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1
Table of Contents

1- Introduction 2
2- I: The Role of Gods in the Argonautica
2.1. Zeus 6
2.2. Hera and Thetis 11
2.3. Athena 25
2.4. Apollo 35
2.5. Poseidon, Triton and Glaucus 46
3- II: The Interaction between the Argonauts and the Marine
Environment in the Argonautica
3.1. Election of the Leader 54
3.2. The Launch of Argo 57
3.3. The Winds and the Navigation 59
3.4. Phineus Episode 64
3.5. The Symplegades or the Planctae 67
3.6. Passage of the Symplegades 78
3.7. The Sirens in Scylla and Charybdis 88
3.8. What did Jason Learn from these Situations? 93
4- III: The Marine Similes in the Argonautica
4.1. Concept of the Simile 97
4.2. The First Book 100
4.3. The Second Book 105
4.4. The Third Book 111
4.5. The Forth Book 112
5- Bibliography 116




2
Introduction

The Argonautica recounts the mythical voyage of the Argonauts who,
on the order of King Pelias, undertake a long and dangerous voyage to
Colchis, located on the southeast corner of the Black Sea (modern
Georgia), in search of the Golden Fleece and, eventually, succeed in
returning with it to Greece. They are led by Jason, a young hero who
succeeds in winning the Fleece from Aeetes, king of Colchis, with the
help of Medea, the Colchian princess expert in magic powers with
whom he gets involved in a love affair, and who accompanies him
back to Greece, thus providing the setting for Euripides' great tragic
play of betrayal and infanticide, Medea.
In length the poem may be said to fit perfectly Aristotle's
prescription that an epic should be "about as long as the number of
tragedies presented at one sitting" (Poet. 1459b 21f). It is without
question meticulously structured. Books I and II give the reasons for
the voyage, describe the gathering of the crew and relate the voyage to
Colchis. They include the encounter with Hypsipyle and the Lemnian
women (Argo. 1.609-914); the crew's loss of Hylas and Heraldes
(1.1207-357); the boxing match between Polydeuces and Amycus (2.1-
97); the encounter with the Harpies and Phineus, and his prophecy
(2.178-447); the passage through the Clashing Rocks, or Symplegades
(2.549-606); and the long voyage along the southern coast of the
Black Sea (2.619-1261). Book III is dedicated to the story of Jason
and Medea and the completion of the hero's trials. It includes a
memorable depiction of Aeetes, father of Medea and tyrannical ruler of
Colchis (3.302-438; also 4.212-40); a dramatic account of the young
princess falling in love with the foreign hero (3.275-98, 439-824); and
the aristeia of Jason when he yokes the bulls and defeats the
earthborn men (3.1246-407). Book IV relates the actual taking of the
Fleece (99-182) and the return journey, which follows a quite different
route from the outward voyage, bringing the Argonauts home to
Greece via the Danube, the Rhone, the western coast of Italy, Corfu,
North Africa, and Crete. It includes the murder of Apsyrtus (410-81),
the encounter with Circe in Italy (659-752), Orpheus' singing match
with the Sirens (885-922), the stay in the land of the Phaeacians (982-
1223), the beaching of the "Argo" on the Libyan shore and the
subsequent carrying of the ship back to the sea (1232-587), and
eventually the return to Greece via Crete, where the giant Tales is
defeated by Medea's magical powers (1638-688). The poem ends with
the Argonauts setting foot safely back in Greece, and the poet looking
forward to future recitations of his work (1773-774). In the final line
he addresses his heroes: "and happily did you step out onto the beach
of Pagasae" (4.1781). The reader is thus offered both easy, natural
closure and the possibility of endless repetition of the poem and its
3
story. Apollonius here draws attention to issues such as the
relationship between his poem and the Argonautic myth as a whole
and the very difficulty of deciding on a beginning and an end in order
to mark out his poem within that whole.
1

In the first book of Apollonius Argonautica, when the Argonauts
have assembled on the shore of Pagasae and Jason has been chosen
leader of the expedition, the Argonauts ready the ship, sacrifice to
Apollo, and feast. They embark at dawn the next day (1.519-534a). A
tearful Jason turns his gaze from his homeland as the ship leaves the
shore (534b-535), propelled by the oars of his companions to the tune
of the song of Orpheus. The sun glints from their armor, and their
wake is white behind them (536-546). All the gods look on from
heaven at the ship and the Argonauts; the nymphs of Pelion, too, on
its highest peak look with wonder on the ship, the handiwork of
Athena, and on the Argonauts, her oarsmen. Chiron descends from
the mountain top to the shore and bids them a fair voyage and return,
while his wife holds the infant Achilles up for his departing father to
see.

EuV1t oupuVo0tV ItuoooV 0toI u1I xtIVq
V u xuI I0tmV uVpm V tVo, oI 1o1 u pIo1oI
EoV1oV tEIEImtoxoV tE u xpo1u1qoI t VuuI
IIut oxoEIqoIV t0uptoV, tIoopomouI
tpoV A0VuI 1mVIo t xuI uu1ou
pmu tIptooIV t EIxpuuoV1u t pt1u
uu1up o t uEu1ou opto xItV uI 0uIuoo
XtIpmV IIIupI, EoIIq tEI xuu1o u q
1tt Eo u, xuI EoIIu puptIq tIpI xtItumV
Voo1oV t Etu otV u Eptu VIoootVoIoIV
ouV xuI oI EupuxoI1I, t EmItVIoV opt ouou
ItIV AIIu, IIq tIIoxt1o Eu1pI.
(I.547-58)

On that day all of the gods looked down from heaven
upon the ship and this race of demi-gods, best of men,
who then sailed the sea. And the Nymphs on the
topmost heights of Pelion gazed in wonder at the work of
Itonian Athena and the heroes themselves plying the
oars with their hands. And down from the mountain-top
to the sea came Chiron son of Philyra, and where the
white surf broke he dipped his feet, and with his stout
hand often waving wished them a safe return as they
departed. And with him his wife, bearing in her arms
Achilles son of Peleus, showed the child to his dear
father.


1
Foley (2005), 355.
4
The Argonauts are the sons of gods, but we have also learned that
Athena helped build the Argo, giving advice to Argus (1.19, 111-112)
and placing the divine beam of Dodonian oak in her stem (1.526-527),
that it was she who impelled Tiphys to join the expedition (1.109-110),
and that Jason has close ties with her (ouVoouVoIV, 1.300). We have
learned, furthermore, that Apollo - whose dire prophecy to Pelias
precipitated his ordering Jason to make the expedition - has given
Jason favorable oracles (1.301-302), promising to guide his journey
(1.360-362,412-414; cf. the prophesy of Idmon, 1.439-447).
1

As Feeney has pointed out, the gods have been conspicuous by
their absence from the early episodes of the Argonautica; even Apollos
response to the sacrifice by the Argonauts on the beach is only
conveyed by proxy. Yet the theme of partnership between mortals and
immortals has been explicit both in the frequent mention of co-
operation between Athena and Argus in the construction of the ship
(18-19; 111-14; 226) and in Jasons invocation of Apollo. Now at last
the gods make their entrance into the action proper, affording yet
another perspective on events. To some extent these scenes function
as the divine equivalent of the earlier scenes of departure from Iolcus.
As before, there are two distinct sets of observers, the Olympians
keeping an eye on events from heaven and the local nymphs watching
the ship from the vantage point of Mt Pelion. We are not privy to the
reaction of the former to what they see and, at first sight, the heavenly
gods may appear detached from proceedings. Yet the calculated
reference to I0tmV uVpm V in 548, the only time in the poem that the
Argonauts are so designated, reminds us of the parentage of many of
the crew and that the gods too are implicated in the success of this
venture. And in the narrative description of the Argonauts as the best
of men then sailing the sea is perhaps to be found a hint of divine
approbation.
2

It is evident that interactions between the Argonauts and their
natural surroundings are of considerable importance in the
Argonautica whether they involve construction or other forms of
remembrance of the presence of the Argonauts, or whether they result
in some change in nature itself, caused by the skill of Orpheus. The
poet, by emphasizing awareness of the powers of techn, seems to
desire to make clear that the voyage of the Argo was not an
insignificant event but one which changed the world, physically and
perhaps intellectually also.
3

The Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius is the work of an extremely
learned and self-conscious artist, who set out to demonstrate that it
was still possible to use the traditional epic form with great originality.

1
Byre (1997),106,110
2
Clare (2002),60-61
3
Williams (1991), 209-210.
5
His similes occur with a frequency close to that of the similes in the
Iliad, but they are much more evenly spread through the poem and
they avoid excessive repetition of theme. Although only a minority of
his similes show substantial originality of theme, Apollonius
studiously avoids anything like subservient dependence on Homer,
and he can often be observed to be consciously improving on Homer,
particularly in producing much more precise parallels between
extended similes and the narrative.
1




































1
James (1969), 77.

6
I: The Role of Gods in the Argonautica

Zeus

Jason explains that he is being sent to complete sacrificial offerings of
Phrixus (1194-5), and that for some reason, Zeus is angry at the
Aiolidae (ZVo oIoV AI oIIqoIV, 1195). This ambiguity arises out of
the appositive nature of verse 1195, for Zeus wrath could stem from
the sacrificial offerings (0uIu, 1194), or from the fact that Jason has
not completed them (uEIomV, 1195).
It is unclear, moreover, how Phrixus is connected to the sacrificial
offerings. They could, for instance, be the very offerings that Phrixus
made through his act of sacrificing the ram (pIoIo = subjective
genitive). Although the offerings that Phrixus made were performed in
Zeus honor, they might also be the cause of Zeus wrath
(ZVo oIoV AI oIIqoIV, 1195). Zeus, then, would apparently be
angry because the Aiolidae have not completed the sacrificial offerings
(uEIomV, 1195). Through his journey to Colchis, Jason will remove
Zeus anger by somehow completing the offerings.
The sacrificial offerings could, on the other hand, be related to
Athamas attempted sacrifice of Phrixus. Jason would then be sent to
complete offerings (0uIu / o1tIIouI uEI omV) that are intended
either to placate the ghost of Phrixus (pIoIo = objective genitive), or
to atone for Athamas attempted sacrifice of him (pIoIo = objective
genitive). Some even argue that Jason uses the participle uEI omV
specifically with the sense of atonement, so that Jason is being sent to
atone for Athamas attempted sacrifice. Such a reading, though,
requires an unusual application of the verb uVuEIEII.
When one reads the noun pIoIo as an objective genitive, Zeus is
either angry because of Athamas attempted sacrifice of Phrixus, for
which the Aiolidae have not atoned, or because sacrificial offerings,
either of atonement or placation, have not been completed. With the
first of these possibilities, Jasons completion of the sacrificial
offerings will not necessarily remove Zeus anger. In other words,
aside from one exception, all of the above interpretations of verses
1194-5 regardless of whether the genitive pIoIo is considered
subjective or objective-entail that Zeus anger will diminish if Jason
completes/atones for the sacrificial offerings. Since Jason, moreover,
says that he has been sent to complete these offerings
(o1tIIouI u EI omV, 1195), the majority of interpretations imply that
he is ascribing to Zeus an indirect role in causing the expedition.
The voyage again seems overdeterrnined, for Jason already referred
to Apollos role in causing it (1.414). When each of the Iolkian
townsmen, in fact, spoke as they gazed at the Argonauts before the
7
start of the voyage (240-7), they addressed Zeus and asked what was
the mind of Pelias and where was he sending the Argonauts
(Ztu uVu, 1I tIIuo Voo; Eo0I 1ooooV o IIoV pmmV uI uVuuIIo
tx1o0I puIItI; 242-3). While referring to Pelias as the instigator of the
voyage, they fail to mention any role that Zeus played in the
prehistory. Jason, in contrast, highlights Zeus role (2.1194-5). Not
only does the Argonautic voyage have diverse causes, but the manner
in which the divine framework of the prehistory is presented can
change as the focalizer changes.
1


Hunter agrees with Berkowitz that Zeus is the ultimate
instigator of the voyage, as Pelias has dispatched Jason (at least
allegedly) in order to appease Zeuss anger for the attempted
sacrifice of Phrixus at the gods altar (2.1194-5, 3.336-9). All of
this, however, remains obscure, and Zeuss motives seem
threateningly inscrutable. But the voyage of Argo instead of
appeases Zeuss anger renews it. His anger at the death of
Apsyrtus (4.557-91) is the motive force of a central part of the
action in the final book. This last episode is the closest
Apollonius comes to the motif of the hostile god, so familiar
from Homers Poseidon and Virgils Juno; it is indeed the
anger of Poseidon in the Odyssey which Apollonius has in
mind here.

Nevertheless, though Zeus watches and preserves
the moral order, he only rarely displays his hand.
2

Feeney emphasizes the same idea when said that Heras plan of
anger against Pelias harmonizes with Zeus plan of anger against the
Aeolidae. Almost half the poem is gone by before, at the island of Ares,
we discover the origins of Zeus motives and responsibility, and the
apparent means of appeasing him, by fetching back the fleece. In fact,
the Aeolidean Jason will come to disaster despite and yet because of
the fact that he succeeds in bringing the fleece back to Greece. The
expedition is meant to appease Zeus, but it ends by arousing him to
yet another anger, when Jason and Medea incur shameful guilt with
the murder of Medeas brother, Absyrtus.
The causal power of Heras wrath will receive further attention, but
first Apollonius has some more turns on the apparent absence of Zeus.
As the Argonauts make their way through the town to the ship,
Apollonius inserts the poems first direct speech (delivered, most
extraordinarily, by no named speaker): King Zeus, what is the purpose
of Pelias? (Ztu uVu, 1I tIIuo Vo o; 242). The fact that the words are
addressed to Zeus makes it all the more remarkable that the
directing Voo is not his but that of the mortal, Pelias.

1
Berkowitz (2004), 28-30.
2
Hunter (1993), 79-80.
8
Zeus absence from the narrative has been taken as a strategy for
preserving his majesty. Nevertheless Apollonius gladly enters contro-
versy when, for example, he describes Ganymede, whom Zeus
brought to live in heaven, to share the hearth of the immortals,
postponing to an enjambed position of surprise the salacious
shock of Zeus motive, because he was filled with desire for his
beauty(1o V pu Eo1t Ztu oupuVq t xu1tVuootV t t o1IoV u0uVu1oIoIV,
xuIIto I tp0tI, 3.115-17).
1


In other cases, apparently familiar gods do not behave in the
expected way. The most outstanding example is the rewriting of Zeus,
which alters the balance of die whole pantheon; not only does he not
come to earth (as Homers Zeus does not), but he is further
marginalised by not appearing in person at all. Zeus is always just
around the corner; he influences the action by sending winds (2.993-
94, 2.1098), and his will is mentioned by the narrator (1.1345-48,
4.557-61), or by a character (3.328) and harmonised with oIpu fate
(1.1315-17, contrast 2. 16.433-38), but as in tragedy he is never
visible and does not speak. Even in punishing the Argonauts after the
death of Apsyrtus (4.557-61) his action is a copy of Poseidons wrath in
the Odyssey in securing a delayed and difficult nostos for the heroes

and
is not based on the behaviour of Homers Zeus; unlike Hera, Athena
and Aphrodite he does not recall his Homeric predecessor.

Hera plays the part which is taken by Zeus in Iliad XXIV, summon-
ing Iris and despatching her to earth to fetch Thetis (4.757-82, Il.
24.74-87). The adaptation exemplifies the way Zeus is pushed into the
background in the Argonautica, since in Homer Zeus wishes to speak
to Thetis and overrides Heras wishes in doing so, whereas in
Apollonius Zeus plays no part and the plan is entirely Heras.
2


Do we can say that Zeus apparently is absence, leaving his role to
his wife? Or he was intervening in the Argonautica by indirect way?
When you are five lines into the Iliad you read ^Io t1tItIt1o pouI
(the plan of Zeus was being fulfilled), and you know that this poems
action will comprise the will or plan of Zeus. After the first hundred
lines of the Odyssey, when the council of the gods is over, the same
gods guiding dispensation is also in the open. The epic norms are clear.
The Cyprias proem has the same line as the Iliads (F 1. 7 EGF), and
Hesiods paraphrase of the story of Medea uses very similar
language: tuIou t ^Io Voo tt1tItI1o. (the purpose of great Zeus
was fulfilled, Th. 1002).

As the Vo o or pouI of Zeus reaches its
fulfilment (1tIo; telos), so does the plot of an epic. As the reader of

1
Feeney (1991), 58, 64, 66.
2
Knight (1995), 272, 289-299.

9
Apollonius Argonautica moves into the poem, whose will and plan is
revealed to be the determinant of the action?
The readers attention is brought brusquely to concentrate on the
plan of Zeus when the sea-god Glaucus rears up out of the water at
the end of Book I, to tell the quarrelling Argonauts not to go back in
search of Heracles, accidentally marooned on the shore of Mysia.
Why, he says, are you eager, contrary to the plan of great Zeus, to
take bold Heracles to the city of Aeetes? (JIE1t Eupt x tu IoIo ^Io
tVtuIVt1t pouIV / AI1tm E1oIIt0poV utIV 0puouV IpuxIu, 1315-16).
In this part of the poem Apollonius twice more mentions the plan
of Zeus in connection with the abandonment of Heracles, and of
his friend Polyphemus (1. 1345, 2. 154), so that we see that Zeus
has some sort of plan for some of the characters; but nothing is said
of any wider plan for the expedition (or poem) as a whole.
The partial and uncertain nature of any knowledge of the mind of
Zeus is given emblematic status in the figure of Phineus, the seer who
was blinded by Zeus for revealing the Voo of Zeus accurately and
completely (u1ptxtm, 2. 182). Phineus himself explains the implications
to the company:

Iu1t VuV ou tV Eu V1u EtItI 0tI u I
u VuI
u1ptxt, ooou opmpt 0toI IIoV, oux tEI-
xtuom.
u uouV xuI Epo o0t ^Io Vo oV u puIqoIV
ptImV ttI 1t xuI t 1tIo. mt up uu1o
pouIt1uI uV0pmEoI tEItutu 0t ou1u uIVtIV
uV1oouVIVu xuI 1I 0tmV u1tmoI VooIo.
(II. 311-16)

Listen now. It is not right for you to know everything
accurately and completely, but as much as pleases the
gods, I will not hide. Before, in my madness, I foolishly
revealed the purpose of Zeus straight through, right to
the end. What he wants is that the revelations of
prophecy to men should be incomplete, so that men
should want knowledge of the purpose of the gods.
1



Shortly after the Phineus episode appears the most complex
exploration of different perceptions of divine action within the poem.
Phineus predicts a piece of good fortune on the island of Ares (2.388-
89), where the Argonauts meet the shipwrecked sons of Phrixus. There
are three possible points at which the gods could intervene: by
arranging the presence of the Argonauts on the island, by raising
the storm and by ensuring the safe landing of the sons of Phrixus.
2



1
Feeney (1991), 58, 60.
2
Knight (1995), 272, 286-287.
10
Zeus is the ultimate instigator of the voyage, his name is constantly
invoked in the meeting of the Argonauts and Phrixus sons on the
island of Ares; he is clearly of prime importance in the Phineus
episode, and we should probably see him working through the blind
prophet when the latter foretells that help will come to the Argonauts
from the grim sea (2.388, cf. 2.1135).
1

The poems actions were subjected completely to Zeus plan. This
plan wasnt known to the Argonauts. So when they do something
against it Zeus was telling them his will by someone else for example
Glaucus or Phineus. Who told them according to Zeus plan what they
will confront in their voyage. Did Zeus play his role through his plan
and why he himself didnt intervene?
Zeus himself, Apollonius tells us, had caused a storm to force the
sons of Phrixus, on route from the palace of Aeetes to Greece, onto the
island of Ares, so that they could meet the Argonauts. In one of
Apollonius beautifully gentle narrative moves, the rain from Zeus
stops with the sunrise and the two groups meet (2. 1120-2). All
through this episode, one epithet of Zeus follows another, relatively
uncharged at the moment, but eventually, as the story of Jason and
Medea works its way to a conclusion, to be fully invested with force:
He who overlooks ( EoyIo , 2. 1123); He who protects strangers and
suppliants (tIVIo, xtoIo, 1132); He who protects exiles
(uIo 1147).
2

The storm is sent by Zeus (2.1098, 2.1120); at 2.1120 Zeus name
is used in the weak, meteorological sense. Jason believes that the
meeting is due to the gods (2.1166-67); Argus suggests that it was
Zeus or fate which kept the Argonauts back till the sons of Phrixus
landed (3.327-28). Jason suggests that Zeus saved the sons of
Phrixus (2.1179-84); at 2.1110 they get hold of the beam by the
will of the gods, and Argus says that a god saved them (3.323).
There is an indirect hint that Zeus is involved in the simile at 2.1083
when Zeus sends hail.
3













1
Hunter, (1993), 80.
2
Feeney (1991), 61.
3
Knight (1995), 287.
11
Hera and Thetis

It is Hera who also occupies the executive position, evident not only in
her presiding over the divine council (3.7ff,), but in her tendency to
dispatch other gods to perform her behests. But there is no
suggestion that she is usurping Zeus position and power, as in the
Iliads theomachian presentation. Rather, it is Zeus own remoteness
that allows Hera to act so assertively. In Apollonius treatment, Heras
own concerns have a larger impact on the myths trajectory. Because
of her anger with Pelias, she will see to it, if indirectly, that Medea
travels to Greece to slay him. It is Zeus, on the other hand, who
develops a hostility to Jason. (4.558-61) over his role in die murder of
Apsyrtus, whereas never in Homer, nor in Gilgamesh, the Aqhat, or
the Aeneid, does the sky father become angry with the protagonist.
Hera will cause storms in response (4.578), acting to direct or channel
Zeus wrath, much as Zeus does for Poseidon and Helios in the
Odyssey.
1

When we learn that Jason meets King Pelias at a feast which the
king was performing for his father Poseidon and the other gods; but he
paid no attention to Pelasgian Hera. Apollonius here directs us to the
traditional versions of the Argonauts story, in which the slighted Heras
desire for revenge against Pelias was the motive force for the expedition.
No word, however, of Zeus, while the only individual described as
planning and ordaining is the mortal, Pelias (3, 15).
2


Lets see now what Hera did for Jason, I have yet to quote, however,
the key-passage in the series. Apollonius has done well in not
revealing everything at once. The ominous hint laid down at 1.14
must wait until early in Book III, the occasion of the embassy of Hera
and Athena to Aphrodite, for clarification in Heras own words. The
goddess reveals first her concern for the Argonauts, newly arrived in
Colchis and for Jason in particular (3. 59). She is ready to aid the
latter with all the strength at her command, no matter what the
circumstances (3.61), "lest Pelias become mockingly mirthful at
having averted his evil doom (opu t tIuoq tII xuxoV oI1oV
uIuu,) (3. 64).
What has prompted this declaration is made clear in an attached
relative clause:

o u EtpVoptq 0utmV utpuo1oV t0xtV. (III. 65)

Perhaps the omission indicated in 1.14 resulted only from an
oversight. But the goddess appears convinced not only that she has

1
Foley (2005), 103.
2
Feeney (1991), 58.
12
been dishonored, but also that her discomfiture is the product of
calculated arrogance on Pelias part. Retribution thus becomes an
absolute necessity. But it cannot be fulfilled, Hera avers, unless
Aphrodite by setting into movement the complex interplay of
causation guaranteed to bring Medea to Jasons aid guarantees
thereby also the return of the Argonauts to Thessaly with the Golden
Fleece. Hera does not spell this out all at once. Yet such is the import
of the negatively framed conditional statement which brings to a close
her second speech to Aphrodite:

ou t xt ImpV
1tIotItV tII, tI ou t Voo1oV oEuooq.
(III. 74)

If Hera understandably loathes Pelias and schemes his downfall, she
no less understandably comes again and again to the assistance of
Jason and the Argonauts. But there is more to her benefactions than
the mere desire to convert Jason (and even more directly Medea) into
a tool of her retributory designs. For, just as punishment must be
meted out to Pelias for having slighted Hera, so Pelias nephew
deserves to be rewarded for having done the same goddess a good
turn.
Actually Hera has repaid Jasons service several times over before
the deed which merits such a generous response is even specified in
the Argonautica. And the explanation comes to us not from the poet
speaking in his own person, but in a speech assigned to the deity
herself. When Apollonius told of Jasons having lost a sandal in the
act of crossing the River Anaurus, his main concern was to establish
a connection between the behest of Pelias that his nephew recover the
Golden Fleece and the oracular warning that Pelias himself must be
on guard against a one-sandalled man. It is left, then, for Hera to
explain that Jason has been dear to her ever since the time when,
posing as an old lady, she put human virtue under examination (3.
66). Jason passed the test superbly. Coming from the hunt, he took
pity on the goddess-in-disguise and carried her on his shoulders
across the raging stream (68-73).
Was it then that Jason lost his sandal? Hera does not say so; yet
the settings for that occurrence and for the youths good deed appear
to be one and the same. In any case, the doom of Pelias shows indeed
some significant connection with the sandals loss, though in ways
which the victim himself in his imperfect state of knowledge fails to
comprehend. He has no inkling that the conspiracy against him
originates with a disgruntled divinity rather than with a kinsman
eager to dispossess him of his throne. Note, however, the complexity
of the causal chain. The nephew is destined to play a role in the
uncles downfall not out of personal ambition, but because Hera,
13
pleased with the benefactions of the one and ired at the others
neglect, has chosen to protect the former both out of gratitude and
with the ulterior goal of punishing the latter. Consider again the irony
of Pelias misguided effort to counteract the oracular warning. Not
only will Jason survive the expedition, thanks in large part to
constant divine aid; he will also bring back the Golden Fleece,
requested by Pelias without being seriously desired and Medea, whose
lethal advent had never even been reckoned into the monarchs
plans.
1

So Hera is motivated by her fondness for Jason and desire to punish
Pelias. These dispositions are revealed in the beginning of Book III.
Following his invocation of Erato (3. 1-5), the narrator briefly mentions
that the Argonauts, now in Colchis, were hidden in thick reeds (6-7).
The narrators attention then turns to Hera and Athena, who notice
the Argonauts and deliberate about how to help them (7-10). Relevant
here is that Hera suggests to Athena that they ask Aphrodite to
persuade Eros to charm Medea (25-8). They then go to Aphrodites
house (36-8), and, in response to Aphrodites question about why they
have come (52-4), Hera explains that she will protect Jason because he
previously helped her cross the river Anaurus (61-74). Hera also tells
Aphrodite that because Pelias did not make sacrifices to her, she did
not want him to escape an evil fate (64-5). Pelias, concludes Hera, will
not pay for his outrage against her unless Aphrodite grants Jason a
return home (out xt ImpV 1tIotItV tII, tI ou t Vo o1oV oEuooq,
74-5). Hera informs Aphrodite that she can do this by bidding Eros to
charm Medea (85-6).
As will become evident, Heras fondness for Jason and anger
towards Pelias motivates her actions on behalf of the Argonauts in
Books III and IV.


Hera in the Proem to Book I:

After the narrator, in the proem to Book I, states the subject of the
poem (1-4), he touches briefly upon Heras dispositions concerning
Jason and Pelias:

JoI V up tII u 1IV t xIutV, m IV o EIoom
oIpu tVtI o1utp, 1ou u Vtpo oV1IV IoI1o
o0tV oIoEtIIoV uE tVVtoIqoI uVuI
poV ou t1tEtI1u 1tV xu1u puIV omV,
tItpIoIo p tt0pu xImV Iu EoooIV AVuupou,
u IIo tV ttoumotV u E I Iu o u IIo tVtp0tV

1
Levin (1971), 16-19.

14
xuIIIEtV uu0I EtIIoV tVIootVoV EpooqoIV
Ixt1o t tIIV uu 1ootoV, uV1IpoIomV
tIIuEIV V Eu1pI ootIumVI xuI uIIoI
pt,t 0toI, Ip t tIuoIo ou x u ItI,tV
uIyu t 1o V toImV t puoou1o, xuI oI ut0IoV
tV1ut Vuu1III EoIuxt o, op tVI EoV1q
t xuI uIIouEoIoI t1 uVpuoI Voo1oV o Itooq.
(I.5-17)

For Pelias heard such an oracle, how a terrible fate
awaited him in the future, that he would be subdued by
the promptings of this man - whatever man that he
should see who was one-sandaled and from the people.
And not long afterwards (in accordance with your
utterance), Jason, while going by foot through the
streams of the wintry Anaurus, saved one sandal out
from under the mud, but left the other there, under the
mud, held fast in the mouth of the river. He came to
Pelias at once, to partake of the banquet that he was
offering for his father Poseidon and the other gods
(though he did not trouble himself with Pelasgian Hera).
Immediately upon looking at Jason, Pelias contrived and
prepared for him the trial of a grievous voyage so that in
the sea or even among foreign men he might lose his
return home.

One can see, then, that the proem to Book I alludes to the events that
caused Heras fondness for Jason and anger towards Pelias. Heras
dispositions for Jason and against Pelias appear in earlier works of
literature. In Homers Odyssey, Circe tells Odysseus that because
Jason was dear to Hera (t EtI IIo tV omV. 13 .72), she conveyed
the world-famous Argo ( Apm EuoI tIouou, 70) past the Planctae, or
Wandering Rocks. Pherecydes, in addition, mentions Heras hatred
towards Pelias in his account of the Argonautic legend. When Pelias
asks Jason what he would do if an oracular response proclaimed that
he was going to be slain by one of the citizens, Jason responds that he
would send that person to fetch the Golden Fleece. Hera, Pherecydes
continues, put such a response into Jasons mind so that Medea
might come as a bane to Pelias (Juu1u t 1q ooVI Ip t VooV puIItI,
m tI0oI NtIu 1q tII xuxoV). Many ancient readers of Apollonius
proem to Book I would, then, have seen allusions to Heras traditional
disposition in favor of Jason (5-11) and against Pelias (12-4).
Through his adherence to this motif, Apollonius anticipates Heras
actual enactment of her dispositions. Hera, however, does not begin to
do this until nearly half of the poem is told.


Hera and Ankaius:

15
When Hera, in Book II, instills Ankaius with boldness (864-8), she
acts in a manner that is direct and beneficial to the Argonauts. Idmon
and Tiphys die during the Argonauts stopover at the Acherousian
headland (750-898), and Tiphys death produces unendurable grief in
the Argonauts (858) so that they fall down in helplessness (860),
desire neither food nor drink (861-2), and no longer expect to return
home (863). The narrator then relates that they would have been
delayed even further (864) if Hera had not thrown immense boldness
into Ankaius (tI up AxuIq EtpImoIoV tpuItV Ip 0upoo, 865-6).
Ankaius, in turn, tells Peleus to rouse the Argonauts into
remembering the expedition since he and others can steer the ship
(869-77). Peleus accordingly informs them that there are other
helmsmen in their midst (882-3), and bids them to take action (883-
4). Ankaius, who is directed by the impulse of a god
(0tou t1puEt0 opq, 895), then pledges that he would drive the Argo
(894-5). Others, in addition, volunteer to be the new helmsman (896-
7), but the Argonauts choose Ankaius to replace Tiphys (897-8). It is
easy to see why Hera singles out Ankaius, for the narrator previously
stated that Ankaius was from Parthenia, the abode of Imbrasian Hera
(I.187-8). It is implied, then, that Heras intervention is motivated by
an affiliation with Ankaius.




