\nfair, she threw a veil gleaming like silver. And there, moving to and\nfro in the palace, she trod the ground forgetful of the heaven-sent woes\nthronging round her and of others that were destined to follow. And she\ncalled to her maids. Twelve they were, who lay during the night in the\nvestibule of her fragrant chamber, young as herself, not yet sharing the\nbridal couch, and she bade them hastily yoke the mules to the chariot to\nbear her to the beauteous shrine of Hecate. Thereupon the handmaids were\nmaking ready the chariot; and Medea meanwhile took from the hollow\ncasket a charm which men say is called the charm of Prometheus. If a man\nshould anoint his body therewithal, having first appeased the Maiden,\nthe only-begotten, with sacrifice by night, surely that man could not be\nwounded by the stroke of bronze nor would he flinch from blazing fire;\nbut for that day he would prove superior both in prowess and in might.\nIt shot up first-born when the ravening eagle on the rugged flanks of\nCaucasus let drip to the earth the blood-like ichor[1] of tortured\nPrometheus. And its flower appeared a cubit above ground in colour like\nthe Corycian crocus, rising on twin stalks; but in the earth the root\nwas like newly-cut flesh. The dark juice of it, like the sap of a\nmountain-oak, she had gathered in a Caspian shell to make the charm\nwithal, when she had first bathed in seven ever-flowing streams, and had\ncalled seven times on Brimo, nurse of youth, night-wandering Brimo, of\nthe underworld, queen among the dead,--in the gloom of night, clad in\ndusky garments. And beneath, the dark earth shook and bellowed when the\nTitanian root was cut; and the son of Iapetus himself groaned, his soul\ndistraught with pain. And she brought the charm forth and placed it in\nthe fragrant band which engirdled her, just beneath her bosom, divinely\nfair. And going forth she mounted the swift chariot, and with her went\ntwo handmaidens on each side. And she herself took the reins and in her\nright hand the well-fashioned whip, and drove through the city; and the\nrest, the handmaids, laid their hands on the chariot behind and ran\nalong the broad highway; and they kilted up their light robes above\ntheir white knees. And even as by the mild waters of Parthenius, or\nafter bathing in the river Amnisus, Leto's daughter stands upon her\ngolden chariot and courses over the hills with her swift-footed roes, to\ngreet from afar some richly-steaming hecatomb; and with her come the\nnymphs in attendance, gathering, some at the spring of Amnisus itself,\nothers by the glens and many-fountained peaks; and round her whine and\nfawn the beasts cowering as she moves along: thus they sped through the\ncity; and on both sides the people gave way shunning the eyes of the\nroyal maiden. But when she had left the city's well paved streets, and\nwas approaching the shrine as she drove over the plains, then she\nalighted eagerly from the smooth-running chariot and spake as follows\namong her maidens:\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. the liquid that flows in the veins of gods.]\n\n\"Friends, verily have I sinned greatly and took no heed not to go among\nthe stranger-folk[1] who roam over our land. The whole city is smitten\nwith dismay; wherefore no one of the women who formerly gathered here\nday by day has now come hither. But since we have come and no one else\ndraws near, come, let us satisfy our souls without stint with soothing\nsong, and when we have plucked the fair flowers amid the tender grass,\nthat very hour will we return. And with many a gift shall ye reach home\nthis very day, if ye will gladden me with this desire of mine. For Argus\npleads with me, also Chalciope herself; but this that ye hear from me\nkeep silently in your hearts, lest the tale reach my father's ears. As\nfor yon stranger who took on him the task with the oxen, they bid me\nreceive his gifts and rescue him from the deadly contest. And I approved\ntheir counsel, and I have summoned him to come to my presence apart from\nhis comrades, so that we may divide the gifts among ourselves if he\nbring them in his hands, and in return may give him a baleful charm. But\nwhen he comes, do ye stand aloof.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: Or, reading [Greek: m\u00eanim], \"took no heed of the cause of\nwrath with the stranger-folk\"]\n\nSo she spake, and the crafty counsel pleased them all. And straightway\nArgus drew Aeson's son apart from his comrades as soon as he heard from\nhis brothers that Medea had gone at daybreak to the holy shrine of\nHecate, and led him over the plain; and with them went Mopsus, son of\nAmpycus, skilled to utter oracles from the appearance of birds, and\nskilled to give good counsel to those who set out on a journey.\n\nNever yet had there been such a man in the days of old, neither of all\nthe heroes of the lineage of Zeus himself, nor of those who sprung from\nthe blood of the other gods, as on that day the bride of Zeus made\nJason, both to look upon and to hold converse with. Even his comrades\nwondered as they gazed upon him, radiant with manifold graces; and the\nson of Ampycus rejoiced in their journey, already foreboding how all\nwould end.\n\nNow by the path along the plain there stands near the shrine a poplar\nwith its crown of countless leaves, whereon often chattering crows would\nroost. One of them meantime as she clapped her wings aloft in the\nbrandies uttered the counsels of Hera:\n\n\"What a pitiful seer is this, that has not the wit to conceive even what\nchildren know, how that no maiden will say a word of sweetness or love\nto a youth when strangers be near. Begone, sorry prophet, witless one;\non thee neither Cypris nor the gentle Loves breathe in their kindness.\"\n\nShe spake chiding, and Mopsus smiled to hear the god-sent voice of the\nbird, and thus addressed them: \"Do thou, son of Aeson, pass on to the\ntemple, where thou wilt find the maiden; and very kind will her greeting\nbe to thee through the prompting of Cypris, who will be thy helpmate in\nthe contest, even as Phineus, Agenor's son, foretold. But we two, Argus\nand I, will await thy return, apart in this very spot do thou all alone\nbe a suppliant and win her over with prudent words.\"\n\nHe spake wisely, and both at once gave approval. Nor was Medea's heart\nturned to other thoughts, for all her singing, and never a song that she\nessayed pleased her long in her sport. But in confusion she ever\nfaltered, nor did she keep her eyes resting quietly upon the throng of\nher handmaids; but to the paths far off she strained her gaze, turning\nher face aside. Oft did her heart sink fainting within Tier bosom\nwhenever she fancied she heard passing by the sound of a footfall or of\nthe wind. But soon he appeared to her longing eyes, striding along\nloftily, like Sirius coming from ocean, which rises fair and clear to\nsee, but brings unspeakable mischief to flocks; thus then did Aeson's\nson come to her, fair to see, but the sight of him brought love-sick\ncare. Her heart fell from out her bosom, and a dark mist came over her\neyes, and a hot blush covered her cheeks. And she had no strength to\nlift her knees backwards or forwards, but her feet beneath were rooted\nto the ground; and meantime all her handmaidens had drawn aside. So they\ntwo stood face to face without a word, without a sound, like oaks or\nlofty pines, which stand quietly side by side on the mountains when the\nwind is still; then again, when stirred by the breath of the wind, they\nmurmur ceaselessly; so they two were destined to tell out all their\ntale, stirred by the breath of Love. And Aeson's son saw that she had\nfallen into some heaven-sent calamity, and with soothing words thus\naddressed her:\n\n\"Why, pray, maiden, dost thou fear me so much, all alone as I am? Never\nwas I one of these idle boasters such as other men are--not even\naforetime, when I dwelt in my own country. Wherefore, maiden, be not too\nmuch abashed before me, either to enquire whatever thou wilt or to speak\nthy mind. But since we have met one another with friendly hearts, in a\nhallowed spot, where it is wrong to sin, speak openly and ask questions,\nand beguile me not with pleasing words, for at the first thou didst\npromise thy sister to give me the charms my heart desires. I implore\nthee by Hecate herself, by thy parents, and by Zeus who holds his\nguardian hand over strangers and suppliants; I come here to thee both a\nsuppliant and a stranger, bending the knee in my sore need. For without\nthee and thy sister never shall I prevail in the grievous contest. And\nto thee will I render thanks hereafter for thy aid, as is right and\nfitting for men who dwell far off, making glorious thy name and fame;\nand the rest of the heroes, returning to Hellas, will spread thy renown\nand so will the heroes' wives and mothers, who now perhaps are sitting\non the shore and making moan for us; their painful affliction thou\nmightest scatter to the winds. In days past the maiden Ariadne, daughter\nof Minos, with kindly intent rescued Theseus from grim contests--the\nmaiden whom Pasiphae daughter of Helios bare. But she, when Minos had\nlulled his wrath to rest, went aboard the ship with him and left her\nfatherland; and her even the immortal gods loved, and, as a sign in\nmid-sky, a crown of stars, which men call Ariadne's crown, rolls along\nall night among the heavenly constellations. So to thee too shall be\nthanks from the gods, if thou wilt save so mighty an array of\nchieftains. For surely from thy lovely form thou art like to excel in\ngentle courtesy.\"\n\nThus he spake, honouring her; and she cast her eyes down with a smile\ndivinely sweet; and her soul melted within her, uplifted by his praise,\nand she gazed upon him face to face; nor did she know what word to utter\nfirst, but was eager to pour out everything at once. And forth from her\nfragrant girdle ungrudgingly she brought out the charm; and he at once\nreceived it in his hands with joy. And she would even have drawn out all\nher soul from her breast and given it to him, exulting in his desire; so\nwonderfully did love flash forth a sweet flame from the golden head of\nAeson's son; and he captivated her gleaming eyes; and her heart within\ngrew warm, melting away as the dew melts away round roses when warmed by\nthe morning's light. And now both were fixing their eyes on the ground\nabashed, and again were throwing glances at each other, smiling with the\nlight of love beneath their radiant brows. And at last and scarcely then\ndid the maiden greet him:\n\n\"Take heed now, that I may devise help for thee. When at thy coming my\nfather has given thee the deadly teeth from the dragon's jaws for\nsowing, then watch for the time when the night is parted in twain, then\nbathe in the stream of the tireless river, and alone, apart from others,\nclad in dusky raiment, dig a rounded pit; and therein slay a ewe, and\nsacrifice it whole, heaping high the pyre on the very edge of the pit.\nAnd propitiate only-begotten Hecate, daughter of Perses, pouring from a\ngoblet the hive-stored labour of bees. And then, when thou hast\nheedfully sought the grace of the goddess, retreat from the pyre; and\nlet neither the sound of feet drive thee to turn back, nor the baying of\nhounds, lest haply thou shouldst maim all the rites and thyself fail to\nreturn duly to thy comrades. And at dawn steep this charm in water,\nstrip, and anoint thy body therewith as with oil; and in it there will\nbe boundless prowess and mighty strength, and thou wilt deem thyself a\nmatch not for men but for the immortal gods. And besides, let thy spear\nand shield and sword be sprinkled. Thereupon the spear-heads of the\nearthborn men shall not pierce thee, nor the flame of the deadly bulls\nas it rushes forth resistless. But such thou shalt be not for long, but\nfor that one day; still never flinch from the contest. And I will tell\nthee besides of yet another help. As soon as thou hast yoked the strong\noxen, and with thy might and thy prowess hast ploughed all the stubborn\nfallow, and now along the furrows the Giants are springing up, when the\nserpent's teeth are sown on the dusky clods, if thou markest them\nuprising in throngs from the fallow, cast unseen among them a massy\nstone; and they over it, like ravening hounds over their food, will slay\none another; and do thou thyself hasten to rush to the battle-strife,\nand the fleece thereupon thou shalt bear far away from Aea;\nnevertheless, depart wherever thou wilt, or thy pleasure takes thee,\nwhen thou hast gone hence.\"\n\nThus she spake, and cast her eyes to her feet in silence, and her cheek,\ndivinely fair, was wet with warm tears as she sorrowed for that he was\nabout to wander far from her side over the wide sea: and once again she\naddressed him face to face with mournful words, and took his right hand;\nfor now shame had left her eyes:\n\n\"Remember, if haply thou returnest to thy home, Medea's name; and so\nwill I remember thine, though thou be far away. And of thy kindness tell\nme this, where is thy home, whither wilt thou sail hence in thy ship\nover the sea; wilt thou come near wealthy Orchomenus, or near the Aeaean\nisle? And tell me of the maiden, whosoever she be that thou hast named,\nthe far-renowned daughter of Pasiphae, who is kinswoman to my father.\"\n\nThus she spake; and over him too, at the tears of the maiden, stole Love\nthe destroyer, and he thus answered her:\n\n\"All too surely do I deem that never by night and never by day will I\nforget thee if I escape death and indeed make my way in safety to the\nAchaean land, and Aeetes set not before us some other contest worse than\nthis. And if it pleases thee to know about my fatherland, I will tell it\nout; for indeed my own heart bids me do that. There is a land encircled\nby lofty mountains, rich in sheep and in pasture, where Prometheus, son\nof Iapetus, begat goodly Deucalion, who first founded cities and reared\ntemples to the immortal gods, and first ruled Over men. This land the\nneighbours who dwell around call Haemonia. And in it stands Iolcus, my\ncity, and in it many others, where they have not so much as heard the\nname of the Aeaean isle; yet there is a story that Minyas starting\nthence, Minyas son of Aeolus, built long ago the city of Orchomenus that\nborders on the Cadmeians. But why do I tell thee all this vain talk, of\nour home and of Minos' daughter, far-famed Ariadne, by which glorious\nname they called that lovely maiden of whom thou askest me? Would that,\nas Minos then was well inclined to Theseus for her sake, so may thy\nfather be joined to us in friendship!\"\n\nThus he spake, soothing her with gentle converse. But pangs most bitter\nstirred her heart and in grief did she address him with vehement words:\n\n\"In Hellas, I ween, this is fair--to pay heed to covenants; but Aeetes\nis not such a man among men as thou sayest was Pasiphae's husband,\nMinos; nor can I liken myself to Ariadne; wherefore speak not of\nguest-love. But only do thou, when thou hast reached Iolcus, remember\nme, and thee even in my parents' despite, will I remember. And from far\noff may a rumour come to me or some messenger-bird, when thou forgettest\nme; or me, even me, may swift blasts catch up and bear over the sea\nhence to Iolcus, that so I may cast reproaches in thy face and remind\nthee that it was by my good will thou didst escape. May I then be seated\nin thy halls, an unexpected guest!\"\n\nThus she spake with piteous tears falling down her cheeks, and to her\nJason replied: \"Let the empty blasts wander at will, lady, and the\nmessenger-bird, for vain is thy talk. But if thou comest to those abodes\nand to the land of Hellas, honoured and reverenced shalt thou be by\nwomen and men; and they shall worship thee even as a goddess, for that\nby thy counsel their sons came home again, their brothers and kinsmen,\nand stalwart husbands were saved from calamity. And in our bridal\nchamber shalt thou prepare our couch; and nothing shall come between our\nlove till the doom of death fold us round.\"\n\nThus he spake; and her soul melted within her to hear his words;\nnevertheless she shuddered to behold the deeds of destruction to come.\nPoor wretch! Not long was she destined to refuse a home in Hellas. For\nthus Hera devised it, that Aeaean Medea might come to Iolcus for a bane\nto Pelias, forsaking her native land.\n\nAnd now her handmaids, glancing at them from a distance, were grieving\nin silence; and the time of day required that the maiden should return\nhome to her mother's side. But she thought not yet of departing, for her\nsoul delighted both in his beauty and in his winsome words, but Aeson's\nson took heed, and spake at last, though late: \"It is time to depart,\nlest the sunlight sink before we know it, and some stranger notice all;\nbut again will we come and meet here.\"\n\nSo did they two make trial of one another thus far with gentle words;\nand thereafter parted. Jason hastened to return in joyous mood to his\ncomrades and the ship, she to her handmaids; and they all together came\nnear to meet her, but she marked them not at all as they thronged\naround. For her soul had soared aloft amid the clouds. And her feet of\ntheir own accord mounted the swift chariot, and with one hand she took\nthe reins, and with the other the whip of cunning workmanship, to drive\nthe mules; and they rushed hasting to the city and the palace. And when\nshe was come Chalciope in grief for her sons questioned her; but Medea,\ndistraught by swiftly-changing thoughts, neither heard her words nor was\neager to speak in answer to her questions. But she sat upon a low stool\nat the foot of her couch, bending down, her cheek leaning on her left\nhand, and her eyes were wet with tears as she pondered what an evil deed\nshe had taken part in by her counsels.\n\nNow when Aeson's son had joined his comrades again in the spot where he\nhad left them when he departed, he set out to go with them, telling them\nall the story, to the gathering of the heroes; and together they\napproached the ship. And when they saw Jason they embraced him and\nquestioned him. And he told to all the counsels of the maiden and showed\nthe dread charm; but Idas alone of his comrades sat apart biting down\nhis wrath; and the rest joyous in heart, at the hour when the darkness\nof night stayed them, peacefully took thought for themselves. But at\ndaybreak they sent two men to go to Aeetes and ask for the seed, first\nTelamon himself, dear to Ares, and with him Aethalides, Hermes' famous\nson. So they went and made no vain journey; but when they came, lordly\nAeetes gave them for the contest the fell teeth of the Aonian dragon\nwhich Cadmus found in Ogygian Thebes when he came seeking for Europa and\nthere slew--the warder of the spring of Ares. There he settled by the\nguidance of the heifer whom Apollo by his prophetic word granted him to\nlead him on his way. But the teeth the Tritonian goddess tore away from\nthe dragon's jaws and bestowed as a gift upon Aeetes and the slayer. And\nAgenor's son, Cadmus, sowed them on the Aonian plains and founded an\nearthborn people of all who were left from the spear when Ares did the\nreaping; and the teeth Aeetes then readily gave to be borne to the ship,\nfor he deemed not that Jason would bring the contest to an end, even\nthough he should cast the yoke upon the oxen.\n\nFar away in the west the sun was sailing beneath the dark earth, beyond\nthe furthest hills of the Aethiopians; and Night was laying the yoke\nupon her steeds; and the heroes were preparing their beds by the\nhawsers. But Jason, as soon as the stars of Helice, the bright-gleaming\nbear, had set, and the air had all grown still under heaven, went to a\ndesert spot, like some stealthy thief, with all that was needful; for\nbeforehand in the daytime had he taken thought for everything; and Argus\ncame bringing a ewe and milk from the flock; and them he took from the\nship. But when the hero saw a place which was far away from the tread of\nmen, in a clear meadow beneath the open sky, there first of all he\nbathed his tender body reverently in the sacred river; and round him he\nplaced a dark robe, which Hypsipyle of Lemnos had given him aforetime, a\nmemorial of many a loving embrace. Then he dug a pit in the ground of a\ncubit's depth and heaped up billets of wood, and over it he cut the\nthroat of the sheep, and duly placed the carcase above; and he kindled\nthe logs placing fire beneath, and poured over them mingled libations,\ncalling on Hecate Brimo to aid him in the contests. And when he had\ncalled on her he drew back; and she heard him, the dread goddess, from\nthe uttermost depths and came to the sacrifice of Aeson's son; and round\nher horrible serpents twined themselves among the oak boughs; and there\nwas a gleam of countless torches; and sharply howled around her the\nhounds of hell. All the meadows trembled at her step; and the nymphs\nthat haunt the marsh and the river shrieked, all who dance round that\nmead of Amarantian Phasis. And fear seized Aeson's son, but not even so\ndid he turn round as his feet bore him forth, till he came back to his\ncomrades; and now early dawn arose and shed her light above snowy\nCaucasus.