Heras Conversations with Athena and Aphrodite:

Erato, indeed, seems to be the primary cause for Heras actions in
Books III and IV. In the Olympian scene at the beginning of Book III,
Hera sets in motion the chain of events that result in Jason being
helped by Medeas desire for him. Hera suggests to Athena that they
ask Aphrodite to persuade Eros into charming Medea (25-8), and
when they are actually in Aphrodites presence (39-111), Athena does
not take part in the conversation. Eros, having been persuaded by
Aphrodite (129-53), charms Medea by shooting her with one of his
arrows (280-4). Medea, who is now in love with Jason, provides him
with the drug of Prometheus (1013-4), which protects him as he
performs Aeetes tasks. Jason, moreover, is able to seize the Golden
Fleece because Medea lulls to sleep the dragon that guarded it (4.145-
63). One can see, then, that due to her interactions with Athena and
Aphrodite (3.7-111), Hera is the ultimate reason why Medeas love
helps Jason.
1


Gaunt references to the same incident, but he hints at the human
imagery of the gods when he said: After a brief invocation of Erato,
Apollonius gives us his only set piece in Olympus itself. Hera and
Athena, worried by the difficulties which lie before Jason, decide to

1
Berkowitz (2004), 102-105,110-111.
16
invoke Aphrodites help in order to make Medea fall in love with
Jason. There follows a pleasant Alexandrian scene in which the two
goddesses find Aphrodite at her toilette:

ItuxoI oIV txu1tp0t xo u tEItItV moI
xootI puotIq Iu xtpxII, tIIt t uxpou
EItuo0uI EIoxuou (III.45-47)

She had let down her hair on both sides to cover her
white shoulders; she was parting it with a golden comb
and was about to braid up her long tresses.

Hera appeals as a suppliant to Aphrodite, asking that her son Eros
shall cause Medea to fall in love. There is a purely formal
intervention by Hera at 3. 211-14 (a quick flicker of mist to cover
the Argonauts and recall similar occasions in Homer).
1


The second half of the poem is dominated by Hera. Pelias neglect of
her stands prominently in the proem (1.14), Phineus recalls her
protection of the Argonauts (2.216-17) and she intervenes crucially
after the death of Tiphys (2.865); otherwise she seems notably absent
from the outward voyage. Her prominence in the second half is closely
linked to the role of Medea, who is to be Heras weapon of vengeance
against Pelias. When Athena resigns to Hera the leading role in their
negotiations with Aphrodite (3.325), she is also resigning her role in
the poem. Thus, when the sacred beam which Athena placed in the
Argo calls out to the Argonauts in Book IV, it does so as the servant of
Hera (4.5803). It might therefore seem strange that Hera apparently
disappears from the poem after Medea is safely married to Jason on
Drepane and the threat from the pursuing Colchians is at an end. In
part this may be ascribed to Apollonius resistance to patterns which
would impose obvious unity and consistency; in part too, it reinforces
the sense of the landing on Drepane as a homecoming, a false end to
the troubles. More significantly, Heras desire - that Medea should
come to Greece to destroy Pelias - now looks like being fulfilled. In the
Argonautica, however, such plans are rarely straightforward, and the
expedition nearly comes to grief in Africa. The African adventures are
in fact linked into the narrative in an apparently casual way:

uIIu up ouEm
uI oIoV V t EIpVuI AuIIo pmtooIV,
op t 1I xuI ^Ipu t EI EtIpuoIV o 1I otIuV
(4.1225-7)


1
Gaunt (1972), 124.

17
Not yet was it fated (uI oIoV) for the heroes to step upon
the Achaean land, until they had suffered further in the
boundaries of Libya.

This unique example of uIoIoV, fated, may be referred to Zeuss
angry plans for the Argonauts, but it also suggests fate as a
narrative device for joining two separate parts of the
Argonautic legend. The controlling intelligence is that of the
poet rather than of Zeus.


Heras Conversations with Iris and Thetis:

The Argonauts departure from Circes territory is noted by Iris, who
has been set to watch by Hera (4.753-6). This is an extension of the
Homeric situation where gods do their own watching of events on
earth, and is part of an amusing systematisation of the domesticity of
the Olympians. Why should they bother to watch when they have
servants to work for them? There is an interesting parallel in
Callimachus Hymn to Delos. In that poem Hera sets Ares and Iris to
keep watch over the whole world so that Leto should find no haven
in which to bear her child (h. 4.61-9). When the island Asterie takes
Leto in, Iris, still panting from running and fearful of Heras reaction,
reports to her mistress in a grovelling and provocative style suited to
a flatterer or a pet slave, and then settles down beside Heras throne
to wait for her next instructions (h. 4.215-36). That passage makes
use of motifs associated with the messengers of drama - breath-
lessness and fear and is invested with a broad humour. Thetis, like
Asterie, had spurned Zeuss advances, and there is an effect
reminiscent of Callimachus in 4.757-69, where Hera despatches
poor Iris on a long, triple mission (to Thetis, Hephaestus and Aeolus)
which would be enough to make any messenger grumble. Here the
spirit of the two Alexandrian poets is very close.
When Thetis arrives on Olympus Hera begins by filling in the
background:

oIo0u tV ooooV tqoIV tVI ptoI 1It1uI pm
AI ooVI u IIoI u ooo1 pt u t0Iou......., (4.784-5)

You know how honoured in my heart is the hero,
son of Aison, and all of those who help him in his task
. . . "

How does Thetis know this? We will soon learn that her interest in her
husband Peleus and his comrades is virtually non-existent. Has
Thetis read Odyssey XII with its reference to Apm Eu oI t Iouou, the
Argo known to all (Od. 12.70), or has she read the Argonautica? Or is
18
the point precisely that she does not know, but Hera treats her as a
special confidante as part of a captatio beneuolentiae? We will see that
this is by no means the only example of Heras shifting rhetoric and
of an ambivalent uncertainty which lingers over the whole speech.
Hera then recalls her past services to Thetis: she nursed her and
arranged her marriage to the best of mortals after Thetis had
spurned Zeus and Zeus dropped his suit on learning that Thetis was
fated to bear a son greater than his father.
When Hera has finished, Thetis makes no response to the details of
her account of the past, but merely expresses assent to the
request and says that she must be on her way. Her own feelings
about both Peleus and Hera are suppressed. It is, however,
probably not fanciful to see bitterness or sarcasm in her
description of the journey in front of her as oIIV 1t xuI u oEt1oV,
unspeakably long (4.838). This is the same journey which Iris
made without any word of complaint. The first destination is the
sea-floor, probably between Samothrace and Imbros, from where
Iris had fetched Thetis in the Iliad. From there she travels west
like the rays of the rising sun (4.847-8) all the way to the west
coast of Italy. Unlike Iris, however, Thetis travels through the
water (4.849), and we are specifically to think of her travelling
round the bottom of the Peloponnese and across to Italy.
1


Lines 4. 753-921 are largely taken up by a scene in Olympus after
the Homeric pattern. Hera summons Thetis, through the agency of
Iris, and persuades her to arrange for Argos passage between the
Iux1uI and through the strait guarded by Scylla and Charybdis. The
writing here is not particularly distinguished apart from an imaginative
description (865-84) of Thetis original desertion of her husband Peleus,
who is now one of Argos crew.
Lines 922-81 are of more interest. Here Apollonius tells how the
Nereids first circle the ship like dolphins, then carry her, and finally
throw her from one to another, like girls playing ball (948-55):

uI , mo1 u0otV1o t EIotoV uIIuIoI o
Eup0tVIxuI, Iu xo IEoV t E I uu tIIIuouI,
ouI pq u0u pouoIV EtpItI f tV t EtI1uf
uII uE t uII tt1uI xuI t tpu EtEtI
uyI t1upoVIV, ou Eo1t EIIVu1uI ou tI
.

m uI Vu 0t ououV u oIpuI u IIo0tV u II
EtEt ItpIV tEI xuuoIV, uItV uEm0tV
Et1pumV EtpI t oIV t ptuotVoV ,ttV ump.

They were like girls near a sandy beach, who tuck up
their dresses as far as the waist and play with a rounded

1
Hunter (1993), 87-88, 96-97, 99-100.

19
ball. Then one after another they catch it and send it high
above the ground into the air, so that the ball never
lands. Even so the Nereids sent the ship running on in
the air over the waves, always away from the rocks; they
took turns, one after another, and the water bubbled and
boiled around them.

There are here undoubted reminiscences of Nausicaa playing ball with
her attendants in Odyssey VI, but the scene which Apollonius
depicts is quite different in tone and really very strange. It is not
merely a question of a divine touch on the stern, but of the whole
ship being first bodily carried and then actually thrown from hand
to hand by the attendant Nereids. Well might Hera in panic
embrace Athena (959-60) when she saw this amazing flight, which
somewhat surprisingly lasted all day (961-2). The reader must
surely feel that this picture is, and was intended to be, a fantastic
tour de force.
1


After Circe cleanses Jason and Medea for their murder of Apsyrtus
(4.700-17), Hera enlists the aid of several gods and goddesses. In
accordance with Heras bidding, Iris informs her when Jason and
Medea have left Circes house (753-6). Hera then sends Iris on a
mission in which she is to fetch Thetis (757-9), bid Hephaestus to
calm his bellows until the Argo passes by them (760-4), and tell Aiolus
to stop all of the winds but the West Wind until the Argonauts arrive
at the island of the Phaiacians (764-9).
Thetis goes to mount Olympus (780-1), and Hera makes an
eloquent request for her aid (783-832). Thetis is reminded that Hera
reared her as a baby (790-1) and treated her with particular affection
(791-2). Hera also points out how in the Argonaut Peleus, she gave to
Thetis the best of mortals to be a husband (805-7). Hera, moreover,
summoned all of the gods to their wedding banquet (807-8) and even
held the bridal torch (808-9). Hera then explains that when Thetis
son Achilles perishes and goes to the Elysian field, he will marry
Medea (811-15). Since she is a mother-in-law, Thetis has to assist her
daughter-in-law, and also Peleus himself (ou upt Vuq txup Etp
touou, uu1q II. 815-6).
Thetis, however, is angry at Peleus. The narrator later explains why
when he relates that at night, Thetis used to burn Achilles mortal
flesh (869-70), and then, during the day, rub his body with ambrosia
(870-1).This process was going to make Achilles immortal and
eternally young (871-2). When Peleus, though, noticed Thetis
nocturnal activity, he emitted a terrible cry (873-5). This angered
Thetis so that she left Peleus and Achilles, never to return (875-9).

1
Gaunt (1972), 121-122.

20
Hera defends Peleus by informing Thetis that although he acted
foolishly, foolishness even visits the gods (uuo0, xuI up 1t 0tou
tEIVIoot1uI u1. 817). Hera accordingly bids Thetis to contrive for the
Argonauts a harmless return home (822), a task for which she can
employ the aid of her sisters (823-4). Thetis, Hera continues, must not
allow the Argonauts to enter Charybdis, or go beside the hiding place
of Scylla (825-7).
1

One final case, to return us to the specific problem of the gods and
human motivation, is the pillow-talk of Queen Arete and her
husband Alcinous in Book IV. She wins from him the assurance
that he will not hand Medea over to the pursuing Colchians if the
fugitive is married to Jason (1107-9). Arete takes his words to heart,
gets out of bed, silently summons a herald, and, in her wisdom
(q oIV tEIpoouVqoIV, 1115), tells the herald to have Jason marry Medea
(1111-16). Some eighty lines later, the goddess Hera is mentioned
for the last time, in an address from the poet, and Apollonius lets
fall the information that it was in fact Hera who instigated Aretes
action: For you put it in Aretes mind to divulge the prudent
utterance of Alcinous (ou up xuI t EIptoI 0 xu Ap1q EuxIVoV
u o0uI tEo AIxIVoo, 4. 1199-1200). This jolt is reminiscent, in a way,
of Medeas dream in Book III (616-32), where Apollonius does
everything to make us think that the dream is sent by Hera, except
actually saying as much. The last mention of Hera is part and parcel
of the strange uses of Eros, Erotes, and Hera in Book III.
2



Heras Attempt to Accelerate the Return Journey:

Hera also intervenes during the Argonauts homeward journey. After
Jason seizes the Golden Fleece (4. 162-3), and the Argonauts proceed
to exit the river Phasis (210-11), Hera causes winds to blow:

Ip, op mxIo1u xuxoV tIIuo o oIoIV
AIuI N tIu tIuoIu uIuV Ix1uI,
oI t VI 1pI1u1q EpuV oIu Vo t ouV
uIuoVmV u x1q oI, Eu poI0 AIuo Eo1uoI o
(4.241-5)

With the wind blowing swiftly by the will of Hera, so that
most quickly, as a bane to the halls of Pelias, Aiaian
Medea might come to the Pelas-gian land, the
Argonauts, on the third dawn, bound the stern-cables of
the ship to the headlands of the Paphlagonians, before
the river Halys.


1
Berkowitz (2004), 112-113.
2
Feeney (1991), 89.
21
It is at these headlands that the Argonauts remember how Phineus
said that the voyage out of Aia would be different (253-5). This
prompts Argos, the son of Phrixus, to relate how they can get to
Hellas by means of the river Istros (257-93). After he finishes
speaking, a goddess is said to grant them an auspicious sign
( L u p t . 1oI oIV t 0tu 1tpu tuu IItV uIoIoV, 294-5) as a furrow
of light is made in the direction that is passable (296-7). The
Argonauts then set off with sails spread out (IuItoI EtE1utVoIoIV,
299), for breezes and a light of heavenly fire remains until they
arrive at the great river Istros (EVoIuI 1t xuI ou puVIou Eupo uI I IVtV
t m o1poIo tuV pooV tIouIxoV1o., 301-2). The river takes them to
the Adriatic (329-30), where they encounter a Colchian force led by
Medeas brother Apsyrtus. The Colchians were able to anticipate the
Argonauts because they entered the river Istros by means of a
different outlet (303-28). The Argonauts react to them by murdering
Apsyrtus, and, as a result, must go to the western Mediterranean to
be cleansed by Circe.


Hera and Zeus:

After the Argonauts massacre Apsyrtus crew (485-7) and sail on the
Adriatic to the island of Elektris (504-6), the Colchian fleet is
prevented from looking for the Argonauts because of lightning that
was sent by Hera (507-10). The Colchians then disperse and settle in
various places (511-3). The narrator relates that some of them dwell
in mountains that are called "Thunderbolt" (oI t V optooIV
tVVuIouoIV uEtp 1t tpuuVIu xIxI oxoV1uI, 518-9). The mountains
received such a name since the time when Zeus thunderbolts
deterred the Colchians from hastening towards the island of Drepane
(520-1). Within the same passage, both Hera and Zeus use thunder
and lightning. Whereas Hera intervenes within the action of the
primary story for the Argonauts benefit, Zeus acts at some future
time and does not benefit the Argonauts. This contributes to the
impression that Hera replaces Zeus within the action of the primary
story.
Hera incites winds for a second time when the Argonauts imagine
that they see the Thunderbolt Mountains as they are sailing down the
Adriatic sea (575-6):

xuI 1o1t pouIu
u uu1oI ZVo 1t t uV oIoV t pu ou0 Ip,
otV u VuoIV 1oI o EIo ou, m potV utIIu
u V1Ixpu 1oI uu 1I uVupEu V opt oV1o
Voou tEI xpuVu IItx1pIo. (4.576-80)

22
And then Hera took note of the plans and great wrath of
Zeus concerning them. Plotting the accomplishment of
the voyage, she roused gusts of winds directly opposite
them, by which the Argonauts, snatched up violently,
were carried back again upon the rocky island of
Elektris.

Hera uses these northerly winds to set the Argonauts en route to the
western Mediterranean, where Jason and Medea must be cleansed by
Circe for Apsyrtus murder. The Argo, in fact, tells the Argonauts that
they will escape neither the labors of the sea, nor grievous blasts of
wind, unless Circe cleanses them (585-8).
Such obstacles would apparently be sent by Zeus, for the narrator
mentions that when the Argo is speaking (585-91), the Argonauts are
hearing the voice and deep wrath of Zeus (tIouIoV1u 0oV 1t ZVo
1t pupuV oIoV ou, 584-5). It was Zeus, indeed, who decreed that the
Argonauts would not return home until Circe has purified them (557-
61), and Zeus already incited winds earlier in the poem. When Erato
is responding to the narrator, Hera causes winds and deters those
that would come from Zeus. With this control of the weather, she
seems to replace him. I will actually be citing other such
replacements, for I see them as signs of Eratos influence.


Hera in the Phaiakian Episode:

Heras actions towards the Argonauts continue until the marriage of
Jason and Medea on the island of Drepane. The Argonauts landing
on the island (993-4) is accompanied by the arrival of a Colchian force
intent on bringing Medea back to Aeetes (1000-7). As a result, the
Phaiakian king Alkinoos tells his wife Arete that he will not hand
Medea over to the Colchians if she is already married (1098-1109).
Arete sends report of Alkinoos resolution to Jason (1114-20), which
prompts the Argonauts to prepare a marriage bed in a cave (1128-43).
Giving honor to Jason ( ooVu xuuI Vouou, 1152), Hera motivates
Nymphs of Drepane to bring flowers to Jason and Medea (1143-52),
and Jason and Medea make love for the first time on the prepared
marriage bed (1161-69). This is not a very joyous occasion, though,
for the narrator relates that Jason and Medea wanted the wedding to
take place not on Drepane, but at Iolkos, in the halls of Jasons father
(1161-4). Though melting in sweet love, Jason and Medea were held in
fear over whether Alkinoos decision would be fulfilled
(1ou, Iuxtpq Etp IuIVotVou IIo11I, tI t tV tI 1tItoI1o IuxpIoI
AIxIVo oIo., 1168-9).
On the following day, when Alkinoos is about to proclaim his
decision regarding Medea (1176-7), a celebratory atmosphere, full of
23
song and dance, ensues (1182-1200). Women leave the city walls in
order to look at the Argonauts, and rustic men meet with them (1182-
4). They do this because Hera sent forth an unerring rumor about
what was taking place (tEtI Vtp1tu puIV Ip tEIEpotxtV, 1184-5).
Hera thereby creates a festive mood that offsets the untraditional and
disappointing nature of the wedding. It is crucial, after all, for
Alkinoos to think that the marriage is legitimate.
1
Hera initiates the intervention in Books III and IV, though she
comes to earth herself only at 4.640-41 to shout a warning; she
stands in the same relation to the Argonauts in general and to Jason
in particular as Athena does to Odysseus in the Odyssey, even to the
extent of performing the same transformations on those she favours
(as in the beautification of Jason and Odysseus). As Athenas
concern for Odysseus makes her help others such as Telemachus,
so Heras affection for Jason causes her to help the Argonauts as a
group. Hera still harbours strong feelings towards particular mortals
or groups of mortals; her hatred of Pelias and desire for vengeance on
him (3.64-65, 3.74-75, 3.1134-36, 4.242-43) resembles her attitude
towards the Trojans (e.g. 2. 4.44-67).
2



Phineus Comment about Hera:

During the Argonauts stay at the land of Thynia, Phineus, in an
entreaty to the Argonauts, alludes to Heras subsequent role:

xtoIou Epo ZVo, o1I p IIo1o u II1poI
uVpuoI, oIpou 1 uI, xuI uu1 tIVtxtV Ip
IIooouI, q EtpIuIIu 0tmV tpIto0t xIoV1t
puI ot1t oI, puouo0t uouopoV uVtpu Iu,
t u xtIqoIV u op01t IIEoV1t uu 1m.
(2.215-20)

In the name of Zeus, tutelary god of suppliants, one who
is most horrible to sinful men, and for Phoibos sake,
and on account of Hera herself, to whom, before all of
the gods, you are an object of care as you are going
along, I entreat you: defend me, protect a most
miserable man from maltreatment, and do not depart in
indifference, leaving me in this manner.


1
Berkowitz (2004),114-118.
2
Feeney (1991), 270-271.


24
Phineus is requesting that the Argonauts drive away the Harpies, who
have been punishing him by either snatching away his food or by
pouring a foul odor upon it.
Phineus statement about Hera suggests that she will later assist
the Argonauts. Whereas Phineus, though, mentions that Hera cares
for the Argonauts as a group, she later acts because of her fondness
for Jason in particular. With her action towards Jason, she will surely
benefit all of the heroes; but Heras assistance of the Argonauts in
Book II (864-8) is somehow motivated by her affiliation with Ankaius.
Hera, in that passage, is not said to be acting on account of Jason, It
is therefore hard to pinpoint what future act(s) of Hera Phineus is
referring to, or why Hera is so disposed towards the Argonauts as a
group.
Phineus, in addition, entreats the Argonauts in the name of three
deities, Zeus, Apollo, and Hera. Phineus mentions that the Argonauts
are an object of care to Hera before the other gods (217) only in order
to be more persuasive. Since Phineus reference to Hera is contained
within a relative clause that forms part of his request for assistance,
we do not have an overt statement about Heras subsequent role.
The offhanded and ambiguous nature of Phineus remark about
Hera may be the result of his desire to persuade the Argonauts into
helping him, or to his general manner of prophesying, seeing that he
is not allowed to divulge the future in its entirety. It is also the
narrators practice, though, to refer to the gods in a summary fashion
when Erato is not responding to him. The public narrators style
would then operate in conjunction with Phineus private rhetorical
strategies.

In addition to her indirect assistance of the Argonauts through
conversations with other goddesses, Hera involves herself in
numerous direct interventions. A few examples of these interventions
will illustrate their variety. When Jason, the sons of Phrixus, and the
Argonauts Telamon and Augeias proceed toward Aeetes palace, Hera
conceals them by spreading a mist throughout Aia (3.210-4). Later in
Book III, Medea agonizes over whether she should use her drugs to
help Jason or kill herself (766-823). When she eventually resolves not
to kill herself, she is said to be changed by the suggestions of Hera
( Ip t VVtoIqoI t1u1poEo, 818). Then, in order to receive the drug of
Prometheus, Jason, Argos, and Mopsus head for the temple of Hekate,
where they can find Medea (912-8). Hera transforms Jason into an
exceptional person to look at and address (919-23), and motivates a
crow to upbraid Mopsus and inform him that Jason should approach
Medea unaccompanied (927-46).



25
Athena

While Hera dominates the central section of the poem, Athena and
Aphrodite merely appear in the background. Athenas presence in
Books III and IV, in fact, stands in contrast with the role she
previously played. Although she pushed the Argo through the
Symplegades (2.598-9), she never again assists the Argonauts. I will
attribute to Erato both Athenas diminished stature and the vivid
manner in which she is referred to after the proem to Book III.
1


The Odyssey, as its name implies, is the story of a man: the
Argonautica too is well named - it is the story of a ship and of a voyage.

It was no doubt because he shared such feelings that Nathaniel Haw-
thorne in his Tanglewood Tales (1853) made so much of the
personality of the ship, or, more exactly, of its figurehead, the
daughter of the Speaking Oak of Dodona, which in his version of the
story of the Golden Fleece so often advises Jason in his difficulties.
Apollonius himself only refers twice to this phenomenon. The first
occasion is at 1. 524-7:

otpuItoV t IIV uuoIo t xuI uu 1
IIu I utV Apm tEIoEtpouou Vtto0uI
t V up oI opu 0tI oV t IIu1o, 1o p u Vu tooV
o1tI puV A0VuI ^mmVIo poot ou . (I.524-7)

The harbour of Pagasae rang out terribly, and so also did
Pelian Argo, eager to sail. For a divine timber had been
fixed in her; Athena had taken it from the oak of Dodona
and fitted it in the centre of the prow.

The description is a little curious, because the verb IutV is first applied
to the harbour rather than to the ship, whereas in fact one presumes
that the noise in the harbour must have been an echo from that made
by the ship. The effect is mysterious, as if the poet were deliberately
avoiding a reference to the human speech which was usually attributed
to the oak of Dodona and hence to Argo herself.
The second occasion on which Apollonius makes use of the
speaking timber motif is at 4. 585 ff., where Argos voice

ou up u IutIV
tVVtEtV ou1t Eopou oII uIo ou1t 0utIIu
upuItu, o1t Ipx oVoV Ayup1oIo
VItu VIytItV (IV.585-588)


1
Berkowitz (2004), 107-108, 114, 120.

26
announced that they would not escape the paths of the
long sea- voyage nor the bitter blasts until such time as
Circe should purge the cruel murder of Apsyrtus.

The introductory word is again IutV (581), but this time we are told
that the beam spoke u Vpot q t VoEq, in human speech, and
Apollonius gives us the gist of what was said.
It is noticeable that on neither of the above occasions has the cry or
message any very important consequences for the narrative; it seems
that Apollonius was not much interested in the speaking timber and
included these two references only as passing tributes to the demands
of the legend. It is perhaps symptomatic of his uneasiness about the
motif that the words of Argo are given in reported speech.
Careful study of the text suggests that Apollonius may in fact have
consciously shunned the motif. At 1. 18-21 he speaks of other versions
of the story of the building of Argo:

u tV ou V oI Epoo0tV t 1I xItIouoIV u oIoI
ApoV A0VuI xuttIV u Eo0oouVqoI
Vu V u V t m tVtV 1t xuI ou Vou u0ouI V
pmmV. . .(I.18-21)

Previous bards sing of the ship, how Argos worked on her
at the bidding of Athena. But now I would tell of the
lineage and names of the heroes . . .

Here it would seem that the poet deliberately turns away from the
romantic story of how the ship was made and devotes himself instead
to the long catalogue of heroes which follows. The only other major
allusion which he makes to the building of the ship is at 1. 111-14,
where Athenas part in the construction is again stressed:

uu1 up xuI Vu 0oV xut, ouV t oI Apo
1tu tV Apto1opI xtIV u Eo0oouVqoI
1m xuI EuoumV Epotpto1u1 t EIt1o VmV
o oouI u E tI ptoIqoIV t EtIp ouV1o 0uIuoo.
(I.111-114)

For Athena herself had constructed the swift ship. And at
her bidding Argos wrought with her. Therefore Argo was
the swiftest of all ships which, driven by oars, made trial
of the sea.

This account, though it differs in emphasis from the previous one, is
compatible with it. Both, however, are minimal, and it would seem that
Apollonius, though well aware of Argos legendary powers, prefers not
to make use of them in his narrative, perhaps because he wishes to
concentrate on the specialist abilities of his crew. It was, however, well
known that Argo was the first large ship ever to be constructed, and
27
that she had other magical properties besides the ability to speak.
Thus the elder Pliny tells us that her timbers were supposed to be proof
against fire and water. Apollonius does not mention this, though he
may be alluding to it at 2. 339-40, where Phineus prophesies that the
heroes have no hope of passing through the Symplegades unless the
omens are favourable:

ou up xt xuxoV opoV t uItuIo0t
Et1pumV, ou tI xt oIptI EtIoI Apm.
( II. 339-40)

For you would not escape an evil doom from the rocks,
not even if Argo were made of iron.

Here the Scholiast thinks that the reference is to the size of Argos
timbers and the skill of Athena which went to her making, but it might
equally be an unconscious allusion to the magical qualities mentioned
above. We are probably also meant to remember 1. 723, where the poet
told us in passing that it was Athena who laid out the ships keel-
props" in the first instance.
1

Though Phineus gives detailed advice on what to do at the
Symplegades, he says nothing about any divine help, though he
makes predictions about such help in Colchis (2.420-25). Does
Phineus not know of it, or does he keep quiet about Athenas
intervention, presumably because he does not wish to repeat his
earlier mistake (cf. 2.390-91)? Whether he knows or not, the reader is
kept in suspense about what will actually happen at the
Symplegades.
2

Nymphs and sea-gods are from the lower echelons of divinity, and
we have to wait until well into Book II before we see a major god in
action, when Athena helps her ship Argo through the Symplegades.
The episode is prepared for in Phineus prophecy, and is an
extensive piece; it repays some study.
Phineus tells them to send a dove ahead through the rocks as a
test; if it passes through, he says,

xt1I V uu 1oI t p1uto0t xtItu0ou,
uII tu xup1uVuV1t tuI tVI tpoIV tpt1u
1tVt0 u Io o1tIVmEoV, tEtI u o ou Vu 1I 1ooooV
t oot1 t V tu mIq oIV o ooV 1 t VI xup1tI tIpm V
1m xuI 1u IIu t0tV1u o VIo1oV EoVtto0uI
0upouItm EpIV ou 1I 0tou IIooto0uI t puxm.
(II. 331-6)

1
Gaunt (1972), 117-119.
2
Knight (1995), 44-45.

28

Dont hold back for ages from going ahead yourselves, but
grab your oars firmly in your hands and cut through the
narrow strait; for your salvation will not be so much in
your prayers, as in the strength of your hands. So the
most useful thing is to drop everything else and exert
yourselves boldly (though I dont forbid you to pray to the
gods earlier on).

It is, therefore, rather odd, once they have made their prayers (2.
531-3), taken the dove on board, and set off (533-6), that the
goddess Athena comes directly into the action for the first time: Nor
did their departure escape Athenas notice (ou up A0VuIV
Epo1tpm Iu0oV o p0tV1t, 2. 537). As this first major deity comes into
play, her anthropomorphic corporeality receives very disconcerting
notice, in a moment of masterful comedy and poise:

uu 1Ixu tooutVm, VttI t EIpu ou EotooI
xou, xt tpoI IV u up ppIupV Etp t ou ouV,
otuu1 I tV oV1oVt, IIu poVtouo t pt1qoIV.
(II. 538-40)

Straightaway, in haste, she stepped with her feet onto a
cloud, a light one, which could carry her in a moment,
despite her weight, and she swept off to the Black Sea,
with kindly thoughts for the oarsmen.
1

At the beginning of Book III, where Hera and Athena deliberate on
how to help the Argonauts, Athena gives Hera full credit for arriving at
the plan to approach Aphrodite, and for its subsequent enactment.
Hera makes trial of Athena first (EtIpu,t A0VuIV Eupo Ip, 10)
and tells her to begin the deliberation (upto pouI., 11). Hera asks
what stratagem she will contrive (oIoV 1IVu otuI, 12) by which the
Argonauts might bring the Golden Fleece to Hellas (12-3). Athena, in
response, indicates a certain difficulty in collaborating with Hera:

uI uu 1V t t 1oI u t1u ptoIV opuIVououV,
Ip, u EIttm ttIptuI uIIu 1oI ouEm
puoouo0uI Votm 1ou 1oV oIoV o o1I o VotI
0uoV u pIo1mV, EoItu t EtoIuou pouIu.
(III.18-21)

Even of me myself, as I turn over such things in my
mind, Hera, you bluntly inquire. But I tell you, not yet
am I minded to plan this stratagem, whatever will
benefit the life of the heroes; though I entertained
doubts over many deliberations.

1
Feeney (1991), 72.

29

Athena expresses this frustration in spite of her traditional
association with wisdom. Homer calls her "much deliberating"
(EoIupouIo A0V. Il. V. 260, Od. XVI.282), and the narrator of
Homeric Hymn XXVIII says she is "much-counseling" (EoIu 1IV, 2). It
is therefore likely that Athena would have thought of some scheme if
given the chance. She says, after all, that she is not yet minded
(ou Em, 19) to plan the stratagem. Erato, however, was called upon to
relate how Jason brought the Fleece to Iolkos through Medeas love
(NtI uE tpm1I, 3). The narrator of Homeric Hymn V states that the
works of much-golden Aphrodite are not pleasing to Athena
(oI tuutV t pu EoIupu oou ApoI1, 9). How would Medeas love be
incorporated into an approach formulated by Athena if she is
renowned for her virginity? We are prevented from learning about any
plan belonging to Athena, for Erato ensures that Hera arrives at one
before Athena does ( 1Iomou EupoI1tp, A.R. 111.24).
Hera suggests to Athena that they ask Aphrodite to persuade Eros
into charming Medea (25-8). Athena, again, professes an inability to
contribute:

" Ip, VIu tV t Eu1 p 1txt 1oI o poIumV,
ou t 1IVu ptIm 0tIx1pIoV oI u Eo0oIo
tI t ooI uu 1q u 0o t uVuVtI, 1 u V t mt
t oEoIV, ou t xtV uI t Eo u V1Iomou."
(III.32-5)

Hera, father engendered me as lacking knowledge of
the blows of such a boy (Eros), nor do I know of any
enchanting need of desire; but if the plan is pleasing to
you yourself, indeed I would follow, though you should
speak the word once you have encountered her.