\n\nThen Aeetes arrayed his breast in the stiff corslet which Ares gave him\nwhen he had slain Phlegraean Mimas with his own hands; and upon his head\nhe placed a golden helmet with four plumes, gleaming like the sun's\nround light when he first rises from Ocean. And he wielded his shield of\nmany hides, and his spear, terrible, resistless; none of the heroes\ncould have withstood its shock now that they had left behind Heracles\nfar away, who alone could have met it in battle. For the king his\nwell-fashioned chariot of swift steeds was held near at hand by\nPhaethon, for him to mount; and he mounted, and held the reins in his\nhands. Then from the city he drove along the broad highway, that he\nmight be present at the contest; and with him countless multitude rushed\nforth. And as Poseidon rides, mounted in his chariot, to the Isthmian\ncontest or to Taenarus, or to Lerna's water, or through the grove of\nHyantian Onchestus, and thereafter passes even to Calaureia with his\nsteeds, and the Haemonian rock or well-wooded Geraestus; even so was\nAeetes, lord of the Colchians, to behold.\n\nMeanwhile, prompted by Medea, Jason steeped the charm in water and\nsprinkled with it his shield and sturdy spear, and sword; and his\ncomrades round him made proof of his weapons with might and main, but\ncould not bend that spear even a little, but it remained firm in their\nstalwart hands unbroken as before. But in furious rage with them Idas,\nAphareus' son, with his great sword hewed at the spear near the butt,\nand the edge leapt back repelled by the shock, like a hammer from the\nanvil; and the heroes shouted with joy for their hope in the contest.\nAnd then he sprinkled his body, and terrible prowess entered into him,\nunspeakable, dauntless; and his hands on both sides thrilled vigorously\nas they swelled with strength. And as when a warlike steed eager for the\nfight neighs and beats the ground with his hoof, while rejoicing he\nlifts his neck on high with ears erect; in such wise did Aeson's son\nrejoice in the strength of his limbs. And often hither and thither did\nhe leap high in air tossing in his hands his shield of bronze and ashen\nspear. Thou wouldst say that wintry lightning flashing from the gloomy\nsky kept on darting forth from the clouds what time they bring with them\ntheir blackest rainstorm. Not long after that were the heroes to hold\nback from the contests; but sitting in rows on their benches they sped\nswiftly on to the plain of Ares. And it lay in front of them on the\nopposite side of the city, as far off as is the turning-post that a\nchariot must reach from the starting-point, when the kinsmen of a dead\nking appoint funeral games for footmen and horsemen. And they found\nAeetes and the tribes of the Colchians; these were stationed on the\nCaucasian heights, but the king by the winding brink of the river.\n\nNow Aeson's son, as soon as his comrades had made the hawsers fast,\nleapt from the ship, and with spear and shield came forth to the\ncontest; and at the same time he took the gleaming helmet of bronze\nfilled with sharp teeth, and his sword girt round his shoulders, his\nbody stripped, in somewise resembling Ares and in somewise Apollo of the\ngolden sword. And gazing over the field he saw the bulls' yoke of bronze\nand near it the plough, all of one piece, of stubborn adamant. Then he\ncame near, and fixed his sturdy spear upright on its butt, and taking\nhis helmet off leant it against the spear. And he went forward with\nshield alone to examine the countless tracks of the bulls, and they from\nsome unseen lair beneath the earth, where was their strong steading,\nwrapt in murky smoke, both rushed out together, breathing forth flaming\nfire. And sore afraid were the heroes at the sight. But Jason, setting\nwide his feet, withstood their onset, as in the sea a rocky reef\nwithstands the waves tossed by the countless blasts. Then in front of\nhim he held his shield; and both the bulls with loud bellowing attacked\nhim with their mighty horns; nor did they stir him a jot by their onset.\nAnd as when through the holes of the furnace the armourers' bellows anon\ngleam brightly, kindling the ravening flame, and anon cease from\nblowing, and a terrible roar rises from the fire when it darts up from\nbelow; so the bulls roared, breathing forth swift flame from their\nmouths, while the consuming heat played round him, smiting like\nlightning; but the maiden's charms protected him. Then grasping the tip\nof the horn of the right-hand bull, he dragged it mightily with all his\nstrength to bring it near the yoke of bronze, and forced it down on to\nits knees, suddenly striking with his foot the foot of bronze. So also\nhe threw the other bull on to its knees as it rushed upon him, and smote\nit down with one blow. And throwing to the ground his broad shield, he\nheld them both down where they had fallen on their fore-knees, as he\nstrode from side to side, now here, now there, and rushed swiftly\nthrough the flame. But Aeetes marvelled at the hero's might. And\nmeantime the sons of Tyndareus--for long since had it been thus ordained\nfor them--near at hand gave him the yoke from the ground to cast round\nthem. Then tightly did he bind their necks; and lifting the pole of\nbronze between them, he fastened it to the yoke by its golden tip. So\nthe twin heroes started back from the fire to the ship. But Jason took\nup again his shield and cast it on his back behind him, and grasped the\nstrong helmet filled with sharp teeth, and his resistless spear,\nwherewith, like some ploughman with a Pelasgian goad, he pricked the\nbulls beneath, striking their flanks; and very firmly did he guide the\nwell fitted plough handle, fashioned of adamant.\n\nThe bulls meantime raged exceedingly, breathing forth furious flame of\nfire; and their breath rose up like the roar of blustering winds, in\nfear of which above all seafaring men furl their large sail. But not\nlong after that they moved on at the bidding of the spear; and behind\nthem the rugged fallow was broken up, cloven by the might of the bulls\nand the sturdy ploughman. Then terribly groaned the clods withal along\nthe furrows of the plough as they were rent, each a man's burden; and\nJason followed, pressing down the cornfield with firm foot; and far from\nhim he ever sowed the teeth along the clods as each was ploughed,\nturning his head back for fear lest the deadly crop of earthborn men\nshould rise against him first; and the bulls toiled onwards treading\nwith their hoofs of bronze.\n\nBut when the third part of the day was still left as it wanes from dawn,\nand wearied labourers call for the sweet hour of unyoking to come to\nthem straightway, then the fallow was ploughed by the tireless\nploughman, four plough-gates though it was; and he loosed the plough\nfrom the oxen. Them he scared in flight towards the plain; but he went\nback again to the ship, while he still saw the furrows free of the\nearthborn men. And all round his comrades heartened him with their\nshouts. And in the helmet he drew from the river's stream and quenched\nhis thirst with the water. Then he bent his knees till they grew supple,\nand filled his mighty heart with courage, raging like a boar, when it\nsharpens its teeth against the hunters, while from its wrathful mouth\nplenteous foam drips to the ground. By now the earthborn men were\nspringing up over all the field; and the plot of Ares, the death-dealer,\nbristled with sturdy shields and double-pointed spears and shining\nhelmets; and the gleam reached Olympus from beneath, flashing through\nthe air. And as when abundant snow has fallen on the earth and the storm\nblasts have dispersed the wintry clouds under the murky night, and all\nthe hosts of the stars appear shining through the gloom; so did those\nwarriors shine springing up above the earth. But Jason bethought him of\nthe counsels of Medea full of craft, and seized from the plain a huge\nround boulder, a terrible quoit of Ares Enyalius; four stalwart youths\ncould not have raised it from the ground even a little. Taking it in his\nhands he threw it with a rush far away into their midst; and himself\ncrouched unseen behind his shield, with full confidence. And the\nColchians gave a loud cry, like the roar of the sea when it beats upon\nsharp crags; and speechless amazement seized Aeetes at the rush of the\nsturdy quoit. And the Earthborn, like fleet-footed hounds, leaped upon\none another and slew with loud yells; and on earth their mother they\nfell beneath their own spears, likes pines or oaks, which storms of wind\nbeat down. And even as a fiery star leaps from heaven, trailing a furrow\nof light, a portent to men, whoever see it darting with a gleam through\nthe dusky sky; in such wise did Aeson's son rush upon the earthborn men,\nand he drew from the sheath his bare sword, and smote here and there,\nmowing them down, many on the belly and side, half risen to the air--and\nsome that had risen as far as the shoulders--and some just standing\nupright, and others even now rushing to battle. And as when a fight is\nstirred up concerning boundaries, and a husbandman, in fear lest they\nshould ravage his fields, seizes in his hand a curved sickle, newly\nsharpened, and hastily cuts the unripe crop, and waits not for it to be\nparched in due season by the beams of the sun; so at that time did Jason\ncut down the crop of the Earthborn; and the furrows were filled with\nblood, as the channels of a spring with water. And they fell, some on\ntheir faces biting the rough clod of earth with their teeth, some on\ntheir backs, and others on their hands and sides, like to sea-monsters\nto behold. And many, smitten before raising their feet from the earth,\nbowed down as far to the ground as they had risen to the air, and rested\nthere with the damp of death on their brows. Even so, I ween, when Zeus\nhas sent a measureless rain, new planted orchard-shoots droop to the\nground, cut off by the root--the toil of gardening men; but heaviness of\nheart and deadly anguish come to the owner of the farm, who planted\nthem; so at that time did bitter grief come upon the heart of King\nAeetes. And he went back to the city among the Colchians, pondering how\nhe might most quickly oppose the heroes. And the day died, and Jason's\ncontest was ended.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK IV\n\n\nSUMMARY OF BOOK IV\n\n     Invocation of the Muse (1-5).--Grief of Medea, who flies from the\n     palace during the night and joins the Argonauts (6-91).--By the aid\n     of Medea, Jason seizes and carries off the golden fleece, after\n     which the Argonauts depart (92-211).--Pursued by the Colchians,\n     they land in Paphlagonia, where Argus shows them the route to take\n     (212-293).--The Argonauts sail up the Ister, by a branch of which\n     they make their way into the Adriatic, where they find their\n     progress barred by the Colchians, who had come by a shorter route\n     (294-337).--Agreement between the Argonauts and the Colchians:\n     Medea's reproaches to Jason (338-451).--Murder of Apsyrtus by\n     Jason: the Colchians give up the pursuit (452-551).--The Argonauts\n     sail along the Eridanus into the Rhone, and reach the abode of\n     Circe in Italy (552-684).--Jason and Medea are purified by Circe:\n     the Argonauts pass the isle of the Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, and\n     the Planctae (685-981).--Arrival among the Phaeacians: here other\n     Colchians reclaim Medea, and, to prevent her surrender, her\n     marriage with Jason is celebrated (982-1169).--Departure of the\n     Argonauts, who are driven by a storm on to the Syrtes: they carry\n     Argo on their shoulders to the Tritonian lake (1170-1484).--Deaths\n     of Canthus and Mopsus (1485-1536).--The god Triton conducts Argo\n     from the lake into the sea (1537-1637).--Episode of the giant Talos\n     in Crete (1638-1693).--Arrival at the isle Anaphe: the dream of\n     Euphemus, which is interpreted by Jason: arrival at Aegina and at\n     Pagasae, the end of the voyage (1694-1781).\n\n\nBOOK IV\n\n\nNow do thou thyself, goddess Muse, daughter of Zeus, tell of the labour\nand wiles of the Colchian maiden. Surely my soul within me wavers with\nspeechless amazement as I ponder whether I should call it the lovesick\ngrief of mad passion or a panic flight, through which she left the\nColchian folk.\n\nAeetes all night long with the bravest captains of his people was\ndevising in his halls sheer treachery against the heroes, with fierce\nwrath in his heart at the issue of the hateful contest; nor did he deem\nat all that these things were being accomplished without the knowledge\nof his daughters.\n\nBut into Medea's heart Hera cast most grievous fear; and she trembled\nlike a nimble fawn whom the baying of hounds hath terrified amid the\nthicket of a deep copse. For at once she truly forboded that the aid she\nhad given was not hidden from her father, and that quickly she would\nfill up the cup of woe. And she dreaded the guilty knowledge of her\nhandmaids; her eyes were filled with fire and her ears rung with a\nterrible cry. Often did she clutch at her throat, and often did she drag\nout her hair by the roots and groan in wretched despair. There on that\nvery day the maiden would have tasted the drugs and perished and so have\nmade void the purposes of Hera, had not the goddess driven her, all\nbewildered, to flee with the sons of Phrixus; and her fluttering soul\nwithin her was comforted; and then she poured from her bosom all the\ndrugs back again into the casket. Then she kissed her bed, and the\nfolding-doors on both sides, and stroked the walls, and tearing away in\nher hands a long tress of hair, she left it in the chamber for her\nmother, a memorial of her maidenhood, and thus lamented with passionate\nvoice:\n\n\"I go, leaving this long tress here in my stead, O mother mine; take\nthis farewell from me as I go far hence; farewell Chalciope, and all my\nhome. Would that the sea, stranger, had dashed thee to pieces, ere thou\nearnest to the Colchian land!\"\n\nThus she spake, and from her eyes shed copious tears. And as a bondmaid\nsteals away from a wealthy house, whom fate has lately severed from her\nnative land, nor yet has she made trial of grievous toil, but still\nunschooled to misery and shrinking in terror from slavish tasks, goes\nabout beneath the cruel hands of a mistress; even so the lovely maiden\nrushed forth from her home. But to her the bolts of the doors gave way\nself-moved, leaping backwards at the swift strains of her magic song.\nAnd with bare feet she sped along the narrow paths, with her left hand\nholding her robe over her brow to veil her face and fair cheeks, and\nwith her right lifting up the hem of her tunic. Quickly along the dark\ntrack, outside the towers of the spacious city, did she come in fear;\nnor did any of the warders note her, but she sped on unseen by them.\nThence she was minded to go to the temple; for well she knew the way,\nhaving often aforetime wandered there in quest of corpses and noxious\nroots of the earth, as a sorceress is wont to do; and her soul fluttered\nwith quivering fear. And the Titanian goddess, the moon, rising from a\nfar land, beheld her as she fled distraught, and fiercely exulted over\nher, and thus spake to her own heart:\n\n\"Not I alone then stray to the Latmian cave, nor do I alone burn with\nlove for fair Endymion; oft times with thoughts of love have I been\ndriven away by thy crafty spells, in order that in the darkness of night\nthou mightest work thy sorcery at ease, even the deeds dear to thee. And\nnow thou thyself too hast part in a like mad passion; and some god of\naffliction has given thee Jason to be thy grievous woe. Well, go on, and\nsteel thy heart, wise though thou be, to take up thy burden of pain,\nfraught with many sighs.\"\n\n\"Thus spake the goddess; but swiftly the maiden's feet bore her, hasting\non. And gladly did she gain the high bank of the river and beheld on the\nopposite side the gleam of fire, which all night long the heroes were\nkindling in joy at the contest's issue. Then through the gloom, with\nclear-pealing voice from across the stream, she called on Phrontis, the\nyoungest of Phrixus' sons, and he with his brothers and Aeson's son\nrecognised the maiden's _voice_; and in silence his comrades wondered\nwhen they knew that it was so in truth. Thrice she called, and thrice at\nthe bidding of the company Phrontis called out in reply; and meantime\nthe heroes were rowing with swift-moving oars in search of her. Not yet\nwere they casting the ship's hawsers upon the opposite bank, when Jason\nwith light feet leapt to land from the deck above, and after him\nPhrontis and Argus, sons of Phrixus, leapt to the ground; and she,\nclasping their knees with both hands, thus addressed them:\n\n\"Save me, the hapless one, my friends, from Aeetes, and yourselves too,\nfor all is brought to light, nor doth any remedy come. But let us flee\nupon the ship; before the king mounts his swift chariot. And I will lull\nto sleep the guardian serpent and give you the fleece of gold; but do\nthou, stranger, amid thy comrades make the gods witness of the vows thou\nhast taken on thyself for my sake; and now that I have fled far from my\ncountry, make me not a mark for blame and dishonour for want of\nkinsmen.\"\n\nShe spake in anguish; but greatly did the heart of Aeson's son rejoice,\nand at once, as she fell at his knees, he raised her gently and embraced\nher, and spake words of comfort: \"Lady, let Zeus of Olympus himself be\nwitness to my oath, and Hera, queen of marriage, bride of Zeus, that I\nwill set thee in my halls my own wedded wife, when we have reached the\nland of Hellas on our return.\"\n\nThus he spake, and straightway clasped her right hand in his; and she\nbade them row the swift ship to the sacred grove near at hand, in order\nthat, while it was still night, they might seize and carry off the\nfleece against the will of Aeetes. Word and deed were one to the eager\ncrew. For they took her on board, and straightway thrust the ship from\nshore; and loud was the din as the chieftains strained at their oars,\nbut she, starting back, held out her hands in despair towards the shore.\nBut Jason spoke cheering words and restrained her grief.\n\nNow at the hour when men have cast sleep from their eyes--huntsmen, who,\ntrusting to their bounds, never slumber away the end of night, but avoid\nthe light of dawn lest, smiting with its white beams, it efface the\ntrack and scent of the quarry--then did Aeson's son and the maiden step\nforth from the ship over a grassy spot, the \"Ram's couch\" as men call\nit, where it first bent its wearied knees in rest, bearing on its back\nthe Minyan son of Athamas. And close by, all smirched with soot, was the\nbase of the altar, which the Aeolid Phrixus once set up to Zeus, the\naider of fugitives, when he sacrificed the golden wonder at the bidding\nof Hermes who graciously met him on the way. There by the counsels of\nArgus the chieftains put them ashore.\n\nAnd they two by the pathway came to the sacred grove, seeking the huge\noak tree on which was hung the fleece, like to a cloud that blushes red\nwith the fiery beams of the rising sun. But right in front the serpent\nwith his keen sleepless eyes saw them coming, and stretched out his long\nneck and hissed in awful wise; and all round the long banks of the river\nechoed and the boundless grove. Those heard it who dwelt in the Colchian\nland very far from Titanian Aea, near the outfall of Lycus, the river\nwhich parts from loud-roaring Araxes and blends his sacred stream with\nPhasis, and they twain flow on together in one and pour their waters\ninto the Caucasian Sea. And through fear young mothers awoke, and round\ntheir new-born babes, who were sleeping in their arms, threw their hands\nin agony, for the small limbs started at that hiss. And as when above a\npile of smouldering wood countless eddies of smoke roll up mingled with\nsoot, and one ever springs up quickly after another, rising aloft from\nbeneath in wavering wreaths; so at that time did that monster roll his\ncountless coils covered with hard dry scales. And as he writhed, the\nmaiden came before his eyes, with sweet voice calling to her aid Sleep,\nhighest of gods, to charm the monster; and she cried to the queen of the\nunderworld, the night-wanderer, to be propitious to her enterprise. And\nAeson's son followed in fear, but the serpent, already charmed by her\nsong, was relaxing the long ridge of his giant spine, and lengthening\nout his myriad coils, like a dark wave, dumb and noiseless, rolling over\na sluggish sea; but still he raised aloft his grisly head, eager to\nenclose them both in his murderous jaws. But she with a newly cut spray\nof juniper, dipping and drawing untempered charms from her mystic brew,\nsprinkled his eyes, while she chanted her song; and all around the\npotent scent of the charm cast sleep; and on the very spot he let his\njaw sink down; and far behind through the wood with its many trees were\nthose countless coils stretched out.\n\nHereupon Jason snatched the golden fleece from the oak, at the maiden's\nbidding; and she, standing firm, smeared with the charm the monster's\nhead, till Jason himself bade her turn back towards their ship, and she\nleft the grove of Ares, dusky with shade. And as a maiden catches on her\nfinely wrought robe the gleam of the moon at the full, as it rises above\nher high-roofed chamber; and her heart rejoices as she beholds the fair\nray; so at that time did Jason uplift the mighty fleece in his hands;\nand from the shimmering of the flocks of wool there settled on his fair\ncheeks and brow a red flush like a flame. And great as is the hide of a\nyearling ox or stag, which huntsmen call a brocket, so great in extent\nwas the fleece all golden above. Heavy it was, thickly clustered with\nflocks; and as he moved along, even beneath his feet the sheen rose up\nfrom the earth. And he strode on now with the fleece covering his left\nshoulder from the height of his neck to his feet, and now again he\ngathered it up in his hands; for he feared exceedingly, lest some god or\nman should meet him and deprive him thereof.