Athena explains that because she is ignorant of erotic affairs, she
cannot play an active role in Heras proposal, let alone speak to
Aphrodite.
1

Her decisive intervention is yet to come, for first the heroes follow
Phineus advice, aiming to row through relying on their own strength
(xu p1tI q EIouVoI., 2. 559). But, after all, the peril is beyond their
resources (578), and the poet, having screwed the tension to the
highest pitch, has Athena prop herself on a rock with her left hand
and bat Argo through with her right (2. 598-9). The action is even
more abrupt and productive of txEII than was the appearance of
Glaucus, and the power of the marvel is made more complex by the
earlier plays on the gods nature: the goddess whose feet stand on a
light cloud without it giving way has a right hand that can send a ship

1
Berkowitz (2004), 120-122.
30
and fifty-two warriors flying through the air like an arrow (2. 600).
The simile of the arrow is not random, for the heroes eight lines earlier
row so hard that their oars bend like curved bows (2. 591-2). It is
Athena, and not they themselves, who completes the action of the
simile. The effect is to cap the sense of climactic anti-climax which has
already been achieved by the deflation of Phineus solemn words about
relying on human strength. Homer, too, brings events to a pitch
which only a god can resolve, but he does not announce in advance
that the resolution will be a solely human one.
1

After the Argonauts exertions, the intervention itself is brief, though
not unexpected because Athena has already taken her place ready to
act; she pushes the Argo out of danger (2.598-99) and returns to
Olympus (2.602-3). The action and its consequences are treated with
the swiftly changing focus and the emphasis on visual effect which are
characteristic of the whole scene; within ten lines (2.596-605) the
readers attention is taken from the Rocks to the Argo, to Athenas
action and to the ship again, back to Athena and then for a final
glance at the Rocks, now fixed for all time. Athenas interference is
thus consistent in style with what precedes, so that it becomes a
natural development rather than a superimposed intrusion.
As Athena notices that the time has come for her to act and travels
to the Rocks, we are reminded of her activity in the Iliad:

ou u p A0VuIV Epo1t pm Iu0oV o p0tV1t (II.537)

( their departure did not go unnoticed by Athena.)

ut ot0tV NtVtIut 0toI uxupt ItIu0oV1o
u0uVu1oI, Epm1 t ^Io 0uu1p utItI,....
(Il.4.127)

(And you, Menclaus, the gods, the blessed immortals,
did not forget you and first among them Zeus
daughter, goddess of spoil.....)

This recalls Athenas concern for Menelaus; in Iliad IV she deflects an
arrow, here the ship resembles one (2.600) and the oars bend like
bows (2.591-92).
Athenas mode of transport is not Homeric; she commandeers a
cloud which transports her despite her weight and mounts it as if it
were a ship or a chariot (2.538-40). The Iliadic framework is retained
in the simile which follows (2.541-46), which is based on one
describing Heras ascent to Olympus at 2. 15.80-82. In between these
echoes of the Iliad, 2.540 recalls two Odyssean lines where Athena

1
Feeney (1991), 73-74.

31
helps her favourite, Odysseus, as he walks to the city of the
Phaeacians:

otuu1 ItV oV1oVt, IIu poVtouo t pt1qoIV.
(2.540)

(... [she] hastened towards the Pontos to bring welcome
help to the rowers.)

EoIIV tpu tu t IIu poVt ouo uoI.....
(Od.7.15)

([Athena] poured a thick mist around him; this was in
kindness to Odysseus...)

0toEtoIV xu1ttut IIu poVtouo tVI 0uq.
(Od.7.42)

([Athena] in protection had shed the enchanted mist all
round him.)

This line is echoed again at 3.210 when it is Heras turn to protect the
Argonauts, in all these passages the goddess concern is that her
favourite(s) should pass safely through a potentially dangerous zone.
Another parallel to Athenas interventions in Scheria comes as Athena
leaves the earth ( A0V / uIuEoV (Athena [rose up] to Olympus)
2.602-3, cf. Od. 6.41-42).
Among the allusions to the Iliad and Odyssey comes an alarming
reference to another epic source at the very moment of Athenas
intervention. The phrase oxuIq , tI1tpq t (2.599) also begins Hesiod,
Th. 179, where Kronos prepares to castrate Ouranos. This hints at the
sinister and violent aspects of the pre-Olympian world around
Colchis which the Argonauts now enter as a result of Athenas action.
The Argonauts attempt to row past the Rocks, having first tested
them with the dove, is described, as we have seen, in language which
draws on the Odyssey, while Athenas behaviour recalls her actions in
both the Iliad and another episode of the Odyssey. Even where the
allusions in the scene are concerned, Athenas world is kept separate
from that of the Argonauts. The episodes of the Odyssey concerned
are all ones which are important in other parts of the Argonautica,
the passage of the Symplegades, as the event which is emblematic of
the whole voyage, fuses aspects of some of the most important events
in Odysseus travels, and is linked by them to other parts of
Apollonius epic. It does not draw exclusively on the most obvious
model, the Homeric Wandering Rocks, but becomes a nexus of
similarities to the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Hesiod.


32
EoIIoV t opq Epo1tpmot VtoV1o.
t oIoI ou Eo upuoootVmV Et1pumV
VmItt ouu1 tpuIIt, pomV uIIuptt ux1uI
(Argo. II.552)
tV upu toouI
IuoI IVtI tI ItV p oo uI t xu1tp0tV
otIotVuI ppotoV, EtEt1o t VIu ou pu (595)

(. . . they voyaged in great fear, for the roar of the rocks
crashing together was already a constant din in their
ears and the sea-battered cliffs echoed with the noise. . .
. The eddying current held her in the midst of the
Clashing Rocks; on both sides the Rocks shook and
thundered, and the timbers of the ship could not move.)

xuEVoV xuI tu xu u I oV xuI ou EoV u xouou.
1m V u pu tIouV1mV tx tIpmV tE1u1 tpt1u,
popouV upu EuV1u xu1u p ooV tot1o uu1ou
Vu, tEtI ouxt1 tpt1u Epo xtu tpoIV tEtIoV.
(Od. XII.202)

(. . . I saw smoke above heavy breakers and heard a
great noise. The men took fright, the tapered oars all
flew from their hands to drop with a crash into the sea,
and with not a man using his oar the vessel came to rest
where she was.)

1o1 t EtI0 o tV mp1o, EtItIuu tIpI tupEm,
Iu o Epqp tEIptVuI........ (II.555)

(Then Euphemus took a position on the prow with the
dove in his hand. . . . .)

uu 1up tm xu1uu xIu1u 1tutu xuI uo oupt
uxp t V tpoIV tIm V tI I xpIu Vo tpuIVoV
Epqp (Od. XII.228)

(. . . but I put my glorious armour on, took a long spear
in either hand and strode up to the half-deck forward. . .
.)

1ou tIuoV1u ttV 1poo, o pu IV uu1I
EIupI, EuII Vopoo uVtpotV, xu1tVtIxtV
tI om Et1pumV. (II.575)

Iuo uVu EuV1u Im V pouuoxtV t 1uIpou
t puIttIV xmEqoIV o ooV o0tVo. oI uIuI1q
xoE1oV u mp o oooV uEotIxu0t Vu tpt1qoIV,
I 1o ooV u y u EopouotV
.
(II.588)

(They rowed in trembling fear until the back-wave on its
return washed diem into the midst of the rocks. . . .
33
Euphemus went among all the companions shouting at
them to put all their force into their oars, and they gave
a cry as they beat the water. Whatever progress the
rowers made, the ship was thrown back twice as far by
the surge. . . .)

1V u y EtIpoVt EuIIppo0IoV tpt xu u,
EIupI t x EoV1oIo, 0tmot t tpooV I xt o0uI.
uu1up tm tIptooI IupmV EtpIxtu xoV1oV
m ou Eupt t 1upoIoI t Eo1puVu t xtItuou
[t puIttIV xmEqo, I V u Etx xuxo11u uoItV,|
xpu1I xu1uVVtumV oI t EpoEtooV1t t ptoooV.
uII o1t I 1o oooV uIu EpoooV1t uEtV,
xuI 1o1t uxImEu EpooumV (Od.9.485)

(. . . the swell from beyond came washing back at once
and the wave carried the ship landwards and drove it
towards the strand. But I myself seized a long pole and
pushed the ship out and away again, moving my head
and signing to my companions urgently to pull at their
oars and escape destruction; so they threw themselves
forward and rowed hard. But when we were twice as far
out on the water as before, I made ready to hail the
Cyclops again...)

uu1up tm Iu Vo ImV m1puVoV t1uIpou (Od. 12.206)

(I began to walk up and down the vessel, offering my
men words to... hearten...)
1


After the beginning of Book III, Athena continues to be of little
consequence. She only appears again in Book IV when Thetis and her
sisters assist the Argonauts. Having left the Sirens (4.920), the
Argonauts arrive in the vicinity of Scylla, Charybdis, and the Planctae
(922-25). As Hera had requested (783-832), the Nereids then come to
the Argonauts assistance (930-1), and Thetis takes hold of the rudder
so as to protect the Argo among the Planctae (931-2). Thetis guides
the way (938), and the Nereids, one by one, send the Argo through the
air and away from the rocks (953-5). The narrator then describes how
Hephaestus and Hera were watching the Nereids (956-9). Athena is
also present in this passage, but only as a distant observer: Hera,
who is standing in the sky and gazes at the Nereids in fear, is said to
throw her arms around Athena (958-60).
Within this passage, Erato provides the narrator with considerable
insight into the actions and thoughts of various divinities. The
opposite scenario can be found in the Symplegades episode, which
also involves moving rocks that can destroy ships. In that episode, the

1
Knight (1995) 45-48.

34
point of view is centered more on what the Argonauts do and feel, and
less on gods and goddesses. After an eddying current, for instance,
washes up against the Argo (2.551-2), the Argonauts proceed in fear
(opq Epo1tpmot VtoV1o, 552). The sound of rocks dashing against one
another then strikes the Argonauts ears without pause (533-4), and
when the Argonauts actually see the Symplegades separating (559-
60), their hearts dissolve (ouV t oIV u1o 0uo., 561). Such
descriptions of what the Argonauts experience do not occur when they
encounter the Planctae (4.920-63).
Athena is the only deity to be mentioned in the Symplegades
episode, and her appearance is rather brief and simple when
compared with the depiction of the gods in the passage from Book IV.
Athena appears after the Argonauts depart from Thynia (2.536):

ou up A0VuIV Epo1tpm Iu0oV op0tV1t
uu 1Ixu tooutVm, VttI t EIpu ou EotooI
xou, xt tpoI IV u up ppIupV Etp t ou ouV,
otuu1 ItV oV1oVt, IIu poVtouo tpt1qoIV.
(II.537-40)

Nor then were they unseen by Athena as they hastened
forwards. And straightaway, furiously mounting upon a
light cloud with her feet, one that would carry her
quickly even though she was stout, she hastened to go
to the Black Sea, feeling kindly towards the rowers.

Once Athena touches ground at the Thynian headland (547-8), the
narrators focus returns to the Argonauts. When the Argonauts,
though, are dangerously close to the Symplegades, the narrator
relates that Athena held back a sturdy rock with her left hand and
with her right hand thrust the Argo into safety (598-9). With her task
completed, Athena goes back to Mount Olympus (602-3).
Through their protection of the Argo amid the Planctae, Thetis and
her sisters perform a physical feat similar to what Athena did in the
Symplegades episode. Athenas inactivity in the passage from Book IV
is therefore conspicuous. Since Hera, moreover, causes the Nereids
intervention, Athena is replaced by the combination of Hera and the
Nereids. In a similar way, Athena is also replaced by the combination
of Hera and Iris: whereas in the Symplegades episode, Athena both
notices the Argonauts (2.537) and provides direct assistance (598-9),
Hera, in Book IV, is informed by Iris when Jason and Medea leave
Circes house (753-6). From Eratos perspective, the simple type of
action that Athena performed in Book II is really a complex process by
which one goddess is the brains and others are the muscle. As we
35
shall see shortly, descriptions of falling in love become subject to the
same expanded narrative style.
1

Athena may be considered the goddess of navigation; in the
Odyssey she helps prepare Telemachuss ship and in the Argonautica
she oversees the construction of the Argo (I.18-19). The bird which
goes ahead of the ship is not just an omen, but, as Detienne and
Vernant have pointed out, is closely tied to the navigation of the ship
both because the ship follows its path and because birds were used in
early navigation in order to find land. Athena and her act of guiding
the Argo may be considered to be divine representations of the science
of navigation itself.
2



Apollo

First of all, we may note the recurrent preoccupation with the problems
of representing divinity. The visual interest, with the gods hair, his
bow in his left hand, hanging quiver, and eyes, all fixed in the
description, no doubt calls forth the plastic art and painting which
were part of the audiences common culture. On the other hand, the
archer gods progress cannot help but put the reader in mind of the first
divine appearance of the Iliad, with the arrows clanking on Apollos back
as he moves (1. 46). The allusion to artistic representations of the god
comes with an intimation that these artistic representations are
themselves, in some sense, ultimately literary, while the literary
force of the picture is stressed by the fact that Apollo is present, and
effective. The island shakes under his feet, and waves crash on the
shore (679-80), before he moves on through the air (684). Apollo is not
simply seen, in other words; the reaction of nature shows that he is
physically and weightily there.
3

Of all the immortals brought into the narrative of the Argonautica
Apollo stands as the most conspicuous, even though he does not play
an active role. Apollos role in the epic is wide-ranging. He is naturally
and most frequently mentioned in connection with prophecy. In fact
Jason believes that it is under the instruction and the care of Apollo
that he has undertaken the journey (1.414). Furthermore, Apollo is
propitiated by the band of heroes under many guises
4
: Savior of ships,

1
Berkowitz (2004), 126-127.
2
Williams (1991), 142.
3
Feeney (1991), 75.
4
Apollo Ax1Io , "Apollo of the Shore," and IpuoIo, "Apollo who Favors
Embarkation" (1.404). Ax1Io is a title that was actually employed in shoreline cults
of the deity throughout Greece. IpuoIo is also attested outside of literary sources,
but not until the time of the Roman Empire. However, Pausanias (Periegesis 2.32.2)
refers to a shrine of AEoIImV IEIpu1pIo, which Diomedes, having escaped a storm
36
Protector of cities, Bringer of dawn, Apollo of shepherds and, most
importantly, Apollo Ecbasius. Other individual representations of
Apollo are not lacking.
1


Apollonius Phoebus has nautical connections.
2
His associations
with seafaring in the Argonautica have counterparts in actual Greek
cult; in addition to being a god of poetry and prophecy, Apollo was
worshipped as a deity who protected sailors. The seafaring aspect of
Apollos cult probably occurred as an extension of Delphis role in
directing colonization; the god who commanded his worshippers to set
out across the seas would naturally be called upon to protect the
colonists on their journey.
3

The importance of Apollo as god of song in the Argonautica is
emphasized by his special relationship with the rhapsode Orpheus,
who becomes something of a priest or votes in the course of the epic,
and (along with Mopsus) assists the Argonauts in religious matters
after the death of the prophet Idmon. It is Orpheus who instructs the
Argonauts to build an altar and sacrifice to Apollo after the latters
appearance to them, and then sings a hymn in the gods honor
(2.684ff.); who dedicates his lyre to Apollo (2.927-9); and who orders
the Argonauts to dedicate Apollos tripod to the gods of the Tritonian
Lake (4.1547ff.). The importance of Orpheus in the epic focuses

encountered on his return from Troy, supposedly dedicated to the god. IpuoIo may
be the epic poets attempt to express IEIpu1pIo, which cannot be made to fit into
dactylic hexameter. Other epithets in the Argonautica that indicate Apollos
connections with the sea are IxpuoIo "Who Favors Disembarking" (1.966,1.1186)
and ooooo, "Savior of Ships" (2.927).The most famous title of Apollo in his
seafaring aspect in historical times was ^tIIVIo. Plutarch (de Soll. Anim. 984b)
states that many Greek states had shrines dedicated to this aspect of the god, and
this is borne out by the epigraphic evidence. The title is probably connected with
tII, since dolphins were thought to be beneficial to seafarers; Apollonius himself
refers to dolphins as a thing of joy for sailors (Vuu1qoI upu, 4.933). Whether this is
the true origin of the epithet or not, the connection was made in the literary
tradition. It is in the form of a dolphin that Apollo guides the Cretan sailors to
Delphi in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (3.400), and Callimachus, in one of his lyric
poems (Branchus fr. 229.12-13), also traces the origin of Apollos epithet to the
cetacean. Albis (1996), 44-45.
1
Broeniman (1989), 71-72
2
The seaside altar at which Jason is praying was set up to Apollo under the cult
epithets of Ax1Io and IpuoIo, god of the shore and embarkation (1.402-4). Book
1 also contains two sacrifices to Apollo under the epithet IxpuoIo , god of
disembarkation (1.966, 1186). At 1.411, Jason begins his prayer by calling Apollo
lord of Pagasae. When the poem ends, then, with the words uoEuoI m ux1u
uuoIu tI ouEtp1t. (4.1781), we have a picture of the Argonauts setting foot on shore while the
narrator's last three words recall four of the cult epithets by which the Argonauts have called upon
Apollo's aid - Ax1Io, u Vu uuou , IpuoIo / IxpuoIo, and It is just the right kind of groan-
raising pun between story and narrative to say that Apollo comes through in the last verse of the poem
precisely because he comes through in the end. Harder (2000), 251-252.
3
Albis (1996), 44.
37
attention on Apollos connection with song. Therefore, Apollo as the
god invoked in the prologue exemplifies the importance of poetry and
the poet in the Argonautica.
1

Variety is also a keynote of the deities who play the leading roles
in protecting the Argonauts. In Books I and II the primary role is
played by Apollo. The poem literally begins with him (1. 1) and the
oracle which he gave to Pelias to beware of the man with one sandal.
We learn from Jasons speech at 1.359-62 and his inaugurating
prayer at 1.411-I4 that the pious hero consulted Apollos oracle
before setting out (cf. 4.530-2, 1747-8) and that Apollo promised
help or guidance along the way. Just as the very opening of the
poem begins from Apollo, so Jason reports Apollo as having pro-
mised guidance if Jason should begin with inaugurating sacrifices to
[Apollo] (1.360-2); this echo reinforces the idea of the poem as itself
co-extensive with the voyage, establishes the piety of both Jason and
the narrator, and points to a special dependence of Jason upon
Apollo and perhaps also a sympathy between hero and god.
2



Jasons Prayer to Apollo:

The importance of Apollos oracle may have even incited the narrator
to dedicate the poem to him. The same conclusion will also apply for
the prayer that Jason delivers to Apollo (411-24) after the launching
of the Argo. Within it, he refers to what Apollo had previously
promised him in an oracular response:

Iu 0I u Vu uuou 1t EoIIV 1 AI omVIu VuImV
t1tpoIo 1ox o t EmVuoV, o oI u Eto1
u0oI ptIotVq u VuoIV xuI EtIpu0 ooIo
ouVttIV, uu 1o up tEuI1Io tEItu ut0ImV
uu 1o Vu V u t V u ouV up1tttooIV t1uIpoI
xtI ot 1t xuI EuIIVopooV t IIIuu. (1.411-6)

Listen, lord, inhabiting Pagasai and the Aisonian city -
the one named after our father -, you who promised to
indicate to me, when I was consulting the Pythian
oracle, the accomplishment and end of the voyage; for
you are responsible for the trials: you yourself, now,
bring the ship, with companions safe and sound, to that
place and back again to Hellas.

Since the trials (ut0ImV, 414) are presumably those associated with
the expedition, Jason is telling Apollo that he is responsible for the

1
Williams (1991), 299
2
Hunter (1993), 83-84.

38
voyage. It is unclear, though, whether Apollo is a direct or an indirect
cause of the voyage, and whether Apollo is the cause only in Jasons
opinion, or if he actually told Jason that he was the cause in his
oracular response. Jason, then, does not indicate how or why Apollo
is responsible, and one can delineate several possibilities.
With verse 414, Jason could be referring to the oracular response of
Apollo that Pelias heard (tII u1IV txIutV, 5), which states that
Pelias will be subdued by the man whom he sees wearing one sandal
(5-7). This oracular response is a cause for the voyage since the
Argonauts, as an indirect result of it, go in quest of the Golden Fleece
at Pelias promptings (t oouVq tIIuo, 3). Jasons prayer would
then explicitly mention one oracular response that he himself heard
(412-4), and allude to another that influenced Pelias (414).
Apollo, though, could be responsible for the trials (uu1o up tEuI1Io
tEItu ut0ImV, 414) because of the oracular response that Jason heard.
The voyage would then be doubly determined as Pelias promptings
would not be the only reason for it. Apollos oracular response to
Jason could have caused the voyage by a direct request for him to
undertake it. Alternatively, Apollo would have indirectly caused the
voyage if his promise of success (412-4) greatly influenced Jasons
decision to embark on it. Apollo would then be responsible for the
voyage in Jasons view, but not necessarily in the view of himself or
the narrator.
Finally, as a third scenario, Jason could be attributing his trials to
Apollo (414) because of the oracle that he heard, and at the same
time, because of what Pelias heard (5).
The number of possible interpretations of Jasons prayer reveals
that references to the prehistory can be so incomplete that even a
reader with considerable knowledge of the Argonautic legend will have
trouble supplementing them. Jason uses an element of the prehistory
to serve his rhetorical aims with regard to Apollo, his private narratee.
Although it may be hard for the public audience to understand him
fully, Apollo would know exactly what he means.
1
Deforest, about this theme says: The Argonautica begins with a
misleading declaration of Homeric unity. The narrator sends Apollo a
prayer that is reflected by the actions of the heroes inside the poem.
They pay their respects to Apollo as a prelude to their adventures. The
opening lines honor Apollo, the god of poetry:


ApotVo oto oI pt EuIuItVtmV xItu m1mV
V oouI (I.1-2)


1
Berkowitz (2004), 25-27, 59.

39
Beginning with you [or from you], Phoebus, the glorious
deeds of ancient men I will commemorate....

The narrator again ties Apollo to the poem with a direct address after
he begins the story. Jason is sent after the Golden Fleece because
King Pelias receives "your oracle" (1.8) warning him to beware of the
man wearing one shoe. By the word your, Apollo is reminded his own
oracle has set the story in motion. He is both the god of poetry and
the god responsible for the events set forth in this poem. Thus he
stands at the start of the poets poetic journey and the heroes actual
one.
The Argonautica begins with an invocation to Apollo, as the origin of
the expedition, and another to the Muses, as the interpreters of the
tradition. In his inaugural speech, Jason echoes the
narrators ApotVo oto, "beginning from you," when he announces
his intention of starting with Apollo, "from him I will begin"
(ou t0tV tupmuI, 1 .362). He alludes to the sacrifice and the cult
prayer, but his words go beyond the context to connect the narrators
prayer with the Argonauts activities.
Then, in turn, the Argonauts prepare the sacrifice to Apollo in
words that echo Jasons instructions:

"1tIm uu xuI pmo V t Eux1IoV IpuoIoIo
0tIotV AEoIImVo...... " (1.359-60)

"Let us meanwhile build an altar of Apollo of
Embarkation on the shore ...."

Compare this with:

VtoV uu1o0I pmoV tEux1IoV, AEoIImVo
Ax1Iou IpuoIoIo 1 tEmVuoV...... (1.403-404)

They built there an altar on the shore for Apollo, named
for him as god of the Shore and of Embarkation ....

Notice the repetition of pmoV tEux1IoV, "altar on the shore", IpuoI oIo
"of Embarkation," and AEoIImVo, "of Apollo." This is characteristic of
Homer and not often found in Apollonius. Jasons instructions to the
Argonauts are repeated in their actions, as reported by the words. The
verbal echoes create a sense of religious unity among Jason, the
heroes, and the narrator.
1

Many scholars have discussed the role of Apollo in the prologue and
the hymnic style of invocation. Mooney, Hurst, Vian, and Wilamowitz
attribute mention of Apollo to his oracles causative role in the quest

1
Deforest (1994), 37, 40, 41- 42.
40
for the Golden Fleece (1.2, 8) De Marco and Phinney see only hymnic
elements which are borrowed by Apollonius without thematic
integration, and Hndel sees no real hymn. Collins argues that the
poet makes the invocation in order to share with the god in composing
the poem, since Apollo is the source both of "the poem" and of
"Apollonius poetic art." Blumberg sees "eine Huldigung an den
Beschtzer der Dichter," and Faerber calls Apollo the patron of the
poet. Frankel argues that the epic begins with Apollo because he both
motivated the action through his oracle and because he is the god of
song.
I suggest that mention of Apollo at the very beginning of the
Argonautica derives from a number of reasons. First, he was
responsible for the oracle which sets the plot in motion, and he is
therefore linked to the prehistory of the epic. This is not, however,
sufficient reason for his placement in the primary position of a first-
line invocation or to have the verb u pouI used of him. Apollo could
have been mentioned later in the prologue after a traditional address
to the Muses and still have received appropriate credit for his part in
causing the action, or the Muses and Apollo could have shared the
invocation. For example, Pindar in Pythian 4 declares that Apollo gave
victory in the chariot race at Delphi but that he, Pindar, will give his
song (i.e. Arcesilaus and the Golden Fleece) to the Muses:

1q tV AEoIImV u 1t u0m xu o t
u Ix1IoVmV t EoptV
IEEo'poIu. uEo uu1oV tm NoIouIoI mom
xuI 1o EupuooV Vu xo xpIou (Pyth.4.66-8)


Apollo and Pytho give glory to Arcesilaus for the chariot
race. But I shall dedicate him and the rams golden
fleece to the Muses.

In Homeric Hymn XXIV, the poet "begins" (upmuI 25.1) with both
Apollo and the Muses, and Callimachus also addresses the Muses and
Apollo at the beginning of Iambus XIII:

Nou ouI xuIuI xu EoIIoV, oI t m oEtVm
(Iam.XIII.l = fg. 203 Pf.)

There are many other examples of such a combined hymnic
invocation to Apollo and the Muses which are found in Homer,
Hesiod, and Pindar. It was certainly possible for the Muses to have
been invoked first and Apollo later in the prologue, or for both Apollo
and the Muses to be given recognition in the same breath by the poet.
The argument that the address to the Muses traditionally precedes a
catalogue in Greek epic and that, therefore, the Muses must be
41
invoked at 1.22 does not mean that they could not also have had
primary position in the prelude.
1

Since Apollo has a role so pervasive throughout the epic it should
not be surprising to see a connection between the hero and such an
omnipresent immortal, at least on a spiritual level. To Jason, Apollo is
his patron deity. The connection between the two, however, is not as
wide-ranging as the many different aspects of Apollo show him to be.
But rather Apollonius has chosen to impart only one aspect of Apollo
to his hero.
Let us return to the scholiasts comment on our initial simile, that
the connecting point between narrative and simile is the youthfulness
of Jason, or more specifically, as I believe the scholion should be
understood, the youthful bloom of beauty, we can see one clear point
of contact between hero and his patron deity. Apollo in Greek
Literature of all periods has a notoriously bad success rate in his love
affairs. Even in the Argonautica two of his many love affairs with
sourending are mentioned, one quite extensively. Sinope (2.9460. the
daughter of Asopus, after she had requested a favor from Zeus,
slighted the god by not giving him her own favors. This same trick she
subsequently played on the river god Halys and, Apollonius states,
Apollo as well was slighted by this femme fatale: m t xuI AEoIImVu
EupEutV, tuV0VuI / IttVoV. More detailed is the pathetic story of
Coronis narrated in book 4.603ff. To Apollo Coronis had given birth to
Asclepius who later was slain by Zeus thunderbolt to punish Apollo.
2

Two similes at the start of the voyage (1.307-11, 536-41) seem in
fact to identify hero and god, so that Carspecken even concluded
that throughout the rest of the poem it is impossible to think of the
one without being in some measure reminded of the other. At one
level, of course, there is something importantly Apolline about the
ephebic Jason. Pindar had already exploited the likeness (Pyth. 4.87),
and the stress on the youth of the chorus in the simile of the young
men dancing in Apollos honour at 1.536 certainly points towards
Apollos role as archetypal kouros. Nevertheless, the nuanced com-
plexity of Apollonius tone must not be missed. The first simile
stresses Jasons youth by being framed on one side by his parents
misery at his departure, a misery which treats that departure as a
kind of death, and on the other by his encounter with Iphias, the
aged priestess of Artemis:


1q t upI1o tpuI
Iu Ap1tIo EoIIoou u p1tIpu,
xuI IV tI1tp tIpo xuotV out 1I uo0uI

1
Williams (1991), 296-298.
2
Broeniman (1989), 72-73.
42
t E I ttV uVu1o Epo0toV1o o IIou,
uII tV IIEt1 uu0I EupuxIIoV, oIu tpuI
oEIo1tpmV, o t EoIIoV uEoEIu0tI tIIuo0.
(1.311-16)

Iphias, the priestess of Artemis, protectress of the city,
came up to him, and kissed his right hand. Despite her
strong desire she could say nothing as the crowd
pressed round him, but she was left behind at the side
of the path, as an old woman is left by the young, and
he moved off far into the distance.

This vignette suggests both Jasons regal splendour - it is not unlike
Apollos apparent ignoring of the Argonauts at Thynias - and also the
sense of loss and desolation which his departure causes: Jason leaves
his family, Apollo leaves Artemis. So too, the simile of the rowers
compared to a chorus in honour of Apollo follows immediately upon a
passage which suggests a clear contrast between Jason and the other
Argonauts:


tI Ixt1o
EtIou1u xuI t0u ItIpoV uEtp0 uIo, uu1u p omV
uxpuotI uI u Eo Eu1pIo ou1 t VtIxtV. (I.533-5)

The ropes were now being drawn in and they were
pouring libations of wine into the sea; but Jason wept as
he turned his eyes away from his homeland.

No simple equation between Jason and Apollo will account for the
stress here on Jasons difference, and on the grief which surrounds
him.
1

In the beginning, the reader is invited to join the narrator, Jason,
and the Argonauts, who are themselves joined together in harmonious
prayer. This apparent religious harmony is sustained in two similes
that frame the Argonauts worship of Apollo. When Jason leaves
home, he is likened to Apollo visiting one of his many sanctuaries:

I, xuI o tV Epo1t pmot o mV t mp1o Vtto0uI.
oI o t x VoIo 0umto tIoIV AEoIImV
^ IoV u V u0t V t IupoV, o t u0m
^uxIV tuptIuV tEI EuV0oIo poqoI
.

1oIo uVu EI0uV ou xItV.... (1.306-10)

He spoke, and set out to go outside the house.
Just as Apollo goes from his fragrant temple
up through holy Delos, or Claros, or Pytho,

1
Hunter (1993), 84-85.

43
or broad Lycia, on the streams of Xanthus,
so did he move up through the press of the crowd ....

When the Argonauts set off on their journey, they are likened to
dancers in one of Apollos numerous sanctuaries:

oI , mo1 I0toI oI pq opoV t VI u0oI
Eou t V p1uI q t uuoIV oVoI o
o1outVoI, o pIo u EuI EtpI pmoV o up1q
t tItm xpuIEVoI oI EtoV p oomoI EotooIV
.

m oI uE p o xI0upq EtEIoV t pt1oI
EoV1ou Iu ppoV u mp,.... (I.536-41)

But the rest, just as young men set up a dance for
Phoebus either in Pytho or in Ortygia, or by the waters
of Ismenus, and to the accompaniment of the lyre
around the altar beat the ground with their swift feet in
time to the music, so in time with Orpheus lyre they
smote with their oars the rushing water of the sea....