\n\nDawn was spreading over the earth when they reached the throng of\nheroes; and the youths marvelled to behold the mighty fleece, which\ngleamed like the lightning of Zeus. And each one started up eager to\ntouch it and clasp it in his hands. But the son of Aeson restrained them\nall, and threw over it a mantle newly-woven; and he led the maiden to\nthe stern and seated her there, and spake to them all as follows:\n\n\"No longer now, my friends, forbear to return to your fatherland. For\nnow the task for which we dared this grievous voyage, toiling with\nbitter sorrow of heart, has been lightly fulfilled by the maiden's\ncounsels. Her--for such is her will--I will bring home to be my wedded\nwife; do ye preserve her, the glorious saviour of all Achaea and of\nyourselves. For of a surety, I ween, will Aeetes come with his host to\nbar our passage from the river into the sea. But do some of you toil at\nthe oars in turn, sitting man by man; and half of you raise your shields\nof oxhide, a ready defence against the darts of the enemy, and guard our\nreturn. And now in our hands we hold the fate of our children and dear\ncountry and of our aged parents; and on our venture all Hellas depends,\nto reap either the shame of failure or great renown.\"\n\nThus he spake, and donned his armour of war; and they cried aloud,\nwondrously eager. And he drew his sword from the sheath and cut the\nhawsers at the stern. And near the maiden he took his stand ready armed\nby the steersman Ancaeus, and with their rowing the ship sped on as they\nstrained desperately to drive her clear of the river.\n\nBy this time Medea's love and deeds had become known to haughty Aeetes\nand to all the Colchians. And they thronged to the assembly in arms; and\ncountless as the waves of the stormy sea when they rise crested by the\nwind, or as the leaves that fall to the ground from the wood with its\nmyriad branches in the month when the leaves fall--who could reckon\ntheir tale?--so they in countless number poured along the banks of the\nriver shouting in frenzy; and in his shapely chariot Aeetes shone forth\nabove all with his steeds, the gift of Helios, swift as the blasts of\nthe wind. In his left hand he raised his curved shield, and in his right\na huge pine-torch, and near him in front stood up his mighty spear. And\nApsyrtus held in his hands the reins of the steeds. But already the ship\nwas cleaving the sea before her, urged on by stalwart oarsmen, and the\nstream of the mighty river rushing down. But the king in grievous\nanguish lifted his hands and called on Helios and Zeus to bear witness\nto their evil deeds; and terrible threats he uttered against all his\npeople, that unless they should with their own hands seize the maiden,\neither on the land or still finding the ship on the swell of the open\nsea, and bring her back, that so he might satisfy his eager soul with\nvengeance for all those deeds, at the cost of their own lives they\nshould learn and abide all his rage and revenge.\n\nThus spake Aeetes; and on that same day the Colchians launched their\nships and cast the tackle on board, and on that same day sailed forth on\nthe sea; thou wouldst not say so mighty a host was a fleet of ships, but\nthat a countless flight of birds, swarm on swarm, was clamouring over\nthe sea.\n\nSwiftly the wind blew, as the goddess Hera planned, so that most quickly\nAeaean Medea might reach the Pelasgian land, a bane to the house of\nPelias, and on the third morn they bound the ship's stern cables to the\nshores of the Paphlagonians, at the mouth of the river Halys. For Medea\nbade them land and propitiate Hecate with sacrifice. Now all that the\nmaiden prepared for offering the sacrifice may no man know, and may my\nsoul not urge me to sing thereof. Awe restrains my lips, yet from that\ntime the altar which the heroes raised on the beach to the goddess\nremains till now, a sight to men of a later day.\n\nAnd straightway Aeson's son and the rest of the heroes bethought them of\nPhineus, how that he had said that their course from Aea should be\ndifferent, but to all alike his meaning was dim. Then Argus spake, and\nthey eagerly hearkened:\n\n\"We go to Orchomenus, whither that unerring seer, whom ye met aforetime,\nforetold your voyage. For there is another course, signified by those\npriests of the immortal gods, who have sprung from Tritonian Thebes. As\nyet all the stars that wheel in the heaven were not, nor yet, though one\nshould inquire, could aught be heard of the sacred race of the Danai.\nApidanean Arcadians alone existed, Arcadians who lived even before the\nmoon, it is said, eating acorns on the hills; nor at that time was the\nPelasgian land ruled by the glorious sons of Deucalion, in the days when\nEgypt, mother of men of an older time, was called the fertile\nMorning-land, and the river fair-flowing Triton, by which all the\nMorning-land is watered; and never does the rain from Zeus moisten the\nearth; but from the flooding of the river abundant crops spring up. From\nthis land, it is said, a king[1] made his way all round through the\nwhole of Europe and Asia, trusting in the might and strength and courage\nof his people; and countless cities did he found wherever he came,\nwhereof some are still inhabited and some not; many an age hath passed\nsince then. But Aea abides unshaken even now and the sons of those men\nwhom that king settled to dwell in Aea. They preserve the writings of\ntheir fathers, graven on pillars, whereon are marked all the ways and\nthe limits of sea and land as ye journey on all sides round. There is a\nriver, the uttermost horn of Ocean, broad and exceeding deep, that a\nmerchant ship may traverse; they call it Ister and have marked it far\noff; and for a while it cleaves the boundless tilth alone in one stream;\nfor beyond the blasts of the north wind, far off in the Rhipaean\nmountains, its springs burst forth with a roar. But when it enters the\nboundaries of the Thracians and Scythians, here, dividing its stream\ninto two, it sends its waters partly into the Ionian sea,[2] and partly\nto the south into a deep gulf that bends upwards from the Trinacrian\nsea, that sea which lies along your land, if indeed Achelous flows forth\nfrom your land.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The allusion is to Sesostris, see Herod, ii. 102 foll.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Or, reading [Greek: h\u00eameter\u00ean], \"into our sea.\" The Euxine\nis meant in any case and the word Ionian is therefore wrong.]\n\nThus he spake, and to them the goddess granted a happy portent, and all\nat the sight shouted approval, that this was their appointed path. For\nbefore them appeared a trail of heavenly light, a sign where they might\npass. And gladly they left behind there the son of Lycus and with canvas\noutspread sailed over the sea, with their eyes on the Paphlagonian\nmountains. But they did not round Carambis, for the winds and the gleam\nof the heavenly fire stayed with them till they reached Ister's mighty\nstream.\n\nNow some of the Colchians, in a vain search, passed out from Pontus\nthrough the Cyanean rocks; but the rest went to the river, and them\nApsyrtus led, and, turning aside, he entered the mouth called Fair.\nWherefore he outstripped the heroes by crossing a neck of land into the\nfurthest gulf of the Ionian sea. For a certain island is enclosed by\nIster, by name Peuce, three-cornered, its base stretching along the\ncoast, and with a sharp angle towards the river; and round it the\noutfall is cleft in two. One mouth they call the mouth of Narex, and the\nother, at the lower end, the Fair mouth. And through this Apsyrtus and\nhis Colchians rushed with all speed; but the heroes went upwards far\naway towards the highest part of the island. And in the meadows the\ncountry shepherds left their countless flocks for dread of the ships,\nfor they deemed that they were beasts coming forth from the\nmonster-teeming sea. For never yet before had they seen seafaring ships,\nneither the Scythians mingled with the Thracians, nor the Sigynni, nor\nyet the Graucenii, nor the Sindi that now inhabit the vast desert plain\nof Laurium. But when they had passed near the mount Angurum, and the\ncliff of Cauliacus, far from the mount Angurum, round which Ister,\ndividing his stream, falls into the sea on this side and on that, and\nthe Laurian plain, then indeed the Colchians went forth into the Cronian\nsea and cut off all the ways, to prevent their foes' escape. And the\nheroes came down the river behind and reached the two Brygean isles of\nArtemis near at hand. Now in one of them was a sacred temple; and on the\nother they landed, avoiding the host of Apsyrtus; for the Colchians had\nleft these islands out of many within the river, just as they were,\nthrough reverence for the daughter of Zeus; but the rest, thronged by\nthe Colchians, barred the ways to the sea. And so on other islands too,\nclose by, Apsyrtus left his host as far as the river Salangon and the\nNestian land.\n\nThere the Minyae would at that time have yielded in grim fight, a few to\nmany; but ere then they made a covenant, shunning a dire quarrel; as to\nthe golden fleece, that since Aeetes himself had so promised them if\nthey should fulfil the contests, they should keep it as justly won,\nwhether they carried it off by craft or even openly in the king's\ndespite; but as to Medea--for that was the cause of strife--that they\nshould give her in ward to Leto's daughter apart from the throng, until\nsome one of the kings that dispense justice should utter his doom,\nwhether she must return to her father's home or follow the chieftains to\nthe land of Hellas.\n\nNow when the maiden had mused upon all this, sharp anguish shook her\nheart unceasingly; and quickly she called forth Jason alone apart from\nhis comrades, and led him aside until they were far away, and before his\nface uttered her speech all broken with sobs:\n\n\"What is this purpose that ye are now devising about me, O son of Aeson?\nHas thy triumph utterly cast forgetfulness upon thee, and reckest thou\nnothing of all that thou spakest when held fast by necessity? whither\nare fled the oaths by Zeus the suppliants' god, whither are fled thy\nhonied promises? for which in no seemly wise, with shameless will, I\nhave left my country, the glories of my home and even my parents--things\nthat were dearest to me; and far away all alone I am borne over the sea\nwith the plaintive kingfishers because of thy trouble, in order that I\nmight save thy life in fulfilling the contests with the oxen and the\nearthborn men. Last of all the fleece--when the matter became known, it\nwas by my folly thou didst win it; and a foul reproach have I poured on\nwomankind. Wherefore I say that as thy child, thy bride and thy sister,\nI follow thee to the land of Hellas. Be ready to stand by me to the end,\nabandon me not left forlorn of thee when thou dost visit the kings. But\nonly save me; let justice and right, to which we have both agreed, stand\nfirm; or else do thou at once shear through this neck with the sword,\nthat I may gain the guerdon due to my mad passion. Poor wretch! if the\nking, to whom you both commit your cruel covenant, doom me to belong to\nmy brother. How shall I come to my father's sight? Will it be with a\ngood name? What revenge, what heavy calamity shall I not endure in agony\nfor the terrible deeds I have done? And wilt thou win the return that\nthy heart desires? Never may Zeus' bride, the queen of all, in whom thou\ndost glory, bring that to pass. Mayst thou some time remember me when\nthou art racked with anguish; may the fleece like a dream vanish into\nthe nether darkness on the wings of the wind! And may my avenging Furies\nforthwith drive thee from thy country, for all that I have suffered\nthrough thy cruelty! These curses will not be allowed to fall\nunaccomplished to the ground. A mighty oath hast thou transgressed,\nruthless one; but not long shalt thou and thy comrades sit at ease\ncasting eyes of mockery upon me, for all your covenants.\"\n\nThus she spake, seething with fierce wrath; and she longed to set fire\nto the ship and to hew it utterly in pieces, and herself to fall into\nthe raging flame. But Jason, half afraid, thus addressed her with gentle\nwords:\n\n\"Forbear, lady; me too this pleases not. But we seek some respite from\nbattle, for such a cloud of hostile men, like to a fire, surrounds us,\non thy account. For all that inhabit this land are eager to aid\nApsyrtus, that they may lead thee back home to thy father, like some\ncaptured maid. And all of us would perish in hateful destruction, if we\nclosed with them in fight; and bitterer still will be the pain, if we\nare slain and leave thee to be their prey. But this covenant will weave\na web of guile to lead him to ruin. Nor will the people of the land for\nthy sake oppose us, to favour the Colchians, when their prince is no\nlonger with them, who is thy champion and thy brother; nor will I shrink\nfrom matching myself in fight with the Colchians, if they bar my way\nhomeward.\"\n\nThus he spake soothing her; and she uttered a deadly speech: \"Take heed\nnow. For when sorry deeds are done we must needs devise sorry counsel,\nsince at first I was distraught by my error, and by heaven's will it was\nI wrought the accomplishment of evil desires. Do thou in the turmoil\nshield me from the Colchians' spears; and I will beguile Apsyrtus to\ncome into thy hands--do thou greet him with splendid gifts--if only I\ncould persuade the heralds on their departure to bring him alone to\nhearken to my words. Thereupon if this deed pleases thee, slay him and\nraise a conflict with the Colchians, I care not.\"\n\nSo they two agreed and prepared a great web of guile for Apsyrtus, and\nprovided many gifts such as are due to guests, and among them gave a\nsacred robe of Hypsipyle, of crimson hue. The Graces with their own\nhands had wrought it for Dionysus in sea-girt Dia, and he gave it to his\nson Thoas thereafter, and Thoas left it to Hypsipyle, and she gave that\nfair-wrought guest-gift with many another marvel to Aeson's son to wear.\nNever couldst thou satisfy thy sweet desire by touching it or gazing on\nit. And from it a divine fragrance breathed from the time when the king\nof Nysa himself lay to rest thereon, flushed with wine and nectar as he\nclasped the beauteous breast of the maiden-daughter of Minos, whom once\nTheseus forsook in the island of Dia, when she had followed him from\nCnossus. And when she had worked upon the heralds to induce her brother\nto come, as soon as she reached the temple of the goddess, according to\nthe agreement, and the darkness of night surrounded them that so she\nmight devise with him a cunning plan for her to take the mighty fleece\nof gold and return to the home of Aeetes, for, she said, the sons of\nPhrixus had given her by force to the strangers to carry off; with such\nbeguiling words she scattered to the air and the breezes her witching\ncharms, which even from afar would have drawn down the savage beast from\nthe steep mountain-height.\n\nRuthless Love, great bane, great curse to mankind, from thee come deadly\nstrifes and lamentations and groans, and countless pains as well have\ntheir stormy birth from thee. Arise, thou god, and arm thyself against\nthe sons of our foes in such guise as when thou didst fill Medea's heart\nwith accursed madness. How then by evil doom did she slay Apsyrtus when\nhe came to meet her? For that must our song tell next.\n\nWhen the heroes had left the maiden on the island of Artemis, according\nto the covenant, both sides ran their ships to land separately. And\nJason went to the ambush to lie in wait for Apsyrtus and then for his\ncomrades. But he, beguiled by these dire promises, swiftly crossed the\nswell of the sea in his ship, and in dark night set foot on the sacred\nisland; and faring all alone to meet her he made trial in speech of his\nsister, as a tender child tries a wintry torrent which not even strong\nmen can pass through, to see if she would devise some guile against the\nstrangers. And so they two agreed together on everything; and\nstraightway Aeson's son leapt forth from the thick ambush, lifting his\nbare sword in his hand, and quickly the maiden turned her eyes aside and\ncovered them with her veil that she might not see the blood of her\nbrother when he was smitten. And Jason marked him and struck him down,\nas a butcher strikes down a mighty strong-horned bull, hard by the\ntemple which the Brygi on the mainland opposite had once built for\nArtemis. In its vestibule he fell on his knees; and at last the hero\nbreathing out his life caught up in both hands the dark blood as it\nwelled from the wound; and he dyed with red his sister's silvery veil\nand robe as she shrank away. And with swift side-glance the irresistible\npitiless Fury beheld the deadly deed they had done. And the hero,\nAeson's son, cut off the extremities of the dead man, and thrice licked\nup some blood and thrice spat the pollution from his teeth, as it is\nright for the slayer to do, to atone for a treacherous murder. And the\nclammy corpse he hid in the ground where even now those bones lie among\nthe Apsyrtians.\n\nNow as soon as the heroes saw the blaze of a torch, which the maiden\nraised for them as a sign to pursue, they laid their own ship near the\nColchian ship, and they slaughtered the Colchian host, as kites slay the\ntribes of wood-pigeons, or as lions of the wold, when they have leapt\namid the steading, drive a great flock of sheep huddled together. Nor\ndid one of them escape death, but the heroes rushed upon the whole crew,\ndestroying them like a flame; and at last Jason met them, and was eager\nto give aid where none was needed; but already they were taking thought\nfor him too. Thereupon they sat to devise some prudent counsel for their\nvoyage, and the maiden came upon them as they pondered, but Peleus spake\nhis word first:\n\n\"I now bid you embark while it is still night, and take with your oars\nthe passage opposite to that which the enemy guards, for at dawn when\nthey see their plight I deem that no word urging to further pursuit of\nus will prevail with them; but as people bereft of their king, they will\nbe scattered in grievous dissension. And easy, when the people are\nscattered, will this path be for us on our return.\"\n\nThus he spake; and the youths assented to the words of Aeacus' son. And\nquickly they entered the ship, and toiled at their oars unceasingly\nuntil they reached the sacred isle of Electra, the highest of them all,\nnear the river Eridanus.\n\nBut when the Colchians learnt the death of their prince, verily they\nwere eager to pursue Argo and the Minyans through all the Cronian sea.\nBut Hera restrained them by terrible lightnings from the sky. And at\nlast they loathed their own homes in the Cytaean land, quailing before\nAeetes' fierce wrath; so they landed and made abiding homes there,\nscattered far and wide. Some set foot on those very islands where the\nheroes had stayed, and they still dwell there, bearing a name derived\nfrom Apsyrtus; and others built a fenced city by the dark deep Illyrian\nriver, where is the tomb of Harmonia and Cadmus, dwelling among the\nEncheleans; and others live amid the mountains which are called the\nThunderers, from the day when the thunders of Zeus, son of Cronos,\nprevented them from crossing over to the island opposite.\n\nNow the heroes, when their return seemed safe for them, fared onward and\nmade their hawsers fast to the land of the Hylleans. For the islands lay\nthick in the river and made the path dangerous for those who sailed\nthereby. Nor, as aforetime, did the Hylleans devise their hurt, but of\ntheir own accord furthered their passage, winning as guerdon a mighty\ntripod of Apollo. For tripods twain had Phoebus given to Aeson's son to\ncarry afar in the voyage he had to make, at the time when he went to\nsacred Pytho to enquire about this very voyage; and it was ordained by\nfate that in whatever land they should be placed, that land should never\nbe ravaged by the attacks of foemen. Therefore even now this tripod is\nhidden in that land near the pleasant city of Hyllus, far beneath the\nearth, that it may ever be unseen by mortals. Yet they found not King\nHyllus still alive in the land, whom fair Melite bare to Heracles in the\nland of the Phaeacians. For he came to the abode of Nausithous and to\nMacris, the nurse of Dionysus, to cleanse himself from the deadly murder\nof his children; here he loved and overcame the water nymph Melite, the\ndaughter of the river Aegaeus, and she bare mighty Hyllus. But when he\nhad grown up he desired not to dwell in that island under the rule of\nNausithous the king; but he collected a host of native Phaeacians and\ncame to the Cronian sea; for the hero King Nausithous aided his journey,\nand there he settled, and the Mentores slew him as he was fighting for\nthe oxen of his field.\n\nNow, goddesses, say how it is that beyond this sea, near the land of\nAusonia and the Ligystian isles, which are called Stoechades, the mighty\ntracks of the ship Argo are clearly sung of? What great constraint and\nneed brought the heroes so far? What breezes wafted them?\n\nWhen Apsyrtus had fallen in mighty overthrow Zeus himself, king of gods,\nwas seized with wrath at what they had done. And he ordained that by the\ncounsels of Aeaean Circe they should cleanse themselves from the\nterrible stain of blood and suffer countless woes before their return.\nYet none of the chieftains knew this; but far onward they sped starting\nfrom the Hyllean land, and they left behind all the islands that were\nbeforetime thronged by the Colchians--the Liburnian isles, isle after\nisle, Issa, Dysceladus, and lovely Pityeia. Next after them they came to\nCorcyra, where Poseidon settled the daughter of Asopus, fair-haired\nCorcyra, far from the land of Phlius, whence he had carried her off\nthrough love; and sailors beholding it from the sea, all black with its\nsombre woods, call it Corcyra the Black. And next they passed Melite,\nrejoicing in the soft-blowing breeze, and steep Cerossus, and Nymphaea\nat a distance, where lady Calypso, daughter of Atlas, dwelt; and they\ndeemed they saw the misty mountains of Thunder. And then Hera bethought\nher of the counsels and wrath of Zeus concerning them. And she devised\nan ending of their voyage and stirred up storm-winds before them, by\nwhich they were caught and borne back to the rocky isle of Electra. And\nstraightway on a sudden there called to them in the midst of their\ncourse, speaking with a human voice, the beam of the hollow ship, which\nAthena had set in the centre of the stem, made of Dodonian oak. And\ndeadly fear seized them as they heard the voice that told of the\ngrievous wrath of Zeus. For it proclaimed that they should not escape\nthe paths of an endless sea nor grievous tempests, unless Circe should\npurge away the guilt of the ruthless murder of Apsyrtus; and it bade\nPolydeuces and Castor pray to the immortal gods first to grant a path\nthrough the Ausonian sea where they should find Circe, daughter of Perse\nand Helios.\n\nThus Argo cried through the darkness; and the sons of Tyndareus uprose,\nand lifted their hands to the immortals praying for each boon: but\ndejection held the rest of the Minyan heroes. And far on sped Argo under\nsail, and entered deep into the stream of Eridanus; where once, smitten\non the breast by the blazing bolt, Pha\u00ebthon half-consumed fell from the\nchariot of Helios into the opening of that deep lake; and even now it\nbelcheth up heavy steam clouds from the smouldering wound. And no bird\nspreading its light wings can cross that water; but in mid-course it\nplunges into the flame, fluttering. And all around the maidens, the\ndaughters of Helios, enclosed in tall poplars, wretchedly wail a piteous\nplaint; and from their eyes they shed on the ground bright drops of\namber. These are dried by the sun upon the sand; but whenever the waters\nof the dark lake flow over the strand before the blast of the wailing\nwind, then they roll on in a mass into Eridanus with swelling tide. But\nthe Celts have attached this story to them, that these are the tears of\nLeto's son, Apollo, that are borne along by the eddies, the countless\ntears that he shed aforetime when he came to the sacred race of the\nHyperboreans and left shining heaven at the chiding of his father, being\nin wrath concerning his son whom divine Coronis bare in bright Lacereia\nat the mouth of Amyrus. And such is the story told among these men. But\nno desire for food or drink seized the heroes nor were their thoughts\nturned to joy. But they were sorely afflicted all day, heavy and faint\nat heart, with the noisome stench, hard to endure, which the streams of\nEridanus sent forth from Phaethon still burning; and at night they heard\nthe piercing lament of the daughters of Helios, wailing with shrill\nvoice; and, as they lamented, their tears were borne on the water like\ndrops of oil.\n\nThence they entered the deep stream of Rhodanus which flows into\nEridanus; and where they meet there is a roar of mingling waters. Now\nthat river, rising from the ends of the earth, where are the portals and\nmansions of Night, on one side bursts forth upon the beach of Ocean, at\nanother pours into the Ionian sea, and on the third through seven mouths\nsends its stream to the Sardinian sea and its limitless bay.[1] And from\nRhodanus they entered stormy lakes, which spread throughout the Celtic\nmainland of wondrous size; and there they would have met with an\ninglorious calamity; for a certain branch of the river was bearing them\ntowards a gulf of Ocean which in ignorance they were about to enter, and\nnever would they have returned from there in safety. But Hera leaping\nforth from heaven pealed her cry from the Hercynian rock; and all\ntogether were shaken with fear of her cry; for terribly crashed the\nmighty firmament. And backward they turned by reason of the goddess, and\nnoted the path by which their return was ordained. And after a long\nwhile they came to the beach of the surging sea by the devising of Hera,\npassing unharmed through countless tribes of the Celts and Ligyans. For\nround them the goddess poured a dread mist day by day as they fared on.\nAnd sailing through the midmost mouth, they reached the Stoechades\nislands in safety by the aid of the sons of Zeus; wherefore altars and\nsacred rites are established in their honour for ever; and not that\nsea-faring alone did they attend to succour; but Zeus granted to them\nthe ships of future sailors too. Then leaving the Stoechades they passed\non to the island Aethalia, where after their toil they wiped away with\npebbles sweat in abundance; and pebbles like skin in colour are strewn\non the beach[2]; and there are their quoits and their wondrous armour;\nand there is the Argoan harbour called after them.\n\n[Footnote 1: Apollonius seems to have thought that the Po, the Rhone,\nand the Rhine are all connected together.]\n\n[Footnote 2: i.e. like the scrapings from skin, [Greek: apostlengismata];\nsee Strabo p. 224 for this adventure.]\n\nAnd quickly from there they passed through the sea, beholding the\nTyrrhenian shores of Ausonia; and they came to the famous harbour of\nAeaea, and from the ship they cast hawsers to the shore near at hand.\nAnd here they found Circe bathing her head in the salt sea-spray, for\nsorely had she been scared by visions of the night. With blood her\nchambers and all the walls of her palace seemed to be running, and flame\nwas devouring all the magic herbs with which she used to bewitch\nstrangers whoever came; and she herself with murderous blood quenched\nthe glowing flame, drawing it up in her hands; and she ceased from\ndeadly fear. Wherefore when morning came she rose, and with sea-spray\nwas bathing her hair and her garments. And beasts, not resembling the\nbeasts of the wild, nor yet like men in body, but with a medley of\nlimbs, went in a throng, as sheep from the fold in multitudes follow the\nshepherd. Such creatures, compacted of various limbs, did earth herself\nproduce from the primeval slime when she had not yet grown solid beneath\na rainless sky nor yet had received a drop of moisture from the rays of\nthe scorching sun; but time combined these forms and marshalled them in\ntheir ranks; in such wise these monsters shapeless of form followed her.\nAnd exceeding wonder seized the heroes, and at once, as each gazed on\nthe form and face of Circe, they readily guessed that she was the sister\nof Aeetes.\n\nNow when she had dismissed the fears of her nightly visions, straightway\nshe fared backwards, and in her subtlety she bade the heroes follow,\ncharming them on with her hand. Thereupon the host remained stedfast at\nthe bidding of Aeson's son, but Jason drew with him the Colchian maid.\nAnd both followed the selfsame path till they reached the hall of Circe,\nand she in amaze at their coming bade them sit on brightly burnished\nseats. And they, quiet and silent, sped to the hearth and sat there, as\nis the wont of wretched suppliants. Medea hid her face in both her\nhands, but Jason fixed in the ground the mighty hilted sword with which\nhe had slain Aeetes' son; nor did they raise their eyes to meet her\nlook. And straightway Circe became aware of the doom of a suppliant and\nthe guilt of murder. Wherefore in reverence for the ordinance of Zeus,\nthe god of suppliants, who is a god of wrath yet mightily aids slayers\nof men, she began to offer the sacrifice with which ruthless suppliants\nare cleansed from guilt when they approach the altar. First to atone for\nthe murder still unexpiated, she held above their heads the young of a\nsow whose dugs yet swelled from the fruit of the womb, and, severing its\nneck, sprinkled their hands with the blood; and again she made\npropitiation with other drink offerings, calling on Zeus the Cleanser,\nthe protector of murder-stained suppliants. And all the defilements in a\nmass her attendants bore forth from the palace--the Naiad nymphs who\nministered all things to her. And within, Circe, standing by the hearth,\nkept burning atonement-cakes without wine, praying the while that she\nmight stay from their wrath the terrible Furies, and that Zeus himself\nmight be propitious and gentle to them both, whether with hands stained\nby the blood of a stranger or, as kinsfolk, by the blood of a kinsman,\nthey should implore his grace.\n\nBut when she had wrought all her task, then she raised them up and\nseated them on well polished seats, and herself sat near, face to face\nwith them. And at once she asked them clearly of their business and\ntheir voyaging, and whence they had come to her land and palace, and had\nthus seated themselves as suppliants at her hearth. For in truth the\nhideous remembrance of her dreams entered her mind as she pondered; and\nshe longed to hear the voice of the maiden, her kinswoman, as soon as\nshe saw that she had raised her eyes from the ground. For all those of\nthe race of Helios were plain to discern, since by the far flashing of\ntheir eyes they shot in front of them a gleam as of gold. So Medea told\nher all she asked--the daughter of Aeetes of the gloomy heart, speaking\ngently in the Colchian tongue, both of the quest and the journeyings of\nthe heroes, and of their toils in the swift contests, and how she had\nsinned through the counsels of her much-sorrowing sister, and how with\nthe sons of Phrixus she had fled afar from the tyrannous horrors of her\nfather; but she shrank from telling of the murder of Apsyrtus. Yet she\nescaped not Circe's ken; nevertheless, in spite of all she pitied the\nweeping maiden, and spake thus:\n\n\"Poor wretch, an evil and shameful return hast thou planned. Not for\nlong, I ween, wilt thou escape the heavy wrath of Aeetes; but soon will\nhe go even to the dwellings of Hellas to avenge the blood of his son,\nfor intolerable are the deeds thou hast done. But since thou art my\nsuppliant and my kinswoman, no further ill shall I devise against thee\nat thy coming; but begone from my halls, companioning the stranger,\nwhosoever he be, this unknown one that thou hast taken in thy father's\ndespite; and kneel not to me at my hearth, for never will I approve thy\ncounsels and thy shameful flight.\"\n\nThus she spake, and measureless anguish seized the maid; and over her\neyes she cast her robe and poured forth a lamentation, until the hero\ntook her by the hand and led her forth from the hall quivering with\nfear. So they left the home of Circe.\n\nBut they were not unmarked by the spouse of Zeus, son of Cronos; but\nIris told her when she saw them faring from the hall. For Hera had\nbidden her watch what time they should come to the ship; so again she\nurged her and spake:\n\n\"Dear Iris, now come, if ever thou hast fulfilled bidding, his thee away\non light pinions, and bid Thetis arise from the sea and come hither. For\nneed of her is come upon me. Then go to the sea-beaches where the bronze\nanvils of Hephaestus are smitten by sturdy hammers, and tell him to\nstill the blasts of fire until Argo pass by them. Then go to Aeolus too,\nAeolus who rules the winds, children of the clear sky; and to him also\ntell my purpose so that he may make all winds cease under heaven and no\nbreeze may ruffle the sea; yet let the breath of the west wind blow\nuntil the heroes have reached the Phaeacian isle of Alcinous.\"\n\nSo she spake, and straightway Iris leapt down from Olympus and cleft her\nway, with light wings outspread. And she plunged into the Aegean Sea,\nwhere is the dwelling of Nereus. And she came to Thetis first and, by\nthe promptings of Hera, told her tale and roused her to go to the\ngoddess. Next she came to Hephaestus, and quickly made him cease from\nthe clang of his iron hammers; and the smoke-grimed bellows were stayed\nfrom their blast. And thirdly she came to Aeolus, the famous son of\nHippotas. And when she had given her message to him also and rested her\nswift knees from her course, then Thetis leaving Nereus and her sisters\nhad come from the sea to Olympus to the goddess Hera; and the goddess\nmade her sit by her side and uttered her word:\n\n\"Hearken now, lady Thetis, to what I am eager to tell thee. Thou knowest\nhow honoured in my heart is the hero, Aeson's son, and the others that\nhave helped him in the contest, and how I saved them when they passed\nbetween the Wandering rocks[1] where roar terrible storms of fire and\nthe waves foam round the rugged reefs. And now past the mighty rock of\nScylla and Charybdis horribly belching, a course awaits them. But thee\nindeed from thy infancy did I tend with my own hands and love beyond all\nothers that dwell in the salt sea because thou didst refuse to share the\ncouch of Zeus for all his desire. For to him such deeds are ever dear,\nto embrace either goddesses or mortal women. But in reverence for me and\nwith fear in thy heart thou didst shrink from his love; and he then\nswore a mighty oath that thou shouldst never be called the bride of an\nimmortal god. Yet he ceased not from spying thee against thy will, until\nreverend Themis declared to him the whole truth, how that it was thy\nfate to bear a son mightier than his sire; wherefore he gave thee up,\nfor all his desire, fearing lest another should be his match and rule\nthe immortals, and in order that he might ever hold his own dominion.\nBut I gave thee the best of the sons of earth to be thy husband, that\nthou mightest find a marriage dear to thy heart and bear children; and I\nsummoned to the feast the gods, one and all. And with my own hand I\nraised the bridal torch, in return for the kindly honour thou didst pay\nme. But come, let me tell a tale that erreth not. When thy son shall\ncome to the Elysian plain, he whom now in the home of Cheiron the\nCentaur water-nymphs are tending, though he still craves thy mother\nmilk, it is fated that he be the husband of Medea, Aeetes' daughter; do\nthou aid thy daughter-in-law as a mother-in-law should, and aid Peleus\nhimself. Why is thy wrath so steadfast? He was blinded by folly. For\nblindness comes even upon the gods. Surely at my behest I deem that\nHephaestus will cease from kindling the fury of his flame, and that\nAeolus, son of Hippotas, will check his swift rushing winds, all but the\nsteady west wind, until they reach the havens of the Phaeacians; do thou\ndevise a return without bane. The rocks and the tyrannous waves are my\nfear, they alone, and them thou canst foil with thy sisters' aid. And\nlet them not fall in their helplessness into Charybdis lest she swallow\nthem at one gulp, or approach the hideous lair of Scylla, Ausonian\nScylla the deadly, whom night-wandering Hecate, who is called\nCrataeis,[2] bare to Phorcys, lest swooping upon them with her horrible\njaws she destroy the chiefest of the heroes. But guide their ship in the\ncourse where there shall be still a hair's breadth escape from\ndestruction.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: The _Symplegades_ are referred to, where help was given by\nAthena, not by Hera. It is strange that no mention is made of the\n_Planctae_, properly so called, past which they are soon to be helped.\nPerhaps some lines have fallen out.]\n\n[Footnote 2: i.e. the Mighty One.]\n\nThus she spake, and Thetis answered with these words: \"If the fury of\nthe ravening flame and the stormy winds cease in very deed, surely will\nI promise boldly to save the ship, even though the waves bar the way, if\nonly the west wind blows fresh and clear. But it is time to fare on a\nlong and measureless path, in quest of my sisters who will aid me, and\nto the spot where the ship's hawsers are fastened, that at early dawn\nthe heroes may take thought to win their home-return.\"\n\nShe spake, and darting down from the sky fell amid the eddies of the\ndark blue sea; and she called aid her the rest of the Nereids, her own\nsisters; and they heard her and gathered together; and Thetis declared\nto them Hera's behests, and quickly sped them all on their way to the\nAusonian sea. And herself, swifter than the flash of an eye or the hafts\nof the sun, when it rises upwards from a far-distant land, hastened\nswiftly through the sea, until she reached the Aeaean beach of the\nTyrrhenian mainland. And the heroes she found by the ship taking their\npastime, with quoits and shooting of arrows; and she drew near and just\ntouched the hand of Aeacus' son Peleus, for he was her husband; nor\ncould anyone see her clearly, but she appeared to his eyes alone, and\nthus addressed him:\n\n\"No longer now must ye stay sitting on the Tyrrhenian beach, but at dawn\nloosen the hawsers of your swift ship, in obedience to Hera, your\nhelper. For at her behest the maiden daughters of Nereus have met\ntogether to draw your ship through the midst of the rocks which are\ncalled Planctae,[1] for that is your destined path. But do thou show my\nperson to no one, when thou seest us come to meet thee, but keep it\nsecret in thy mind, lest thou anger me still more than thou didst anger\nme before so recklessly.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. the Wanderers.]\n\nShe spake, and vanished into the depths of the sea; but sharp pain smote\nPeleus, for never before had he seen her come, since first she left her\nbridal chamber and bed in anger, on account of noble Achilles, then a\nbabe. For she ever encompassed the child's mortal flesh in the night\nwith the flame of fire; and day by day she anointed with ambrosia his\ntender frame, so that he might become immortal and that she might keep\noff from his body loathsome old age. But Peleus leapt up from his bed\nand saw his dear son gasping in the flame; and at the sight he uttered a\nterrible cry, fool that he was; and she heard it, and catching up the\nchild threw him screaming to the ground, and herself like a breath of\nwind passed swiftly from the hall as a dream and leapt into the sea,\nexceeding wroth, and thereafter returned not again. Wherefore blank\namazement fettered his soul; nevertheless he declared to his comrades\nall the bidding of Thetis. And they broke off in the midst and hurriedly\nceased their contests, and prepared their meal and earth-strewn beds,\nwhereon after supper they slept through the night as aforetime.\n\nNow when dawn the light-bringer was touching the edge of heaven, then at\nthe coming of the swift west wind they went to their thwarts from the\nland; and gladly did they draw up the anchors from the deep and made the\ntackling ready in due order; and above spread the sail, stretching it\ntaut with the sheets from the yard-arm. And a fresh breeze wafted the\nship on. And soon they saw a fair island, Anthemoessa, where the\nclear-voiced Sirens, daughters of Achelous, used to beguile with their\nsweet songs whoever cast anchor there, and then destroy him. Them lovely\nTerpsichore, one of the Muses, bare, united with Achelous; and once they\ntended Demeter's noble daughter still unwed, and sang to her in chorus;\nand at that time they were fashioned in part like birds and in part like\nmaidens to behold. And ever on the watch from their place of prospect\nwith its fair haven, often from many had they taken away their sweet\nreturn, consuming them with wasting desire; and suddenly to the heroes,\ntoo, they sent forth from their lips a lily-like voice. And they were\nalready about to cast from the ship the hawsers to the shore, had not\nThracian Orpheus, son of Oeagrus, stringing in his hands his Bistonian\nlyre, rung forth the hasty snatch of a rippling melody so that their\nears might be filled with the sound of his twanging; and the lyre\novercame the maidens' voice. And the west wind and the sounding wave\nrushing astern bore the ship on; and the Sirens kept uttering their\nceaseless song. But even so the goodly son of Teleon alone of the\ncomrades leapt before them all from the polished bench into the sea,\neven Butes, his soul melted by the clear ringing voice of the Sirens;\nand he swam through the dark surge to mount the beach, poor wretch.\nQuickly would they have robbed him of his return then and there, but the\ngoddess that rules Eryx, Cypris, in pity snatched him away, while yet in\nthe eddies, and graciously meeting him saved him to dwell on the\nLilybean height. And the heroes, seized by anguish, left the Sirens, but\nother perils still worse, destructive to ships, awaited them in the\nmeeting-place of the seas.