The religious tone of the similes reinforces the sense that narrator and
heroes are joined in worshipping Apollo, yet the wording reveals the
separation between the parties.
1


Apollo is celebrated with cult at various places on the outward
journey and appears at Thynias, but then largely disappears from the
poem until the final scenes. At 4.1547-9 Orpheus realises that the
Argonauts have to offer one of the tripods of Apollo which they are
carrying to the gods of Lake Triton in order to secure a safe exit, and in
the final danger of the voyage the crew is saved from an impenetrable
darkness by the gleam of Apollo who reveals to them the island of
Anaphe (The Revealed); on this island they found the cult of
Apollo Aigletes (the Gleamer). Thus the poem and the voyage both
begin and end with Apollo.
2

At 1. 307. Jason striding forth from Iolcus to Pagasae was
compared with Apollo. Here, however, at 2. 676. the description of the
golden-haired god armed with bow and quiver continues without
reference to anything else save for a possible hint to readers
thoroughly conversant with the Homeric epics that Zeus son gives
much the same appearance and produces much the same effect as
did Zeus himself or as did Zeus brother (and frequent rival) Poseidon.
A pair of Zusammenstellungen will show what I have in mind:

u ppooIuI u pu uI 1uI tEtppmouV1o uVux1o
xpu1o u E u 0uVu1oIo..... (Il. I.529)


1
Deforest (1994), 42-43.
2
Hunter (1993), 85.

44
.....puotoI t EuptIumV t xu1tp0tV
EIooI po1puotV1t tEtppmoV1o xIoV1I ( Argo. II. 676)

....1ptt ou ptu uxpu xuI u I
EoooIV uE u0uVu1oIoI ootIumVo IoV1o. (Il. 13. 18)

..... u Eo EoooIV
otIt1o Voo oI, xIu,tV tEI xu u1u t poq.
(Argo. II. 679)

How ironic, then, that the very hero who was formerly likened not
only to Apollo, but even to a star in the heavens (1. 774), should have
become so submerged in the Argonautic mass that he is not once
mentioned by name in the entire Thynian island sequence!
Presumably he shares in the astonishment of his fellows:

1ou t It 0upo I oV1u uuVoV, out 1I t1I
uV1IoV uuuoouo0uI t o u1u xuIu 0toI o,
o1uV t xu1m VtuouV1t tEI 0oVo..... (Argo. II. 681-683)

Helpless amazement seized them as they looked; and no
one dared to gaze face to face into the fair eyes of the
god.

Leadership of a sort comes at last (oyt) (Argo. 2. 684), but from an
unexpected quarter. Orpheus steps forth after the departure of the
god and in a short speech explains what the Argonauts must now do:

[1] Commemorate the epiphany by renaming the island for Apollo
"of the dawn" ( Im Io) (since it was at daybreak (mIo) that he
appeared (686-688).

[2] Raise a shore side altar (pmo t Eux1Io) and perform sacrifices
(688).

[3] Perform additional sacrifices in Thessaly, should the god grant
safe return (tI u V o EIoom uI uV t AI oVIV u ox0tu Voo1oV oEuooq
x1I.) (689-691).

[4] Strive for the gods good will now with savors and with the ritual
cry II0I u Vu, II0I uuV0tI. (692).

From the standpoint of chronology Items # # 3 and 4 ought to have
been interchanged. Yet the progression as it stands is psychologically
effective. Moreover the cooperation of Apollo had been secured even in
advance of the sacrifice itself. For when one group turned to the task
of building an altar (604), while another roamed the woods in search
45
of sacrificial victims (695), the god very conveniently after all, it was
to his own advantage as well as to the advantage of the Argonauts
ensured that game would be available:

1oI oI t ^1oI upV Eo ptV... (698)

Sacrifical rites are carried out forthwith (698), and the helpful deity
is duly addressed as ImIoV AEoIImV (700). But song and dance too
become part of the celebration (701), with Orpheus once again in
charge. The Thynian island sequence comes to a close with an uI1IoV
so typical of Apollonius manner that it is worth quoting in full:

uu 1up t EtI 1oVt optIq tIyuV uoIq ,
IoIpuI tuuttooIV tEmoouV tV up tIV
u IIIoI tI ouItV o opoouVqoI VooIo,
uE1o tVoI 0utmV xuI 1 tIot1I VuV t 1t1ux1uI
xtIV oVoI IpoV t upoVo o p txu oV1o
uu1oI xuIo1V 1o1t uIoVu EopouIVoV1t. (714-719)

Now when they had celebrated him with dance and song
they took an oath with holy libations, that they would
ever help each other with concord of heart, touching the
sacrifice as they swore; and even now there stands there
a temple to gracious Concord, which the heroes
themselves reared, paying honour at that time to the
glorious goddess.
1



As the Argonauts depart from Crete, on their homeward voyage at
Apollonius Rhodius Argo. 4, 1694-1730 deep, scary, Hades-like
darkness enshrouds their ship. Apollo, invoked by Jason to help,
comes down swiftly and alights on the Melantian Rocks
(Et1pu/...NtIuV1tIou 1706-1707). From there the god raises his golden
bow which flashes forth a dazzling gleam (uIIV) thus making
visible (tuuV0) to the Argonauts a small island lying ahead. After
casting anchor there, the Argonauts worship Apollo AII1
(tuoxoEou tIVtxtV uII) and name the island AVu (o oI po
IV u1u,otVoI uVtVtV). In a passage which provides the aition of two
names associated with light ( AVu, AII1), the epithet NtIuV1tIou
appears by contrast to evoke an association with t Iu dark),
especially if one takes into consideration the preceding lengthy
description of the Vu xu1ouIu and in particular the expression
tIuV u o (1697).
2

The language and structure of Apollos epiphany are traditional: a
divine appearance causes mortal 0upo and is followed by prayers and

1
Levin (1971), 178-181.
2
Paschalis (1994), 224-225.
46
worship (cf., e.g., Od. 3, 371-394). The gods flowing hair, the bow in
his left hand, and the quiver hanging down his back, however, well
exemplify a Hellenistic interest in detailed pictorial representation.
Striking also is the suddenness of the gods appearance. The scene is
presented as though Apollo is unaware of the Argonauts presence on
the island; they see him but he does not see them. Such an experience
was highly dangerous for mortal men, as Callimachus states baldly
in the fifth hymn (Lav. Pall. 100-102):

poVIoI m t ItoV1I VooI
o xt 1IV u 0uVu1mV, o xu 0to uu 1o t I1uI,
u 0p oq, Io0m 1ou 1oV ItIV tuIm.
(Lav. Pall. 100-102)

Nevertheless, we do not have to assume that Apollo, who after all has
a central role in the whole epic, was unaware either of the
Argonauts presence" or of the effect which his epiphany will have
upon them.
1




Poseidon, Triton and Glaucus


Poseidon

The final scenes of Book IV also give a prominent place to
Poseidon, as befits his traditional role in the foundation myths of
Gyrene. It is Poseidons horse which guides the Argonauts away
from Syrtis (4.1325ff.), his son Triton who receives the tripod of
Apollo from them, grants them the miraculous clod, which is
received by another son of Poseidon, Euphemus, and guides them
out of the lake, and Poseidon and Triton to whom they erect
altars (4.1621-2). Although some of the Argonauts are descended
from this god, he has otherwise figured in the epic largely in
association with the heroes opponents, Pelias (1.13), Amycus (2.3),
and Aeetes (3.1240-5). His apparent benevolence is therefore a
mark of closure as the Argonauts approach their destination.
2
The prehistory to the Argonautica is given by Apollonius over only
thirteen verses. In this summarization of events prior to the
acceptance of Jasons mission Apollonius relates how Pelias will
ultimately die at the hands of the man with one scandal; Jason has
entered the city wearing but one sandal; Pelias at that time was

1
Hunter (1986), 51-52.
2
Hunter (1993), 90.

47
celebrating a festival in honor of the gods, particularly Poseidon; and
Pelias contrived the famous labor of Jason. On the surface Apollonius
reveals to the reader that Pelias, the enemy of Jason, is to be
identified with the god Poseidon.
The references to Poseidon in the first two books of the Argonautica
are sporadic. In the beginning of book II reference once again is made
to Poseidon. The Argonauts have unwittingly brought their ship to the
land of the Bebrykians where their king Amycus challenges one and
all to a boxing match, a boxing match to the death. Amycus is a
completely brutish figure and, owing to the description drawn by
Apollonius, a thoroughly detestable person. For the Argonauts,
fortunately there is Polydeuces, the son of Zeus, at hand who is a fair
boxer himself. From verse 3 we learn that Amycus is the son of
Poseidon. Once again the Argonauts find themselves faced with an
enemy whom Apollonius has identified with the god Poseidon.
These two references to Poseidon-insignificant by themselves-
perhaps help Apollonius set the stage for book III and the king who
will prove to be the most formidable enemy to Jason in the
Argonautica. Aeetes, more cunning, but just as ruthless as Amycus, is
compared to Poseidon as he departs from the city to the plain of Ares
where Jason, he hopes, will fall in battle (1240-45):

oI o o0IoV tIoI ootIumV t u m Vu,
upuoIV tptpum, JuIVupoV ot ^tpV
u mp t xuI uIoo YuV1Iou o1oI o,
xuI 1t uIuu ptIuV t1u 0uu VIoot1uI I EEoI
t1pV 0 AIoVIV, tVptV1u ItpuIo1oV
1oI o u p AI 1 oImV u o q tV I to0uI.

Like the early Jason/Apollo and Medea/Artemis similes, locations
sacred to the god are central to this simile. Furthermore, as in those
earlier similes, correspondences to the narrative are obvious. But
nevertheless the implication is clear: Apollonius has once again
identified this Olympian deity with an enemy of the Argonauts.
In the background surely lies the Odyssey. Many of the hardships
which Odysseus endures on his homeward journey originate from
Poseidon as a result of Odysseus blinding of Polyphemus, the son of
Poseidon. Odysseus learns of this fact from the seer Teiresias who
further instructs him that Poseidon must eventually be appeased by
sacrificing a boar, a ram and a bull, and marking it with an oar. In
the Argonautica seemingly only the goddess Hera is involved in the
plot on more than the level of curious onlooker. The remaining
Olympians do not overtly come into play as showing any favor one
way or the other.
Apollonius, however, uses references to the Olympian gods to divide
them into sides. Apollo is clearly a benefactor of the Argonauts, even
48
though he does not actively affect the outcome of the epic.
Throughout the first three books, apart from the catalogue, references
to Poseidon show hostility (or potential hostility) to the Argonauts: in
book I Pelias, in book II Amycus and in book III Aeetes are identified
with Poseidon. Compare a further ironic reference to the god. When
the Argonauts are blown back to the Doliones, unaware of one
another both sides attack. The Argonauts slay many Doliones.
Apollonius relates (1.950-52) that the race of Doliones is descended
from Poseidon. Like Odysseus, Jason also brings about the death of
Poseidons descendants. Apollonius, I suggest, has specifically chosen
Poseidon of all the Olympians to be identified with Aeetes in part to
mirror the role Poseidon has in the Odyssey, but primarily to
maintain the arrangement already established in books I and II of the
Argonautica.
1



Triton

The boundaries between divine arid human are also confused in
the case of several Argonauts who either become gods or at least do
not suffer the usual fate after death. The only god to appear
disguised as a human being, Triton, chooses the form of a young
man (4.1551), making himself as similar as possible to the Argonauts
and thereby further blurring the distinction between the Argonauts
and the gods they honour.
2

After a long portage of twelve days and nights, itself sufficiently
improbable, the heroes have brought their ship to the Tritonian Lake in
N. Africa. Here Argo is trapped, because there proves to be no outlet to
the sea. Momentarily the reader feels that Argo is about to be
personified, for at 1541 ff. we are told that she was like a serpent which
under the burning sun creeps through a rock-crevice to its lair:

m Apm, IIV o1ou VuuEopoV t tptouou
u tEo I tI VuIoV t EI poVoV. (4.1546-7)

Even so Argo, seeking a navigable outlet from the lake,
wandered for a long time.

However, this theme is not developed. In the end the offering of a tripod
brought from Delphi brings the demi-god Triton to the heroes aid; he
shows them the point at which the lake lies nearest to the sea. Then,
after sacrifice has been made to him, he takes the form of a sea-

1
Broeniman (1989), 82-85.
2
Knight (1995), 276, 277

49
monster and leads Argo onward until she is floating at last in the
Mediterranean. This forms a striking passage:


m o1 u V p 0ooV I EEoV t tuptu xu xIoV umVo
o1tIIq optutVo IuoI tuEtI0tu uI1,
tI 0up t EI1poumV, o tE uutVI uu po u tp0tI.
t oEt1uI, u pIVotV1u t EI o1ou1tooI uIIVu
u I o ux1u,oV1I EupupIV xpo1t oV1uI
m o t EIootVo Iuup o IxIoV Apou
uIut Epo1tpmot. t u t oI t uEu1oIo
xpuu1o uI 1t Vm1u xuI Iuu to1 tEI VuV
u V1Ixpu uxuptooI uV t xEuIoV t Ix1o,
uu1up uEuI IuoVmV IxpuIpu oI tV0u xuI t V0u
x1to o IxuI xuVt1o xoE1t uxuV0uI
uxpoV ump, uI 1t oxoIIoI tEI VtIo0I xtV1poI
V m xtputooIV ttIotVuI IomV1o
1opu u tV, 1tIm IV t EIEpotxt 0uIuooq
VIoootVV, u uI yu tooV pu0oV oI o uouV
pmt, 1tpu uIVoV t V o 0uIoI oIV I oV1t.
(4.1604-19)

When a man is training a race-horse for the open circle of
the track, he grasps its thick mane and immediately runs
alongside. The horse, obeying him, follows with proudly-
arched neck, while the gleaming bit in its mouth
clatters sideways as it champs. Even so Triton grasped
hollow Argos stem

and led her on towards the sea. From
the top of his head, down over his back and waist as far
as the belly, he was completely and strikingly like the
immortals in appearance, but below his flanks a forked
sea-beasts tail extended. With its spines, which divided
lower down into curved fins like the horns of the moon,
he thrashed the surface of the water and so led Argo
onward until he brought her to the sea as she went on
her way. Then he quickly submerged into the depths. All
the heroes cried out as they saw this marvellous portent
with their own eyes.
1


Apollonius most extended play on the nature of the gods is his last.
Argo is lost in the Tritonian Lake in Libya, when the sea-god Triton
meets the company, looking like a sturdy man (uI,q tVuIIxIo, 4.
1551). The phrase has Homeric (and Pindaric) associations; Homeric,
likewise, are the gods assumption of a human name (4.1561), his swift
subsequent disappearance back into his divinity (1590-1), and the
humans recognition of the fact that they have seen a disguised god
(1591-2). Having done the normal thing, Apollonius reintroduces Triton
ten lines later, and this time Triton is exactly as he really was to look

1
Gaunt (1972), 122-123.
50
at (1oIo t mV oIo Etp t 11uo tV Ito0uI, 1603). What is that like? A
simile immediately follows, comparing Triton to ... a man: As when a
man ... (m o1 uV p..., 1604). His body, then says Apollonius, from
the top of his head, around his back and waist down to his stomach,
was exactly like the immortals in its outstanding nature
(tu t oI t uEu1oIo /xpuu1o uI 1t Vm1u xuI Iuu to1 tEI VuV
/ uV1Ixpu uxuptooI uVtxEuIoV tIx1o, 1610-12; he goes on to describe
the sea-monster that he was in the lower parts). The last line is a tissue
of epic phrases, used to compare a human being to a god, or to
compare something divine to a human being. But to say that
something divine looks like something else divine, when you have
compared it to a man and spent a line detailing its anthropomorphism,
is to introduce a remarkable confusion of categories. Small wonder,
then, that Apollonius reflects on his creation as an extraordinary por-
tent (1tpu uIVoV, 1619)
1
Apollonius emphasizes the power of the demi-god by describing him
as a kind of merman, with a celestials head and body joined to a tail
which is depicted in curious detail. Even this, however, does not quite
satisfy, for sea-monsters, though perhaps powerful enough to pull a
large ship, are not necessarily equipped for crossing stretches of desert.
There is an air of unreality about the scene, and the reader, though he
may admire the power of the simile, is left with a feeling of uneasiness.
2

Gaunt remarks that there is an air of unreality about the scene.
Indeed there is, and a very finely realized unreality it is at that. Triton
is there to transport the ship through impassable regions, to make the
impossible plausible, as an ancient critic would have put it. One may
think of Aristotles comment on the beginning of Odyssey XIII, of how
Homer, by sweetening the absurdity, makes the absurdity disappear
with his, other good points (Poet. 1460 a 35-b 2). Apollonius scene is
certainly sweet, but it serves to accentuate the absurdity, not to make
it disappear, for the norms of anthropomorphism are adhered to in
order to be destabilized.
3


The Argonauts subsequent encounter with Triton reworks closely
two encounter scenes of the Odyssey. The first is the scene at the
start of Odyssey VII where Athena, disguised as a young girl, shows
Odysseus the way to Alcinous palace (an important step on the heros
return home). The second is Athenas meeting with the hero on the
shore of Ithaca (Od. 13.221 ff.). In that scene, Athena, like Triton, at
first disguised herself as a young man, and then appeared, again like
Triton, in her true form. In both cases the divine appearance is

1
Feeney (1991), 78-79.
2
Gaunt (1972), 123.
3
Feeney (1991), 79.

51
prompted by a beautiful tripod (4.1547-50, Od. 13.217), and in both
cases it takes place in a spot connected with one of the sea-gods,
Phorkys in the Odyssey (13.345), and Triton in the Argonautica.

Triton
rescues the Argonauts from snake-infested territory, and Apollonius
instantiates the Argonauts plight in the simile of the winding snake
which introduces the meeting with Triton (4.1541 - 7). The gods saving
role is also reflected in the names of the episode. Libyan snakes arose
from the Gorgons blood which dripped onto the earth as Perseus
flew over the land. Apollonius provides Perseus original
name, Eurymedon (4.1514), to link it to Eurypylos, the name which
Triton gives himself when he meets the Argonauts (4.1561). To
reinforce the point, Triton is given his Hesiodic epithet
of tupupI (4.I552). In contrast to the encounters with the heroines
and the Hesperides, the meeting with Triton is marked by a light
humour, which centres around the uncertainty concerning the young
mans status. Triton speaks with an irony which is lost on the
Argonauts: he is t EIIo1opu EoV1ou, one who knows about the sea
(4.1558, with 1ou delayed for surprise effect) and an uVu, lord
(4.1559), both of which leave unclear whether he is god or man.

He
offers a clod as though this is all that he has to give, and Euphemus,
another son of Poseidon, receives it EpopmV, in kindly manner
(4.1562). This word is often used of a gods saving intervention or of the
party with the advantage or superiority in any situation; here, like his
address to the god as pm, hero (4.1564), it rather marks Euphemus
misunderstanding of the situation. Such play with Tritons divine
status is reinforced by uncertainties about his physical form
just what does he look like (4.161012)?
1



Glaucus

Apollonius did not invent the involvement of Glaucus in the
Argonautic legend. According to Philostratus (Imag. 2.15) and
Diodorus (4.48), there was a tradition that Glaucus appeared to the
Argonauts in the Black Sea, where he gave them prophecies. Diodorus
even has him predict for Heracles the completion of his labors and his
future immortality. According to Possis of Magnesia (FGrHist 480 F 2),
Glaucus built the Argo and was its helmsman in a battle against the
Tyrrhenians. Afterwards, in accordance with Zeuss wishes, he
disappeared into the depths of the sea (xu1u t ^Io pouIoIV t V
1q 1 0uIu oo pu0q uuVIo0VuI) and was transformed into a sea
divinity. If Possis, who may have come after Apollonius (Jacoby ad loc.
reluctantly dates him to around 200 B.C.), did not invent the

1
Hunter (1993), 89-90.
52
metamorphosis of Glaucus, but instead passes on an older tradition,
Apollonius may well have this in mind in his portrayal of Glaucus as
he emerges from the depths of the sea (1oIoIV t IIuuxo ppuI uIo
ttuuV0,1310) and reports to the Argonauts that they should not
proceed contrary to the will of Zeus (JIE1t Euptx tuIoIo ^Io
tVtuIVt1t pouIV; 1315). The fact that Apolloniuss Glaucus holds on
to the stern post to control the ship, as Apollonius recounts the story,
may allude to his having been the helmsman in one version of the
expedition. The central position of this image might suggest that a
literary reference underlies the epiphany here. Be that as it may, a
tradition that Glaucus was originally a mortal who became immortal
goes back to schylus (Glaucus fr. 28-29 Radt). Apolloniuss
contemporary Alexander Etolus also mentions this in his Halieus
(121-22 Powell). In this respect, it is appropriate that Glaucus, a man
become god, should intervene and announce the future apotheosis of
Heracles, especially since the thrust of Glaucuss message is that
Heracles does not belong among the Argonauts precisely because he
is on his way to becoming a god. Gods, however, are not
interdependent, and Jason stated on the beach at Pagasae that their
expedition required a joint effort (336-37). Heracles, who can drive the
Argo by himself, and take the golden apples of the Hesperides from a
tree guarded by Ladon by himself, is out of place in such a group. His
independence stands in opposition to the unity of the group; but
Jasons dependence on the group and his skill in settling VtIxtu,
which Apollonius evinces in this concluding episode of Book I, draw
the men closer together. In this lies the strength of Jasons weakness.
The appearance of Glaucus thus allows both heroes to pursue their
goals in the ways that best suit their personalities and abilities.
1

After that, nothing until the shock of Glaucus eruption from the sea,
towering up in the water to take reader and Argonauts by surprise (1.
1310-28). Abrupt and mysterious, as Hunter calls it, Glaucus
intervention is odd in a number of ways. Standing there in all his
shaggy glory, with his mighty hand on the gunwales, his function is to
tell the Argonauts the plan of Zeus for Heracles (or some of Zeus plan),
together with the fates of Polyphemus and Hylas. It is significant that
he prophesies only about characters with whom they have lost touch,
for it is likely that Apollonius knew of versions where Glaucus foretold
the destinies of certain crew-members when they were present; it is
more characteristic of this poem for him to keep his addressees in the
dark. His appearance looks like a random eventGlaucus is part of no
pattern, appearing this once only in the poem; but is he acting as the
mouthpiece of Zeus? We are not told, and there is no conversation
between deity and humans. Glaucus words do, however, fulfil the

1
Clare (2002), 202-204.
53
classic function of a gods intervention, in providing a solution for a
crisis which the humans cannot resolve. The sons of Boreas have
prevented the ship turning back to pick up their lost comrades (1.
1300-1), and so the immediate decision has been taken, but bitter
quarrels are in train, and are only quelled by the god. Yet Apollonius
has told us that Heracles will later kill the sons of Boreas for
preventing his rescue (1. 1302-9); is it irrelevant to reflect that if
Glaucus had intervened seconds earlier he would have saved their
lives? It is Apollonius own timing which has condemned them, for his
version of their death is unique.
1


When the Argonauts depart from the land of Kios (1.1276-7) and
realize that they accidentally abandoned Heracles, Polyphemus, and
Hylas (1283), they begin to quarrel with one another (1284-6) and
Telamon wants to sail back to find Heracles (1298-9). Glaucus,
however, appears to them from out of the sea (1310). As the very
wise interpreter of divine Nereus (po 0tIoIo EoIupumV
u Eo1, 1311), Glaucus tells the Argonauts that it is contrary to the
will of Zeus (Euptx tuIoIo ^Io ............. pouIV, 1315) for them to bring
Heracles to Colchis (1315-6), adding that Heracles is destined to
accomplish his twelve labors (1317-8) and to live among the gods
(1319). Glaucus also relates that it has been fated for Polyphemus to
build a city at the mouth of the river Kios (1321-3), and that a Nymph
made Hylas her husband (1324-5). Glaucus thereby resolves the
dispute over whether the Argonauts should sail back for Heracles. The
factors motivating Glaucus assistance, though, are not stated.
2

Thus Glaukos promptly appears as deus ex machina to prevent any
unfortunate decisions on the part of the crew and calm everybody
down. The marine divinity is accorded the hl
3
u Eo1 (Argo.
1.1311/Il. 16.235). In extant literature this rare word reappears only
in this passage and in Theocritus Idylls". Theocritus always
associates it with the Muses and Apollonius himself uses the variant
(uEo1mp for the function of the Muses in his song
(Nou ouI u Eo1opt tItV uoI., Argo. 1.22). Since Glaukos role
parallels exactly the singer Orpheus intervention earlier in the poem,
Apollonius perhaps wished to underline this connection by
associating Glaukos prophesy with poetic utterances".
4





1
Feeney (1991), 71.
2
Berkowitz (2004), 99.
3
Henceforth the abbreviation hl and hll will be used for hapax legomena and hapax legomena
respectively.
4
Kyriakou (1995), 111.

54
II: The Interaction between the Argonauts and the
Marine Environment in the Argonautica


Election of the Leader:

The most important aspect of Jasons speech is of course the
insistence upon the election of a leader as a prerequisite for the
voyages taking place. Up to this point in the poem Apollonius has
treated Jason separately from the other Argonauts both in the
introduction and in the scenes of departure from Iolcus. The
catalogue has concluded with the statement that all of the heroes
mentioned have gathered as helpers (ouo1opt, 228) of Jason and,
given the level of individual attention devoted to him so far, the
impression has certainly been created that he is the acknowledged,
automatic leader of this quest.
1

The Argonauts vote for "someone who will care for each detail, who
will deal with our quarrels and our compacts with strangers" (339-40).
For if nothing else, Jason has modesty and patience, which will win
the day in the coming quarrel with Aeetes and the compact with
Medea. Nonetheless, on the surface of things, Jason has definitely
been established as second-best. No wonder he is often depressed or
in tears. Like Orestes in Euripides Orestes, or Electra in his Electra,
who act out with reluctance and distaste their inevitable destinies,
wearily, always, wearily, Jason is the prisoner and victim of his myth.
One could probably say the Alexandrians were enslaved to their
tradition in the same way. As a metaphor for the Alexandrian literary
scene, Jason functions as the young and therefore tentative new
direction in poetry which must contend with the moral authority
imposed by the centuries of superlative creativity in the past.
2

Clauss agrees with Beye in reason of Jason selection, he said: It is
significant that Apollonius incorporates a reference to this argument
in a context where the best of the Argonauts is in question, both as to
the nature of this hero (man of strength or man of skill) and as to his
identity (Jason or Heracles). As in the taking of Troy, the successful
completion of the Argonautic expedition will ultimately be achieved
not through the strength of a Heracles, but through the skill of a
Jason. What emerges as truly remarkable is that the skill identified
herethe taking care of details and in particular the handling of
conflicts and contracts not only is not the traditional skill one
associates with heroes like Odysseus, Hermes, Idmon, and the like
(who generally show more resourcefulness and courage than does

1
Clare (2002), 43.
2
Beye (1982), 83.
55
Jason in the course of the poem) but is quite circumscribed and for
this reason unique in the epic tradition. Moreover, what makes Jason
the best of the Argonautshis concern for the detailsalso reduces
him to uuVI (460) for the first of many times in the poem. Jason is
often depicted as a man in the grip of depression and helplessness.
But it will become clear at the end of the book, when Heracles has
been lost to the expedition, that Jason has the uncanny ability to
chance upon timely assistance, often divine, and knows how to
snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, especially in the manner in
which he deals with VtIxtu.
1

As I have already suggested, given Apollonius complex portrayal of
Jason it is perhaps inevitable that much modern scholarship on the
Argonautica should focus on the theme of heroism in the poem, a
theme to which intimations of tension between Jason and Heracles
are central. The election scene plays a vital part in the overall
sequence of events at Pagasae, and the rhetoric surrounding the
appointment of Jason as leader of the expedition is complex, with
close examination of the speeches in the scene revealing hidden
undercurrents. As various critics have shown with varying degrees of
emphasis, Jasons list of qualifications for the position of leader of the
expedition (339-40) is not perhaps as disinterested as the narrative
introduction to his speech - in particular at 331 - would seem to
imply, in that someone of Heracles ilk is surely excluded. Yet in
response to Jasons request that they should nominate a leader, the
Argonauts immediately try to prevail upon Heracles to undertake this
responsibility, provoking a robust response from him:

L u1o. EuE1VuV t VtoI 0puouV IpuxI u
tVoV t V t oooIoI, Iq t t Eu V1t u u1q
ouIVtIV t Et1tIIoV o uu 1o 0tV tV0u Etp o1o
tI1tpV uVu tIpu 1uVuoou1o, mVotV 1t
N 1I t oI 1ot xu o o Eu,t1m ou up tmt
EtIoouI, m t xuI uIIoV uVuo1oto0uI tpum.
uu1o o1I uVutIpt xuI uptuoI ouoIo.
I pu tu poVtmV tEI qVtoV m txtItutV
IpuxIt. (I.341-9)

So Jason spoke. The young heroes looked towards bold
Heracles sitting in their midst, and with one voice all of
them urged him to be leader; he, however, from where
he sat, stretched out his right hand and said: Let no one
offer this honour to me, for I shall not be persuaded and
I shall prevent anyone else from standing up. But he
who brought us together, let him be leader of the host.

1
Clauss (1993), 83.
56
So he spoke with high thoughts, and they approved
what Heracles commanded.
1


In his narrative about Heracles role in the Argonautica Lawall says:
Of the Argonauts listed in the catalogue, Heracles, even after being
left behind in Mysia, plays the most extensive role in Apollonius
exploration of character and action. He serves as a foil not only to
Jason, but also to the rest of the Argonauts as a group. In a company
of youths, Heracles stands out as the only man of maturity and
experience, the only "hero" left from the old order. He has already
performed many of his labors, and he is carrying the Erymanthian
boar to Mycenae when he hears of the gathering of Argonauts. In
contrast, many of these Argonauts are young (VtoI); the voyage will be
their first departure from home, and their first taste of adventure.
A semi-divine figure of superhuman stature and strength, Heracles
typical resource in overcoming obstacles is a primitive brute force
which he deploys directly, in frontal attacks, against any situation
confronting him. In contrast with Orpheus, who charms the oak trees
and leads them from Pieria to Thracian Zone, Heracles exploits sheer
strength in carrying the Erymanthian boar on his back, alive and
bound.
The fetching of the boar is one of several Heraclean expeditions
handled so as to parallel and contrast with Jasons expedition. While
Heracles acts alone and uses sheer brute strength, Jason gathers a
group of helpers and attains the Fleece only through Medeas magic.
Incidents from Heracles fetching of Hippolytas girdle are mentioned
during the Argonauts voyage along the shore of the Euxine (2.774-91,
911-14, 955-7, 966-9), so that the earlier expedition forms a
contrasting background to Jasons. While Heracles won the girdle
through ambush and war, Jason will shun any direct confrontation in
battle with Aeetes. He circumvents the warlike king and outwits him
through a trick.
The rowing contest (1.1153-71) comes to focus on Heracles
strength, and at the same time, it begins to suggest his limitations. He
not only outlasts all other Argonauts, but he is also able to propel the
ship single handed against adverse winds. His truly incredible
performance here contrasts sharply with Apollonius otherwise
realistic representation of nautical matters on the outward voyage.
Heracles is drawn out of the realm of commonplace, contemporary
reality, and is placed back in a mythic world of heroic feats. His heroic
feat here ends in frustration, however, as his oar snaps in the middle.
Heroic will and strength are defeated, and Heracles sits "glowering in
silence." Heracles particular ability is thus closely circumscribed, in

1
Clare (2002), 43-44.

57
that it does not extend beyond the deployment of sheer strength, and
it is easily frustrated.
In the other hand, when he talks about Jason he said: In the scene
on shore the evening before embarkation, a change comes over Jason.
Instead of appearing like Apollo and bearing himself with dignified
composure, he "looks like a man who is downcast, pondering each
thing within himself (1.460-61). For the first time in the epic, he is
described as u uVo, "helpless." For the first time, he seems to
realize the enormity of the approaching expedition and the weight of
responsibility he has agreed to bear. Other fears and anxieties may
have been aroused by Idmons prophecy of innumerable trials during
the voyage and of his own death. Jason, newly conscious of his
youthful limitations begins to appear as a credibly human character
with human weaknesses, rather than as a stereotyped figure of myth.
In keeping with this conception of a human and fallible Jason, each
of the three great scenes of Book I is deliberately handled to present
Jason as a weak and irresolute leader. At Lemnos Heracles must
intervene to end Jasons and the other Argonauts dallying with the
Lemnian women; at Cyzicus Jason is careless enough to leave the
Argo in a harbor that can be easily blocked by the neighboring giants,
and again it is Heracles who, by slaying the giants, saves the
expedition. Later in the same scene Jason is foolish enough to land
and attack opposing forces at night, and so unwittingly slays his host,
Cyzicus. Finally, in the last episode, Jason is heedless enough to sail
away from Mysia not knowing that he has left behind three men, and
when he discovers the fact, he is helpless and irresolute.
1

We agree with Lawall completely, but if we want to select a leader,
he must be Jason. He is the suitable man for leading the Argonauts.
The voyage of Argo is a teamwork so requirements heroism of the
group. We see in this heroism skill, intelligence, trick and the indirect
ways. So Jason requested help of the Argonauts, because he cant
achievement this mission by himself. The Argonauts accomplished
their roles in good manner. We can say that the Argonauts successed
in their mission not only Jason.