\n\nFor on one side appeared the smooth rock of Scylla; on the other\nCharybdis ceaselessly spouted and roared; in another part the Wandering\nrocks were booming beneath the mighty surge, where before the burning\nflame spurted forth from the top of the crags, above the rock glowing\nwith fire, and the air was misty with smoke, nor could you have seen the\nsun's light. Then, though Hephaestus had ceased from his toils, the sea\nwas still sending up a warm vapour. Hereupon on this side and on that\nthe daughters of Nereus met them; and behind, lady Thetis set her hand\nto the rudder-blade, to guide them amid the Wandering rocks. And as when\nin fair weather herds of dolphins come up from the depths and sport in\ncircles round a ship as it speeds along, now seen in front, now behind,\nnow again at the side--and delight comes to the sailors; so the Nereids\ndarted upward and circled in their ranks round the ship Argo, while\nThetis guided its course. And when they were about to touch the\nWandering rocks, straightway they raised the edge of their garments over\ntheir snow-white knees, and aloft on the very rocks and where the waves\nbroke, they hurried along on this side and on that apart from one\nanother. And the ship was raised aloft as the current smote her, and all\naround the furious wave mounting up broke over the rocks, which at one\ntime touched the sky like towering crags, at another, down in the\ndepths, were fixed fast at the bottom of the sea and the fierce waves\npoured over them in floods. And the Nereids, even as maidens near some\nsandy beach roll their garments up to their waists out of their way and\nsport with a shapely-rounded ball; then they catch it one from another\nand send it high into the air; and it never touches the ground; so they\nin turn one from another sent the ship through the air over the waves,\nas it sped on ever away from the rocks; and round them the water spouted\nand foamed. And lord Hephaestus himself standing on the summit of a\nsmooth rock and resting his massy shoulder on the handle of his hammer,\nbeheld them, and the spouse of Zeus beheld them as she stood above the\ngleaming heaven; and she threw her arms round Athena, such fear seized\nher as she gazed. And as long as the space of a day is lengthened out in\nspringtime, so long a time did they toil, heaving the ship between the\nloud-echoing rocks; then again the heroes caught the wind and sped\nonward; and swiftly they passed the mead of Thrinacia, where the kine of\nHelios fed. There the nymphs, like sea-mews, plunged beneath the depths,\nwhen they had fulfilled the behests of the spouse of Zeus. And at the\nsame time the bleating of sheep came to the heroes through the mist and\nthe lowing of kine, near at hand, smote their ears. And over the dewy\nleas Pha\u00ebthusa, the youngest of the daughters of Helios, tended the\nsheep, bearing in her hand a silver crook; while Lampetia, herding the\nkine, wielded a staff of glowing orichalcum[1] as she followed. These\nkine the heroes saw feeding by the river's stream, over the plain and\nthe water-meadow; not one of them was dark in hue but all were white as\nmilk and glorying in their horns of gold. So they passed them by in the\nday-time, and when night came on they were cleaving a great sea-gulf,\nrejoicing, until again early rising dawn threw light upon their course.\n\n[Footnote 1: A fabulous metal, resembling gold in appearance.]\n\nFronting the Ionian gulf there lies an island in the Ceraunian sea, rich\nin soil, with a harbour on both sides, beneath which lies the sickle, as\nlegend saith--grant me grace, O Muses, not willingly do I tell this tale\nof olden days--wherewith Cronos pitilessly mutilated his father; but\nothers call it the reaping-hook of Demeter, goddess of the nether world.\nFor Demeter once dwelt in that island, and taught the Titans to reap the\nears of corn, all for the love of Macris. Whence it is called\nDrepane,[1] the sacred nurse of the Phaeacians; and thus the Phaeacians\nthemselves are by birth of the blood of Uranus. To them came Argo, held\nfast by many toils, borne by the breezes from the Thrinacian sea; and\nAlcinous and his people with kindly sacrifice gladly welcomed their\ncoming; and over them all the city made merry; thou wouldst say they\nwere rejoicing over their own sons. And the heroes themselves strode in\ngladness through the throng, even as though they had set foot in the\nheart of Haemonia; but soon were they to arm and raise the battle-cry;\nso near to them appeared a boundless host of Colchians, who had passed\nthrough the mouth of Pontus and between the Cyanean rocks in search of\nthe chieftains. They desired forthwith to carry off Medea to her\nfather's house apart from the rest, or else they threatened with fierce\ncruelty to raise the dread war-cry both then and thereafter on the\ncoming of Aeetes. But lordly Alcinous checked them amid their eagerness\nfor war. For he longed to allay the lawless strife between both sides\nwithout the clash of battle. And the maiden in deadly fear often\nimplored the comrades of Aeson's son, and often with her hands touched\nthe knees of Arete, the bride of Alcinous:\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. the Sickle-island.]\n\n\"I beseech thee, O queen, be gracious and deliver me not to the\nColchians to be borne to my father, if thou thyself too art one of the\nrace of mortals, whose heart rushes swiftly to ruin from light\ntransgressions. For my firm sense forsook me--it was not for wantonness.\nBe witness the sacred light of Helios, be witness the rites of the\nmaiden that wanders by night, daughter of Perses. Not willingly did I\nhaste from my home with men of an alien race but a horrible fear wrought\non me to bethink me of flight when I sinned; other device was there\nnone. Still my maiden's girdle remains, as in the halls of my father,\nunstained, untouched. Pity me, lady, and turn thy lord to mercy; and may\nthe immortals grant thee a perfect life, and joy, and children, and the\nglory of a city unravaged!\"\n\nThus did she implore Arete, shedding tears, and thus each of the\nchieftains in turn:\n\n\"On your account, ye men of peerless might, and on account of my toils\nin your ventures am I sorely afflicted; even I, by whose help ye yoked\nthe bulls, and reaped the deadly harvest of the earthborn men; even I,\nthrough whom on your homeward path ye shall bear to Haemonia the golden\nfleece. Lo, here am I, who have lost my country and my parents, who have\nlost my home and all the delights of life; to you have I restored your\ncountry and your homes; with eyes of gladness ye will see again your\nparents; but from me a heavy-handed god has reft all joy; and with\nstrangers I wander, an accursed thing. Fear your covenant and your\noaths, fear the Fury that avenges suppliants and the retribution of\nheaven, if I fall into Aeetes' hands and am slain with grievous outrage.\nTo no shrines, no tower of defence, no other refuge do I pay heed,\nbut/only to you. Hard and pitiless in your cruelty! No reverence have ye\nfor me in your heart though ye see me helpless, stretching my hands\ntowards the knees of a stranger queen; yet, when ye longed to seize the\nfleece, would have met all the Colchians face to face and haughty Aeetes\nhimself; but now ye have forgotten your courage, now that they are all\nalone and cut off.\"\n\nThus she spake, beseeching; and to whomsoever she bowed in prayer, that\nman tried to give her heart and to check her anguish. And in their hands\nthey shook their sharp pointed spears, and drew the swords from their\nsheaths; and they swore they would not hold back from giving succour, if\nshe should meet with an unrighteous judgement. And the host were all\nwearied and Night came on them, Night that puts to rest the works of\nmen, and lulled all the earth to sleep; but to the maid no sleep brought\nrest, but in her bosom her heart was wrung with anguish. Even as when a\ntoiling woman turns her spindle through the night, and round her moan\nher orphan children, for she is a widow, and down her cheeks fall the\ntears, as she bethinks her how dreary a lot hath seized her; so Medea's\ncheeks were wet; and her heart within her was in agony, pierced with\nsharp pain.\n\nNow within the palace in the city, as aforetime, lay lordly Alcinous and\nArete, the revered wife of Alcinous, and on their couch through the\nnight they were devising plans about the maiden; and him, as her wedded\nhusband, the wife addressed with loving words:\n\n\"Yea, my friend, come, save the woe-stricken maid from the Colchians and\nshow grace to the Minyae. Argos is near our isle and the men of\nHaemonia; but Aeetes dwells not near, nor do we know of Aeetes one whit:\nwe hear but his name; but this maiden of dread suffering hath broken my\nheart by her prayers. O king, give her not up to the Colchians to be\nborne back to her father's home. She was distraught when first she gave\nhim the drugs to charm the oxen; and next, to cure one ill by another,\nas in our sinning we do often, she fled from her haughty sire's heavy\nwrath. But Jason, as I hear, is bound to her by mighty oaths that he\nwill make her his wedded wife within his halls. Wherefore, my friend,\nmake not, of thy will, Aeson's son to be forsworn, nor let the father,\nif thou canst help, work with angry heart some intolerable mischief on\nhis child. For fathers are all too jealous against their children; what\nwrong did Nycteus devise against Antiope, fair of face! What woes did\nDanae endure on the wide sea through her sire's mad rage! Of late, and\nnot far away, Echetus in wanton cruelty thrust spikes of bronze in his\ndaughter's eyes; and by a grievous fate is she wasting away, grinding\ngrains of bronze in a dungeon's gloom.\"\n\nThus she spake, beseeching; and by his wife's words his heart was\nsoftened, and thus he spake:\n\n\"Arete, with arms I could drive forth the Colchians, showing grace to\nthe heroes for the maiden's sake. But I fear to set at nought the\nrighteous judgment of Zeus. Nor is it well to take no thought of Aeetes,\nas thou sayest: for none is more lordly than Aeetes. And, if he willed,\nhe might bring war upon Hellas, though he dwell afar. Wherefore it is\nright for me to deliver the judgement that in all men's eyes shall be\nbest; and I will not hide it from thee. If she be yet a maid I decree\nthat they carry her back to her father; but if she shares a husband's\nbed, I will not separate her from her lord; nor, if she bear a child\nbeneath her breast, will I give it up to an enemy.\"\n\nThus he spake, and at once sleep laid him to rest. And she stored up in\nher heart the word of wisdom, and straightway rose from her couch and\nwent through the palace; and her handmaids came hasting together,\neagerly tending their mistress. But quietly she summoned her herald and\naddressed him, in her prudence urging Aeson's son to wed the maiden, and\nnot to implore Alcinous; for he himself, she said, will decree to the\nColchians that if she is still a maid he will deliver her up to be borne\nto her father's house, but that if she shares a husband's bed he will\nnot sever her from wedded love.\n\nThus she spake, and quickly from the hall his feet bore him, that be\nmight declare to Jason the fair-omened speech of Arete and the counsel\nof god-fearing Alcinous. And he found the heroes watching in full armour\nin the haven of Hyllus, near the city; and out he spake the whole\nmessage; and each hero's heart rejoiced; for the word that he spake was\nwelcome.\n\nAnd straightway they mingled a bowl to the blessed ones, as is right,\nand reverently led sheep to the altar, and for that very night prepared\nfor the maiden the bridal couch in the sacred cave, where once dwelt\nMacris, the daughter of Aristaeus, lord of honey, who discovered the\nworks of bees and the fatness of the olive, the fruit of labour. She it\nwas that first received in her bosom the Nysean son of Zeus in Abantian\nEuboea, and with honey moistened his parched lips when Hermes bore him\nout of the flame. And Hera beheld it, and in wrath drove her from the\nwhole island. And she accordingly came to dwell far off, in the sacred\ncave of the Phaeacians, and granted boundless wealth to the inhabitants.\nThere at that time did they spread a mighty couch; and thereon they laid\nthe glittering fleece of gold, that so the marriage might be made\nhonoured and the theme of song. And for them nymphs gathered flowers of\nvaried hue and bore them thither in their white bosoms; and a splendour\nas of flame played round them all, such a light gleamed from the golden\ntufts. And in their eyes it kindled a sweet longing; yet for all her\ndesire, awe withheld each one from laying her hand thereon. Some were\ncalled daughters of the river Aegaeus; others dwelt round the crests of\nthe Meliteian mount; and others were woodland nymphs from the plains.\nFor Hera herself, the spouse of Zeus, had sent them to do honour to\nJason. That cave is to this day called the sacred cave of Medea, where\nthey spread the fine and fragrant linen and brought these two together.\nAnd the heroes in their hands wielded their spears for war, lest first a\nhost of foes should burst upon them for battle unawares, and, their\nheads enwreathed with leafy sprays, all in harmony, while Orpheus' harp\nrang clear, sang the marriage song at the entrance to the bridal\nchamber. Yet not in the house of Alcinous was the hero, Aeson's son,\nminded to complete his marriage, but in his father's hall when he had\nreturned home to Iolcus; and such was the mind of Medea herself; but\nnecessity led them to wed at this time. For never in truth do we tribes\nof woe-stricken mortals tread the path of delight with sure foot; but\nstill some bitter affliction keeps pace with our joy; Wherefore they\ntoo, though their souls were melted with sweet love, were held by fear,\nwhether the sentence of Alcinous would be fulfilled.\n\nNow dawn returning with her beams divine scattered the gloomy night\nthrough the sky; and the island beaches laughed out and the paths over\nthe plains far off, drenched with dew, and there was a din in the\nstreets; the people were astir throughout the city, and far away the\nColchians were astir at the bounds of the isle of Macris. And\nstraightway to them went Alcinous, by reason of his covenant, to declare\nhis purpose concerning the maiden, and in his hand he held a golden\nstaff, his staff of justice, whereby the people had righteous judgments\nmeted out to them throughout the city. And with him in order due and\narrayed in their harness of war went marching, band by band, the chiefs\nof the Phaeacians. And from the towers came forth the women in crowds to\ngaze upon the heroes; and the country folk came to meet them when they\nheard the news, for Hera had sent forth a true report. And one led the\nchosen ram of his Hock, and another a heifer that had never toiled; and\nothers set hard by jars of wine for mixing; and the smoke of sacrifice\nleapt up far away. And women bore fine linen, the fruit of much toil, as\nwomen will, and gifts of gold and varied ornaments as well, such as are\nbrought to newly-wedded brides; and they marvelled when they saw the\nshapely forms and beauty of the gallant heroes, and among them the son\nof Oeagrus, oft beating the ground with gleaming sandal, to the time of\nhis loud-ringing lyre and song. And all the nymphs together, whenever he\nrecalled the marriage, uplifted the lovely bridal-chant; and at times\nagain they sang alone as they circled in the dance, Hera, in thy honour;\nfor it was thou that didst put it into the heart of Arete to proclaim\nthe wise word of Alcinous. And as soon as he had uttered the decree of\nhis righteous judgement, and the completion of the marriage had been\nproclaimed, he took care that thus it should abide fixed; and no deadly\nfear touched him nor Aeetes' grievous wrath, but he kept his judgement\nfast bound by unbroken oaths. So when the Colchians learnt that they\nwere beseeching in vain and he bade them either observe his judgements\nor hold their ships away from his harbours and land, then they began to\ndread the threats of their own king and besought Alcinous to receive\nthem as comrades; and there in the island long time they dwelt with the\nPhaeacians, until in the course of years, the Bacchiadae, a race sprung\nfrom Ephyra,[1] settled among them; and the Colchians passed to an\nisland opposite; and thence they were destined to reach the Ceraunian\nhills of the Abantes, and the Nestaeans and Oricum; but all this was\nfulfilled after long ages had passed. And still the altars which Medea\nbuilt on the spot sacred to Apollo, god of shepherds, receive yearly\nsacrifices in honour of the Fates and the Nymphs. And when the Minyae\ndeparted many gifts of friendship did Alcinous bestow, and many Arete;\nmoreover she gave Medea twelve Phaeacian handmaids from the palace, to\nbear her company. And on the seventh day they left Drepane; and at dawn\ncame a fresh breeze from Zeus. And onward they sped borne along by the\nwind's breath. Howbeit not yet was it ordained for the heroes to set\nfoot on Achaea, until they had toiled even in the furthest bounds of\nLibya.\n\n[Footnote 1: The old name of Corinth.]\n\nNow had they left behind the gulf named after the Ambracians, now with\nsails wide spread the land of the Curetes, and next in order the narrow\nislands with the Echinades, and the land of Pelops was just descried;\neven then a baleful blast of the north wind seized them in mid-course\nand swept them towards the Libyan sea nine nights and as many days,\nuntil they came far within Syrtis, wherefrom is no return for ships,\nwhen they are once forced into that gulf. For on every hand are shoals,\non every hand masses of seaweed from the depths; and over them the light\nfoam of the wave washes without noise; and there is a stretch of sand to\nthe dim horizon; and there moveth nothing that creeps or flies. Here\naccordingly the flood-tide--for this tide often retreats from the land\nand bursts back again over the beach coming on with a rush and\nroar--thrust them suddenly on to the innermost shore, and but little of\nthe keel was left in the water. And they leapt forth from the ship, and\nsorrow seized them when they gazed on the mist and the levels of vast\nland stretching far like a mist and continuous into the distance; no\nspot for water, no path, no steading of herdsmen did they descry afar\noff, but all the scene was possessed by a dead calm. And thus did one\nhero, vexed in spirit, ask another:\n\n\"What land is this? Whither has the tempest hurled us? Would that,\nreckless of deadly fear, we had dared to rush on by that same path\nbetween the clashing rocks! Better were it to have overleapt the will of\nZeus and perished in venturing some mighty deed. But now what should we\ndo, held back by the winds to stay here, if ever so short a time? How\ndesolate looms before us the edge of the limitless land!\"\n\nThus one spake; and among them Ancaeus the helmsman, in despair at their\nevil case, spoke with grieving heart: \"Verily we are undone by a\nterrible doom; there is no escape from ruin; we must suffer the\ncruellest woes, having fallen on this desolation, even though breezes\nshould blow from the land; for, as I gaze far around, on every side do I\nbehold a sea of shoals, and masses of water, fretted line upon line, run\nover the hoary sand. And miserably long ago would our sacred ship have\nbeen shattered far from the shore; but the tide itself bore her high on\nto the land from the deep sea. But now the tide rushes back to the sea,\nand only the foam, whereon no ship can sail, rolls round us, just\ncovering the land. Wherefore I deem that all hope of our voyage and of\nour return is cut off. Let someone else show his skill; let him sit at\nthe helm--the man that is eager for our deliverance. But Zeus has no\nwill to fulfil our day of return after all our toils.\"\n\nThus he spake with tears, and all of them that had knowledge of ships\nagreed thereto; but the hearts of all grew numb, and pallor overspread\ntheir cheeks. And as, like lifeless spectres, men roam through a city\nawaiting the issue of war or of pestilence, or some mighty storm which\noverwhelms the countless labours of oxen, when the images of their own\naccord sweat and run down with blood, and bellowings are heard in\ntemples, or when at mid-day the sun draws on night from heaven, and the\nstars shine clear through the mist; so at that time along the endless\nstrand the chieftains wandered, groping their way. Then straightway dark\nevening came upon them; and piteously did they embrace each other and\nsay farewell with tears, that they might, each one apart from his\nfellow, fall on the sand and die. And this way and that they went\nfurther to choose a resting-place; and they wrapped their heads in their\ncloaks and, fasting and unfed, lay down all that night and the day,\nawaiting a piteous death. But apart the maidens huddled together\nlamented beside the daughter of Aeetes. And as when, forsaken by their\nmother, unfledged birds that have fallen from a cleft in the rock chirp\nshrilly; or when by the banks of fair-flowing Pactolus, swans raise\ntheir song, and all around the dewy meadow echoes and the river's fair\nstream; so these maidens, laying in the dust their golden hair, all\nthrough the night wailed their piteous lament. And there all would have\nparted from life without a name and unknown to mortal men, those bravest\nof heroes, with their task unfulfilled; but as they pined in despair,\nthe heroine-nymphs, warders of Libya, had pity on them, they who once\nfound Athena, what time she leapt in gleaming armour from her father's\nhead, and bathed her by Trito's waters. It was noon-tide and the\nfiercest rays of the sun were scorching Libya; they stood near Aeson's\nson, and lightly drew the cloak from his head. And the hero cast down\nhis eyes and looked aside, in reverence for the goddesses, and as he lay\nbewildered all alone they addressed him openly with gentle words:\n\n\"Ill-starred one, why art thou so smitten with despair? We know how ye\nwent in quest of the golden fleece; we know each toil of yours, all the\nmighty deeds ye wrought in your wanderings over land and sea. We are the\nsolitary ones, goddesses of the land, speaking with human voice, the\nheroines, Libya's warders and daughters. Up then; be not thus afflicted\nin thy misery, and rouse thy comrades. And when Amphitrite has\nstraightway loosed Poseidon's swift-wheeled car, then do ye pay to your\nmother a recompense for all her travail when she bare you so long in her\nwomb; and so ye may return to the divine land of Achaea.\"\n\nThus they spake, and with the voice vanished at once, where they stood.\nBut Jason sat upon the earth as he gazed around, and thus cried:\n\n\"Be gracious, noble goddesses of the desert, yet the saying about our\nreturn I understand not clearly. Surely I will gather together my\ncomrades and tell them, if haply we can find some token of our escape,\nfor the counsel of many is better.\"\n\nHe spake, and leapt to his feet, and shouted afar to his comrades, all\nsqualid with dust, like a lion when he roars through the woodland\nseeking his mate; and far off in the mountains the glens tremble at the\nthunder of his voice; and the oxen of the field and the herdsmen shudder\nwith fear; yet to them Jason's voice was no whit terrible--the voice of\na comrade calling to his friends. And with looks downcast they gathered\nnear, and hard by where the ship lay he made them sit down in their\ngrief and the women with them, and addressed them and told them\neverything:\n\n\"Listen, friends; as I lay in my grief, three goddesses girded with\ngoat-skins from the neck downwards round the back and waist, like\nmaidens, stood over my head nigh at hand; and they uncovered me, drawing\nmy cloak away with light hand, and they bade me rise up myself and go\nand rouse you, and pay to our mother a bounteous recompense for all her\ntravail when she bare us so long in her womb, when Amphitrite shall have\nloosed Poseidon's swift-wheeled car. But I cannot fully understand\nconcerning this divine message. They said indeed that they were\nheroines, Libya's warders land daughters; and all the toils that we\nendured aforetime by land and sea, all these they declared that they\nknew full well. Then I saw them no more in their place, but a mist or\ncloud came between and hid them from my sight.\"\n\nThus he spake, and all marvelled as they heard. Then was wrought for the\nMinyae the strangest of portents. From the sea to the land leapt forth a\nmonstrous horse, of vast size, with golden mane tossing round his neck;\nand quickly from his limbs he shook off abundant spray and started on\nhis course, with feet like the wind. And at once Peleus rejoiced and\nspake among the throng of his comrades:\n\n\"I deem that Poseidon's car has even now been loosed by the hands of his\ndear wife, and I divine that our mother is none else than our ship\nherself; for surely she bare us in her womb and groans unceasingly with\ngrievous travailing. But with unshaken strength and untiring shoulders\nwill we lift her up and bear her within this country of sandy wastes,\nwhere yon swift-footed steed has sped before. For he will not plunge\nbeneath the earth; and his hoof-prints, I ween, will point us to some\nbay above the sea.\"\n\nThus he spake, and the fit counsel pleased all. This is the tale the\nMuses told; and I sing obedient to the Pierides, and this report have I\nheard most truly; that ye, O mightiest far of the sons of kings, by your\nmight and your valour over the desert sands of Libya raised high aloft\non your shoulders the ship and all that ye brought therein, and bare her\ntwelve days and nights alike. Yet who could tell the pain and grief\nwhich they endured in that toil? Surely they were of the blood of the\nimmortals, such a task did they take on them, constrained by necessity.\nHow forward and how far they bore her gladly to the waters of the\nTritonian lake! How they strode in and set her down from their stalwart\nshoulders!\n\nThen, like raging hounds, they rushed to search for a spring; for\nbesides their suffering and anguish, a parching thirst lay upon them,\nand not in vain did they wander; but they came to the sacred plain where\nLadon, the serpent of the land, till yesterday kept watch over the\ngolden apples in the garden of Atlas; and all around the nymphs, the\nHesperides, were busied, chanting their lovely song. But at that time,\nstricken by Heracles, he lay fallen by the trunk of the apple-tree; only\nthe tip of his tail was still writhing; but from his head down his dark\nspine he lay lifeless; and where the arrows had left in his blood the\nbitter gall of the Lernaean hydra, flies withered and died over the\nfestering wounds And close at hand the Hesperides, their white arms\nflung over their golden heads, lamented shrilly; and the heroes drew\nnear suddenly; but the maidens, at their quick approach, at once became\ndust and earth where they stood. Orpheus marked the divine portent, and\nfor his comrades addressed them in prayer: \"O divine ones, fair and\nkind, be gracious, O queens, whether ye be numbered among the heavenly\ngoddesses, or those beneath the earth, or be called the Solitary nymphs;\ncome, O nymphs, sacred race of Oceanus, appear manifest to our longing\neyes and show us some spring of water from the rock or some sacred flow\ngushing from the earth, goddesses, wherewith we may quench the thirst\nthat burns us unceasingly. And if ever again we return in our voyaging\nto the Achaean land, then to you among the first of goddesses with\nwilling hearts will we bring countless gifts, libations and banquets.\"\n\nSo he spake, beseeching them with plaintive voice; and they from their\nstation near pitied their pain; and lo! first of all they caused grass\nto spring from the earth; and above the grass rose up tall shoots; and\nthen flourishing saplings grew standing upright far above the earth.\nHespere became a poplar and Eretheis an elm, and Aegle a willow's sacred\ntrunk. And forth from these trees their forms looked out, as clear as\nthey were before, a marvel exceeding great, and Aegle spake with gentle\nwords answering their longing looks:\n\n\"Surely there has come hither a mighty succour to your toils, that most\naccursed man, who robbed our guardian serpent of life and plucked the\ngolden apples of the goddesses and is gone; and has left bitter grief\nfor us. For yesterday came a man most fell in wanton violence, most grim\nin form; and his eyes flashed beneath his scowling brow; a ruthless\nwretch; and he was clad in the skin of a monstrous lion of raw hide,\nuntanned; and he bare a sturdy bow of olive, and a bow, wherewith he\nshot and killed this monster here. So he too came, as one traversing the\nland on foot, parched with thirst; and he rushed wildly through this\nspot, searching for water, but nowhere was he like to see it. Now here\nstood a rock near the Tritonian lake; and of his own device, or by the\nprompting of some god, he smote it below with his foot; and the water\ngushed out in full flow. And he, leaning both his hands and chest upon\nthe ground, drank a huge draught from the rifted rock, until, stooping\nlike a beast of the field, he had satisfied his mighty maw.\"\n\nThus she spake; and they gladly with joyful steps ran to the spot where\nAegle had pointed out to them the spring, until they reached it. And as\nwhen earth-burrowing ants gather in swarms round a narrow cleft, or when\nflies lighting upon a tiny drop of sweet honey cluster round with\ninsatiate eagerness; so at that time, huddled together, the Minyae\nthronged about the spring from the rock. And thus with wet lips one\ncried to another in his delight:\n\n\"Strange! In very truth Heracles, though far away, has saved his\ncomrades, fordone with thirst. Would that we might find him on his way\nas we pass through the mainland!\"\n\nSo they spake, and those who were ready for this work answered, and they\nseparated this way and that, each starting to search. For by the night\nwinds the footsteps had been effaced where the sand was stirred. The two\nsons of Boreas started up, trusting in their wings; and Euphemus,\nrelying on his swift feet, and Lynceus to cast far his piercing eyes;\nand with them darted off Canthus, the fifth. He was urged on by the doom\nof the gods and his own courage, that he might learn for certain from\nHeracles where he had left Polyphemus, son of Eilatus; for he was minded\nto question him on every point concerning his comrade. But that hero had\nfounded a glorious city among the Mysians, and, yearning for his\nhome-return, had passed far over the mainland in search of Argo; and in\ntime he reached the land of the Chalybes, who dwell near the sea; there\nit was that his fete subdued him. And to him a monument stands under a\ntall poplar, just facing the sea. But that day Lynceus thought he saw\nHeracles all alone, far off, over measureless land, as a man at the\nmonth's beginning sees, or thinks he sees, the moon through a bank of\ncloud. And he returned and told his comrades that no other searcher\nwould find Heracles on his way, and they also came back, and\nswift-footed Euphemus and the twin sons of Thracian Boreas, after a vain\ntoil.\n\nBut thee, Canthus, the fates of death seized in Libya. On pasturing\nflocks didst thou light; and there followed a shepherd who, in defence\nof his own sheep, while thou wert leading them off[1] to thy comrades in\ntheir need, slew thee by the cast of a stone; for he was no weakling,\nCaphaurus, the grandson of Lycoreian Phoebus and the chaste maiden\nAcacallis, whom once Minos drove from home to dwell in Libya, his own\ndaughter, when she was bearing the gods' heavy load; and she bare to\nPhoebus a glorious son, whom they call Amphithemis and Garamas. And\nAmphithemis wedded a Tritonian nymph; and she bare to him Nasamon and\nstrong Caphaurus, who on that day in defending his sheep slew Canthus.\nBut he escaped not the chieftains' avenging hands, when they learned the\ndeed he had done. And the Minyae, when they knew it, afterwards took up\nthe corpse and buried it in the earth, mourning; and the sheep they took\nwith them.\n\n[Footnote 1: This seems to be the only possible translation, but the\noptative is quite anomalous. We should expect [Greek: ekomizes].]\n\nThereupon on the same day a pitiless fate seized Mopsus too, son of\nAmpycus; and he escaped not a bitter doom by his prophesying; for there\nis no averting of death. Now there lay in the sand, avoiding the midday\nheat, a dread serpent, too sluggish of his own will to strike at an\nunwilling foe, nor yet would he dart full face at one that would shrink\nback. But into whatever of all living beings that life-giving earth\nsustains that serpent once injects his black venom, his path to Hades\nbecomes not so much as a cubit's length, not even if Pae\u00ebon, if it is\nright for me to say this openly, should tend him, when its teeth have\nonly grazed the skin. For when over Libya flew godlike Perseus\nEurymedon--for by that name his mother called him--bearing to the king\nthe Gorgon's head newly severed, all the drops of dark blood that fell\nto the earth, produced a brood of those serpents. Now Mopsus stepped on\nthe end of its spine, setting thereon the sole of his left foot; and it\nwrithed round in pain and bit and tore the flesh between the shin and\nthe muscles. And Medea and her handmaids fled in terror; but Canthus\nbravely felt the bleeding wound; for no excessive pain harassed him.\nPoor wretch! Already a numbness that loosed his limbs was stealing\nbeneath his skin, and a thick mist was spreading over his eyes.\nStraightway his heavy limbs sank helplessly to the ground and he grew\ncold; and his comrades and the hero, Aeson's son, gathered round,\nmarvelling at the close-coming doom. Nor yet though dead might he lie\nbeneath the sun even for a little space. For at once the poison began to\nrot his flesh within, and the hair decayed and fell from the skin. And\nquickly and in haste they dug a deep grave with mattocks of bronze; and\nthey tore their hair, the heroes and the maidens, bewailing the dead\nman's piteous suffering; and when he had received due burial rites,\nthrice they marched round the tomb in full armour, and heaped above him\na mound of earth.\n\nBut when they had gone aboard, as the south wind blew over the sea, and\nthey were searching for a passage to go forth from the Tritonian lake,\nfor long they had no device, but all the day were borne on aimlessly.\nAnd as a serpent goes writhing along his crooked path when the sun's\nfiercest rays scorch him; and with a hiss he turns his head to this side\nand that, and in his fury his eyes glow like sparks of fire, until he\ncreeps to his lair through a cleft in the rock; so Argo seeking an\noutlet from the lake, a fairway for ships, wandered for a long time.\nThen straightway Orpheus bade them bring forth from the ship Apollo's\nmassy tripod and offer it to the gods of the land as propitiation for\ntheir return. So they went forth and set Apollo's gift on the shore;\nthen before them stood, in the form of a youth, far-swaying Triton, and\nhe lifted a clod from the earth and offered it as a stranger's gift, and\nthus spake:\n\n\"Take it, friends, for no stranger's gift of great worth have I here by\nme now to place in the hands of those who beseech me. But if ye are\nsearching for a passage through this sea, as often is the need of men\npassing through a strange land, I will declare it. For my sire Poseidon\nhas made me to be well versed in this sea. And I rule the shore--if\nhaply in your distant land you have ever heard of Eurypylus, born in\nLibya, the home of wild beasts.\"\n\nThus he spake, and readily Euphemus held out his hands towards the clod,\nand thus addressed him in reply:\n\n\"If haply, hero, thou knowest aught of Apis[1] and the sea of Minos,\ntell us truly, who ask it of you. For not of our will have we come\nhither, but by the stress of heavy storms have we touched the borders of\nthis land, and have borne our ship aloft on our shoulders to the waters\nof this lake over the mainland, grievously burdened; and we know not\nwhere a passage shows itself for our course to the land of Pelops.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: An old name of the Peloponnesus.]\n\nSo he spake; and Triton stretched out his hand and showed afar the sea\nand the lake's deep mouth, and then addressed them: \"That is the outlet\nto the sea, where the deep water lies unmoved and dark; on each side\nroll white breakers with shining crests; and the way between for your\npassage out is narrow. And that sea stretches away in mist to the divine\nland of Pelops beyond Crete; but hold to the right, when ye have entered\nthe swell of the sea from the lake, and steer your course hugging the\nland, as long as it trends to the north; but when the coast bends,\nfalling away in the other direction, then your course is safely laid for\nyou if ye go straight forward from the projecting cape. But go in joy,\nand as for labour let there be no grieving that limbs in youthful vigour\nshould still toil.\"\n\nHe spake with kindly counsel; and they at once went aboard, intent to\ncome forth from the lake by the use of oars. And eagerly they sped on;\nmeanwhile Triton took up the mighty tripod, and they saw him enter the\nlake; but thereafter did no one mark how he vanished so near them along\nwith the tripod. But their hearts were cheered, for that one of the\nblessed had met them in friendly guise. And they bade Aeson's son offer\nto him the choicest of the sheep and when he had slain it chant the hymn\nof praise. And straightway he chose in haste and raising the victim slew\nit over the stern, and prayed with these words:\n\n\"Thou god, who hast manifested thyself on the borders of this land,\nwhether the daughters born of the sea call thee Triton, the great\nsea-marvel, or Phorcys, or Nereus, be gracious, and grant the return\nhome dear to our hearts.\"\n\nHe spake, and cut the victim's throat over the water and cast it from\nthe stern. And the god rose up from the depths in form such as he really\nwas. And as when a man trains a swift steed for the broad race-course,\nand runs along, grasping the bushy mane, while the steed follows obeying\nhis master, and rears his neck aloft in his pride, and the gleaming bit\nrings loud as he champs it in his jaws from side to side; so the god,\nseizing hollow Argo's keel, guided her onward to the sea. And his body,\nfrom the crown of his head, round his back and waist as far as the\nbelly, was wondrously like that of the blessed ones in form; but below\nhis sides the tail of a sea monster lengthened far, forking to this side\nand that; and he smote the surface of the waves with the spines, which\nbelow parted into curving fins, like the horns of the new moon. And he\nguided Argo on until he sped her into the sea on her course; and quickly\nhe plunged into the vast abyss; and the heroes shouted when they gazed\nwith their eyes on that dread portent. There is the harbour of Argo and\nthere are the signs of her stay, and altars to Poseidon and Triton; for\nduring that day they tarried. But at dawn with sails outspread they sped\non before the breath of the west wind, keeping the desert land on their\nright. And on the next morn they saw the headland and the recess of the\nsea, bending inward beyond the jutting headland. And straightway the\nwest wind ceased, and there came the breeze of the clear south wind: and\ntheir hearts rejoiced at the sound it made. But when the sun sank and\nthe star returned that bids the shepherd fold, which brings rest to\nwearied ploughmen, at that time the wind died down in the dark night; so\nthey furled the sails and lowered the tall mast and vigorously plied\ntheir polished oars all night and through the day, and again when the\nnext night came on. And rugged Carpathus far away welcomed them; and\nthence they were to cross to Crete, which rises in the sea above other\nislands.\n\nAnd Talos, the man of bronze, as he broke off rocks from the hard cliff,\nstayed them from fastening hawsers to the shore, when they came to the\nroad-stead of Dicte's haven. He was of the stock of bronze, of the men\nsprung from ash-trees, the last left among the sons of the gods; and the\nson of Cronos gave him to Europa to be the warder of Crete and to stride\nround the island thrice a day with his feet of bronze. Now in all the\nrest of his body and limbs was he fashioned of bronze and invulnerable;\nbut beneath the sinew by his ankle was a blood-red vein; and this, with\nits issues of life and death, was covered by a thin skin. So the heroes,\nthough outworn with toil, quickly backed their ship from the land in\nsore dismay. And now far from Crete would they have been borne in\nwretched plight, distressed both by thirst and pain, had not Medea\naddressed them as they turned away:\n\n\"Hearken to me. For I deem that I alone can subdue for you that man,\nwhoever he be, even though his frame be of bronze throughout, unless his\nlife too is everlasting. But be ready to keep your ship here beyond the\ncast of his stones, till he yield the victory to me.\"\n\nThus she spake; and they drew the ship out of range, resting on their\noars, waiting to see what plan unlooked for she would bring to pass; and\nshe, holding the fold of her purple robe over her cheeks on each side,\nmounted on the deck; and Aeson's son took her hand in his and guided her\nway along the thwarts. And with songs did she propitiate and invoke the\nDeath-spirits, devourers of life, the swift hounds of Hades, who,\nhovering through all the air, swoop down on the living. Kneeling in\nsupplication, thrice she called on them with songs, and thrice with\nprayers; and, shaping her soul to mischief, with her hostile glance she\nbewitched the eyes of Talos, the man of bronze; and her teeth gnashed\nbitter wrath against him, and she sent forth baneful phantoms in the\nfrenzy of her rage.\n\nFather Zeus, surely great wonder rises in my mind, seeing that dire\ndestruction meets us not from disease and wounds alone, but lo! even\nfrom afar, may be, it tortures us! So Talos, for all his frame of\nbronze, yielded the victory to the might of Medea the sorceress. And as\nhe was heaving massy rocks to stay them from reaching the haven, he\ngrazed his ankle on a pointed crag; and the ichor gushed forth like\nmelted lead; and not long thereafter did he stand towering on the\njutting cliff. But even as some huge pine, high up on the mountains,\nwhich woodmen have left half hewn through by their sharp axes when they\nreturned from the forest--at first it shivers in the wind by night, then\nat last snaps at the stump and crashes down; so Talos for a while stood\non his tireless feet, swaying to and fro, then at last, all\nstrengthless, fell with a mighty thud. For that night there in Crete the\nheroes lay; then, just as dawn was growing bright, they built a shrine\nto Minoan Athena, and drew water and went aboard, so that first of all\nthey might by rowing pass beyond Salmone's height.\n\nBut straightway as they sped over the wide Cretan sea night scared them,\nthat night which they name the Pall of Darkness; the stars pierced not\nthat fatal night nor the beams of the moon, but black chaos descended\nfrom heaven, or haply some other darkness came, rising from the\nnethermost depths. And the heroes, whether they drifted in Hades or on\nthe waters, knew not one whit; but they committed their return to the\nsea in helpless doubt whither it was bearing them. But Jason raised his\nhands and cried to Phoebus with mighty voice, calling on him to save\nthem; and the tears ran down in his distress; and often did he promise\nto bring countless offerings to Pytho, to Amyclae, and to Ortygia. And\nquickly, O son of Leto, swift to hear, didst thou come down from heaven\nto the Melantian rocks, which lie there in the sea. Then darting upon\none of the twin peaks, thou raisedst aloft in thy right hand thy golden\nbow; and the bow flashed a dazzling gleam all round. And to their sight\nappeared a small island of the Sporades, over against the tiny isle\nHippuris, and there they cast anchor and stayed; and straightway dawn\narose and gave them light; and they made for Apollo a glorious abode in\na shady wood, and a shady altar, calling on Phoebus the \"Gleamer,\"\nbecause of the gleam far-seen; and that bare island they called\nAnaphe,[1] for that Phoebus had revealed it to men sore bewildered. And\nthey sacrificed all that men could provide for sacrifice on a desolate\nstrand; wherefore when Medea's Phaeacian handmaids saw them pouring\nwater for libations on the burning brands, they could no longer restrain\nlaughter within their bosoms, for that ever they had seen oxen in plenty\nslain in the halls of Alcinous. And the heroes delighted in the jest and\nattacked them with taunting words; and merry railing and contention\nflung to and fro were kindled among them. And from that sport of the\nheroes such scoffs do the women fling at the men in that island whenever\nthey propitiate with sacrifices Apollo the gleaming god, the warder of\nAnaphe.