The Launch of Argo:

The departure scene has often been admired for its pictorial beauty,
its movement from the lofty panorama to the close-up view of the
figures on the shore. But the scene is more than merely decorative. It
is the climax of the preliminary part of the poem, in which the poet

1
Lawall (1966), 123-125, 148-149.

58
introduces us to his fictional world and gives us the background for
the central action of the poem, the voyage to Colchis in search of the
Golden Fleece and the return with it to Greece. In this introduction to
his fictional world, the poet, through his highly selective presentation
(and suppression) of narrative information, manipulates our
interpretation of what is going on in the story and our expectations of
what will happen later. The departure scene reinforces and confirms
one important pattern of expectation: that the Argonauts will
accomplish their mission through feats of valor, with the supporting
favor of the gods.
1

The launch of the Argo involves a procedure whose similarity is
remarkable, especially considering the different nature of the two
actions. After setting their clothes ItIq tEI EIu1umVI and securing the
ship with ropes, the men dig a trench into which they set logs as
rollers; once the ship has been set on the first of these, they reverse
the oars in the tholes and use these to shove, the vessel forward. The
weight of the Argo is such that as it moves forward it causes smoke to
billow up from the rollers below. After the ship is in the water, the
seats are apportioned. In sum, Apollonius has included in his
description of the launch analogues to all the basic components of
Hermes sacrifice: trench, wood (= rollers), spits (= reversed oars),
roasting meat (= smoke under the ship), portions of meat (= division of
the seats). Such a comparison, as unlikely as it may seem at first,
finds support not only in the borrowed phrase and similar progression
of events but also in the extensive preoccupation with the theme of
sacrifice before and after the launch, which deepens the sacrificial
overtones in these lines.
2

The climactic moment of the Pagasaean sequence is the departure
of Argo, a scene in which Orpheus also figures prominently. As the
ship moves out of the harbour the rowers mark time to the music of
Orpheus lyre:

m oI u E p o xI0upq EtEIoV t pt1oI
EoV1ou IuppoV u mp, t EI t p o 0Iu xIu,oV1o
upq tV0u xuI tV0u xtIuIV xxItV uI
tIVoV opupouou EtpIo0tVtmV tVtI u Vpm V,
o1puE1t uE tIIq IoI tIxtIu Vo Iou o
1tutu uxpuI uItV tItuxuIVoV1o xtItu0oI,
u 1puEo m IotpoI o ItIotV EtIoIo. (I.540-6)

So did the heroes to the sound of Orpheus lyre strike
with their oars the rough water of the sea, making the
waves surge up. On this side and that the dark sea
seethed with foam, churning terribly at the strength of

1
Byre (1997), 106.
2
Clauss (1993), 70.
59
these powerful men. Their armour shone in the sun like
a flame as the ship advanced, and the ships long wake
gleamed ever white, like a path clearly visible over a
green plain.

Apollonius does not designate Argo as the first ever ship, and its
embarkation does not mark the invention of navigation. Yet in these
opening moments of the Argonautic expedition the unprecedented
nature of what is taking place is emphasised by means of a simile, the
symbolic function of which is to point up the status of the voyage as a
pioneering venture. The picturesque, painterly quality of the
description of Argos departure has long been noted, and by means of
the striking central comparison the motif of path imagery associated
with the voyage continues: the speed of the ship on departure is such
that the path made by its white wake is as vivid as a path visible on a
green plain. In other words a path is opened up by the movement of
Argo in the sea, a mark which in its visual distinctiveness is
comparable to a track over land. The simile implies that the ships
passage imposes order upon the sea, normally that most
insubstantial and unpredictable of spaces. This suggestion is
reinforced by the juxtaposition of uItV and xtItu0oI in 545,
juxtaposition reminiscent of the cosmic order previously sung of by
Orpheus (cf. 1.499-500).


The Winds and the Navigation:

Let us move on now to consider the sequence of events taking place at
Pagasae prior to the departure of the ship, a sequence which sheds
further light upon the expedition, developing themes and issues
already latent in the text. An appropriate starting point for the
discussion is Jasons first address to the assembled Argonauts:

1oI oIV AI ooVo uI o t upoVtmV t1ttIEtV
" AIIu tV, o oou 1t VI t oEIIoouo0uI t oIxtV,
EuV1u uI tu xu1u xo ooV tEup1tu xtI1uI IouoIV,
1m oux uV VuIoV toIt0u 1oIo tx1I
Vuu1III, o1t ou VoV tEIEVtuoouoIV u1uI
uIIu IIoI, uVo up t IIIuu Vo o1o oEIoom,
uVuI u I EtIoV1uI t AI 1uo xtItu0oI,
1ouVtxu Vu V 1oV u pIo1oV u tIouV1t t Ito0t
o puoV tImV, q xtV 1u t xuo1u tIoI1o,
VtIxtu ouV0toIu 1t t1u tIVoIoI puIto0uI.
(I.331-40)

And the son of Aeson addressed them with goodwill:
All the equipment that is needed to fit out a ship lies
ready in good order for our departure; therefore we
60
should not because of such matters be delayed long
from sailing, once favourable winds blow. But, friends,
for common is our return to Hellas afterwards, and
common is our path to the land of Aeetes, therefore now
ungrudgingly choose the best leader amongst you, the
man who will take care of everything, undertaking both
our quarrels and agreements with foreign men.

Jasons address is of vital importance for a number of reasons. To
begin, as has frequently been pointed out, his speech reasserts the
communal nature of the expedition, implicit in the opening verses of
the poem and in the lengthy Catalogue of Heroes. As Jason makes
clear to his audience, the quest which lies ahead of them is a shared
quest. Second, we are at last afforded some insight into the heros
own opinion of the mission enjoined upon them, and in this regard
his specifications for the journey are particularly enlightening. For the
first time in the poem both the outward and return elements of the
voyage are seen as a unity: this is to be a journey of there and back
again. That Jasons speech reverses the natural order of the journey,
thereby giving precedence to the fulfilment of nostos, is perhaps an
early indication of where his priorities lie.
1

In the Argonautica, as in any sea story, the winds and weather play
an important role in the normal course of the action; they, in fact,
must be mentioned by the poet, since the ship Argo is propelled
mainly by sail with the occasional aid of oars. Apollonius is able to
exploit this necessity and to use the winds and weather as part of his
imagery. The winds and weather are included as part of the definition
of landscape because even the simple mention of a slight breeze is
able to evoke a background; and the type of wind immediately
suggests danger or tranquility, good fortune or struggle. The weather
also acts as another indication of the importance of skill in the
Argonautica because knowledge of the winds is essential for correct
navigation. This type of techn is stated to be an honorable and
important ability of the helmsman Tiphys (1.105-8).
The winds are the most commonly mentioned aspect of weather in
the Argonautica and they are used in several ways in the poem.
Although most of categories which will be presented here are very
different from usages of the winds in lyric poetry and in the Odyssey
of Homer, the first type mentioned is quite common in predecessors of
Apollonius. Since they are shifting and changeable, the different
winds in the poem come to represent external forces beyond human
control (both those of the natural world and the emotions of men) and
the general instability of human life. It has already been remarked
that the simile comparing Jason and Medea to trees shaken in the

1
Clare (2002),59-60, 42-43.

61
wind (3.967-971) is an externalizing image of the force of their
emotions. Examples of the winds as symbols of the fickleness of
fortune include the wind which turns against the Argo, forcing it back
to Cyzicus for the second time (1.1015-1018), thus acting as the agent
which helps to cause the death of Cyzicus. The wind also forces the
Argonauts onto the sandbank of the Syrtis (4.1232-5, 1251-2) and
keeps them there (4.1256-7). Even the loss of wind sets a chain
reaction in motion: the calm causes the rowing contest (1.1153-1158)
which leads to Herakles broken oar and ultimately to the loss of
Hylas. Here, the poet stresses the lack of wind through a contrast: he
says that not even the "storm-footed" horses of Poseidon would have
overtaken the Argo (utIIoEot 1.1158). At the same time, the
adjective reminds the reader that the absence of the wind is important
in the passage. In another example, after the Argonauts depart
without Herakles, Hylas, and Polyphemus, the poet states that they
would have turned back even though the wind was against them
(1.1298-9). Thus the wind here becomes a representation of the
adversity (i.e. the loss of Hylas) which has overwhelmed the heroes
and made their journey more difficult. In the same way, it is the night
wind which erases the tracks of Herakles and prevents his friends
from finding him (4. 1463). Even the breeze which moves the
monument above the graves of the sons of Boreas (1.1306-8) may be
interpreted in this manner, since these great heroes, so active in Book
II, are said to have been killed by their friend, Herakles.
The winds in the Argonautica also react to misfortune, usually as
an expression of the gods displeasure. They thus become a method of
communication between the divine and human worlds. After the
death of Cyzicus, the winds respond with a storm lasting twelve days
which prevents the Argo from leaving (1.1078-1080).
1
The number, I
believe, is significant. Since twelve Doliones perished along with
Cyzicus during the battle (cf. 1040-47), it would appear that the
Argonauts must stay on the island one day for each of the warriors
they killed. From this, one would conclude that Rheas anger springs
from the deaths of Cyzicus and the Doliones in addition to those of
the Gegeneis. Afterwards, on the thirteenth night, a halcyon, sent by
the goddess Rhea, appears over Jasons heada detail, as the
scholiast ad 1.1085-87b reports, that Apollonius borrowed from a
Pecan of Pindar (fr. 62 Snell). Mopsus, who is on guard duty, observes
the bird and interprets its cries as a signal that the end of the storm
is near. He arouses Jason from sleep and informs him both of this
sign and of the need to propitiate Rhea.
It is during this battle that Jason unwittingly kills Cyzicus, who
thus fulfills his destiny, and that twelve other Dolionian soldiers fall

1
Williams (1991), 211-213
62
at the hands of the Argonauts. Apollonius compares the surviving
Doliones in their flight to doves who flee before swift hawks (1049-50).
In this second battle, it was the wind, a force that can fan a fire out of
control, that drove the helpless Argonauts back to Oros Arkton; and
in the bloody battle that ensued the helpless Doliones, attempting a
vain defense against their recently departed guest-friends, fled like
doves back to the protection of their walls. Like the fire and hawks
that characterize the victors, their leader can be seen as the
instantiation of an uncontrollable force of destruction, lacking any
feeling or rational planning for his actions because of his ignorance of
the enemy he faces in an unexpected battle.
1

Again in Book IV, Hera devises a storm which the Argonauts are
unable to escape until they are purged of murder by Circe (4.576ff.).
This storm also demonstrates that the winds are a means of
punishment and an indication of displeasure on the part of the gods.
In addition, the wind is said to blow by the plan of Hera so that Medea
might reach the land of the Pelasgians and thus be an evil for the
house of Pelias (4.241-3). The wind, therefore, becomes an agent of
the gods. The opposite situation is also true; the gods display their
good will towards Jason and his crew by changing the winds. Hera
sends Iris to Aeolus to command the winds to stop (4.764-781; 4.820-
2), and Aeolus restrains them until the Argo reaches the Phaeacians.
A second use of the winds is connected with departures of the Argo,
usually at dawn. The fair wind, which accompanies the dawn
departure of the Argo, has a propitious connotation, arising both from
the general optimism of a departure and from the positive aspect of
sunrise. This is made most clear at the beginning of the Argonautica,
where the poet stresses three times the necessity of a good wind
before the Argonauts are able to leave Pagasae. Jason states that
departure will occur when the breezes are fair (1.334-5), prays for a
fair wind (1.423-4), and then embarks by sail at dawn (I.519-523).
Another example is found at 1.1273-5 where Tiphys urges the
Argonauts to embark at dawn and take advantage of the favoring
breeze. Again, the Argonauts set out at dawn with full sails when they
unknowingly leave Herakles and Hylas behind (1.1276-83). The Argo
also leaves the Bebrycians at dawn with a fair wind and sails through
the Bosporus (2. 164-8). The wind acts in the same way at 2.1228-
1230 when the Argo leaves the island of Ares, at 2.720-726 when it
leaves the island of Apollo of the Dawn with a west wind, and at the
dawn departure at the end of the Ancaeus episode (2.899-903). The
dawn departure with a fair breeze which comes between the stories of
Peleus and Thetis and the Sirens both acts as a transition and hints
at the successful conquering of the Sirens (4.885-891). There is also a

71
Clauss (1993), 166-167, 173.

63
breeze at dawn when the Argonauts leave Circe (4.885ff.), and when
the Argo leaves the harbor of Argo before the Talos episode (4. 1620-
4). Since dawn is connected with good fortune in the poem, the fair
wind at dawn clearly possess a positive connotation for the departure
and for the ensuing episodes and, in general, establishes an
optimistic and cheerful tone.
1

The rather long digression on the origin of the Etesian Winds
(2.500-528) at first seems to be without significance, so that even a
scholar who claims to give proper treatment to the often neglected
Books I and II of the Argonautica judges it to be superfluous. However,
this digression on these winds occurs at a point in the narrative
where the Argonauts are forced to delay their voyage because the
Etesian Winds oppose their progress. Thus Argonauts, poet, and
audience are forced to delay their progress at the same time, for the
same reason. Simon Goldhill recognizes this when he says that
Apollonius makes a, "joke of self-reflexively delaying the narrative
journey with such a lengthy description of the origin of the delay."
Winds are a common cause of delay, yet few have such an
interesting history behind them as do the Etesian Winds; Apollonius
could not always rely on a digression about the winds themselves to
mirror the delay experienced by the Argonauts. At 1.1078, fierce
winds render the sea unfit for sailing. The Argonauts learn that they
can stop the winds by performing rites to the Great Mother.
Apollonius then describes these rites in some detail (1.1117-1151).
This lengthy description mirrors the long delay caused by the adverse
winds. Similarly, when the Argonauts are forced to put in to shore at
the mouth of the river Thermodon because of rough seas, Apollonius
reflects the delay in their progress by digressing on the unusual
characteristics of the river (2.970-984).
2

The strong west wind, Zephyrus that blows favorably as the
Argonauts sail by island of the Sirens (4.886, 891, 910). It is
noteworthy that in his version of the Sirens episode the wind is
associated with Orpheus music: the wind literally pushes Argo
forward (4.891 and 910) while Orpheus propels the ship with his song
that saves the crew from the Sirens fatal attraction (4.903-909).
Another scene from the beginning of the voyage (1.559-579) also
points to a clear association of the wind with Orpheus music. A
strong, shrill (IIu 1.566) wind happily blows the sails. Orpheus
praises Artemis with his beautiful song and charms the fish which
follow him as sheep follow their shepherd who plays on his shrill
(IItI 1.577) syrinx a beautiful tune.
The wind in the form of a divine breath that blows upon the poet
was considered by the Greeks a major source of poetic inspiration.

1
Williams (1991), 213-215
2
Albis (1996), 55.
64
Therefore, Apollonius would not allow the Sirens to interfere with a
wind that paralleled Orpheus functions. Orpheus does start with an
advantage, however slight or not immediately recognizable as such,
over the Sirens, who lack one attribute of their Hesiodic and Pindaric
counterparts.
1



Phineus Episode:

The Argonauts assemble and begin their voyage to Colchis in Book I,
and Book II begins with their adventures in Bebrykia (2. 1-163). From
there, they go to the land of Thynia (164-77), where Phineus speaks to
them about aspects of their subsequent voyage (311-425). Several
passages indicate that even though Phineus was virtually omniscient
about the voyage, it was his practice to disclose the future only in a
partial manner. His proleptic statements are therefore determined by
his particular motives concerning his private narratees (the
Argonauts). Since he refuses to tell them all that he knows, his
statements can generate false expectations, both for the Argonauts
and for the reader.
2

Phineus is the most important figure in the second book narrative.
The 270-line passage in which he appears (178448) is by far the
longest in the book. The scene in which his prophetic speech of 99
lines appears (311-425) equals almost all the preceding parts of the
Phineus narrative, which has been broken down into seven sections;
178-93, the poets introduction; 194-208, the physical description of
Phineus; 209-39, Phineus introduction; 240-61 the reaction of the
sons of Boreas and Phineus response; 262300, the Boreades and
the Harpies; 301-425, the prophetic speech and aftermath; 426-48,
the successful return of the sons of Boreas and Phineus response.
Phineus is special because he is so old while the crew is so young,
again so victimized and defeated while the crewmen are
adventuresome, and then a seer where they are all knowing.
Apollonius creates his most brilliant portrait when he describes
Phineus.

o p0m0tI tuV 0tV, u xpIoV u1 o VtIpoV,
pux1pq oxE1o tVo pIxVoI EooIV qt 0upu,t,
1oIou uuomV, 1pt t u ytu VIoootVoIo
upuVIq puI 1t EIVq t oI uu o1uIto pm
toxI xtI, pIVoI t ouV oo1tu ouVoV ttpoV.
t x t I0mV tupoIo xu0t,t1o ouVu pupuV0tI
ouou tE uuItIoIo xupo t IV utxuIuytV

1
Kyriakou (1995), 193-195.
2
Berkowitz (2004), 11.
65
Eopupto, uI uV t EtpI t o xot tpto0uI
VtIo 0tV, u pIpq tEI xmu1I xtxII1 u Vuuo.
(II.197-205)

He rose from his bed like a lifeless dream; on shriveled
feet he went to the door propping himself on a staff,
feeling the walls. His joints as he went trembled with age
and weakness. His dry skin was parched from the dirt,
only the skin held bones together. Out of the house he
came; at the threshhold of the courtyard he sat down, as
his knees gave under his weight. Stupor from a rush of
blood covered him; the earth seemed to move under his
feet. Speechless, enfeebled in a trance, he lay there.
1


Apollonius pictures Phineus as a victim of excessive divine
vengeance. Urged by commiseration for his fellow-creatures he has
misused Apollos gift and revealed more of the divine plan than is
proper, in consequence whereof Zeus has blinded him and made him
a prey for the Harpies. Every time he tries to consume a meal these
winged, female monsters snatch away his food; the few morsels that
are left they sully with a loathsome stench which makes it impossible
for anyone to approach him.
An oracle has told him that the Argonauts will free him from the
Harpies and as soon as he hears the band approaching he rises from
his bed. The Argonauts take pity at this miserable sight and, after
having been assured that they will not provoke the anger of the gods
by interfering, the Boreads, Zetes and Calais, drive Phineus
tormentors away.
2

After that Phineus advises the Argonauts of how they should sail
through the Symplegades (317-44). He first describes the
Symplegades and emphasizes that no one has ever passed through
them (317-23). For this reason, it is imperative that they do as he
advises:

1m Vu V t1tpqoI EupuIuoIqoI EI0to0t,
tI t1toV EuxIVq 1t Voq uxupmV 1 uItoV1t
EtIpt1t, uu 1m uu 1upt1oV oI 1oV o Ito0uI
u putm I 0ut1 t EIoEo tVoI Vto11I. (II.324-7)

Therefore now yield to our persuasive words, if, truly,
you cleave your way with a shrewd mind, heeding the
gods, and do not, in vain, strive to perish in a self-
chosen fate, senselessly attending to youth.


1
Beye (1982), 111.
2
Nyberg (1992), 82-83.

66
Phineus then tells the Argonauts the circumstances under which they
should make their attempt at the Symplegades:

oI mVq Epoo0t EtItIuI EtIp ouo0uI,
Vo uEo Epo IV tV1u, tItuI. V t I uu 1m V
Et1pumV oV1oVt oo E1tputooI I1uI,
xt1I V uu1oI tp1uto0t xtItu0ou,
u II tu xup1uVuV1t tuI t VI tpoIV t pt1u
1tVt0 u Io o1tIVmEo V, t EtI u o ou Vu 1I 1o oooV
t oot1 t V tu mIq oIV o ooV 1 tVI xu p1tI tIpm V
1m xuI 1u IIu t0tV1u o VIo1oV EoVtto0uI
0upouItmEpIV ou 1I 0tou II ooto0uI t pu xm.
(2.328-36)

So I lay my command upon you to make trial beforehand
with a dove as an omen, having set it loose away from
the ship. If it should safely pass through the very rocks
to the Black Sea with its wings, you yourselves must no
longer hold back from your journey for long; but mightily
wielding your oars in your hands cut through the
narrow passage of the sea, since now there will not in
any way be so much deliverance in prayers as there will
be in the strength of your hands. Therefore neglecting
the other things, boldly exert yourselves to the utmost;
but not in any way do I forbid you to beseech the gods
beforehand.

As Phineus commands the Argonauts to make their attempt if a dove
safely passes through in advance (329-31), he implies that they
cannot pass through safely if the omen (oImVq , 328) is unfavorable.
Such an implication could, in turn, generate the expectation that a
favorable omen will lead to their success.
Phineus also elaborates on the method by which the Argonauts
should cut through the Symplegades. If the omen is favorable, he
commands them to make their attempt by rowing (332-3), explaining
that their success will rest primarily in the strength of their hands,
and secondarily in their prayers (333-4). He thereby implies that
rowing will be the main vehicle for their success, and that they may
even pass through without divine assistance.
1

Phineus closes his speech with the advice that they shall take
thought of the artful aid of the Cyprian goddess:

u IIu IIoI pu,to0t 0tu oIotoouV u pm V
uEpIo, (2.423 f.)

As has been observed Apollonius thereby introduces the main love
plot in the second book, thus emphasizing the central importance of

1
Berkowitz (2004), 14-15.
67
Aphrodite and the centrality of the love theme in the epic. I would like
to point out the symbolic significance of the dove, Aphrodites bird, in
this context. Her escape from the Clashing rocks possibly not only
forebodes the Argonauts successful sailing through, but also Jasons
success in making Medea fall in love with him and thus in carrying
out his errand. Is it too farfetched interpret the doves passage
through the rocks as a sexual symbol?
1



The Symplegades or the Planctae:

The episode of the Clashing Rocks or Symplegades is one of the most
fully described and lengthy in the Argonautica, not just among those
passages containing descriptions of landscape, but of all those which
recount the adventures of the Argonauts. It is the adventure most
closely associated with the Argonautic expedition in the literary
tradition. In addition, of all the adventures the Argonauts will
experience, it is the only one which is considered important enough
by Apollonius to be mentioned in the prologue to the epic. In Greek
epic, beginning with Homer, it was customary to use one or two words
at the beginning to give the essence of the story. Apollonius follows
this tradition by beginning:

V oouI oI oV1oIo xu1u o1o u xuI Iu Et1pu
uuVtu puoII o t oouVq tIIuo (I.2-3)

I shall tell of the heroes who sailed through the mouth of
the Bosporus and the Clashing Rocks by command of
King Pelias ...

For Apollonius, the passage through the Clashing Rocks sums up the
entire voyage of the Argo.
The episode is the first true danger all the Argonauts as a group
encounter in the course of their journey and the first which results
from the sea or natural elements. The boxing match in Book II
involved only one Argonaut; Herakles protected the heroes from the
Earthborn; and the battle at Cyzicus, although fiercely fought, was
not caused by the forces of nature, but rather resulted from a mistake
in identity. By the time the Argonauts arrive at the Clashing Rocks,
they have lost Herakles as their protector and they must put all of
their trust in the captain and the helmsman of their ship. On the
beach at Pagasae, Jason was helpless (u uVo 1.460) and he was
taunted by Idas without cause and also without his response.

1
Nyberg (1992), 83-84.

68
These Clashing Rocks are mentioned in several accounts of the
Argonautic voyage, most notably in Pindar (Pyth.4.207ff) in what is,
for that elliptical poet, a lengthy description:

t t xIVuVoV pu0uV I ttVoI
toEo1uV IIoooV1o Vum V,
ouVpomV xIV0oV u uIuxt1oV
t xutI V Et1'pu V. IuuI up t ouV ,m-
uI, xuIIVtoxoV1o 1t xpuIEVo1tpuI
pupuouEmV uVtmV o1It uII -
1tItu1uV xtI Vo uu 1uI
I0tmV EIo o uutV. .... (Pyth.4.207-211)

Eager for the dangerous deep, they prayed to the master
of ships, <Poseidon>, that they might avoid the
unavoidable motion of the rocks-which crash together.
For the two were alive and they rolled swifter than the
ranks of deep-sounding winds. But that voyage of half-
gods brought death to the rocks.

Jason, before setting out, prays to Poseidon that the Argo may avoid
the danger of the Rocks which swiftly roll together. In Pindar, the
passage is placed in the important position of being the only danger
the Argonauts encounter after leaving Pagasae and before they are
helped by Aphrodite and Medea. The prayer before the dangerous
passage is also important evidence for Jasons piety.
In the prologue to Euripides Medea, this adventure of the Argo is
the one mentioned by the nurse which she uses to sum up all the
danger and trouble of that famous voyage:

II 0 m tI Apou IuE1uo0uI oxuo
oImV t uIuV xuuVtu 2uEIuu,
(Eur. Medea 1-2)

Would that the ship Argo had never sailed through the
Symplegades and into the land of the Colchians...

It is one of only two adventures from the voyage mentioned in the play
(the other is Scylla).
1

Among the numerous allusions in Homer to deeds of an earlier day,
none is more famous than that to the Argonautic expedition in Od.
XII. This allusion is usually explained by the passage of Argo through
the Symplegades or clashing rocks, also called Cyaneae, and this
appears to have been the received explanation among the ancient as
well as among modern writers.
Herodotus (VI. 85) says that the Symplegades were formerly called
Planctae. Pliny (N. H. VI. 12) has insulae in Ponto Planctae sive

1
Williams (1991), 129-131,133.
69
Cyaneae sive Symplegades, and (IV. 13) says that they were called by
the last name quoniam parvo discretae intervallo, ex adverse
intrantibus geminae cernebantur, paulumque deflexa acie coeuntium
speciem praebebant which explanation is like that often given of
the 0ouoI VooI of Od. XV 299, as islands that seem "to shift and move
as you pass them rapidly on shipboard" (Merry). It is easy to see that
the Symplegades might well have been called Planctae, giving to that
word the derivation from the same root as EI oom, but Juvenal goes
the whole length of identification when (XV. 19) he refers to the
Planctae of Homer as concurrentia saxa Cyaneis. Now the
Symplegades were localized at the Bosporus, while the traditional site
of the Homeric Planctae is the coast of Italy; so, in order to satisfy the
requirements of geography, it has been by some supposed that Homer
transferred the Symplegades to the neighborhood of the Italian shore.
Strabo indeed says so (p.149), 1uI t uuVtuI tEoIot Eupu EIoIm 1u
Iux1u, u tI 1ou u 0ou u Eo 1IVmV I o1opImV t VumV.
In Pindar (Pyth. IV. 370) they are called ouVpooI Et1puI and are
described as tumbling about like animals, which has led Dr. Paley to
suggest that there may be some lurking allusion to the existence of
icebergs near the mouth of the Euxine at an early datea highly
ingenious suggestion, which seems to me more probable as an
explanation than the tame rationalism of Pliny. In the Tragic poets
they are Called 2uEIut or xuuVtuI or xuuVtuI 2uEIut
(Byrons blue Symplegades), also ouVpout Et1puI The Roman
poets called them indifferently Symplegades and Cyaneae. In
Apollonius Rhodius their usual name is uuVt uI Et1puI. Twice they are
called Iut, once ouVpou Et1pumV, and once (IV. 786) they are
alluded to as EIux1uI . This line is remarkable, because, as we shall
soon see, Apollonius has EIux1uI of his own quite distinct from the
Symplegades.
1

The name of the rocks is known only to the gods in Homer (Od.
12.61); Thetis mentions them to Peleus at 4.860 as if he had not
heard of them before. The periphrasis Et1pu uI 1t Iux1uI xuIt oV1uI.
the rocks which are called Wandering may suggest debate over
whether Homer was referring to the Wandering or the Clashing Rocks,
or reverse Homers Apm EuoItIouou the Argo which is of concern to
all (Od. 12.70); it is now the Rocks which are talked about rather
than the Argo.
2

The Clashing Rocks are frequently confused with the Planctae or
floating rocks through which the Argo passes on its homeward voyage
(4.924ff.). The Planctae are mentioned in connection with the Argo in

1
Seaton (1887), 433-434.
2
Knight (1995), 211.
70
the Odyssey (Od.12.59ff) as part of the return voyage and give a clue
about the contents of an early epic account of the Argo.

Iux1u 1oI 1u t 0toI u xupt xuIt ouoI.

1q ou Em 1I Vu utV uVpm V, 1I I x1uI,
uIIu 0 oou EIVuxu 1t Vtm V xuI omu1u m1m V
xu u0 uIo opt ouoI Eupo 1 o IooI o 0u tIIuI.
oI xtIVq t EuptEIm EoV1oEo po Vu
Apm Eu oI tIouou, Eup AI 1uo EItouou
(Od. 12.61, 66-70)

The blessed gods call them Planctae... where not yet any
ship of men has passed. If any approaches, the waves of
the sea and gusts of deadly fire bear off planks of the
ship and bodies of men. Only one sea-going ship has
sailed by there, the world-famous Argo, on its way from
Aeetes.