\n\n[Footnote 1: i.e. the isle of Revealing.]\n\nBut when they had loosed the hawsers thence in fair weather, then\nEuphemus bethought him of a dream of the night, reverencing the glorious\nson of Maia. For it seemed to him that the god-given clod of earth held\nin his palm close to his breast was being suckled by white streams of\nmilk, and that from it, little though it was, grew a woman like a\nvirgin; and he, overcome by strong desire, lay with her in love's\nembrace; and united with her he pitied her, as though she were a maiden\nwhom he was feeding with his own milk; but she comforted him with gentle\nwords:\n\n\"Daughter of Triton am I, dear friend, and nurse of thy children, no\nmaiden; Triton and Libya are my parents. But restore me to the daughters\nof Nereus to dwell in the sea near Anaphe; I shall return again to the\nlight of the sun, to prepare a home for thy descendants.\"\n\nOf this he stored in his heart the memory, and declared it to Aeson's\nson; and Jason pondered a prophecy of the Far-Darter and lifted up his\nvoice and said:\n\n\"My friend, great and glorious renown has fallen to thy lot. For of this\nclod when thou hast cast it into the sea, the gods will make an island,\nwhere thy children's children shall dwell; for Triton gave this to thee\nas a stranger's gift from the Libyan mainland. None other of the\nimmortals it was than he that gave thee this when he met thee.\"\n\nThus he spake; and Euphemus made not vain the answer of Aeson's son;\nbut, cheered by the prophecy, he cast the clod into the depths.\nTherefrom rose up an island, Calliste, sacred nurse of the sons of\nEuphemus, who in former days dwelt in Sintian Lemnos, and from Lemnos\nwere driven forth by Tyrrhenians and came to Sparta as suppliants; and\nwhen they left Sparta, Theras, the goodly son of Autesion, brought them\nto the island Calliste, and from himself he gave it the name of Thera.\nBut this befell after the days of Euphemus.\n\nAnd thence they steadily left behind long leagues of sea and stayed on\nthe beach of Aegina; and at once they contended in innocent strife about\nthe fetching of water, who first should draw it and reach the ship. For\nboth their need and the ceaseless breeze urged them on. There even to\nthis day do the youths of the Myrmidons take up on their shoulders\nfull-brimming jars, and with swift feet strive for victory in the race.\n\nBe gracious, race of blessed chieftains! And may these songs year after\nyear be sweeter to sing among men. For now have I come to the glorious\nend of your toils; for no adventure befell you as ye came home from\nAegina, and no tempest of winds opposed you; but quietly did ye skirt\nthe Cecropian land and Aulis inside of Euboea and the Opuntian cities of\nthe Locrians, and gladly did ye step forth upon the beach of Pagasae.\n\n\n\n\nSTEMMA MEDEAE\n\n\n              Oceanus               ==           Tethys\n                 |                                  |\n         Helios == Perse                            |\n           -----+----------------------------       |\n           |         |                      |       |\nMinos == Pasiphae  Circe  (1)Asterodeia = Aeetes = Eidyia (2)\n      |                                         |\n    Ariadne                    -----------------+-----------\n                               |        |                  |\n                          Apsyrtus  Chalciope = Phrixus  Medea =Jason\n                          (Pha\u00ebthon)           |\n                                 --------------+-------------\n                                 |         |        |       |\n                               Argus  Cytissorus  Melas  Phrontis\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\nReferences to the following names are not given in full on account of\ntheir large number: Aeetes, Aesonides, Colchians, Hellas, Jason, Medea,\nZeus.\n\nAbantes, a people of Epirus, iv, 1214\n\nAbantiades, son of Abas,\n  (1) Canethus, I, 78:\n  (2) Idmon, II, 815, 824, 857\n\nAbantian, epithet of the island Euboea, IV, 1135\n\nAbarnis, a city of the Troad, I, 932\n\nAbas, reputed father of Idmon, I, 142\n\nAbydos, a city of the Troad, I, 931\n\nAcacallis, a daughter of Minos, IV, 1491\n\nAcastus, son of Pelias, an Argonaut, I, 224, 321, 1041, 1082\n\nAchaean, I, 177:\n  put for Greek in general, I, 284; III, 601, 639, 775, 1081; IV, 195,\n    1226, 1329, 1419\n\nAchelo\u00efdes, daughters of Achelous, the Sirens, IV, 893\n\nAchelous, a river of Aetolia, IV, 293, 895\n\nAcheron, (1) a river of Hades, I, 644:\n  (2) a river of Bithynia, II, 355, 743, 901\n\nAcherusian headland, II, 354, 728, 750, 806, 814\n\nAchilles, son of Peleus, I, 558; IV, 868\n\nAcmonian wood, near the river Thermodon, II, 992\n\nActor, I, 69\n\nActorides, son of Actor,\n  (1) Irus, I, 72:\n  (2) Sthenelus, II, 911, 916\n\nAdmetus king of Pherae, I, 49\n\nAdrasteia, (1) a city and plain of Mysia I, 1116:\n  (2) a nymph, the nurse of Zeus, III, 133\n\nAea, a city of Colchis, II, 417, 422, 1094, 1141, 1183, 1267; III, 306,\n    1061; IV, 131, 255, 277, 278\n\nAeacides, son of Aeacus,\n  (1) Peleus, an Argonaut, II, 869, 886; III 515; IV, 503, 853:\n  (2) Telamon, an Argonaut, I, 1301, 1330; III, 382:\n  in the plur., of both I 90; II, 122\n\nAeacus, a son of Zeus, III, 364\n\nAeaean, (1) of Aea, III, 1074, 1093, 1136; IV, 243:\n  (2) of a district in Tyrrhenia, IV, 559, 850:\n  as _subst._, IV, 661\n\nAeetes, king of the Colchians, I, 175, 245 etc.; II, 403, 459 etc.; III,\n    13, 27, etc.; IV, 9, 102 etc.\n\nAegaean sea, I, 831; IV, 772\n\nAegaeon, a giant, I, 1165\n\nAegaeus, a river, iv, 542, 1149\n\nAegialus, (1) coast in Achaea, 178:\n  (2) coast of the Euxine, II, 365, 945\n\nAegina, an island near Attica, I, 92; IV, 1766, 1777\n\nAegle, one of the Hesperides, iv, 1428, 1430, 1450\n\nAeneius, _adj._, of Aeneus. I, 948, 1055\n\nAenete, I, 950\n\nAeolides, son or descendant of Aeolus.\n  (1) Athamas, III, 361:\n  (2) Idmon, an Argonaut, 11, 849:\n  (3) Melampus, I,121:\n  (4) Minyas, III, 1094:\n  (5) Phrixus, II, 1141; III, 584; IV, 119:\n  in the plur., I, 143; II, 1195; III, 335, 339\n\nAeolus, (1) a son of Zeus, father of Cretheus and Athamas, III, 360:\n  (2) king of the winds, iv, 764, 765, 778, 820\n\nAesepus, a river of Mysia, I, 940, 1115\n\nAeson, son of Cretheus and father of Jason, I, 47, 253, 331, 899, 1336;\n    II, 410, 885, 1134; III, 357, 443, 1380\n\nAesonides, son of Aeson, Jason, I, 33, 46, etc.; II, 437, 444, etc.;\n    III, 58, 60 etc.; IV, 73, 92, etc.\n\nAesonis, a city of Magnesia, I, 411\n\nAethalia, an island, now Elba, IV, 654\n\nAethalides, son of Hermes, an Argonaut, I, 54, 641, 649; III, 1175\n\nAetolian, I, 146; in plur. as _subst._, I, 198\n\nAgamestor, II, 850\n\nAgenor, II, 237\n\nAgenorides, son of Agenor, Phineus, II, 178, 240, 293, 426, 490, 618;\n    III, 943, 1186\n\nAlcimede, mother of Jason, I, 47, 233, 251, 259, 277\n\nAlcinous, king of the Phaeacians, IV, 769, 995, 1009, 1013, 1069, 1116,\n    1123, 1161, 1169, 1176, 1200, 1220, 1724\n\nAlcon, I, 97\n\nAleus, I, 163, 166, 170; II, 1046\n\nAlo\u00efades, sons of Aloeus, I, 482, 489\n\nAlope, a city of Thessaly, I, 51\n\nAmarantes, a people of Colchis, II, 399\n\nAmarantian, epithet of the river Phasis, III, 1220\n\nAmazonian, II, 977\n\nAmazons, II, 374, 386, 912, 965, 985, 987, 995, 1173\n\nAmbracians, inhabitants of Ambracia, a city of Epirus, IV, 1228\n\nAmnisus, a river of Crete, III, 877, 882\n\nAmphidamas, an Argonaut, I, 161; II, 1046\n\nAmphion, (1) an Argonaut, I, 176:\n  (2) son of Zeus and Antiope, I, 736, 740\n\nAmphithemis, son of Phoebus and Acacallis, also called Garamas, IV,\n    1494, 1495\n\nAmphitrite, wife of Poseidon, IV, 1325, 1355\n\nAmphrysus, a river of Thessaly, I, 54\n\nAmpycides, son of Ampycus, Mopsus, an Argonaut, I, 1083, 1106; II, 923;\n    III, 917, 926; IV, 1502\n\nAmyclae, a city of Laconia, IV, 1704\n\nAmycus, king of the Bebrycians, II, 1, 48, 51, 90, 110, 136, 303, 754,\n    768, 792\n\nAmymone, daughter of Danaus, I, 137\n\nAmyrus, a river of Thessaly, I, 596; IV, 617\n\nAnaphe, an island, one of the Sporades, IV, 1717, 1730, 1744\n\nAnaurus, a river of Thessaly, I, 9; III, 67\n\nAncaeus,(1) son of Lycurgus, an Argonaut, I, 161, 398, 426, 429, 531;\n    II, 118:\n  (2) son of Poseidon, an Argonaut, I, 188; II, 865, 894, 898, 1276; IV,\n    210, 1260\n\nAnchiale, a nymph, I, 1130\n\nAngurum, a mountain in Scythia, IV, 323, 324\n\nAnthemoeisian lake, in Bithynia, II, 724\n\nAnthemoessa, the island of the Sirens, in the Tyrrhenian sea, IV, 892\n\nAntianeira, I, 56\n\nAntiope, (1) daughter of Asopus, I, 735:\n  (2) daughter of Nycteus, IV, 1090:\n  (3) a queen of the Amazons, II, 387\n\nAonian, Boeotian, III, 1178, 1185\n\nAphare\u00efan, of Aphareus, I 485; III, 556, 1252\n\nApharetiadae, sons of Aphareus, I, 151\n\nApheidantian allotment, in Arcadia, I, 162\n\nAphetae, starting-place of Argo, I, 591\n\nApidaneans, name of Arcadians, IV, 263\n\nApidanus, a river of Thessaly, I, 36, 38; II, 515\n\nApis, a name of the Peloponnese, IV, 1564\n\nApollo, I, 307, 360, 403, 410, 759, II, 493, 502, 927, 952; III, 1181,\n    1283; IV, 528, 612, 1548, 1714, 1729:\n  god of the shore ([Greek: Aktios]), I,104:\n  of disembarcation ([Greek: Ekbasios]), I, 966, 1186:\n  of embarcation ([Greek: Embasios]), I, 359, 404:\n  of the dawn ([Greek: E\u00f4ios]), II, 686, 700:\n  of shepherds ([Greek: Nomios]), IV, 1218:\n  the Healer ([Greek: I\u00eaios]), II, 712:\n  the gleaner ([Greek: Aigl\u00eat\u00eas]), IV, 1716, 1730\n\nApsyrtians, IV, 481\n\nApsyrtus, son of Aeetes, III, 241, 604; IV, 225, 306, 314, 332, 399,\n    422, 451, 455, 515, 557, 587, 737\n\nAraethyrea, a city of Argolis, I, 115\n\nAraxis, a river of Armenia, IV, 133\n\nArcadia, I, 125, 161; II, 1052\n\nArcadians, IV, 263, 264\n\nArcton, \"of bears,\" a mountain near Cyzicus, I, 941, 1150\n\nArcturus, II, 1099\n\nAreius, son of Bias, an Argonaut, I, 118\n\nAre\u00efus, _adj._, of Ares, II, 1033, 1268; III, 325, 409, 495, 1270\n\nArene, a city of Messenia, I, 152, 471\n\nAres, I, 743; II, 385, 404, 989, 990, 991, 1169, 1205, 1230; III, 411,\n    754, 1187, 1227, 1282, 1357, 1366; IV, 166\n\nArestorides, son of Arestor, Argus, I, 112, 325\n\nArete, wife of Alcinous, IV, 1013, 1029, 1070, 1098, 1101, 1123, 1200,\n    1221\n\nAretias, (1) daughter of Ares, Melanippe, II, 966:\n  (2) fem. _adj._ II, 1031, 1047; III, 1180\n\nAretus, a Bebrycian, II, 65, 114\n\nArganthonian mountain, in Bithynia, I, 1178\n\nArgo, I, 4, 386, 525, 591, 633, 724, 953; II, 340; IV, 509, 592, 763,\n    993, 1473, 1546, 1609\n\nArgoan, I, 319; II, 211; IV, 554, 658, 938, 1620\n\nArgos, (1) a city of the Peloponnese, I, 125, 140, 1317:\n  (2) put for Greece in general, IV, 1074\n\nArgus, (1) son of Arestor, an Argonaut, I, 19, 111, 226, 321, 325, 367,\n    912, 1119; II, 613, 1188:\n  (2) son of Phrixus, II, 1122, 1140, 1156, 1199, 1260, 1281; III, 318,\n    367, 440, 474, 521, 554, 568, 610, 722, 826, 902, 914, 944, 1200;\n    IV, 80, 122, 256\n\nAriadne, a daughter of Minos, III, 998, 1003, 1097, 1107\n\nAristaeus, son of Apollo and Cyrene, II, 506; IV, 1132\n\nArtaceus, one of the Doliones, I, 1047\n\nArtacie, a spring near Cyzicus, I, 957\n\nArtemis, I, 312, 571, 1225; III, 774; IV, 330, 452, 470\n\nAsia, i.e. Asia Minor, I, 444; II, 777; IV, 273\n\nAsopis, daughter of Asopus,\n  (1) Antiope, I, 735;\n  (2) Corcyra, IV, 567\n\nAsopus, (1) a river of the Peloponnese, I, 117;\n  (2) father of Sinope, II, 947\n\nAssyrian, II, 946, 964\n\nAsterion, an Argonaut, I, 35\n\nAsterius, an Argonaut, I, 176\n\nAsterodeia, mother of Apsyrtus, III, 242\n\nAstypalaea, mother of Ancaeus, II, 866\n\nAtalanta, I, 769\n\nAthamantian plain, in Thessaly, II, 514\n\nAthamantis, daughter of Athamas, Helle, I, 927\n\nAthamas, son of Aeolus, king of Orchomenus, II, 653, 1153, 1162; III,\n    266, 360, 361; IV, 117\n\nAthena, I, 19, 110, 226, 300, 527, 551, 629, 768, 960; II, 537, 598,\n    602, 612, 1187; III, 8, 10, 17, 30, 91, 111, 340; IV, 583, 959,\n    1309, 1691\n\nAthos, a mountain in Chalcidice, I, 601\n\nAtlantis, daughter of Atlas,\n  (1) Electra, I, 916:\n  (2) Calypso, IV, 575\n\nAtlas, IV, 1398\n\nAttic island, Salamis, I, 93\n\nAugeias, an Argonaut, I, 172; III, 197, 363, 440\n\nAulion, a cave in Bithynia, II, 910\n\nAulis, a city of Boeotia, IV, 1779\n\nAusonian, Italian, IV, 553, 590, 660, 828, 846\n\nAutesion, IV, 1762\n\nAutolycus, a son of Deimachus, II, 956\n\n\nBacchiadae, the ruling race in Corinth, IV, 1212\n\nBasileus, one of the Doliones, I, 1043\n\nBebryces, a people of Bithynia, II, 2, 13, 70, 98, 121, 129, 758, 768,\n    792, 798\n\nBebrycia, II, 136\n\nBecheiri, a people of Pontus, II, 394, 1242\n\nBiantiades, son of Bias, Talaus, II, 63, 111\n\nBias, I, 118\n\nBillaeus, a river of Bithynia, II, 791\n\nBistonian, Thracian, I, 34; II, 704; IV, 906\n\nBithynian, II, 4, 177, 619, 730:\n  as _subst._ in plur., II, 347, 788\n\nBoeotians, II, 846\n\nBoreas, father of Zetes and Calais, I, 211, 212, 214, 1300; II, 234,\n    241, 273, 288, 308, 427, 440, 492; IV, 1464, 1484\n\nBosporus, I, 1114; II, 168\n\nBrimo, a name of Hecate, III, 861, 862, 1211\n\nBrygi, a people of Illyria, IV, 330, 470\n\nButes, an Argonaut, I, 95; IV, 914\n\nByzeres, a people of Pontus, II, 396, 1244\n\n\nCadmeians, Thebans, III, 1095\n\nCadmus, king of Thebes, III, 1179, 1186; IV, 517\n\nCaeneides, son of Caineus, Coronus, I, 58\n\nCaeneus, I, 59\n\nCalais, an Argonaut, I, 211; II, 282\n\nCalaureia, an island in the Saronic gulf, III, 1243\n\nCallichorus, a river of Paphlagonia, II, 904, 909\n\nCalliope, one of the Muses, I, 24\n\nCalliste, an island in the Aegaean sea, IV, 1758, 1763\n\nCalon, a mouth of the Ister, the Fair mouth, IV, 306, 313\n\nCalos, a harbour of Cyzicus, the Fair haven, I, 954\n\nCalpe, a river of Bithynia, II, 659\n\nCalydon, a city of Aetolia, I, 190\n\nCalypso, daughter of Atlas, IV, 574\n\nCanastra, a headland in Chalcidice, I, 599\n\nCanethus, I, 77\n\nCanthus, an Argonaut, I, 77; IV, 1467, 1485, 1497\n\nCaphaurus, a Libyan, IV, 1490, 1496\n\nCarambis, a promontory in Paphlagonia, II, 361, 943; IV, 300\n\nCarpathus, an island in the Aegaean sea, IV, 1636\n\nCaspian, III, 859\n\nCastor, I, 147; II, 62; IV, 589\n\nCaucasus, a mountain, II, 1210, 1247, 1267; III, 242, 852, 1224, 1276;\n    IV, 135\n\nCauliacus, a rock near the river Ister, IV, 324\n\nCecropia, old name of Attica, I, 95, 214; IV, 1779\n\nCelts, IV, 611, 635, 646\n\nCentaurs, a fabulous savage race, I, 42, 60; IV, 812\n\nCeos, one of the Cyclades, II, 520, 526\n\nCepheus, an Argonaut, I, 161\n\nCeraunian, mountains, IV, 519, 576, 1214;\n  sea, the Adriatic, IV, 983\n\nCerinthus, a city of Euboea, I, 79\n\nCerossus, an island off Illyria, IV, 573\n\nChadesians, a tribe of Amazons, II, 1000\n\nChalciope, daughter of Aeetes and sister of Medea, II, 1149; III, 248,\n    254, 270, 370, 449, 605, 667, 688, 718, 727, 776, 903, 1156; IV, 32\n\nChalcodonian mountain, in Thessaly, I, 50\n\nChalybes, a people of Pontus, I, 1323; II, 375, 1001; IV, 1475\n\nCharites, the Graces, IV, 425\n\nCharybdis, IV, 789, 825, 923\n\nCheiron, a Centaur, I, 33, 554; II, 510, 1240; IV, 812\n\nChersonesus, in Thrace, I, 925\n\nChytus, a harbour of Cyzicus, I, 987, 990\n\nCianian, I, 1177, as _subst._ in plur., I, 1354\n\nCircaean plain, II, 400; III, 200\n\nCirce, sister of Aeetes, III, 311; IV, 559, 587, 590, 662, 683, 691,\n    699, 752\n\nCius, (1) a city of Mysia, II, 767:\n  (2) a river of Mysia, I, 1178, 1321\n\nClaros, a city of Ionia, I, 308\n\nCleite, (1) wife of Cyzicus, I, 976, 1063:\n   (2) a fountain, called after her. I, 1069\n\nCleopatra, wife of Phineus, II, 239\n\nClymene, grandmother of Jason, I, 233\n\nClytius, an Argonaut, I, 86, 1044; II, 117, 1043\n\nClytonaeus, I, 134\n\nCnossus, a city of Crete, IV, 434\n\nCoeogeneia, daughter of Coeus, Leto, II, 710\n\nColchian, I, 174; II, 417, 1095, 1277; III, 313; IV, 2, 33, 132, 484,\n    485, 689, 731:\n  as _subst._ in plur., I, 84, 175 etc.; II, 397, 1204 etc.; III,\n    203, 212, etc.; IV, 5, 212 etc.\n\nColone, a rock in Bithynia, II, 650, 789\n\nCometes, I, 35\n\nConcord, a temple to, II, 718\n\nCorcyra, (1) daughter of Asopus, IV, 568:\n  (2) an island in the Adriatic sea, Black Corcyra, IV, 566, 571\n\nCore, a name of Persephone, III, 847\n\nCoronis, mother of Asclepius by Apollo, IV, 617\n\nCoronus, an Argonaut, I, 57\n\nCorycian, of Corycus, a mountain in Cilicia, II, 711; III, 855\n\nCrataeis, a name of Hecate, IV, 829\n\nCretan, I, 1129; II, 1233; IV, 1694\n\nCrete, II, 299; IV, 1578, 1637, 1644, 1651, 1689\n\nCrethe\u00efdes, son of Cretheus, Aeson, III, 357\n\nCretheus, brother of Athamas, II, 1162, 1163; III, 358, 360\n\nCrobialus, a city of Paphlagonia, II, 942\n\nCromna, a city of Paphlagonia, II, 942\n\nCronian, IV, 327, 509, 548\n\nCronos, I, 505; II, 1232; IV, 986\n\nCtimene, a city of Thessaly, I, 68\n\nCtimenus, I, 67\n\nCuretes, (1) in Crete, II, 1234:\n  (2) in Aetolia, IV, 1229\n\nCyanean rocks, I, 3; II, 318, 770; IV, 304, 1003\n\nCyclopes, I, 510, 730\n\nCyllenus, one of the Idaean Dactyls, I, 1126\n\nCypris, a name of Aphrodite, I, 615, 803, 850, 860, 1233; II, 424; III,\n    3, 25, 37, 76, 80, 90, 127, 549, 559, 936, 942; IV, 918.\n\nCyrene, mother of Aristaeus II, 500\n\nCytaean, i.e. Colchian, II, 399, 403, 1094, 1267; III, 228; IV, 511\n\nCytherea, a name of Aphrodite, I, 742; III, 108, 553\n\nCytissorus, a son of Phrixus, II, 1155\n\nCytorus, a city of Paphlagonia, II, 942\n\nCyzicus, (1) king of the Doliones, I, 949, 962, 1056, 1076:\n  (2) a city on a peninsula in the Propontis, II, 765\n\n\nDactyls, fabulous iron-workers on Mt. Ida, in Crete, I, 1129\n\nDanae, IV, 1091\n\nDanai, IV, 262\n\nDanais, daughter of Danaus, I, 137\n\nDanaus, I, 133\n\nDardania, I, 931\n\nDascylus (1) father of Lycus, II, 776:\n  (2) son of Lycus, II, 803\n\nDeileon, a son of Deimachus, II, 956\n\nDeimachus, II, 955\n\nDelos, I, 308\n\nDelphyne, a dragon, II, 706\n\nDeo, the goddess Demeter, III, 413; IV, 896, 986, 988\n\nDeucalidae, descendants of Deucalion, IV, 266\n\nDeucalion, son of Prometheus, III, 1087\n\nDia, an island in the Aegaean sea, IV, 425, 434\n\nDictaean, of Dicte, in Crete, I, 509, 1130; II, 434; IV, 1640\n\nDindymum, a mountain of Phrygia, I, 985, 1093, 1125, 1147\n\nDionysus, I, 116; IV, 424, 540\n\nDipsacus, II, 653\n\nDodonian oak, I, 527; IV, 583\n\nDoeantian plain, II, 373, 988\n\nDoliones, inhabitants of Cyzicus, I, 947, 952, 961, 1018, 1022, 1058\n\nDolionian, I, 1029, 1070; II, 765\n\nDolopian, I, 68, 585\n\nDrepane, the island of the Phaeacians, later Corcyra, IV, 990, 1223\n\nDryopians, I, 1213, 1218\n\nDysceladus, an island in the Adriatic, IV, 565\n\n\nEchetus, a mythical king of Epirus, IV, 1093\n\nEchinades, islands at the mouth of the Achelo\u00fcs, IV, 1230\n\nEchion, an Argonaut, I, 52\n\nEgypt, IV. 268\n\nEidyia, wife of Aeetes, III, 243, 269\n\nEilatides, son of Eilatus, Polyphemus, I, 41, 1241, 1248, 1347; IV, 1470\n\nEileithyia, the goddess of birth, I, 289\n\nElare, mother of Tityos, I, 762\n\nEleans, I, 173\n\nElectra, daughter of Atlas, I, 916\n\nElectris, an island, IV, 505, 580\n\nElectryon, I, 748\n\nElysian plain, IV, 811\n\nEncheleans, a people of Illyria, IV, 518\n\nEndymion, IV, 58\n\nEneteian, i.e. Paphlagonian, an epithet of Pelops, II, 358\n\nEnipeus, a river of Thessaly, I, 38\n\nEnyalius, a name of Ares, III, 322, 560, 1366\n\nEphyra, the old name of Corinth, IV, 1212\n\nErato, one of the Muses, III, 1\n\nErecthe\u00efdae, descendants of Erechtheus, the Athenians, I, 101\n\nErectheis, daughter of Erechtheus, Oreithyia, I, 212\n\nErginus, (1) son of Poseidon, an Argonaut, I, 187; II, 896:\n  (2) a river of Thrace, I, 217\n\nEribotes, an Argonaut, I, 71, 78; II, 1039\n\nEridanus, the river Po, IV, 506, 596, 610, 623, 628\n\nErinys, a Fury, II, 220; III, 704, 776; IV, 476, 1042:\n  in the plur., III, 712; IV, 386, 714\n\nEros, son of Aphrodite, III, 120, 275, 297, 972, 1018, 1078; IV, 445:\n  in the plural, \"the Loves,\" III, 452, 687, 765, 937\n\nErymanthian marsh, I, 127\n\nErytheis, one of the Hesperides, IV, 1427\n\nErythini, a town in Paphlagonia, II, 941\n\nErytus, an Argonaut, I, 52\n\nEryx, a mountain in Sicily, IV, 917\n\nEtesian winds, II, 498, 525\n\nEthiopians, III, 1192\n\nEuboea, an island, I, 77; IV, 1135, 1780\n\nEuphemus, an Argonaut, I 179; II, 536, 556, 562, 588, 896; IV, 1466,\n    1483, 1563, 1732 1756, 1758, 1764\n\nEupolemeia, I, 55\n\nEuropa, (1) daughter of Tityos, I, 181:\n  (2) daughter of Agenor, III, 1179; IV, 1643:\n  (3) a division of the earth, IV, 273\n\nEurydamas, an Argonaut, I, 67\n\nEurymedon, a name of Perseus IV, 1514\n\nEurymenae, a city of Thessaly, I, 597\n\nEurynome, I, 503\n\nEurypylus, IV, 1561\n\nEurystheus, I, 130, 1317, 1347\n\nEurytides, son of Eurytus, Clytius, II, 1043\n\nEurytion, son of Teleon, an Argonaut, I, 71\n\nEurytus, I, 87, 88; II, 114\n\nEusorus, I, 949\n\n\nGaea, the earth-goddess, I, 762; II, 39, 1209, 1273; III, 699, 716\n\nGanymedes, III, 115\n\nGaramas, also called Amphithemis, which see, IV, 1494\n\nGenetaean headland, in Pontus, II, 378, 1009\n\nGephyrus, one of the Doliones, I, 1042\n\nGeraestus, a promontory of Euboea, III, 1244\n\nGlaucus, I, 1310; II, 767\n\nGorgon, IV, 1515\n\nGraucenii, a people near the Ister, IV, 321\n\nGyrton, a city of Thessaly, I, 57\n\n\nHades, (1) god of the under world, II, 353, 609, 642, 735; III, 704,\n    810; IV, 1666:\n  (2) the under world, IV, 1699\n\nHaemonia, a name of Thessaly, II, 504, 690; III, 1090, 1244; IV, 1000,\n    1034\n\nHaemonians, II, 507; IV, 1075\n\nHagniades, son of Hagnias, Tiphys, I, 105, 560, 1296; II, 557, 854\n\nHalys, a river of Paphlagonia, II, 366, 953, 963; IV, 245\n\nHarmonia (1) a nymph, mother of the Amazons, II, 990:\n  (2) wife of Cadmus, IV, 517\n\nHarpies, II, 188, 223, 252, 264, 289, 298, 461\n\nHecate, III, 251, 478, 529, 738, 842, 915, 985, 1035, 1211; IV, 247, 829\n\nHeliades, daughters of Helios, IV, 604, 625\n\nHelice, the great Bear, II, 360; III, 745, 1195\n\nHelios, the Sun-god, I, 172; II, 1204; III, 233, 309, 362, 598, 999; IV,\n    221, 229, 591, 598, 727, 965, 971, 1019\n\nHellas, I, 336, 416, etc.; II, 414, 459, etc.; III, 13, 29, etc.; IV,\n    98, 204, etc.