Homer mentions the Argo as the only ship which was able to pass
safely through the Planctae. It is unclear whether Homer confused the
two types of Rocks or whether the Symplegades were unknown to him
in connection with the Argonautic legend or whether he knew but
simply did not mention them.
1

Williams mentioned to the same point: The multiple traditions
about these legendary rocks are thus recalled in a self-conscious way
and Apollonius manages to make a statement that echoes this
polyphony. Whether Homer knew of the Clashing Rocks but did not
mention them or whether he conflated the Clashing Rocks and the
Iux1uI ultimately makes little difference for the study of the
Argonautica. Homer apparently modeled Odysseus adventure on
Argos dangerous passage through some moving rocks, whose specific
properties or even geographic location were perhaps still fluid in his
time and he did not wish or bother to determine them more
accurately.
2

In our poem Apollonius makes a clear distinction between the
Planctae or Wandering Rocks and the Symplegades or Clashing
Rocks. The latter are situated at the entrance to the Black Sea and
are passed by the Argonauts on their way to Colchis (2.549-609).
Homers Wandering Rocks are also most plausibly located at the
western end of the Black Sea, in view of the explicit reference to the
Argonautic expedition (Od. 12.69-72), and seem to be based on the
Symplegades, if one believes that the doves which carry ambrosia to
Zeus (Od. 12.62-65) are somehow related to the one which the
Argonauts send through in advance of the ship. Timaeus put the

1
Williams (1991), 131-132.
2
Kyriakou (1995), 20-21.
71
Wandering Rocks near Sicily; this entails a very roundabout route for
the Argo, a route which Apollonius works into the return voyage by
taking the Argo up the Po and down the Rhone and down the west
coast of Italy. In turn, Apollonius description of the Symplegades in
Book II draws on Homers Wandering Rocks.
1


oI 1t o toumou Iu Iux1u EtpomV1u
Et1pu, t V0u Eupo tIVuI ppot ouoI 0utIIuI,
xuu1u 1t oxIpq oI EtpIpIutI oEIIutooIV,
Vu V t Eupu 2xuII oxoEtIoV tuV
t XupupIV tIVoV tptuotVV tt1uI oo.
(4.786-90)

oI L, oIm al. Both are correct, but oI is more exquisite in itself
besides being in much the best MS. and should be kept.
Commentators have seen that there is some difficulty in this
passage, but have only nibbled at it. They think that it refers to the
passage of the Symplegades and they remark that Eupo is therefore
wrong, and they also observe that Hera, who speaks in this place,
takes credit to herself for saving the Argo there whereas it was Athena
who really did so. But the difficulties are very great indeed and cannot
be palliated.
First EIux1u cannot mean the Symplegades at all. Apollonius is
very careful about distinguishing the two; never does he confuse
them. Secondly Hera here says that it was she who sent the Argo
through the Planctae, and so she did as we know from Homer, , 72,
Ip EuptEtytV tEtI IIo tV otmV. It is passing strange that
Apollonius should agree with Homer in saying so here and yet should
all the time be thinking of something altogether different, and should
contradict himself about the Symplegades because he has forgotten
that it was Athena who was there at work; he is not given to self-
contradiction. Thirdly Eupo is right in reference to the Planctae and
wrong in reference to the Symplegades; Merkels Eupo is utterly
pointless; it is another extraordinary thing therefore that the text of
Apollonius should again agree with Homer about the Planctae and yet
he should all the time be thinking of the Symplegades. Fourthly, if we
read Eupo, and if we suppose the Symplegades to be meant, just see
what a miserable description it is of them ! "Where dreadful storms
always rage and the waves lash the reefs," and not one word about the
real danger. It is as if you said that you saved a man out lion-hunting
where he might have run his foot through with a porcupines quill.
Fifthly the last two lines are simply untrue; the Argonauts are not

1
Knight (1995), 210-211.


72
going to return by Scylla and Charybdis at all; they are going to avoid
them altogether. Look at tt1uI oo, and consider whether this can
fairly be taken to mean anything except that they are to pass that
way.
1

The confusion of the two sets of rocks made by some ancient
authors is suggested at 4.786-88. Despite the echoes of Book II, these
lines refer to the Wandering Rocks, both by name and because Hera
speaks of her own help and the danger coming from waves and fiery
storms. The reference of t oumou I saved to past events is taken over
from Homer, so that the passage of the Wandering Rocks is
apparently both in the past and in the immediate future. This is not
carelessness, but a substitution of literary time, as with Eupo before
at 4.667; indeed this interpretation supports Merkels reading of Eupo
at line 4.787. Hera reminds Thetis of how she (Hera) saved the Argo in
past epics, including the Odyssey, and implies that now it is time to
do it in this one. Homers exceptional reference to the Argo is in the
past for Apollonius (even more so than the events of the Odyssey are),
and strict chronology is broken.
The location of the Rocks relative to both Scylla and Charybdis is
disputed. In both Homer and Apollonius there is a choice of two
routes, one leading to the Rocks, the other to Scylla and Charybdis;
this is the most natural way to take tV0tV tV up Et1puI on the one
side are rocks (Od. 12.59), oI t um oxoEtIoI on the other side are a
pair of cliffs (Od. 12.73) and 1_ tV.....1_ ......u IIo0I t Iux1uI On one
side ... on the other... In another part the . . . Wandering Rocks
(4.922-24). This might identify the Rocks with the Lipari islands,
though the Argo appears to pass through the Straits of Messina; again
the ambiguity reinforces Apollonius unwillingness to identify Homeric
locations in terms of real geography in the Odyssean section of the
Argonautica.
It is uncertain quite how the Homeric Wandering Rocks operate;
one is deadly to birds (Od. 12.64), the other to ships with waves and
fiery storms (Od. 12.68). Homer also mentions the rocks steepness
and the huge waves (Od. 12.59-60). Od. 12.71-72 claim that the Argo
would have been dashed against the rocks if Hera had not protected
her. Nowhere is it explicitly slated that the Rocks themselves move;
the danger to ships appears to be the storms of fire (Od. 12.68)
(probably deriving from travellers tales of volcanic eruptions) and the
waves, which dash the vessel against the rocks. Some ancient
scholars held this view; 2
I
ad Od. 12.61 (possibly Aristar-chean)
defines

Iux1u (sic) as Iu 1o EpooEIooto0uI uu1uI 1u xuu1u
because of the waves beating against them, and the scholiast to

1
Platt (1914), 45-46.

73
Pindar, Pythian.4.208 also suggests (quoting Od. 12.71) that the
Vtm1tpoI more recent authorities thought that the rocks were
immobile.
1

There is no getting out of it; Hera in this passage says that she
saved them through the Planctae, not through anything else, and that
they are now to go through the strait of Scylla. But this brings us up
all standing against the great difficulty which has upset all the
commentators. As the poem now stands, the Argonauts have not yet
passed the Planctae and therefore Hera could not have said this, and
they are not going to pass by Scylla and Charybdis either, though
indeed the commentators have never noticed that point.
In our poem the Argonauts have not yet passed the Planctae and
are not going to pass Scylla; Hera appeals to Thetis to help them
through the Planctae instead. But in the first edition Hera helped
them through the Planctae by herself, as Homer says, and then
appealed to Thetis to save them on their way through the strait of
Scylla and Charybdis, which in that edition they did pass. We may
well suppose, that critics drew mortifying comparisons between the
accounts of Homer and Apollonius; or we need only suppose that
Apollonius thought better of it for himself and decided to alter his
plot; anyhow alter it he did, and made Hera appeal to Thetis before
the Planctae, cutting out Scylla and Charybdis altogether.
But altering your plot is a dangerous game to play; it is difficult to
get rid of the lines first drawn on the canvas, and the end of it was
that Apollonius by an inadvertence which I fully admit is very
extraordinary left this unlucky bit in the speech of Hera. Such
accidents will happen in such cases. An artist whose shoe-latchet
Apollonius was not worthy to unloose has committed a very similar
crime in Antigone, and nobody found it out till Mr Drachmann only
the other day.
2

Apollonius also stresses the size of the waves (4.788, 4.836, 4.924,
4.941, 4.943-44, 4.947, 4.955), and mentions the fiery eruption which
occurs just before the Argo reaches the rocks (4.925-29, in 4.955 ,ttV
retains its literal sense of boil as well as seethe). The smoke from the
eruption creates a further hazard by dramatically reducing visibility
(4.927-28). Hera requests that Hephaestus cease his activity in the
region (760 64, 775 -77); she sees the danger to the Argo as being
Et1puI xuI uEtppIu xuu1(u) rocks and violent waves (4.823), while for
Thetis the waves and fiery storms are the hazard (4.834-37). The
combination of waves and volcanic activity agrees with the Homeric
description of the rocks.

1
Knight (1995), 211-212.
2
Platt (1914), 46-47.

74
4.945-47 apparently describe the rocks moving vertically up and
down; however; here Apollonius is, as often, focalizing by imagining
the scene as it would appear to those present, rather than from a
disinterested viewpoint. In a very stormy sea the rocks could appear
from a ship toweringly high at one moment and invisible beneath the
waves at the next, without actually moving. The urgency of the
situation and the disorientation felt by those on board a violently
moving vessel would prevent them from observing the rocks in a
detached, scientific way, and would leave them only with impressions
of how the rocks appeared to behave.
This interpretation, like Frankels, dispenses with the magical. The
realism of the rocks behaviour creates a twofold contrast. Firstly, it
contrasts with the divine intervention of the Nereids who have been
prompted by Hera, via Thetis; Heras aid has Homeric precedent (Od.
12.72). The contrast is further pointed by the light-hearted simile
(4.948-52), set in such a serious situation. It is in keeping with the
frivolous nature of the divine intervention that the Argonauts appear
to feel no fear at what is happening (compare Odysseus men at
Charybdis (Od. 12.243), although Athena is anxious (4.960).
Secondly, there is a contrast with the account of the Symplegades,
where Phineus states that the rocks are free-floating (2.320-22), and
the description of the actual passage indicates several times that they
moved apart and clashed together (2.553, 2.560, 2.564-65, 2.574-75,
2.601-2); in the case of the Wandering Rocks the danger from the
waves (and to a lesser extent from fire) is continually stressed and the
supernatural properties of the rocks arc completely played down. At
the Symplcgades, the Argonauts are afraid (2.575).
The verbal similarities are almost entirely limited to words like
xu u1u waves, Et1puI rocks, Eup fire and 0utIIu storm, which
directly pertain to the Rocks. These replace the ingenious allusions or
adaptations of Homeric material of the kind which can be found in
Apollonius treatment of the Sirens and Scylla and Charybdis.
Instead, the relationship of the episode to the Odyssey could hardly
be more straightforward, since it is referred to directly in the earlier
epic.
The Wandering Rocks are treated in the opposite way to Scylla and
Charybdis in that the Argonauts encounter them, but Odysseus does
not. The emphasis on natural rather than supernatural dangers is
also a feature of Homers description of the Rocks, as some ancient
critics realised, and Apollonius account reflects this line of
interpretation. It deliberately introduces ambiguities at 4.786-88, in
keeping with the Rocks own lack of stability.
1

The threat and the maneuver foreshadow the perilous passage
between the Symplegades, described in another of Apollonius purple

1
Knight (1995), 212-214
75
passages. Here again the water rises up (580-87) and only Tiphys the
pilots quickness keeps them from the rocks. High up in the air the
Argo rides, the rowers oars, says the poet, are bent like bows (591-
92), after Athenas assist the boat speeds on like an arrow (600). The
scene has the quality of a Disney fantasy, and is frightening because
of that same surreal, exaggerated quality. In the course of the
description the poets precision creates an image of perfect terror.
Euphemus releases the dove which Phineus says must fly between
the rocks as good omen; otherwise they are doomed.

1oI u u EuV1t
tIpuV xtuIu t oopmtVoI t I uu 1m V
t E1u1o. 1uI uuI EuIIV u V1IuI uIIIqoIV
um oou uVIououI tEtx1uEoV mp1o t EoII
u I u Vuppuo0tI ou, Vto m uut t EoV1o
otpuItoV, EuV1 t EtpI tu tppttV uI0p
(2.562-67)

All raised their head to watch But the dove flew between
the rocks, they rushed together, and crashed face to
face. Foam flew up in a cloud; the sea roared fearfully;
the great air roared all around. The caves beneath the
cliffs boomed as the sea poured in. White foam from the
crashing wave spewed up. The current turned the boat
around. The rocks snipped the tip of the doves tail
feathers, but she made it through safe, and the rowers
cried out.

Eleven lines of suspense and physical terror in that split second
during which the bird flies through the rocks are translated moments
later into the boats birdlike passage, picked up in the air by the
waves, held aloft by Athenas hand, only to have the tail ornament
sheared off as the boat slips between the rocks (601-2).
1

Some digressions are more closely tied to the plot than others.
During their flight from Colchis, the Argonauts land near the River
Halys and ponder the instructions that Phineus had given them
concerning their return voyage (4.253-256). Phineus had advised
them to return home by a route different from the one which they had
followed on their way to Colchis. None of the Argonauts have any
notion of what this alternate route may be. Argus, the son of Phrixus,
tells them of the system of interconnecting rivers that they may follow
to return to Greece. He also, in the manner of a historian, tells them
the source of this knowledge and how he came to acquire it. Argus
speech (4.256-293) lasts almost forty lines and contains much
extraneous information; he speaks for twenty-five lines before finally
getting around to describing the route they should take. Argus

1
Beye (1982), 110-111.
76
tedious verbosity parallels the delay experienced by the Argonauts at
this point. The digressive speech also increases the suspense of the
moment; immediately before the Argonauts stop near the Halys,
Apollonius describes Aeetes sending a huge force of Colchians to
pursue the heroes (4.236-240).
1


oIo0u tV ooooV tqoIV tVI ptoI 1It1uI pm
AI ooVI u IIoI u ooo1 pt u t0Iou,
oI 1t o toumou Iu Iux1u EtpomV1u
Et1pu, t V0u Eupo tIVuI ppot ouoI 0utIIuI,
xuu1u 1t oxIpq oI EtpIpIutI oEIIutooIV,
Vu V t Eupu 2xu II oxoEtIoV tuV t Xu pupIV
tIVoV tptuotVV t t1uI oo.(IV. 784-790.)

Thou knowest how honoured in my heart is the hero,
Aeson's son, and the others that have helped him in the
contest, and how I saved them when they passed
between the Wandering rocks, where roar terrible storms
of fire and the waves foam round the rugged reefs. And
now past the mighty rock of Scylla and Charybdis
horribly belching, a course awaits them.

Hera has sent for Thetis, and implores her aid for the Argonauts in
passing through the Planctae and to save them from Scylla and
Charybdis, but she lays particular stress upon the dangers of the
Planctae. Thetis (834 sqq.) promises to guide the ship through the
Planctae with the help of her sisters. We read (922 sqq.) that in one
direction are Scylla and Charybdis, in another the wandering rocks
(Iux1uI) were booming beneath the mighty surge, where before the
burning flame spurted forth from the top of the crags, above the rock
glowing with fire, and the air was misty with smoke, nor could you
have seen the suns light. Then the daughters of Nereus, under the
command of Thetis, guide Argo through the Planctae, avoiding Scylla
and Charybdis altogether.
The reference in 786 is taken to be to the passage of the Symplegades
in the second book. The objections to this are:
1. It was not Hera, but Athena, who helped the heroes through the
Symplegades. This objection might be got over. There are other
somewhat similar difficulties in the poem. Thus (3. 375), Aeetes
believes that the sons of Chalciope reached Hellas and returned with
the Argonauts and (ib. 775) Medea has the same belief. So we may
perhaps say that Hera thought she had helped them, or at any rate it
was a good enough tale for Thetis.
2. It is a far more serious objection that the Symplegades are never
called Planctae by Apollonius. They were confused by many writers,

1
Albis (1996), 56.

77
but always kept distinct by Apollonius. The Symplegades were an
incident of the outward voyage, the Planctae of the return. I may
perhaps refer to a paper of mine on the differences between them in
the Amer. Journ. Phil., twenty-seven years ago. In Apollonius the
Symplegades are usually called uuVtuI EtE1puI, twice Iut, and
once ouVpou Et1pumV.
3. We certainly expect a reference to the Planctae in this place even
more than to Scylla and Charybdis, because it was especially through
the Planctae that the aid of Thetis was required, and Hera alludes to
them in 823 as if they had been already mentioned.
4. The reference to fire is quite foreign to the Symplegades, where
the only danger was from the rocks clashing together, whereas
Eupo 0utIIuI are characteristic of the Planctae both in Homer and in
Apollonius. For this reason Merkel conjectured Eu po for Eupo, which I
adopted in the Oxford text, but I have, in the Loeb Classical Series,
reverted to Eupo. In a notice of Samnelssons Aduersaria ad Apoll.
Rhod. in the Class. Rev. of 1903, I suggested that the reference is, in
fact, to the Planctae, and I believe that a line or so has fallen out
between t oumou and Iu to the effect that Thetis knew how she (Hera)
had saved the Argonauts through the Symplegades, and that she now
implores the aid of Thetis to guide them safely through the Planctae. I
may say that Samuelsson also suggests a lacuna here, though he
takes EIux1u to refer to the Symplegades. In my recent translation I
have, it is true, adopted the current view, but it was not the place for
a discussion, and I have called attention to the difficulty in a note.
Professor Platt remarks that 789,790 are simply untrue. The
Argonauts kare not going to return by Scylla and Charybdis at all,
they are going to avoid them altogether." But the words tt1uI oo do
not imply that they are going to pass between Scylla and Charybdis,
but only that these obstacles are in their way. Thetis is asked to save
them from that route, which she does, and the reference to Scylla and
Charybdis in 789 is satisfied by the statement in 922, 923, that the
Argonauts avoid them.
Professor Platt also is of opinion that EIux1u in 786 means the
Planctae, and suggests another solution, which, if it could be
accepted, would without doubt solve every difficulty. He considers
that the line is a remnant of the first edition of the Argonautica, in
which Hera, he thinks, helped them through the Planctae by herself,
and then appealed to Thetis to save them on the way through Scylla
and Charybdis, which in that edition they did pass. This is very
ingenious, but is open to a most serious, if not fatal, objection. We
know little about Apollonius, but we do know that he published two
editions of the Argonautica, and it is highly probable that he was
engaged for years on the revision of his poem. Is it, then, conceivable
that he would, after brooding on the subject for so long, have left, by
78
an inadvertence, however extraordinary, so palpable a contra-
diction in the text ? It is, as the newspapers say, unthinkable.
1



Passage of the Symplegades:

The landscape presented in the context of the actual passage between
the Rocks may be considered with greater ease if the episode is
divided into several shorter sections and the language and narrative
style of each discussed in turn. The structure is as follows:

Part A:

(a) Description of the narrow strait. (2.549-554)

Part B:

(b) Euphemus lets dove go. (2.555-573)
(1) Euphemus mounts prow. (555-559)
(2) Rocks open and dove released. (559-563)
(3) Dove flies between rocks. (563-567)
(4) Sea rushes in. (568-570)
(5) Dove escapes. (571-573)

Part C:

(c) Rocks open again. (2.574-583)
(d) Tiphys saves ship. (2.584-592)

Part D:

(e) Description of waves. (2.593-597)
(f) Athena saves ship. (2.598-603)
(g) Rocks stopped. (2.604-606)
(h) Heroes saved. (2.607-610)

The episode may roughly be divided into three main events which are
surrounded by the description of the sea and rocks: 1) the passage of
the dove, 2) the actions of Tiphys, and 3) Athenas guiding of the ship.



1
Seaton (1914), 12-14.

79
Part A: Description of the strait (2.549-554):

I o 1t oxoIIoI o Eopou o1tIVmEoV I xoV1o
1ptIq oEIIutooIV ttptVoV uo1tpm0tV,
IVtI uEtVtp0tV uVuxIu,toxtV IououV
V u p oo, EoIIoV t fopq Epo1t pmot Vt oV1o.
t oIoI ou Eo u puoootVmV Et1pumV
VmItt ouu1 t puIIt, pomV u IIuptt u x1uI
(2.549-554)

When they approached the strait with its twisting
passage, hemmed in on either side by rough rocks while
a swirling current below washed against the ship as it
moved, they went forward greatly afraid. Now the crash
of the striking rocks assaulted their ears unceasingly
and the sea-washed shores cried out.

The sea between the Clashing Rocks is described from the point of
view of an Argonaut on board the ship looking through at the course
the Argo must take. The strait is narrow (o1tIVmEoV 549) and twisted
(oxoIIoIo 549), and the difficulty of passage is further emphasized by
the rough rocks on either side (550) which crowd the strait (ttptVoV
550). The swirling current (551-2) washes against the ship and the
headland (uIIuptt 554).
The difficulty for Apollonius in describing these moving rocks is
that he must make the whole episode exciting and dangerous through
his description of the landscape, yet he has only sea and rocks to
work with and risks becoming tedious through repetition. The poet
solves this problem first by presenting the reactions of the Argonauts
to the natural world around them, so that their emotional response
may enhance the danger of the landscape, and then by introducing
many sound effects as the rocks open and crash together. In this
section, therefore, the Argonauts advance in fear (opq552), the noise
(ouEo 553) of the rocks crashing (upuoootVmV Et1pumV 553) strikes
their ears (tpuIIt 554), and the headlands "cry out" (pomV 554).
1

As a beginning to applying this style of analysis to the
Symplegades, it will prove useful to review first what was stated about
these objects classically and second what various modern
commentators have said about them. In the light of this information,
a new explanation will then be proffered in terms of the psychology of
perception and the hydrodynamics of surface waves.
Many of the classical references have been listed in Pauly-Wissowa
(II. 761). Of these, a number can be construed to imply that, during
the epoch within which these rocks moved, they clashed together

1
Williams (1991), 135-137.

80
repeatedly (e.g., Pindar, Pyth. 4. 207ff.; Theocritus, 13. 21ff.; Valerius
Flaccus, Argonautica 4. 659ff.; Ovid, Heroides 12. 121ff. and
Metamorphoses 15. 337ff. and Tristia 1.10. 33ff.); and Apollonius
(Argonautica 2. 553ff.) manages to convey the notion that their motion
was, at the least, not uncontrollably irregular. In sum, one could
assume that their motion was approximately periodic.
By way of explaining their motion, Apollodorus (1. 9. 22) alleges
that they were impelled together by the force of winds; whereas it is
well known that huge rocks do not glide to and fro under such
influence, nor would wind-driven rocks constitute an insurmountable
barrier to navigation because passing ships need only await a suitable
breeze. Pliny (H.N. 4.13.92ff.), on the other hand, alleges that their
apparent motion was an optical illusion produced by the changing
line of sight as one sailed around them; but such an explanation does
not account for the repetitive clashing attributed to them.
Modern authorities generally add but little to our understanding:
most confine themselves to textual or literary criticism of the relevant
passages of Apollonius while a few dismiss the Symplegades legend as
mere fable. One notable exception to these trends was the work of T.
C. Smid. which explained the phenomenon in terms of a tsunami, that
is a sequence of powerful, seismically-induced waves although this
contribution did not explain how a wave, however powerful, could
cause rocks of the reputed size of the Symplegades to move, it is one
of a class of wave phenomena upon which a defensible explanation
might in fact be based.
Because Argo-sized rocks do not bob to and fro in the water, the
legend must be dismissed as mere fable or one must seek an
explanation of how one might come to imagine that they did. The
latter task is readily accomplished as the following simple experiment
reveals. In the shallow water at the edge of a motorboat-infested lake,
position two largish rocks fairly close together so that the air gap
between their upper exposed regions is delta-shaped, small on top
and larger at the water surface. Then sit down upon the shore and
focus on the delta-shaped air gap. When the wake from a passing
motorboat impinges upon the rocks they will be seen to execute
Symplegades-like motions. The key to this illusion appears to be that
the wavelength (i.e., the crest to crest distances) within the boats
wake is large compared to both the rock assemblage and the
observers effective field of view as he stares at that assemblage.
Under such circumstances the wave nature of the phenomenon can
easily be missed, as indeed it was initially by this writer when he first
observed the illusion with boulders in the quarter-metre range. For
larger rocks one requires only a longer wavelength or, equivalently, a
longer period (i.e., time span between the passage of successive
crests). Because fluctuations-having a period of more than about 30
81
sec are not generally perceived by an observer to be a wave type of
phenomenon, an observer (especially one on board a ship rather than
standing on a fixed shore) might never connect a Symplegades illusion
with a long period surface wave.
1



Part B: The passage of the dove:

In the section dealing with the test by the dove (2.555-573), each of
the actions of Euphemus, the rocks, and the dove is briefly presented
and then the response of the Argonauts is given. It is through
variation in emotional reaction that Apollonius is able to build
suspense and the Argonauts mood swings wildly along with the
movement of the rocks. The first part of this section (555-563)
contains actions and human reactions: Euphemus mounts the prow
with the dove (555-6) and the rowers row energetically (0tI oVu 557),
trusting in their strength (xup1tI q EIouVoI 559); the rocks open
(1u....oIotVu 559-560) and the Argonauts become fearful
(ouV t oIV u1o 0uo 561). Then the dove is released (561-2) and the
heroes raise their heads to watch (562-3). The dove flies through (563-
4) and, although her tail feathers are shorn off by the quick closure of
the rocks (571-3), she is unharmed (u ox0 573). Again, the heroes
respond, this time with a cry (t pt1uI t t IuoV 573).
Landscape in the second part of this section helps to build
suspense in regard to the safety of the dove, for mention of the dove
(563-4; 571-3) encircles the description of the landscape. Here
Apollonius departs from the style of narration which he employed at
the beginning of the episode of the Clashing Rocks. There his
description was of a static landscape and now it is of one in
movement:

1uI u uI EuIIV u V1IuI u IIIqoIV
um oou uVIououI tEtx1uEoV mp1o t EoII
u I u Vuppuo0tI ou, Vto m uut t EoV1o
otpuItoV, EuV1 t EtpI tu tppttV uI0p
xoIIuI t oEIut uEo oEIIuu 1ptIu
xIu,ouo u Io t VoV t poptoV, u yo0I o 0
Itux xuIu,oV1o u VtE1ut xuu1o u V
Vu tEtI1u EtpI tIItI po o
(2-564-571)

The two rocks again rushed together and crashed into
each other, meeting face to face. An abundance of foam
boiling up arose like a cloud, and the sea cried out

1
Pickard (1987), 2-3.

82
terribly. Everywhere the great sky roared about them.
The hollow caverns beneath the rugged cliffs resounded
as the sea washed into them; the white foam of the
rushing sea spurted high above the rock face. Then the
current turned the ship around.

The rocks come together (uVIououI 565), the foam leaps (m p1o 565),
the sea swells (xIu,ouo u Io 569; xuIu,oV1o .... xuu1o 570), the
foam spurts (uVtE1ut 570), and the current catches the ship and turns
it (571). An additional change is that in the beginning the Argonauts
were able to look through the strait and they were also able to watch
the flight of the dove (IoV1o, 560; toopmtVoI 563), but now the whole
landscape has become confused and the various natural elements
serve to hide each other. The foam is like a cloud (i.e. opaque)
(uVuppuo0tIou, Vto m 566), the sea rushes into the grottos of the cliff
(568-9), and the foam and wave dashes high over the rock face (569-
570). Again, Apollonius emphasizes the noise: the rocks (tEtx1uEoV
565), the sea (uu t t EoV1o / otpuIt oV, 566-7), the heaven
(tppttV uI0p 567), the caves (t po ptoV 569) all roar and there is even
a final cry of the heroes themselves (IuoV. 573).


Part C: Second parting of the rocks; Tiphys saves ship:

This section (2.574-592) may also be divided into two parts: in the
first is the parting of the rocks (574-583) and in the second, the
actions of Tiphys (584-592). The rocks in the first section are very
simply described, which again allows suspense to build as the more
elaborate language is reserved for moments of danger. The emphasis
on the rocks themselves is increased by the brief simile which even
compares the great wave which rises up to a steep rock
(u Eo1 I oxoEIq I ooV 581). It is interesting that the only adjective
used in this section is "steep" in the simile and, in a remarkable
economy of description, it may be applied both to the wave and to all
the rocks in the passage.
In this first part again, as above in Part B, Apollonius alternates
action and human response, but this time he describes the
movements of the rocks and response of the heroes to them. The
rocks open (oI oV1o u p uu 1I / uVIu. 574-5) and the Argonauts
tremble (1poo, 575); the tide brings the Argo back within reach of
the rocks (tIom Et1pumV.577) and terrible fear seizes them
(uIVo1u1oV to 577). The broad sea appears, a great wave rises up
(579-581), and the Argonauts think that they will be overwhelmed
(581-3) and bow their heads ( uouV IooIoI xup uoIV, 582). The
83
passage illustrates the fact that, for the poet, landscape and mens
emotions are never separate for long.
In the second part, the actions of Tiphys take precedence and there
is only one mention each of the rocks (Et1pumV, 587), the wave
(1o t EoIIoV (xu u) 585), and the water (ump 590).


Part D: The passage; the help of Athena:

The final part of the episode of the Clashing Rocks (2.593-610)
contains the wave which rushes upon the Argo, the help of Athena,
and the final clash of the rocks. There is a change in the narrative
approach here as well: the focus becomes the sea rather than the
rocks themselves, and this recalls the importance of the wave in
Phineus warning (2.322-3). Since this is the climax of the passage,
Apollonius allows the language used of the wave to be more
descriptive.

tV0tV uu1Ix tEtI1u xu1upptEt toou1o xuu,
u up mo1t xuIIVpo tEt1ptt xuu1I Iuppq
EpoEpoxu1uI V xoII u Io. t V u pu toouI
IuoI IVtI tI tV p o o uI txu1tp0tV
otIo tVuI ppotoV, EtEt1o t V Iu ou pu (2.593-7)

Then immediately the roofed wave rushed upon them
and the ship like a cylinder ran forth on the furious
wave, plunging ahead over the hollow sea. The swirling
current held her in the middle of the rocks. On either
side the rocks were shaken violently and sounded out,
but the ships wood held fast.

The wave is roofed (593) and raging (594), the sea hollow (595), and
the current whirls (596). Again, the language of the brief simile which
compares the ship to a cylinder (xuIIVpo 594) could just as easily be
used of the wave itself because it emphasizes the rolling and turning
movement of the sea in the passage. There are two changes from the
description of landscape in the previously mentioned sections: the
Clashing Rocks roar as before (ppo toV 597), but they are not moving
themselves, they are shaken by an external force (otIo tVuI 597). Also,
the poet does not describe a completely static or moving scene but
alternates between movement and the lack of it. The wave rushes
(toou1o 593) and the ship runs forward (tEt1ptt 594), then the ship is
held by the current (tItV 596); the rocks are shaken (597), but the
ship is steadfast (EtEt1o 597). This contrast is finally resolved after
Athena pushes the ship through the vigorously Clashing Rocks
(VmItt tEIuouI tVuV1IuI. 602) and they become rooted in one spot
84
forever (tppI,m0tV 605). The Argonauts make the previously
"unrooted" rocks (320) motionless through their success.
In this episode one is able to observe that Apollonius describes
landscape not through many adjectives but through variation in the
type of natural elements focused on (i.e. rocks or the sea), the degree
of clarity in the vision of the scene, through describing motion and
stillness, and through emphasis on sound. He also links his
presentation of landscape very closely to the emotions of his
characters.
As has been pointed out previously, the three most important
actions in the episode are those of the dove, Tiphys, and Athena, and
they have an important meaning in the context of the episode and in
the epic. These three actions are closely connected, not just because
in combination they enable the Argo to safely accomplish its passage,
but because they are all, in a sense, aspects of the same thing.
Athena may be considered the goddess of navigation; in the Odyssey
she helps prepare Telemachuss ship and in the Argonautica she
oversees the construction of the Argo (I.18-19). The bird which goes
ahead of the ship is not just an omen, but, as Detienne and Vernant
have pointed out, is closely tied to the navigation of the ship both
because the ship follows its path and because birds were used in early
navigation in order to find land.
1

One can determine the truthfulness of Phineus implications by
analyzing what takes place when the Argonauts actually go through
the Symplegades. They arrive in the vicinity of the rocks (549) shortly
after leaving Thynia (531-6), and when they encounter a large arched
wave (579-81), the Argo is said to be heavy under the rowing
(u E tIptoI q pupu0ououV, 584). In this instance, rowing - the means by
which they would proceed through the strength of their hands -, is
detrimental and has to be checked. The Argo is then carried into the
air (586-7). Although the Argonauts put all of their strength into
rowing (xmEqoIV oooV o0tVo, 589), the ship goes in the opposite
direction and the oars bend (590-2). The Argonauts, in fact, do not
pass through the Symplegades because of their rowing, but rather
because Athena pushes the Argo (598-9).
The Argonauts strength and rowing prove to be ineffectual, and yet
Phineus said that their deliverance would not be in prayers so much
as it would be in the strength of their hands (t EtI uo ou Vu 1I
1o oooV t oot1 t V tumIq oIV o ooV 1 tVI xu p1tI tIpm V, 333-4). Since such
a statement can lead one to expect that they would pass through
without divine assistance, Athenas intervention comes as a surprise.

1
Williams (1991), 137-142.

85
Phineus can therefore generate a false impression about how the
Argonauts will pass through the Symplegades.
The Argonauts themselves seem to come to such a conclusion. The
helmsman Tiphys, after they are safe from the Symplegades, remarks:

IIEouI uu 1q VI 1o tEtoV t uItuo0uI
t u out 1I uIIo tEuI1Io ooooV A0V,
oI tVtEVtuotV 0tIoV tVo tu1t IV Apo
ooIoIV ouVupuoot, 0tI ou x t o1IV u Im VuI.
AI ooVI, 1uV t 1tou puoII o t t1V,
tu 1t Itx Et1pu uttIV 0to IV o Euoot,
xt1I tII0I 1oI oV, t EtI t1oEIo0tV u t0Iou
tuEuItu 1tItto0uI AVopI u1o IVtu.
(11.61 1-8)

I think that we surely escaped because of this very ship;
nor is any one else the cause of this as much as Athena,
who breathed divine strength into it when Argos was
putting it together with nails it is not lawful for it to
be subdued. Son of Aison, seeing that a god allowed us
to flee out through the rocks, do not fear any longer the
command of your king, for Phineus, the son of Agenor,
said that thereafter our trials would be easily
accomplished.