\n\nHelle, sister of Phrixus, I, 256\n\nHellespont, I, 935\n\nHephaestus, I, 203, 851; III, 40, 136, 223, 229; IV, 761, 775, 818, 929,\n    958\n\nHera, I, 14, 187, 859, 997; II, 216, 865; III, 8, 10, 19, 23, 32, 55,\n    77, 83, 91, 106, 210, 214, 250, 818, 931, 1134; IV, 11, 21, 242,\n    510, 577, 640, 646, 774, 781, 846, 858, 1137, 1152, 1185, 1199:\n  goddess of marriage ([Greek: Zugi\u00ea]), IV, 96\n\nHeracles, I, 122, 197, 341, 349, 397, 426, 531, 855, 864, 993, 997,\n    1040, 1163, 1242, 1253, 1291, 1303, 1316; II, 146, 767, 772, 793,\n    913, 957, 967, 1052; III, 1233; IV, 538, 1400, 1459, 1469, 1477\n\nHercynian rock, IV, 640\n\nHermes, I, 51, 642; II, 1145; III, 197, 588, 1175; IV, 121 1137\n\nHespere, one of the Hesperides, IV, 1427\n\nHesperides, IV, 1399, 1406\n\nHippodameia, I, 754\n\nHippolyte, a queen of the Amazons, II, 779, 968, 999\n\nHippotades, son of Hippotas, Aeolus, IV, 819\n\nHippotas, IV, 778\n\nHippuris, an island in the Aegaean sea, IV, 1712\n\nHomole, a mountain of Thessaly, I, 594\n\nHyacinthus, one of the Doliones, I 1044\n\nHyantian, Boeotian, III, 1242\n\nHylas, I, 131, 1207, 1258, 1324, 1350, 1354\n\nHyllean, IV, 535, 562, 1125:\n   as _subst._ in plur., IV, 524, 527\n\nHyllus, a son of Heracles, IV, 538, 543\n\nHyperasius, I, 176\n\nHyperboreans, II, 675; IV, 614\n\nHypius, a river of Bithynia, II, 795\n\nHypnos, the god of sleep, IV, 146\n\nHypsipyle, queen of Lemnos, I, 621, 637, 650, 654, 675, 699, 713, 718,\n    786, 836, 848, 853, 873, 886, 897, 900; III, 1206; IV, 423, 426\n\n\nIapetionides, son of Iapetus, Prometheus, III, 1087\n\nIapetus, III, 866\n\nIdaean (1) of Mt. Ida, in the Troad, I, 930:\n  (2) of Mt. Ida, in Crete, I, 1128, 1129; II, 1234; III, 134\n\nIdas, son of Aphareus, an Argonaut, I, 151, 462, 470, 485, 1044; II,\n    830; III, 516, 556, 1170, 1252\n\nIdmon, son of Apollo, an Argonaut, I, 139, 436, 449, 475; II, 816, 850\n\nIlissus, a river of Attica, I, 215\n\nIllyrian, IV, 516\n\nImbrasian, of Imbrasus, a river of the island Samos, I, 187; II, 866\n\nImbros, an island in the Aegaean sea, I, 924\n\nIndians, II, 906\n\nIolcus, a city of Thessaly, I, 572, 906; III, 2, 89, 1091, 1109, 1114,\n    1135; IV, 1163\n\nIonian, IV, 289, 308, 632, 982:\n  as _subst._ in plur., I, 959, 1076\n\nIphias, a priestess of Artemis, I, 312\n\nIphiclus (1) uncle of Jason, I, 45, 121:\n  (2) son of Thestius, an Argonaut, I, 201\n\nIphinoe, a woman of Lemnos, I, 702, 703, 709, 788\n\nIphitus, (1) son of Eurytus, an Argonaut, I, 86; II, 115:\n  (2) son of Naubolus, an Argonaut, I, 207\n\nIris, (1) a goddess, messenger of Hera, II, 286, 298, 432; IV, 753,\n    757, 770:\n  (2) a river of Pontus, II, 367, 963\n\nIrus, I, 72, 74\n\nIsmenus, a river of Boeotia, I, 537\n\nIssa, an island in the Adriatic, IV, 565\n\nIster, a river of Thrace, the Danube, IV, 284, 302, 309, 325\n\nIsthmian, of the isthmus of Corinth, III, 1240\n\nItonian, epithet of Athena, I, 551\n\nItymoneus, (1) one of the Doliones, I, 1046:\n  (2) a Bebrycian, II, 105\n\nIxion, III, 62\n\n\nJason, I, 8, 232, etc.; II, 122, 211, etc.; III, 66, 143, etc.; IV, 63,\n    79, etc.\n\nJasonian, I, 960, 988, 1148\n\n\nKeres, spirits of death, I, 690; IV, 1485, 1665\n\n\nLacereia, a city of Thessaly, IV, 616\n\nLadon, the dragon of the Hesperides, IV, 1396\n\nLampeia, a district in Arcadia, I, 127\n\nLampetia, a daughter of Helios, IV, 973\n\nLaocoon, an Argonaut, I, 191, 192\n\nLapithae, a people of Thessaly, I, 41, 42\n\nLarisa, a city of Thessaly, I, 40\n\nLatmian cave, in Caria, IV, 57\n\nLaurium, a plain near the river Ister, IV, 321, 326\n\nLeda, mother of Castor and Polydeuces, I, 146\n\nLemnian, I, 653; II, 32, 764; III, 1206\n\nLemnos, an island in the Aegaean sea, I, 602, 608, 852, 868, 873; IV,\n    1759, 1760\n\nLeodocus, an Argonaut, I, 119\n\nLerna, a lake in Argolis, III, 1241\n\nLernaean hydra, IV, 1404\n\nLernus, (1) son of Proetus, I, 135:\n  (2) father of Palaemonius, I, 202, 203\n\nLeto, mother of Apollo and Artemis, II, 213, 257, 674, 710\n\nLeto\u00efdes, son of Leto, Apollo, I, 66, 144, 439, 484; II, 181, 698, 771;\n    IV, 612, 1706\n\nLeto\u00efs, daughter of Leto, Artemis, II, 938; III, 878; IV, 346\n\nLiburnian islands, in the Adriatic, IV, 564\n\nLibya (1) I, 81, 83; II, 505; IV, 1227, 1309, 1313, 1323, 1358, 1384,\n    1485, 1492, 1513, 1561:\n  (2) a nymph, IV, 1742\n\nLibyan, IV, 1233, 1753\n\nLigystian or Ligurian islands, IV, 553\n\nLigyans, IV, 647\n\nLilybean promontory, in Sicily, IV, 919\n\nLocrians, IV, 1780\n\nLycaon, a king of Arcadia, II, 521\n\nLycastians, a tribe of Amazons, II, 999\n\nLycia, I, 309; II, 674\n\nLycoreian, an epithet of Phoebus, IV, 1490\n\nLycoreus, a servant of Amycus, II, 51\n\nLycurgus, son of Aleus, I, 164; II, 118\n\nLycus (1) king of the Mariandyni, II, 139, 752, 759, 813, 839; IV, 298:\n  (2) a river of Bithynia, II, 724:\n  (3) a river of Armenia, IV, 132\n\nLynceus, son of Aphareus, an Argonaut, I, 151, 153; IV, 1466, 1478\n\nLyra, II, 829\n\nLyrceian, epithet of the city Argos, I, 125\n\n\nMacrians, a people near Cyzicus, I, 1025, 1112\n\nMacris, (1) the island of the Phaeacians, also called Drepane, later\n    Corcyra, IV, 540, 990, 1175:\n  (2) daughter of Aristaeus, IV, 1131\n\nMacrones, a people of Pontus, II, 394, 1242\n\nMaenalus, a mountain in Arcadia, I, 168, 770\n\nMagnesia, a district in Thessaly, I, 238, 584\n\nMaia, the mother of Hermes, IV, 1733\n\nMariandyni, a people of Bithynia, II, 140, 352, 723, 748, 753\n\nMedea, daughter of Aeetes, III, 3, 248, etc.; IV, 213, 243, etc.\n\nMegabrontes, one of the Doliones, I, 1041\n\nMegalossaces, one of the Doliones, I, 1045\n\nMegarians, II, 747\n\nMelaena (1) a promontory in Bithynia, II, 349, 651:\n  (2) an island, Black Corcyra, IV, 571\n\nMelampus, I, 121\n\nMelanippe, an Amazon, II, 966\n\nMelantian rocks, in the Aegaean sea, IV, 1707\n\nMelas, (1) a son of Phrixus, II, 1156:\n  (2) a sea near Thrace, I, 922\n\nMeleagrus, son of Oeneus, an Argonaut, I, 191\n\nMeliboea, a city of Magnesia, I, 592\n\nMelie, a nymph, mother of Amycus, II, 4\n\nMelite (1) a nymph, mother of Hyllus, IV, 538, 543:\n  (2) an island in the Adriatic, IV, 572\n\nMeliteian mountain, in Corcyra, IV, 1150\n\nMene, the moon, IV, 55\n\nMeneteis, daughter of Menetes, Antianeira, I, 56\n\nMenoetius, son of Actor, an Argonaut, I, 69\n\nMentores, a people of Illyria, IV, 551\n\nMerops, father of Cleite, I, 975\n\nMiletus, a city of Ionia, I, 186\n\nMimas, (1) a Bebrycian, II, 105:\n  (2) a giant, III, 1227\n\nMinoan, of Minos, i.e. Cretan, II, 299, 516; IV, 1564, 1691\n\nMino\u00efs, daughter of Minos, Ariadne III, 908; IV, 433\n\nMinos, king of Crete, III, 1000, 1098, 1100, 1107; IV, 1491\n\nMinyan, of Minyas, IV, 117\n\nMinyans, the Argonauts, I, 229, 709, 1055; II, 97; III, 578; IV, 338, 509,\n    595, 1074, 1220, 1364, 1456, 1500\n\nMinyas, son of Aeolus, I, 230; III, 1093, 1094\n\nMopsus, son of Ampycus, an Argonaut, I, 65, 80, 1083, 1086, 1106; II,\n    923; III, 543, 916, 938; IV, 1502, 1518\n\nMossynoeci, a people of Pontus, II, 379, 1016, 1117\n\nMycenaeans, I, 128\n\nMyrine, a city of Lemnos, I, 604, 634\n\nMyrmidon, father of Eupolemeia, I, 55\n\nMyrmidons, old inhabitants of Aegina, IV, 1772\n\nMyrtilus, charioteer of Oenomaus, I, 755\n\nMyrtosian height, in Libya, II, 505\n\nMysian, I, 1115, 1349; II, 766:\n  as _subst._ in plur., I, 1164, 1179, 1298, 1322, 1345; II, 781,\n    786; IV, 1472\n\n\nNarex, a mouth of the river Ister, IV, 312\n\nNasamon, a Libyan, IV, 1496\n\nNaubolides, son of Naubolus Clytoneus, I, 134\n\nNaubolus, (1) son of Lernus, I, 135:\n  (2) son of Ornytus, I, 203\n\nNaupliades, son of Nauplius, Proetus, I, 136\n\nNauplius (1) son of Poseidon, I, 138:\n  (2) son of Clytoneus, an Argonaut, I, 134; II, 896\n\nNausithous, king of the Phaeacians before Alcinous, IV, 539, 547, 550\n\nNele\u00efdae, descendants of Neleus, I, 959\n\nNeleis, daughter of Neleus, Pero, I, 120\n\nNeleus, king of Pylos, I, 156, 158\n\nNepeian plain, near Cyzicus, I, 1116\n\nNere\u00efdes, daughters of Nereus, IV, 844, 859, 930\n\nNereus, a sea-god, I, 1311; IV, 772, 1599, 1743\n\nNestaeans, a people of Illyria, IV, 1215\n\nNestian lands, in Illyria, IV, 337\n\nNisaeans, II, 747, 847\n\nNycteus, a king, father of Antiope, IV, 1090\n\nNymphaea, the island of Calypso, IV, 574\n\nNyseian, of Nysa, epithet of Dionysus, II, 905, 1214; IV, 431, 1134\n\nNyx, the goddess Night, III, 1193; IV, 630, 1059\n\n\nOaxus, a river of Crete, I, 1131\n\nOceanis, daughter of Oceanus, (1) Eurynome, I, 504:\n  (2) Philyra, II, 1239\n\nOceanus, I, 506; III, 244, 957, 1230; IV, 282, 632, 638, 1414\n\nOeagrus, father of Orpheus, I, 25, 570; II, 703; IV, 905, 1193\n\nOechalia, a city of Euboea, I, 87\n\nOene\u00efdes, son of Oeneus, Meleagrus, I, 190, 1046; III, 518\n\nOeneus, I, 192, 193\n\nOenoe, (1) an island in the Aegaean, I, 623:\n  (2) a nymph, I, 626\n\nOenomaus, I, 756\n\nOgygian, epithet of Thebes, III, 1178\n\nOileus, an Argonaut, I, 74; II, 1037\n\nOlenian, of Olenus, a city in Aetolia, I, 202\n\nOlympian, IV, 95\n\nOlympus, (1) a mountain in Thessaly, I, 598:\n  (2) the abode of the gods, I, 504, 1099; II, 300, 603, 1232; III, 113,\n    159, 1358; IV, 770, 781\n\nOnchestus, a city of Boeotia, III, 1242\n\nOphion, I, 503\n\nOpuntian, of Opus, IV, 1780\n\nOpus, a city of Locris, I, 69\n\nOrchomenus (1) son of Minyas and king of Orchomenus, II, 654, 1093,\n    1186; III, 265, 266:\n  (2) a city of Boeotia, II, 1153; III, 1073, 1094; IV, 257\n\nOreides, an attendant of Amycus, II, 110\n\nOreithyia, daughter of Erechtheus, I, 212\n\nOricus (or Oricum), a city of Epirus, IV, 1215\n\nOrion, the constellation, I, 1202; III, 745\n\nOrnytides, the son of Ornytus, Naubolus, I, 207\n\nOrnytus, a Bebrycian (not father of Naubolus), II, 65\n\nOrpheus, I, 23, 32, 494, 540, 915, 1134; II, 161, 685, 928; IV, 905,\n    1159, 1409, 1547\n\nOrtygia, a name of Delos, I, 419, 537; IV, 1705\n\nOssa, a mountain in Thessaly, I, 598\n\nOthrys, a mountain in Thessaly, II, 515\n\nOtrere, a queen of the Amazons, II, 387\n\n\nPactolus, a river of Lydia, IV, 1300\n\nPae\u00ebon, the physician of the gods, IV, 1511\n\nPagasae, a city of Thessaly, I, 238, 411\n\nPagaseian, I, 318, 524; IV, 1781\n\nPalaemonius, an Argonaut, I, 202\n\nPallas, the goddess Athena, I, 723; III, 340\n\nPallenaean, of Pallene, a promontory in Chalcidice, I, 599\n\nPanachaean, I, 243; III, 347\n\nPanhellenes, II, 209\n\nPaphlagonians, II, 358, 790; IV, 245, 300\n\nParaebius, a friend of Phineus, II, 456, 463\n\nParnassus, a mountain between Phocis and Locris, II, 705\n\nParrhasian, of Parrhasia, a district in Arcadia, II, 521\n\nParthenia, a name of the island Samos, I, 188; II, 872\n\nParthenius, a river of Paphlagonia, II, 936; III, 876\n\nPasiphae, wife of Minos, III, 999, 1076, 1107\n\nPegae, a spring in Mysia, I, 1222, 1243\n\nPeiresiae, a city of Thessaly, I, 37, 584\n\nPeirithous, king of the Lapithae, I, 103\n\nPelasgian, I, 14, 906; III, 1323; IV, 243, 265:\n  as _subst._ in plur., I, 580; II, 1239\n\nPele\u00efdes, son of Peleus, Achilles, I, 558\n\nPeleus, son of Aeacus, an Argonaut, I, 94, 1042; II, 829, 868, 1217;\n    III, 504; IV, 494, 816, 853, 880, 1368\n\nPelian, of Mt. Pelion, I, 386, 525, 550, 581; II, 1188\n\nPelias, king of Iolcus, I, 3, 5, 12, 225, 242, 279, 323, 902, 981,\n    1304; II, 624, 763; III, 64, 75, 1135; IV, 242\n\nPelion, a mountain in Thessaly, I, 520\n\nPellene, a city of Achaea, I, 177\n\nPelles, the founder of Pellene, I, 177\n\nPelopeia, daughter of Pelias, I, 326\n\nPelopeian, of Pelops, I, 758; II, 790; IV, 1570, 1577\n\nPelops, I, 753; II, 359; IV, 1231\n\nPeneus, a river of Thessaly, II, 500\n\nPercosian, of Percote, I, 975\n\nPercote, a city in the Troad, I, 932\n\nPericlymenus, an Argonaut, I, 156\n\nPero, daughter of Neleus, I, 119\n\nPerse, mother of Circe, IV, 591\n\nPerseis, daughter of Perses, Hecate, III, 467, 478, 1035; IV, 1020\n\nPersephone, goddess of the under world, II, 916\n\nPerseus, IV, 1513\n\nPeuce, an island at the mouth of the Ister, IV, 300\n\nPhaeacian, IV, 769, 1222, 1722:\n  as _subst._ in plur., IV, 539, 549, 822, 991, 992, 1139, 1181,\n    1211\n\nPha\u00ebthon, (1) a name of Apsyrtus, III, 245, 1236:\n  (2) son of Helios, IV, 598, 623\n\nPha\u00ebthusa, a daughter of Helios, IV, 971\n\nPhalerus, an Argonaut, I, 96\n\nPhasis, a river of Colchis, II, 401, 1261, 1278; III, 57, 1220; IV, 134\n\nPherae, a city of Thessaly, I, 49\n\nPhillyrides, son of Philyra, Cheiron, I, 554\n\nPhilyra, a daughter of Ocean, II, 1232, 1239\n\nPhilyrean, of Philyra, II, 1231\n\nPhilyres, a people of Pontus, II, 393\n\nPhineus, a blind seer, II, 178, 236, 277, 294, 305, 436, 438, 530, 618,\n    647, 769, 1051, 1090, 1135; III, 549, 555, 943; IV, 254\n\nPhlegraean, of Phlegra, III, 234, 1227\n\nPhlias, son of Dionysus, an Argonaut, I, 115\n\nPhliuntian, of Phlius, a city of the Peloponnese, IV, 568\n\nPhlogius, (1) one of the Doliones, I, 1045:\n  (2) son of Deimachus, II, 956\n\nPhocians, I, 207\n\nPhocus, brother of Telamon and Peleus, I, 92\n\nPhoebus, Apollo, I, 1, 301, 353, 536, 759; II, 216, 506, 702, 713, 847;\n    IV, 529, 1490, 1493, 1550, 1702, 1717, 1718\n\nPhorcys, father of Scylla, IV, 828, 1598\n\nPhrixus, son of Athamas, I, 256, 291, 763; II, 1093, 1107, 1119, 1141,\n    1143, 1151, 1194; III, 178, 190, 196, 263, 304, 330, 338, 361, 374,\n    584, 595; IV, 22, 71, 81, 119, 441, 736\n\nPhrontis, a son of Phrixus, II, 1155; IV, 72, 76, 80\n\nPhrygia, I, 937, 1126, 1166\n\nPhrygians, I, 1139; II, 787\n\nPhthia, a city of Thessaly, I, 94; II, 514, 520\n\nPhthian, I, 55\n\nPhylace, a city of Thessaly, I, 45\n\nPhylaceis, daughter of Phylacus, Alcimede, I, 47\n\nPhylleian, (1) of the river Phyllis, in Bithynia, II, 652:\n  (2) of a mountain in Thessaly, I, 37\n\nPieria, a district in Thessaly, I, 31, 34\n\nPierides, a name of the Muses, IV, 1382\n\nPimpleian, of Pimpleia, in Pieria, 1, 25\n\nPityeia, (1) a city of the Troad, I, 933:\n  (2) one of the Liburnian islands, IV, 565\n\nPlanctae, rocks past which Argo sailed, IV, 860, 924, 932, 939\n\nPlegades, the clashing rocks, the Symplegades, II, 596, 645\n\nPleiads, III, 226\n\nPleistus, II, 711\n\nPlotae, floating islands, II, 285, 297\n\nPolydeuces, son of Zeus and Leda, an Argonaut, I, 146; II, 20, 100,\n    756; IV, 588\n\nPolyphemus, son of Eilatus, an Argonaut, I, 40, 1241, 1321, 1347; IV,\n    1470\n\nPolyxo, aged nurse of Hypsipyle, I, 668\n\nPontus, the Euxine or Black Sea, I, 2; II, 346, 413, 418, 579, 984; IV,\n    304, 1002\n\nPoseidon, I, 13, 136, 158, 180, 185, 951, 1158; II, 867; III, 1240; IV,\n    567, 1326, 1356, 1370, 1559, 1621;\n  god of the family ([Greek: Genethlios]), II, 3\n\nPosideian headland, in Bithynia, I, 1279\n\nPriolas, II, 780\n\nProetus, I, 136\n\nPrometheus, II, 1249, 1257; III, 845, 853, 1086\n\nPromeus, one of the Doliones, I, 1044\n\nPropontis, I, 936, 983\n\nPylos, a city of Messenia, I, 157\n\nPytho, the old name of Delphi, I, 209, 308, 413, 418, 536; IV, 530, 1704\n\n\nRhea, a goddess, wife of Cronos, mother of Zeus, I, 506, 1139, 1151; II,\n    1235\n\nRhebas, a river of Bithynia, II, 349, 650, 789\n\nRhipaean mountains, in Scythia, IV, 287\n\nRhodanus, the river Rhone, IV, 627\n\nRhoeteian shore, in the Troad, I, 929\n\nRhyndacus, a river of Bithynia, I, 1165\n\n\nSalangon, a river of Illyria, IV, 337\n\nSalmonian promontory, in Crete, IV, 1693\n\nSangarius, a river of Bithynia, II, 722\n\nSapeires, a people of Pontus, II, 395, 1243\n\nSardinian sea, IV, 633\n\nSarpedonian rock, in Thrace, I, 216\n\nSauromatae, a people of Scythia, III, 353, 394\n\nSciathus, an island near Magnesia, I, 583\n\nScylla, IV, 789, 827, 828, 922\n\nScythians, IV, 288, 320\n\nSepian headland, in Thessaly, I, 582\n\nSerbonian lake, in Egypt, II, 1215\n\nSesamus, a city of Paphlagonia, II, 941\n\nSicinus, (1) son of Thoas, I, 625:\n  (2) an island, also called Oenoe, in the Aegaean sea, I, 624\n\nSigynni, a people near the river Ister, IV, 320\n\nSindi, a people near the river Ister, IV, 322\n\nSinope, daughter of Asopus, II, 946\n\nSintian, an epithet of the island Lemnos, I, 608; IV, 1759\n\nSiphaean, an epithet of the Thespians, I, 105\n\nSirens, IV, 893, 914\n\nSirius, the dog star, II, 517, 524; III, 957\n\nSparta, I, 148; IV, 1761, 1762\n\nSphodris, one of the Doliones, I, 1041\n\nSporades, islands in the Aegaean sea, IV, 1711\n\nSthenelus, II, 911, 925\n\nStoechades, islands off Liguria, IV, 554, 650, 654\n\nStrophades, islands in the Ionian sea, II, 296\n\nStymphalian birds, II, 1053\n\nStyx, a river of Hades, II, 291\n\nSyrtis, quicksands in Libya, IV, 1235\n\n\nTaenarus, a city of Laconia, I, 102, 179; III, 1241\n\nTalaus, an Argonaut, I, 118; II, 63, 111\n\nTalos, a giant, guardian of Crete, IV, 1638, 1670\n\nTaphians, inhabitants of islands off the coast of Acarnania, same as\n    the Teleboae, I, 750\n\nTegea, a city of Arcadia, I, 162, 398\n\nTelamon, son of Aeacus, an Argonaut, I, 93, 1043, 1289, 1330; III,\n    196, 363, 440, 515, 1174\n\nTeleboans, _see_ Taphians, I, 748\n\nTelecles, one of the Doliones, I, 1040\n\nTeleon, (1) father of Eribotes, I, 72, 73:\n  (2) father of Butes, I, 96; IV, 912\n\nTenos, an island in the Aegaean sea, I, 1305\n\nTerpsichore, one of the Muses, IV, 896\n\nTethys, wife of Oceanus, mother of Eidyia, III, 244\n\nThebes, I, 736; II, 906; III, 1178; IV, 260\n\nTheiodamas, king of the Dryopians, I, 1213, 1216, 1355\n\nThemis, IV, 800\n\nThemiscyreian headland, II, 371, 995\n\nThera, an island in the Aegaean sea, IV, 1763\n\nTherapnaean, of Therapnae, a city of Laconia, II, 163\n\nTheras, IV, 1762\n\nThermodon, a river of Pontus, II, 370, 805, 970\n\nTheseus, I, 101; III, 997; IV, 433\n\nThespians, I, 106\n\nThestiades, son of Thestius, Iphiclus, I, 201\n\nThetis, a Nereid, wife of Peleus, IV, 759, 773, 780, 783, 800, 833, 845,\n    881, 932, 938\n\nThoantias, daughter of Thoas, Hypsipyle, I, 637, 712\n\nThoas, former king of Lemnos, I, 621, 625, 718, 798, 829; IV, 426\n\nThrace, I, 213, 614, 799, 826, 1113\n\nThracian, I, 24, 29, 214, 602, 678, 795, 954, 1110, 1300; II, 427; IV,\n    905, 1484:\n  as _subst._ in plur., I, 632, 637, 821, 923; II, 238; IV, 288, 320\n\nThrinacia, the island Sicily, IV, 965\n\nThrinacian sea, IV, 994\n\nThyiades, Bacchants, I, 636\n\nThynian, II, 350, 460, 485, 548, 673:\n  as _subst._ in plur., II, 529\n\nTibareni, a people of Pontus, II, 377, 1010\n\nTiphys, the pilot of Argo, I, 105, 381, 401, 522, 561, 956, 1274, 1296;\n    II, 175, 557, 574, 584, 610, 622, 854\n\nTisaean headland, in Thessaly, I, 568\n\nTitanian, III, 865; IV, 54, 131\n\nTitans, I, 507; II, 1233; IV, 989\n\nTitaresian, of Titaresus, a river of Thessaly, I, 65\n\nTitias, (1) one of the Idaean Dactyls, I, 1126:\n  (2) a boxer, II, 783\n\nTityos, I, 181, 761\n\nTrachis, a city of Thessaly, I, 1356\n\nTriccaean, of Tricca, a city of Thessaly, II, 955\n\nTrinacrian sea, IV, 291\n\nTriton, (1) a sea-god, IV, 1552, 1589, 1598, 1621, 1741, 1742, 1752:\n  (2) the river Nile, IV, 269:\n  (3) a lake in Libya, IV, 1311\n\nTritonian, I, 721, 768; III, 1183; IV, 260, 1391, 1444, 1495, 1539\n\nTyndareus, I,148; III, 517\n\nTyndarides, the son of Tyndareus, Polydeuces, II, 30, 41, 74, 798:\n  in plur., Castor and Polydeuces, I, 1045; II, 806; III, 1315; IV, 593\n\nTyphaon, II, 1211\n\nTyphaonian rock, II, 1210\n\nTyphoeus, II, 38\n\nTyrrhenian, Etruscan, III, 312; IV, 660, 850, 856:\n  as _subst._ in plur., IV, 1760\n\n\nUranides, son of Uranus, Cronos, II, 1232:\n  in plur., the gods, II, 342\n\nUranus, III, 699, 746; IV, 992\n\n\nXanthus, a river of Lycia, I, 309\n\nXynian lake, in Thessaly, I, 68\n\n\nZelys, one of the Doliones, I, 1042\n\nZetes, son of Boreas, an Argonaut, I, 211; II, 243, 282, 430\n\nZethus, son of Zeus and Antiope, I, 736, 738\n\nZeus, I, 150, 242, etc.; II, 43, 154, etc.; III, 8, 11, etc.; IV, 2,\n    95, etc.;\n  god of suppliants ([Greek: Hikesios]), II, 215, 1132; IV, 358;\n  of fugitives ([Greek: Phuxios]), II, 1147; IV, 119:\n  of strangers ([Greek: Xeinios]), II, 1132; III, 103:\n  of rain ([Greek: Ikmaios]), II, 522:\n  lord of hospitality ([Greek: Euxeinos]), II, 378:\n  the Beholder ([Greek: Epopsios]), II, 1123:\n  the Cleanser ([Greek: Katharsios]), IV, 708\n\nZone, a town of Thrace, I, 29","title":"The Argonautica","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":69213}