I will discuss this speech in more detail below. For the time being, it
should be noted that Tiphys singles out the Argo as the means by
which they escaped (611-2), and claims that Athena was more a cause
for this than anyone else (612-4). In other words, Tiphys begins his
speech by explaining how they passed through the Symplegades. He
may be doing this precisely because the manner in which they went
through was not the expected one. Several passages indicate that the
Argonauts were adhering to Phineus advice and would therefore have
detected whether they had been misdirected. One can compare, for
instance, verses 573-4, where Tiphys tells the Argonauts to row
mightily (t ptoottVuI xpu1tpm , 574) since the dove passed through the
rocks, to verses 329-33, where Phineus commands them, if the dove
should safely pass through, to make their attempt while mightily
wielding their oars (xup1uVuV1t ...... tpt1u, 332).
The misleading nature of Phineus exhortation can be attributed to
one or several factors. Since he did not openly say that the Argonauts
would pass through because of their rowing, his advice was not
exactly false. He may, in fact, have deliberately laid emphasis upon
the efficacy of rowing because he knew that if the Argonauts had not
rowed so vigorously, they would not have come close enough to the
Symplegades to make Athenas assistance possible. In addition to
these possibilities, or perhaps to the exclusion of them, the false
expectations that Phineus generated could be the incidental result of
86
his efforts to avoid divine anger. Mentioning Athena, for example, may
have been forbidden. The false expectations could, however, be due to
a simple mistake. Phineus would not, then, be as knowledgeable as
one might initially think. Although the narrator indicates that Phineus
was once able to speak the mind of Zeus in an exact manner (181-2),
he never says that Phineus retained that ability after his punishment.
It is logical, moreover, for the extent of Phineus knowledge about the
future to be limited. Even if he knew everything that was already
resolved in the minds of the gods, he would be less certain about what
the gods have not yet determined. We should remember, though, that
the present discussion pertains to Phineus statements about the
passing through the Symplegades, an episode that occurs shortly
after the Argonauts leave him. One must consider whether it is
plausible for him to be ignorant of events lying so near in the future.
One, two, or even several of the above possibilities can explain why
Phineus misleads. The narrator, though, does not provide the reader
with enough information to verify any of them. Since Phineus primary
addressees are the Argonauts, it is not necessarily Phineus purpose
to insure that the reader is adequately informed.
1

Athena and her act of guiding the Argo may be considered to be
divine representations of the science of navigation itself. The roles,
therefore, of Tiphys the helmsman, of the bird, and of Athena taken
together are all indications of the importance of the skill of navigation
in the Argonautica and demonstrate one more aspect of how techn is
of great significance in the epic. It is important not to consider the
actions of Athena as evidence of a rescue by the gods when human
endeavor has failed, but rather as a positive sign of human success.
There is an interesting problem associated with the passage of the
Argo through the Clashing Rocks and the exertions of the Argonauts.
In Pindars version, the Argonauts are able to control their landscape
and the forces of nature so that they are even able to "kill" the
Clashing Rocks; they bring a 1tItu1uV to them. A similar control on
the part of the Argonauts in Apollonius epic is explicitly stated at the
end of the passage:

Et1puI tI tVu mpoV t EIoto V u IIIqoIV
VmItt t ppI,m0tV o xuI opoIoV tV
t x uxupmV, tu 1 u V 1I I mV Iu VI Etpuooq.
(II.604-6)


1
Berkowitz (2004), 15-18.


87
The rocks became firmly rooted into one place near one
another. This was ordained by the gods to happen,
whenever some man passed through them in his ship.

The Clashing rocks become "rooted" after the Argo safely passes
through them. The question of whether the ability to control nature by
stopping the rocks is beneficial is raised by the casual remark in Book
IV that the Colchians have passed through the Clashing Rocks in
their pursuit of Jason and Medea:

oIoI uu1, uIIoI tV t1moIu uo1tuoV1t
uuVtu oV1oIo Itx Et1pu t EtpouV,,
(IV.303-304)

The rest of the Colchians, searching in vain, passed from
the Pontos through the Cyanean rocks

And again:
....o1pu1o uoEt1o ttuuV0
oImV, oI oV1oIo xu1u o1ou xuI Iu Et1pu
uuVtu uo1pt upIo1mV tEt pouV, (IV.1001-3)

A boundless army of Colchians appeared, who had
passed down the mouth of the Pontos and through the
Cyanean rocks searching for the Argonauts.

Since the last example almost exactly repeats lines I.2-3 of the
prologue, these passages are puzzling. The similarity of the language
seems to suggest that the journey of the pursuing Colchians is equal
to the great quest of the Argonauts. Also, since the Colchians split up
into two groups, one of which went around the Clashing Rocks, the
interesting question of why the Argonauts could not have simply
avoided the dangerous passage is raised, especially since their great
accomplishment seems only to have made life easier for their enemies.
I suggest that Apollonius included the episode of the Clashing
Rocks in his Argonautica because it was traditionally important, but
that he reworked it, perhaps even adding the actions of Athena as his
own invention, in order to emphasize the importance of techn in the
epic and to illustrate the great power which it could exert. But
Apollonius also left ambiguous the question concerning the benefits of
techn to mankind, and by allowing the Colchians to pass through the
same rocks as the Argonauts, he suggests that the greatest successes
of human skill have disadvantages.
1




1
Williams (1991), 142-145.

88
The Sirens in Scylla and Charybdis:

The most extreme test faced by the heroes on their homeward journey
- and, out of all the perils faced by them on the way to and from
Colchis, the occasion when they come closest to the abandonment of
their quest - is the stranding of the ship in the gulf of Syrtis. We have
seen that Libya has been flagged as early as the first book of the poem
(1.79-85 and, in particular, EIu0tV1u at 1.81) as an inauspicious
location, and it is clear from the beginning of the episode itself that
being driven ashore at Syrtis is a potentially disastrous event for the
Argonauts:

EVoIq t EtIo tVoI Epo1tpm 0toV. u IIu u p ou Em
uI oIoV V t EIpVuI AuIIo pmtooIV,
o p t1I xuI ^Ipu t EI EtIpuoIV o 1I otIuV
tV Eo1I xoIEoV tEmVuoV AppuxImV,
oup1mV t IIEoV 0oVu EtE1utVoIoIV
IuItoI xuI fo1tIVu uu1uI ouV IIVu oI V oou
ttI, tIoEo t VtoV xu1tuIVt1o uIu
xuI 1o1 uVupEuV oIo poptuo 0utIIu
toou EtIuo ot ^Ipuo1IxoV t VVtu Eu ou
Vux1u o m xuI 1o oou t p u1u, tpI I xoV1o
EpoEpo uI tVo0I 2up1IV, IV ouxt1I Voo1o
o EIoom
VuoI EtItI, o1t 1oVt pIqu1o xoIEoV Ixto0uI
(4.1225-36)

But it was not yet destined for the heroes to set foot on
Achaea, until they had laboured in the outer limits of
Libya. Already they had left behind the gulf named after
the Ambracians and, with sails spread wide, the land of
the Curetes, next the chain of narrow islands together
with the Echinades themselves and the land of Pelops
had just come into sight; just then a baleful blast of the
north wind caught them in raid-course and swept them
towards the Libyan sea for nine whole nights and as
many days, until they came far inside Syrtis, from where
there is no return for ships, once they have been forced
to enter into that gulf.
1


As the Argo is carried closer and closer to the threatening danger of
Scylla and Charybdis
2
, the crew becomes entranced by the sound of
the Sirens whose lovely song is able to beguile sailors (2tIpVt oIVoV1

1
Clare (2002), 150.
2
It is uncertain whether Scylla and Charybdis originally came from the Argo legend, although they
had been located in Tyrrhenia in earlier poetry. Heras speech, like that of Circe to Odysseus, describes
Scyllas parentage, but includes the additional details that Scyllas mother is Hecate, also known as
Crataeis, and her father Phorcys (4.828-29). This information about Scyllas parents appears to be
superfluous, especially in a speech to Thetis, but the name Crataeis is found in Homer (Od. 12.124)
89
AtImIt tIqoI 0tIououI oIEq oIV 4.893ff.). The only way in which
their enchanting music is able to be conquered is through the power
of music itself.
1

For a moment the doubts seem to dissipate as the Argonauts
surrender all too easily to the charm of the song (4.903-904). To
prevent disaster, Orpheus has to intervene immediately and he does
so in a resolute manner. He strings his lyre (4.906), and intones a
high-pitched, quick-paced song whose sound makes the ears of the
listeners roar (4.907-909). His victory is swift and annihilating: the
song of the Sirens is not only drowned out by the thunderous lyre but
it is also reduced to an inarticulate, uxpI1oV (4.911), voice.
2
According
to some authors, Proteus had told the Sirens that if ever they failed to
enchant someone with their singing, they would die; when Odysseus
passed them by, they threw themselves off their cliff.
3
Orpheus
performance is accorded four whole lines and the greatest credit to
the power of the Sirens is probably the ferocity of Orpheus attack.

UIo1oVI V t VI tpoIV t uI opIu 1uVu oou,
xpuIEVoV t u1pouIoIo tIo xuVuotV uoI ,
op u uI xIoVtoV1o t EIppotmV1uI u xouuI
xptq Eup0tVIV t VoEV t pI ou1o o pI,
(IV.906-909)

Orpheus strung the Bistonian lyre in his hands and
made the strain of the rippling song quickly ring out, so
that their ears might be filled with the ring of the sound.
The lyre overcame the voice of the maidens.

Orpheus purpose was to fill the ears of the Argonauts with his
roaring song, o p u uI xIoVtoV1o tEIppotmV1uI uxouuI (4.908), and
thus block the seductive melody of the Sirens
4
. Orpheus, a figure with
no counterpart in the Homeric Sirens episode, comes across as truly
magnificent. He is the absolute, unmatched singer who reduces
powerful enemies to the state of babbling children. He sings with the

and, as Hecate, she is of wider significance in the poem generally because of Medeas devotion to her;
the additional details thus tie in both to the Odyssey and to other parts of the Argonautica. Knight
(1995), 207.
1
Williams (1991), 206
2
Kyriakou (1995), 198.
3
West (2005), 46.
4
The Sirens are magical creatures, and, even though they may represent some sort of natural force (or
even the power of song) in the epic, they are not true elements of landscape. Yet since the Sirens
traditionally live on an island in South Italy or Sicily, and they lure ships towards themselves, towards
the rocks they inhabit, they should be considered here to be part of their dangerous rocky landscape.
Also, in the Orphic Argonautica the Sirens jump into the sea and are turned into rocks (Orph. 1285-
1290 Vian). Even though this is a quite late source, it may be based on an earlier tradition, and it
suggests that the Sirens are a personified representation of their dangerous coastline. Williams
(1991),206-207
90
power of the winds and the waves. It is no coincidence that after the
declaration of the defeat of the Sirens Apollonius refers again to
Zephyrus and the sonorous wave (4.910) which take the ship out of
harms way: Orpheus music blends with the elements, smoothly
collaborating with them to save the ship.
1

For Mopsus, himself an Apolline figure, there is no help from
Apollo, and the poet nervously adds that the god could not save him
even if he were present.
2
The reader of the Argonautica, like the
Argonauts themselves, does not have a chance to hear the Sirens
song or learn anything from it and perceives only a faint echo of the
songs quality.
3
The Argonauts, unlike Odysseus, do not know about
the Sirens before they encounter them. Orpheus improvises the
method for passing them safely, drowning them out by playing his
lyre and singing loudly. The wind helps Orpheus (4.891, 4.910)
whereas in the Odyssey there was uIV .... VVtI windless calm
(Od. 12.168-69). Some features of the narrative are similar to Homers
account; at least one person in the ship can hear the Sirens but
others act to prevent them from responding (Orpheus plays his lyre,
Perimedes and Eurylochus pile on more chains).
The Argonauts do not have to choose which route to take (this
choice is made by Thetis on Heras advice), and though Thetis
mentions the Rocks to Peleus (4.860-61), the crew have no idea of
what Scylla and Charybdis are like. They approach them u tI oo tVoI
in deep grief (4.920) at the loss of Boutes; this backward-looking
reaction is typical of the Argonauts communal grief at the loss of one
of their number or another friend, but it also recalls how Odysseus
and his men were weeping at this point in their travels (Od. 12.234).
Although we are told the words of the song which the Sirens sing to
Odysseus (Od. 12.184-91), nothing is quoted of the one sung to the
Argonauts and the reader does not find out whether they claim
knowledge of the Argonauts past adventures. The Argonauts are in
the same position as the reader in being unable to hear the songs
exact words, but nevertheless they are affected by the song to the
extent that they are about to put in (4.903-4). The Sirens are not quite
as invincible as Homer implies they are, since the Argonauts can hear
them briefly and (with one exception) resist them, even if they were
about to give in when Orpheus starts to play. Typically, there is a
digression at the end of the episode on the fate of the Athenian Routes
(4.912-19). As in Homer, one person is captivated by the Sirens song
but does not suffer the fate of previous visitors.
4


1
Kyriakou (1995), 198, 200, 203.
2
Albis (1996), 116.
3
Kyriakou (1995), 204.
4
Knight (1995), 202-203, 208.
91
Until now the route of Argo has depended upon orientation by
visible signs and pre-ordained paths, but the Syrtis landscape is
something entirely alien and extraneous to this process. And so for a
brief period of time the heroes have a state of disorientation thrust
upon them which the uncertainty implied by wandering does not even
begin to cover. It is not so much a question of not knowing where to
go, as there being, quite literally, nowhere to go to: there are no paths
at all in this desolate scene. In a place such as Syrtis the challenge
facing the Argonauts is fundamental; though they are not lacking in a
navigator, they have no means of navigation.
Confronted by this prospect of unlimited isolation, the reaction of
the Argonauts is given in two stages. First an unknown hero
comments as follows:

JI 0mV tut1uI t; Eo0I uVtmouV utIIuI
tu; uI0 t1ItV, utItt ouIotVoIo
tIu1o, uu1u xtItu0u IuEtpt o p0 VuI
Et1pumV 1 u V xuI u Etp ^Io uI ouV I ou oIV
ptI1tpoV V tu 1I tVoIVmoV1u o Ito0uI.
Vu V t 1I xtV p tuItV, t puxotVoI u VtoIoIV
uu0I tVtIV 1u10oV Etp tEI poVoV; oIoV tp
Et,u ImIuI uVuEt E1u1uI EtIpoIo. (4.I25I-8)

What land does this profess to be? Where have the
storm winds brought us? Would that, ignoring our
deadly fear, we had dared to travel the same path
through the rocks; indeed it would have been better for
us to have gone against the will of Zeus and perish while
venturing some mighty deed. But now what should we
do, if held back by the winds to stay here even but a
short time? How desolate stretches the coast of this
immense land!

Up to now the Argonauts have never rebelled against the various
imperatives and divine ordinances according to which their return
journey has been arranged. Here, for the first time, the wisdom of
their homeward route is questioned. Compared to what they see all
around them, return passage through the Clashing Rocks seems an
attractive proposition. The rocks, simply by virtue of the fact that the
Argonauts once navigated their way through them, at least have the
advantage of being a familiar route, in other words a path (1253).
When put to the test the heroes would rather face the prospect of
return by a known and, so far as they are aware, potentially lethal
route than venture the unknown. The familiar journey, even though it
is contrary to the will of the gods and, furthermore, may lead to
destruction, is preferred to the unknown place.
In the atmosphere of communal despair, the only Argonaut whose
reaction is given individual treatment is Ancaeus. In the aftermath of
92
the funeral of Tiphys in book II, Ancaeus was instrumental in
dispelling the air of despondency among his comrades. On this
occasion the role played by him in the action is entirely the reverse.
The initial emotional response of the unnamed Argonaut contains a
question: what should we do now? This proves to be merely the
rhetorical precursor of a doom-laden speech by Ancaeus, analogous to
the defeatism manifested by Jason after the death of Tiphys. Ancaeus
casts his practised navigators eye over their current predicament,
and his assessment of the desolate landscape of Syrtis (1261-71)
effectively duplicates the earlier narrative description. The changing
of the point of view of the report confirms the apparently terminal
nature of this crisis, in that the voices of both narrator and character
are in agreement on this issue. Ancaeus conclusions are both rational
and inevitable:

1ouVtx t m EuouV t V u E t IEIu I xtxo 0uI
Vuu1III Vo o1ou 1t uoouVV t 1I u IIo
uIVoI tV, Eu pu up oI tE oIxtooI 0uu ootIV
uIotVq xoI uII ou uIu Vo o1IoV up
Ztu t0tItI xuu1oIoIV t t1t poIoI 1tItoouI.
(4.1272-6)

Therefore I declare that all hope has been cut off of our
voyage and return. Let some one else show his skill; let
him sit at the helm who is eager for rescue; but Zeus
has no will to bring about the day of our return after our
labours.

Matters have now gone from bad to worse. On their outward journey
the Argonauts lost their original steersman to illness. On this
occasion Ancaeus, his replacement, makes a conscious decision to
abdicate his navigational responsibilities, a decision which meets with
affirmation rather than protest from those others who are in the know
concerning nautical matters (1277-8).
Syrtis thus becomes the location and inspiration for the Argonauts
most abject and most dramatic surrender to amechania (1308) in the
entire voyage. It takes an intervention by the Herossae, the local
nymphs of Libya, to rescue the situation, and it is the leader of the
expedition, apart from the other Argonauts, whom they address:

u opt, 1IE1 t EI 1o oooV u uVIq ptpoIouI;
ItV tEoIotVou puotoV tpo, ItV txuo1u
u t1t pmV xuu1mV o o t EI 0oVo o oou 1 t u pV
EIu,otVoI xu1u EoV1oV u EtppIu tpu xuto0t
oI oEoIoI tI tV 0oVIuI 0tuI uu toouI,
pm oouI ^Ipu 1I opoI t 0uu1pt.
uII uVu, t1I 1oIoV oI,umV uxuoo,
uVo1ooV t1upou tu 1 u V t 1oI AI1pI1
93
upu ootIumVo tu1pooV uu1Ixu Iuoq,
pu 1o1t ot1t pq u Eo 1t pI 1I Vt1 u oIp V
mV txutV poV xu1u Vuo u t tpouou,
xuI xtV t1 u0tV t AuIIu Voo1ouI1t.
(4.1318-29)

Unhappy man, why are you so smitten with despair? We
know that all of you went in search of the Golden Fleece
and we know each of your toils, all the extraordinary
deeds you accomplished, both on land and at sea, while
wandering over the ocean. We are the shepherd
goddesses of the land, speaking with human voice, the
Heroines, guardians and daughters of Libya. But arise,
do not any longer groan in distress like this. Rouse your
comrades; as soon as Amphitrite lets loose the swift-
wheeled chariot of Poseidon, then let you all pay
recompense to your mother for her travail when she bore
you for so long in the womb; in this way you will return
to the divine land of Achaea.

Our assessment of this advice is complicated by the intricacies and
ingenuity of Apollonius allusive technique. The speech of the nymphs
recalls no fewer than four disparate scenes from the Odyssey in
which Odysseus is offered assistance of various kinds, assistance in
which the Homeric hero places varying degrees of trust. Because of
these interlocking layers of literary allusion our perception of the
nature of the transaction taking place between the nymphs of Libya
and Jason is constantly shifting. The first of Apollonius four models
is the intervention by the sea-nymph Ino Leucothea as Odysseus is
harassed by a storm sent by Poseidon.
1



What did Jason learn from these situations?

It is the voyage itself, described in Books I and II, which brings about
this basic change in Jason. The episodes of the voyage represent a
process of education, as well as stages of a geographical journey. In
one way or another, these episodes are all educational; they all
contain lessons about the nature of man, the world, and the gods. For
Jason, the voyage is a discovery of the world in which he must
eventually act. It is also a process of shaping Jason into the kind of
man who can effectively and successfully act in this kind of world.
Each episode teaches its own lesson, and they may be epitomized as
follows: Lemnos and the power of love, Cyzicus and the dangers of
war, Mysia (where Heracles is left behind) and the impossibility of

1
Clare (2002), 151-155.

94
heroic action for common men, Bebrycia (where Polydeuces rights
Amycus) and the possibilities of intelligence and skill, and finally
Thynias (along with the remainder of Book II, which is controlled by
Phineus prophecy) and the necessity of being pious. Here are the
great themes in Apollonius contemplation of man and the world: love,
war, heroism, intelligence, and piety. In passing through this series of
episodes, Jason has his first taste of love and war, and he
contemplates the fate of Heracles, the triumph of Polydeuces, and the
dispensation of Zeus. Books I and II, far from being a loose string of
unrelated episodes, constitute a single pattern, a process of paideia,
as the reader follows Jason through these stages of his education and
views the process through which he becomes the unique actor of Book
III.
The first stage of this educational voyage is the initiation of a
hitherto innocent Jason into love, on the basic level of sex and
procreation. The Lemnian women, angry at their husbands infidelity,
slaughtered all males on the island. They have now become weary of
their condition, and fearful of possible attacks from Thrace, they
invite the Argonauts to mingle with them, so that the island may be
repopulated with male offspring. Jason mates with the queen and the
other Argonauts choose women at random. The scene teems with
sexual imagery, involving such symbols as plowing, sowing of seed,
sleek cattle, and double gates. Even the name of the queen is
symbolic: Hypsipyle, "High Gates." There is not the slightest trace of
romance or love in a spiritual sense at Lemnos. There is no falling in
love at first sight, no torment of unrequited passion. Love at Lemnos
is an affair of convenience. The poet is saving romantic love for Book
III and Medea. The city of Myrina is, in fact, not unlike a brothel, the
place where any Hellenistic youth would naturally come upon his first
experience of sexual love. The city of women is thrown open to the
Argonauts; they dally there for a time; and then they depart with fond
farewells, never to return. For Jason this visit to the brothel city is his
first experience of loves attractions and thus represents an
appropriate first step in a process of awakening and discovery during
the formative voyage. If one glances ahead, it is clear that Jasons
experience on Lemnos anticipates his exploitation of love as a means
to his ends at Colchis. Lemnos is thus one stage in the formation of
Jason into the knowledgable and uniquely resourceful actor of Book
III.
In the Cyzicus episode the poet uses a narrative technique which is
odd in that each separate action appears to be an invention based on
the names of places in the Cyzicene landscape. This technique and an
almost colorless style of reporting events must not blind the reader to
a carefully plotted pattern of action which constitutes a tragedy of love
and war. The newly married Cyzicus has been advised that when a
company of heroes arrives, he must receive them in a kindly manner
95
and not resort to war. Leaving his bridal chamber, he receives the
Argonauts with hospitality, and momentarily escapes his fate. The
following night the Argonauts are driven by adverse winds back to
Cyzicus without knowing it. The Doliones believe that they are being
attacked by hostile Macrians, and Cyzicus again leaves his bridal
chamber, never to return, for he falls beneath Jasons spear in the
night battle. Here is a tragic misunderstanding, as Jason slays his
host, as well as a tragic end to Cyzicus and Clites love. The
Argonauts grieve at sight of the dead king, but the poet shows that his
major focus is on the love tragedy as he describes Clites suicide, the
metamorphosis of her tears into a fountain, and the peoples grief
(1.1063-77). The tragic and pathetic aftermath of the night battle
stands in sharp contrast to that of the other battle at Cyzicus:
Heracles slaying of the earthborn giants. The reader has no sympathy
for these subhuman creatures, and they lie on the shore the prey of
birds and fishes (1.1011). No such neutral reaction is possible to the
night battle, for the Argonauts destroy two things of basic human
valuea friend and a lover.
This tragic movement from love to war is an inversion of the
movement in the Lemnian episode from the threat of war to love. For
Jason, these episodes are part of a process of discovery, as he comes
to experience and contemplate love and war as two major aspects of
the human condition. Coming upon them one after the other, Jason
may easily evaluate the relative merits of love and war, and while he is
so attracted to the former that Heracles must intervene to get the
expedition moving again, his reaction to the night battle can only be
one of sorrow (o1utpoV. . . uo1.1054). Delay at Cyzicus is forced, not
voluntary, and when shown a means of escape Jason rejoices and
quickly carries it through. The full impact of the tragic night battle on
Jason is best illustrated by his future actions. He departed from home
bearing arms and with a martial appearance (u pIo1.349). True to
this traditional heroic attitude, he is the first to slay his man in the
night battle. In the future, however, he will avoid war whenever
possible, and will be slow to enter battle when it is necessary. While at
Cyzicus the Argonauts rout the Doliones as hawks frighten doves
(1.1049-50), at Colchis Jason sides with the doves and not the hawks
(3.541). The episode at Cyzicus teaches Jason to hate war just as
effectively as the episode at Lemnos teaches him the efficacious power
of love.
These are the only episodes during the voyage in which Jason plays
a key role as actor. Only here does Jason learn from his own actions.
In the next three episodes Jason is spectator to the actions of others.
Apollonius leaves it to the reader to reconstruct in his own
imagination the impact these experiences might have on a Jason who
96
has already been described as "pondering each thing within himself
(1.460-61).
At Mysia the divinely intended removal of the heroic Heracles not
only throws Jason back upon his own resources, but also points up
the gulf separating the old-time hero from Jason and suggests that, if
he is to succeed, he must find some new approach to action in
keeping with his purely human abilities. Throughout Book I Heracles
has served as crutch to Jason and three times he has saved the
expedition single-handed. He is undoubtedly the greatest figure
among the Argonauts, but Jason learns nothing from him. Jason did
desire his presence on the expedition, but Heracles seems to exist in a
realm apart, and Jason never attempts to rise to Heracles heroic
level. Perhaps Jason intuitively knows that Heracles heroic eminence
is not for him, a common mortal. If so, his realization is confirmed by
Glaucus, who describes the different fate in store for Heracles and
advises the Argonauts to have no yearning after him. Events at Mysia
thus teach Jason that he cannot rely on Heraclean heroics but must
forge his own approach to action.
The triumph of intelligence and skill, which Jason witnesses in
Polydeuces boxing match with Amycus and in Tiphys overcoming the
wave early in Book II, is a partial indication of what this new
approach must be. Phineus advice and the revelation of the
dispensation of Zeus admonish him to supplement human skill with
divine help. These scenes teach Jason how ordinary mortals can
survive and succeed through the purely human resources of
intelligence and skill and through piety and the gods. What Jason
experiences and contemplates on the outward voyage thus goes far
toward transforming him into the anti-heroic actor of Book III who will
shun war and exploit love, avoid force and utilize divine aid.
1

















1
Lawall (1966), 149-152.
97
III: The Marine Similes in the Argonautica


Concept of the Simile:

Simile is specifically designated in classical literature by two and only
two words, Latin similitudo and Greek tIxmV. Unfortunately, similitudo
(despite Harpers) does not mean "simile" as the thing adduced for
comparison. Like all such nouns ending in -tudo, it expresses an
abstract concept and refers rather to the process of adducing, to
simile as a device. Cicero shows this in defining similitudo as oratio
traducens ad rent quampiam aliquid ex re dispart simile, "a use of
language to transfer to any thing some similar quality from a different
thing."
Unlike similitudo, the word tIxmV in Greek does mean "simile" as
such, the thing compared and not the process of comparison. Exactly
as in the case of its English transliteration "icon," the original and
predominating sense of the word is "image," the literary usage being
secondary. This original meaning may be expressed, however, not only
by "image" but by "likeness"; the same root produced the common
verb toIxu, "to be like" (also "to seem," in Attic).
The idea of an image or a likeness implies that the Greeks, when
they used simile, possibly meant to convey something more than mere
similarity in our sense. The situation seems rather to be one of
identity, dimly conceived but strongly felt. A notion of identity
underlies Latin similis also: its root *sem- appears in Latin simul and
Greek u u, both expressing temporal identity, and also in Greek. o o,
meaning "one and the same" or "jointly possessed," with its
genitive o ou becoming an adverb, "together" in space or time. Finally,
similis is paralleled morphologically by Greek o uIo, meaning "even"
or "level" and also "of equal degree." These facts of language do not
prove the conjecture advanced here. They do suggest that it may be
profitable to examine the uses of simile.
At this point the objection could well be raised, that in the case of
Homer much solid work has already been done. No one could deny it.
Even if the field be limited to books written in English, a number of
examples readily came to mind: Jebbs Homer, which retains striking
value after more than a half-century; Bassetts Sather Lectures, The
Poetry of Homer, still considered by many to be the foremost American
contribution to this field of scholarship; and Bowras Tradition and
Design in the Iliad, with its characteristic union of flawless style and
compelling argument. From Bowra in particular we have learned the
various purposes for which a Homeric simile may be usedto mark,
for example, an important pause or crisis in the action, or again to
98
illuminate the different aspects of individual natures or the successive
stages of a complex situation, always providing perspective and a kind
of relief by altering the focus of attention.
A recent book by the German scholar Roland Hampe has provided a
needed supplement to Bowras remarks. Hampe here argues that the
Homeric simile, represents the most concise available means of
stating a conception in the most highly poetic manner possible. He
also establishes the important related point that the simile does not
serve as a mere addition to the main narrative, but actually replaces
it, conveying what could not in point of fact be expressed through
regular narration. The comparison, he says further, may not
infrequently be made in depth, with several points of contact; there is
no reason, accordingly, to seize on a single aspect of such similes and
dismiss all the rest as irrelevant, though beautiful.
Hampes claim that the similes replace Homers narrative in a
vitally meaningful way needs a counter-balance. This is provided
earlier in his book, when he states that they are not employed for
their own sake, but have in every case a dependent relationship to the
characters and events of the poem. Most readers of the Iliad and
Odyssey will accept his remark as true, if rather obvious; yet one
finds even so admirable a scholar as Professor Notopoulos speaking of
the "ornamentation" of Homers similes. The choice of terms scarcely
seems a happy one, for we are not dealing here with random
embellishment. As Mackail pointed out almost fifty years ago, "In
poetry of a low heat this [the simile] tends to become merely
ornamental . . . but in poetry of a high temperature"-and Mackail is
speaking of Homer- "any enrichment which is mere decoration is out
of place; it only interrupts and retards, unless together with its quality
as ornament it illuminates its context." Perhaps, we need less concern
with phonograph records of Jugoslav bards and more awareness that
Homeric epic is sophisticated court poetry.
The complex of ideas now set up permits us to re-examine the
suggestion made earlier that simile actually deals with a kind of
identity. It was seen that the Greek and Latin words most closely
related to this concept show a powerful tendency toward expressing
sameness rapier than likeness in their root meanings. Such a line of
argument may seem to be countered by the fact of our traditional
definitions of simile and metaphor. We commonly distinguish one
from the other by saying that the former maintains A is like B, while
the latter states or implies that A is B. In doing so we often assume
the two categories to be distinct, and indeed mutually exclusive.
We argue that such an assumption does violence to the facts. It
may be worth mentioning that Aristotle, while he gives the same
working definitions as those just mentioned, also has this to say: "The
simile is also a metaphor; the difference is but slight. . . . They are
really the same thing." The philosophical question of identity raises
99
appalling difficulties, and no attempt will be made here to define the
essential nature of the simile within a philosophical frame of
reference. Even Platos brilliant Theory of Forms, we recall, comes
crashing down when the question is raised of just how these
archetypes can participate in reality. Yet, without being sure how to
define identity, one may find grounds for denying the common
assumption that metaphor involves identity while simile does not.
It is already known and admitted that Homeric simile on the most
primitive level does reflect a strong element of identity. When the
nymph Thetis comes out of the sea "like a mist" ( u 1 oII) the
comparison reveals her almost certain origin in the sea-mist that
steals up onto the land. The half-dozen simile; of Beowulf have this
primitiveness; it is the hallmark of saga, and Homeric scholarship has
begun to realize that the elaborated similes of the Iliad and Odyssey
constitute a different, and later, development.
Much has been written concerning the nature of extended simile as
we find it first in Homer. Bassett, for example, shows its affinities with
the substance and mood of lyric poetry. Some of the practical
purposes it serves have been mentioned here, and one cannot readily
imagine any important addition being made to Bowras remarks. The
actual significance of the simile, however, has received surprisingly
little attention until very recently. Hasty references to such qualities
as "relief," "illumination," and "insight" were the sum of what an
English-speaking reader could find, and these plainly were not
enough.
The situation is different now, thanks to the work of a group of
German scholars whose best thinking is represented in Wolfgang
Schadewaldts exciting collection of essays called Von Homers Welt
und Werk. The difference may be said to be a change of direction. No
longer is the simile regarded as essentially an ornament; instead, it
has been discovered to have an integral and profoundly important
part in Homers method of presenting reality. Seen in this new light,
Homers similes convey aspects of experience not at second hand but
with immediacy.
To say this much is to give only a hint of what might be said.
Nevertheless, we must now proceed by indirection, attempting to
reveal something of Homers technique as we consider two of those
who followed him in the epic tradition, Apollonius Rhodius and Vergil.
Half a millennium lies between Homer and Apollonius. During
those centuries, a wealth of powerful new literary forms had displaced
epic in mainland Greece. Only on the coasts and islands of
southwestern Asia Minor did it retain the ability to survive; and to
this region, to the island of Rhodes, Apollonius came in his disgust
with the miniature-makers of Alexandria.
100
Callimachus, the T. S. Eliot of the Alexandrian literary scene, had
said tu pIpIIoV tu xuxoV, "A lengthy book is a lengthy bore."
Apollonius thought otherwise; and out of his conviction was born, in a
long travail, the Argonautica. He proposed to relate a story well-known
even to Homer, the quest of those who sailed on the Argo to find the
Golden Fleece, but the heart and meaning of his work is the fatal
encounter between Jason and Medea. He wrote the first romantic
epic.
1



The First Book:

1- 540-546

The climactic moment of the Pagasaean sequence is the departure of
Argo, a scene in which Orpheus also figures prominently. As the ship
moves out of the harbour the rowers mark time to the music of
Orpheus lyre:

m oI u E po xI0upq EtEIoV t pt1oI
EoV1ou IuppoV u mp, t EI t p o 0Iu xIu,oV1o
upq tV0u xuI tV0u xtIuIV xxItV uI
tIVoV opu pouou EtpIo0tVtmV tVtI u Vpm V,
o1puE1t uE tIIq IoI tIxtIu Vo Iouo
1tutu uxpuI uI tV t ItuxuIVoV1o xtItu0oI,
u 1puEo m IotpoI o ItIotV EtIoIo. (1.540-6)

So did the heroes to the sound of Orpheus lyre strike
with their oars the rough water of the sea, making the
waves surge up. On this side and that the dark sea
seethed with foam, churning terribly at the strength of
these powerful men. Their armour shone in the sun like
a flame as the ship advanced, and the ships long wake
gleamed ever white, like a path clearly visible over a
green plain.

Apollonius does not designate Argo as the first ever ship, and its
embarkation does not mark the invention of navigation. Yet in these
opening moments of the Argonautic expedition the unprecedented
nature of what is taking place is emphasised by means of a simile, the
symbolic function of which is to point up the status of the voyage as a
pioneering venture. The picturesque, painterly quality of the
description of Argos departure has long been noted, and by means of
the striking central comparison the motif of path imagery associated
with the voyage continues: the speed of the ship on departure is such

1
Anderson (1957), 81-83.
101
that the path made by its white wake is as vivid as a path visible on a
green plain. In other words a path is opened up by the movement of
Argo in the sea, a mark which in its visual distinctiveness is
comparable to a track over land. The simile implies that the ships
passage imposes order upon the sea, normally that most
insubstantial and unpredictable of spaces. This suggestion is
reinforced by the juxtaposition of uItV and xtItu0oI in 545, a
juxtaposition reminiscent of the cosmic order previously sung of by
Orpheus (cf. 1.499-500).
1



2- 569-579.

As the Argo sails out of the Gulf of Pagasae along the Tisaean
headland (1.565 ff.), Orpheus plays his lyre and sings a hymn to
Artemis which has the effect of causing fish, large and small, to follow
the ship. In a simile which would seem at first to add more color than
content, Apollonius compares this delightful picture of the Argo under
sail to an idyllic scene in which a shepherd leads his sheep to the
accompaniment of a bucolic tune toward his hut:

1oI oI t opI,mV tu 0oVI tIEtV u oIq
I upoIo EuI oooooV tu Eu1tptIuV
Ap1tIV, xtIVu oxoEIu u Io uItEtoxtV
puotV xuI uIuV mIxI u. 1oI t pu0tI
I0ut uIoooV1t uEtp0 u Io, u Iu Euu poI
uEIt1oI, upu xtItu0u IuoxuI poV1t tEoV1o
m o Eo1 u puuIoIo t1 I VIu ouV1 po
upIu I ttEoV1uI uV xtxoptVu EoI
tI uu IIV, o t 1 tI oI Eupo, oupII IItIq
xuIu tII,o tVo VoIoV tIo-m u pu 1oIt
mup1tuV 1V uItV tEuoou1tpo t ptV oupo.
(I. 569-579)

And for them the son of Oeagrus touched his lyre and
sang in rhythmical song of Artemis, saviour of ships,
child of a glorious sire, who hath in her keeping those
peaks by the sea, and the land of lolcos ; and the fishes
came darting through the deep sea, great mixed with
small, and followed gambolling along the watery paths.
And as when in the track of the shepherd, their master,
countless sheep follow to the fold that have fed to the
full of grass, and he goes before gaily piping a
shepherds strain on his shrill reed; so these fishes
followed; and a chasing breeze ever bore the ship
onward.


1
Clare (2002), 59-60.
102
With the famous sacrifice to Artemis in mind, one will see a rather
mundane detail in the preceding simile in a different light. The
shepherd playing his pastoral tune was leading his sheep toward his
hut, tI uuIIV. Captivated by Orpheus hymn to Artemis, fish follow the
Argo as it sails to a place where the Argonauts have an experience
comparable to the celebrated delay of the Trojan expedition at Aulis.
1

The image of the simile is, as so often, Homeric (cf. Il. 13.491-93),
but overlaid with more contemporary bucolic additions: cf. Theocritus.
7.89, 20.28. Clauss (105) suggests that "to their steading" (tI uuIIV,,
eis aulin) contains a punning allusion to Aulis, and the wind delay
that held up the Greek fleet there. I find this ingenious rather than
convincing: like so much recent scholarship on the period, it seems
determined to beat the Alexandrian pedants at their own game.
2

Anti-war accents dominate other Apollonian similes too. As the
Argo sails off, Orpheus plays the lyre: the joyous mood is brought out
by a simile that alludes to a scene of harvest and dance in the
Homeric description of the Shield (1.536 ff.; Il. 18.567 ff.). This mood
lasts as the voyage goes on. Orpheus sings, and fishes, great mixed
with small, follow gambolling the ships course as when countless
sheep follow the shepherd who plays his pipe (1.572 ff.). In Homer
warriors follow their leaders into battle, "as sheep fat from grazing
follow the ram, and the shepherd is happy" (Il. 13.491 ff.). Apollonius
transfers the simile to a context of idyllic harmony, thus setting a
definitely unwarlike tone right from the start of the expedition.
3

The connection between sea travel and poetry appears here in this
simile whereas it concludes the description of the Argos outset. The
poet describes fish following the ship in order to listen to Orpheus
song and compares them to a flock of sheep following its shepherds
piping (1.569-579). By means of this simile, Apollonius emphasizes
the continuity of the fishes accompaniment of the Argo; they are like
sheep that follow the shepherd all the way to the fold. The poet
likewise emphasizes that all the while Orpheus plays his music and
the fish follow, the breeze continuously (uItV) furthers the progress of
the ship. The continuity of both Orpheus song and the blowing of the
breeze, the sense of which is underscored by the imperfect tense of
the verbs (tIEtV, mup1tuV, tptV), invites one to associate the forward
movement of the ship with the composition of poetry.
4





1
Clauss (1989), 196-197.
2
Green (1997), 211.
3
Rengakos, A. & T. D. Papahghelis (2001),162.
4
Albis (1996), 48-49.
103
3- 1198-1205.

The last episode in which Heracles plays an active role occurs in the
territory of Mysia. Having departed from the land of the Doliones, the
Argonauts, finding a windless sea, begin to compete with one another
in a rowing contest. However, when the wind arises all the Argonauts
but Heracles set aside their oars. Apollonius suggests that the
Argonauts were wise to set aside their oars. For when Heracles alone
of the Argonauts rowed with all his might the timbers of the ship
began to quiver. Heracles had plied his oar so mightily that the oar
broke. The breaking of the oar proves to be the motivation behind the
Argonauts disembarking on Mysian territory to find a new oar for the
hero. Heracles, who on Lemnos was exceedingly eager to stop the
interruption of the journey, now delays the expedition himself. This
incident suggests in a subtle way how incompatible the strength of
Heracles is for the expedition, for despite his amassed energy the goal
of the mission cannot be gained according to Apollonius version.
The Mysians welcomed the Argonauts quite hospitably. After the
evening meal the Argonauts prepared for relaxation and bed. But
Heracles had something else in mind. He set out (1187ff) to find a tree
which he could fashion into a new oar, while Hylas, his squire, was
sent to fetch water. Heracles has found a pine tree, erotically
described as:

tuptV tEtI1 tIu1V uIuItVo ou 1t 1I EoIIoI
u 0otVV o,oI ou t tu 1It0omouV,
uII oIoV 1uVu tpVo EtItI uItIpoIo
1o oo o m xo 1t xuI t Eu o tV I t o0uI.
(1190-3).

Wandering about he found a pine not burdened with
many branches, nor too full of leaves, but like to the
shaft of a tall poplar; so great was it both in length and
thickness to look at.

This pine he intends to fashion into a new oar. Heracles must rip this
young tree out of the ground. Setting his weaponry aside and gripping
the tree fast he plucked the tree out of the ground along with the
clods of earth. Heracles terrific strength and violence seen in the
narrative Apollonius magnifies through a simile which compares him
to a swift autumn wind blast that unexpectedly strikes a ship and
wrenches away a ships mast along with the stays.

t V t EIu1uV moV t ptIotV
tu Iupu Eto0tV t pu0uppI,oV Etp tououV
Epoou t tIpt ouV uu1oI tuoI uI.
m o 1uV uEpou1m Io1oV Vto , tu1t uIIo1u
104
tItpI o IooI o uoI EtItI LpImVo,
u yo 0tV t EIuou 0o u VtoIo xu1uI
uu 1oIoI oVtooIV uEtx Epo1oVmV tpuo1uI
.

m o t 1 V tIptV (1198-1205).

and he pressed it against his broad shoulder with legs
wide apart; and clinging close he raised it from the
ground deep-rooted though it was, together with clods of
earth. And as when unexpectedly, just at the time of the
stormy setting of baleful Orion, a swift gust of wind
strikes down from above, and wrenches a ships mast
from its stays, wedges and all ; so did Heracles lift the
pine.

So far in the Argonautica only Jason has been particularized by
simile. There are many similes likewise applied to the Argonauts but
only collectively, even some of these are potentially as violent as the
present simile. But none other than Jason and here Heracles are
individualized. This simile, however, stands out distinctly primarily
because it particularizes Heracles and similarity because its violent
development shows how powerful and violent Heracles is of all the
Argonauts and to the expedition, tItpI oIooIo uoI, EtItI LpImVo,
tEIuou 0o...xu1uI and tpuo1uI

along with the vividness of the
image add to the violent intensity of the wind, and, by analogy, to that
of Heracles.
Once again the scholiast felt that the poet has aptly developed this
simile, for the analogies which can easily be made between simile and
narrative are numerous and distinct. The scholiast has equated the
pine tree with the ships mast, the whole appearance of the hero with
the wintry setting, and specifically the strength of the hero with the
powerful wind-blast. Finally the roots of the tree are equated with the
forestays of the mast. From narrative to simile the poet has bound
together all the loose ends.
Yet the scholiast might have added more. More to the point is the
fact that the Argonautica is essentially a sea voyage. The expansion of
the simile, through which Heracles is portrayed as a violent wind that
during the setting of Orion strikes a ship and wrenches away the
ships mast, suggests that Heracles himself is a danger to the
Argonauts and their voyage just as this wind is a danger to the ship in
the simile.
This simile must surely have been so designed by Apollonius to
show how dangerous and unsuitable this hero was for the sea-voyage.
Accordingly Heracles was set aside by the Argonauts. Once again this
simile suggests how different Heracles is from the Argonauts, for if
anyone is antithetical to sea travellers it would be a land traveller.
1


1
Broeniman (1989), 118-121, 133.
105
In this simile there is a parallel between skill and force occurs when
Herakles pulls the great pine tree from the ground (1.1190). This
simile describes his great strength and exertion is that of the wind
lifting the mast of a ship (1.1201-1205); through this simile the
contrast of might and skill is again expressed. This time, Herakles is
likened to a force of nature, the wind, while the tree is ironically
compared to part of a ship, the ultimate image of mans civilization in
the Argonautica. The choice of this simile clearly is designed to
continue one of Apollonius standard themes.


The Second Book:

1- 67-75.

In the Argonautica, as in the Iliad, similes are concentrated in
passages of great action; Apollonius places many of his similes in the
episodes of the boxing match between Amycus and Polydeuces and of
Jasons contest in the same manner in which Homer uses the
majority of his similes in battle scenes.
The Amycus simile helps to explain one reason for the many similes
containing references to the sea and waves. Of course, such imagery
is suitable for a sea journey and these images help to remind the
reader that the sea is never far from the Argonauts or the story. But
the great achievement of the Argo is that it and its crew are able
overcome the sea, the waves, and the length of their voyage, not only
in the Clashing Rocks episode but through the whole epic. References
to the sea and the waves may be interpreted as reminders of the
natural element of the Argonauts, where they are able to function
best. As such, they may be considered positive signs, good omens in
the poem. For example, in Jasons contest, the hero withstands the
breath of the bulls like a reef at sea (3. 1293-5), the breath of the
bulls is like the winds at sea (3.1326-9), and the Colchians cry like
the roar of the ocean (3.1370-1). Later the serpent will relax its coils
like a wave over the deep (4. 152-3), and the pursuing Colchians in
assembly will be as numerous as waves or leaves (4.214-215. All
these foes of Jason and the Argonauts are characterized by the
imagery of the sea so that they will appear wild and dangerous, yet at
the same time there is a suggestion that they will be able to be
overcome because the Argonauts are masters of the seas. The content
of the similes in these examples helps to suggest danger and thus
increase the tension, but at the same time is reassuring.
Again, in the Clashing Rocks episode the great wave is "like a
rock"(oxoEI_ I ooV 2.581), a phrase which adds to the rocky landscape,
and the foam of the sea is similar to a cloud (2.566). The poet also
106
uses a cylinder to describe the ship (2.594), a simile which does not
contain landscape but nevertheless helps to describe the curved and
rolling waves of the narrative landscape.
1

Now, after the Argonauts left Heracles and Hylas by the will of
Zeus, arrived to land of Bebrycians. Whereas the boxing match
between Amycus the king of the Bebrycians and Polydeuces.

I tEtI ouV tV IuoI Iuo1uoV p1uVuV1o,
uu 1Ix u Vuoo tVoI p t0tmV EpoEu poI0t puptI u
tIpu, tE uIIIoIoI tVo tpoV uV1IomV1t.
tV0u t UtppuxmV tV u Vu, u1t xuu 0uIuoo
1pu 0oq tEI VI xopuoot1uI, uEo 1u10oV
IptIq EuxIVoIo xuptpV1po uIuoxtI
I ttVou optto0uI t om 1oIoIo xIumVo,
m ot JuVupIV optmV tEt1 out IV tIu
0uVtIV. (II. 67-75)

Now when they stood apart and were ready with their
gauntlets, straightway in front of their faces they raised
their heavy hands and matched their might in deadly
strife. Hereupon the Bebryeian kingeven as a fierce
wave of the sea rises in a crest against a swift ship, but
she by the skill of the crafty pilot just escapes the shock
when the billow is eager to break over the bulwarkso
he followed up the son of Tyndareus, trying to daunt
him, and gave him no respite.

Not only does Theocritus supply a verbal duel between the
combatants-to-be; he also allows more detailed treatment of the
actual physical clash (22,80-130) than does Apollonius (II. 67-97). The
Syracusan seems much more interested in setting forth a
painstakingly realistic account of every stage of the skirmish. His
narrative, moreover, is stripped bare of everything which might be
considered at all digressive, even imagery. Apollonius, by contrast,
crams his version with similes. In the space of thirty-odd verses count
at least four. The first (II. 70-76) may be diagrammed as follows:

Polydeuces: Amycus = Skillful Pilot: Threatening Wave

Whereas Apollonius shows Polydeuces to have kept escaping Amycus
initial onslaught through his own contrivance, much as a ship,
thanks to the expertise of its clever helmsman
(IptIq EuxIVoI o xuptpV1 po) (72), narrowly averts becoming swamped
in rough seas, Theocritus eschews any attempt at such analogies. He
simply attributes to Polydeuces directly the very quality which is

1
Williams (1991), 260, 264-267.

107
attributed to him indirectly by Apollonius. Theocritus hero, however,
employs his IptIq not to avert crushing blows, as is the intent of
Polydeuces in the Argonautica, but to trick his adversary into fighting
with the sun in his eyes (22, 85.) a stratagem which Apollonius never
even mentions.
1

Here Amycus is depicted as a wave (force and violence), Polydeuces
is the steersman who avoids it (skill): as Rose (125) reminds us,
Tiphys will soon twice (169-76, 580-87) maneuver Argo clear of huge
and dangerous waves, so that "the simile makes: Amycus into a
human counterpart to the natural peril of the Rocks".
2
"Even as a
fierce wave of the sea crests (xopuoot1uI) against a swift ship, but she
by the skill of the crafty helmsman just escapes the wave.." thus did
Amycus pursue Polydeuces, yet the latter through his skill kept him
running in vain (2.70). In the Iliad the Greeks storm into battle like a
wave which rises in a crest (xopuoot1uI) in the sea to break upon the
shore (Il. 4.422). By applying it to the blind fury of a fighting
barbarian, whose uoI succumbs to the superior 1tV of his
opponent, Apollonius lends the simile an anti-Homeric accent." The
elemental power of the bulls overcome by Jason is unavailing too.
They rage and breathe flames of fire, and their breath rises "like the
roar of blustering winds (pux1umV uVtmV), in fear of which the sailors
furl their large sail"; yet soon after they moved on in obedience
(3.1326 ff.). In Il. 15.624. Hektor falls upon the Greeks like a fierce
wave on a ship; the wind howls and the seamen tremble in fear.
3

Polydeuces boxing match with Amycus is another illustration of
triumphant skill. This event is the first episode after the abandonment
of Heracles, and it is a test to see how the Argonauts behave without
their experienced and mighty elder. The young men do survive, but
through skill rather than brute force (cf. 2.145-53). The scene as a
whole symbolizes the victory of civilization over barbarism, of
intelligence and skill over brawn. A black-and-white contrast is drawn
between Polydeuces and Amycus. The latter is insolent in his
challenge, the former righteously indignant (2.19-20). Polydeuces
wears a light-weight cloak given him as a present by one of the
Lemnian women (note the emphasis on hospitality and civilized
conventions), while Amycus wears a dark, double-folded robe with
clasps and carries a rough shepherds staff made of wild olive (2.30-
34). Amycus clothes and weapons are primitive and rustic, as are
those of Heracles. Amycus is likened to a son of Typhus, or a monster
begotten by Earth in anger at Zeus, whereas Polydeuces, the son of

1
Levin (1971), 140-141.
2
Green (1997), 234.
3
Rengakos, A. & T. D. Papahghelis (2001), 158-159.

108
Zeus, is like a heavenly star in his youthful beauty (2.38-42).
Polydeuces tests his skill before the match by swinging his arms,
while Amycus stands still, his heart swelling with bloodthirsty
thoughts (2.45-50). Amycus gauntlets are raw and harsh (2.53) just
like his character. Polydeuces quiet smile (2.61) reveals his innate
noble spirit and his intelligent self-confidence. The scene is thus
carefully built up as a confrontation of civilized skill against barbaric
force.
In the match itself, Amycus frontal attacks are parried by
Polydeuces cleverness. Amycus constantly attacks, not leaving his
opponent free for a moment, but Polydeuces remains unscathed,
escaping the assault "through his intelligence" (2.74-6). A parallel is
drawn between Polydeuces skill and that of a helmsman; Amycus is
like a wave rearing its crest above a ship, which just barely escapes
"through the knowledge of the skillful helmsman" (2.70-73). This
simile draws together Apollonius two chief examples of techn. For a
moment Polydeuces and Amycus are equally matched (2.85-9), but
the final scene shows skill and trickery vanquishing force (2.90-96).
Amycus rises on his toes (just as the wave in the simile rears its
menacing crest) and is about to land a blow on Polydeuces head. The
latter leans to the side and receives the blow on his shoulder instead.
Quick footwork then puts him in a position to deal a death blow to
Amycus temple. He escapes Amycus onslaught as the helmsman
does that of the wave.
1

There is a mention of shipbuilding occurs in the episode of the
boxing match when Polydeuces is said to baffle Amycus by his skill as
carpenters strike planks to fasten them with bolts (II.79-83). The
same interpretation of skill versus strength is valid here with
Polydeuces clearly the superior over the more wild, less civilized
Amycus.
2

The match as Apollonius tells it developed in three phases, marked
by three similes which serve to weight and point the rather cursory
narrative. At first Amycus rushed upon his opponent (with elemental
vehemence). As when a rough wave puts on a crest and dashes
against a swift ship, but the intelligent pilot manages to escape the
billow just as it is eager to break over the gunwale: even so (towering)
Amycus kept pursuing his (shorter) adversary (and, like the wave that
wants to jump the gunwale, tried to climb over his guard with high
blows), but Polydeuces dodged cleverly and was never hit (70-76).
It did not take Polydeuces long to size up the kings crude style and
to understand its strong and weak points. Soon he stood his ground,
and they both exchanged blows (76-78). The simile which illustrates
this second phase combines elements from three fields in which

1
Lawall (1966), 132-134.
2
Williams (1991), 264.
109
Apollonius was especially interested: nautical lore, mechanics, and
psychology. The noise of the boxing is likened to that to "lie heard in a
shipyard; and the hints which the text gives for a more precise
interpretation are inconspicuous but adequate:

m o1t VIu oupu 0ooI uV1Iou o oI
u Vtpt u IoupoI t EIpIV t IuoV1t
0tIVmoI oupqoIV, t E u IIq u IIo u 1uI
ouEo uV
.
m 1oI oI EupIu 1 u o1tpm0tV
xuI tVut x1uEtoV, ppu u Et1tIIt1 o oV1mV
uoEt1o ou tIIuV t EIo1uoV ou1u,oV1t
to1t Etp ouIooV uo0u xuI uo1tpou tuuootV.
(2.79-85)

And as when shipwrights with their hammers smite
ships timbers to meet the sharp clamps, fixing layer
upon layer; and the blows resound one after another; so
cheeks and jaws crashed on both sides, and a huge
clattering of teeth arose, nor did they cease ever from
striking their blows until laboured gasping overcame
both.

The pieces of which the curving ribs consist are being fitted together
in the yard, and the two edges which are to be joined have dowels
stuck into them (similar to teeth projecting from a jaw). As hammers
rhythmically pound the lumber from without, the dowels within are
forced into the edge of the other piece with a screeching sound: even
so did the blows of the boxers rhythmically thud on cheeks and chins
outside, and on the inside their teeth crunched. The mechanics,
involved are indeed very much alike in both cases, and the
sympathetic reader will also appreciate the excruciating pain of the
boxers as their teeth were smashed in.
1

The importance of 1I and 1tV in nautical matters is also
emphasized in a series of similes in the boxing match in book II:
1I at avoiding his boxing opponents tactics is likened to the skill of
a ships pilot escaping waves by 1I (2.75) as well as to the actual
building of a ship (2.79-82). Later we learn that Athena skillfully built
the Argo (1tV ou1o, 2. 1187). N 1I in the Argonautica thus seems to
be the plan produced by intellectual application; the 1I can be
carried out through 1tV, among other methods.
2



2- 262-269.


1
Frnkel (1952), 148-149.
2
Holmberg (1998), 138.
110
Phineus has transgressed Zeus will by revealing to mortals the gods
intentions explicitly and completely. He is punished for this
humanitarian act by a lengthy old age, blindness, and the harpies.
His situation stands as a warning to mortals and points up the need
for reverence (opis, cf. 2.181). Man must know his human limits and
not transgress on gods domain. The Boreads see this lesson in
Phineus predicament, and they refuse to pursue the harpies before
Phineus assures them that in so doing they will not incur divine
displeasure (2.248-53). Likewise, when in pursuit of the harpies, the
Boreads yield to Iris oath (2.295) and desist rather than transgressing
themis by slaying them (2.288-9). Phineus himself has now learned to
respect themis (2.311), and he gives the Argonauts an incomplete
prophecy, for such is the will of Zeus (2.313-16). Mans position in the
cosmic hierarchy is thus well defined. Piety and reverence must
restrain mans presumption and ambition. Any transgression of the
limits set by Zeus (i.e. themis) will be punished, but if man is piously
cautious he may work with Zeus in fulfilling Zeus plans, as do the
Boreads in driving away the harpies and ending Phineus punishment.
The plans of Zeus cannot be known fully by man beforehand, but
seers can reveal them partially, thus putting man on the right path
without making him equal to the gods or depriving him of freedom of
will or choice.
1


Jm tV t EtI0 o pxq, xuI u IuIxttVuI tVt uIVoV
uIyu t xoupo1tpoI EtEoVu1o uI 1u tpoV1I,
IoIo0IoV ApEuIqoIV tIm pIoV t u0I u m
o1ouV, I Vu IttooIV t EtooutVu tIuotIuV.
xuI 1u Epm1Io0 o tpmV t yuutV t m ,
uI uup, u1 utIIuI u tuxtt o1tpoEuI m,
uEpou1oI VttmV tuItVuI tootuoV1o
xIuq uImmouI t1uo. oI toIoV1t
pmt toou u VIuoV
.
(II. 262-269).

Then were those two eager to help him because of the
oath. And quickly the younger heroes prepared a feast
for the aged man, a last prey for the Harpies; and both
stood near him, to smite with the sword those pests
when they swooped down. Scarcely had the aged man
touched the food when they forthwith, like bitter blasts
or flashes of lightning, suddenly darted from the clouds,
and swooped down with a yell, fiercely craving for food;
and the heroes beheld them and shouted in the midst of
their onrush;

The Harpies seem to have had elements in them ab initio of both
bird and wind: so Hesiod Theog. 268-69. The wind notion is still there

1
Lawall (1966), 144.

111
in Apolloniuss version (e.g., at 267), but their main inspiration is
clearly avian: in particular the scavenging kites and vultures so
common in antiquity (and still a regular feature of rural life in India,
where their knack of diving on, and carrying off, exposed food is
distinctly Harpylike: cf. Green 1993, 785 n. 42). Later literary texts
present them as birds with womens heads, their faces pallid from
hunger, their hands ending in long claws: Virg. Aen. 3.210-18, cf.
OvidFast. 6.131-34, Hygin.Fab. 14. In the visual arts, however, they
were regularly represented as winged humans, with only the most
occasional hint at that birdlike form so commonly conceded to the
Sirens (cf. 4.891 ff. and n. on 893-99). LIMC, 4.1 (1988), 446-50, and
4.2 266-71, s.v. "Harpyiai", with figs. 1-30, provides a convenient
conspectus of the iconography. Odd or monstrous winged creatures
abound in this poem: in addition to Harpies and Sirens, we have the
murderous birds of Ares, which use their quills as missiles (2.1030-
89), not to mention die enormous eagle with pinions like banks of
polished oars (2.1247-59).


The Third Book:

1- 1293-1295.

uu 1up o 1ouot
tu Iupu tEIoV1u u 1t oEIIu tIV u II Et1p
IVtV u EtIptoIqoI oVtu tVu xuu1 utIIuI
(III.1293-1295)

But Jason, setting wide his feet, withstood their onset,
as in the sea a rocky reef withstands the waves tossed
by the countless blasts.

The model for this simile is Homer Il. 15.618-21, of the Greek line
holding firm against a Trojan attack. Apollonius has adapted the rock
to symbolize an individual rather than the collective (Hunter 1989,
242), and has given the sea image an extra twist by using it to evoke
the fierceness of bulls (themselves closely associated with the sea god,
Poseidon).
1







1
Green (1997), 237, 288.
112
The Forth Book:

1- 149-155.

tIEt1o AIooVI, EtoptVo uu1up o
oIq 0tIo tVo oIIV uVtIut1 uxuV0uV
tVto oEtIp, xuVt t upIu xuxIu,
oIoV o1t pIpoIoI xuIIVotVoV EtIutooIV
xuu t IuV xmoV 1t xuI uppooV uIIu xuI tE
u you otpuIt V xtuIV tVtuIVtV u tIpu
u o1tpou o Ioq oI EtpIE1uuI tVutooIV.
(IV.149-155)

And Aesons son followed in fear, but the serpent,
already charmed by her song, was relaxing the long
ridge of his giant spine, and lengthening out his myriad
coils, like a dark wave, dumb and noiseless, rolling over
a sluggish sea; but still he raised aloft his grisly head,
eager to enclose them both in his murderous jaws.

Thus Apollonius invokes the extreme Iliadic fear in his description of
the horror caused by the monstrous guard of the fleece. When the
monster is gradually being put to sleep by Medea it is compared to
soundless sea-waves (4. 152-153); this simile is not only an imitation
of II. 14. 16-2217) but it can also be conceived as an inversion of the
Homeric similes where the sea roars (cf. II. 2. 209-210 and 394-397,
14. 394-395, 17. 263-266).
1



2- 212-215.

I AI 1q u EtpVopI Eu oI 1t oIoI
NtI EtpIEuo1o t pm xuI tp t1t1ux1o
t u op V utpoV1 t VI 1tutoIV, ooou t EoV1ou
xuu1u tItpIoIo xopuoot1uI t u VtoIo
(IV.212-215)

By this time Medeas love and deeds had become known
to haughty Aeetes and to all the Colchians. And they
thronged to the assembly in arms; and countless as the
waves of the stormy sea when they rise crested by the
wind.

Both similes go back to Homer: see, e.g., Il. 2.144-49, 468, 800;
4.422-24; 6.146-48; Od. 9.51. As Livrea says (74), both are set in
motion by the violence of the wind, which well conveys the mass fury
of the Kolchian army.

1
Kouromenos (1996), 238.
113


3- 930-938.

In the Iux1uI adventure Apollonius uses only two hll from Iliadic
similes, u tIoV (Arg. 4.934 / Il. 16.160) and u 0u pm (Arg. 4.950 / Il.
15.364). The context of both similes is violent but Apollonius places
the hll in similes entirely different from their original ones. This lack
of correspondence is remarkable and can hardly be attributed solely
to a desire for an unusual effect. The Nereids
1
have to struggle like
Iliadic warriors but delightful femininity and the gracious poise of
their aquatic movements spill over and transform the grim
connotations of the original into light, colored and playful motion. In
Il. 16.155-167 the Myrmidons marshal around Achilles like a pack of
wolves who, blood smeared from their fresh kill, set off u tIoV from a
small spring. In Arg. 4.933-938 the Nereids surround Argo like a herd
of dolphins who play utIoV around a ship to the delight of the on
looking sailors, the only oblique reference to the Argonauts in this
scene (Arg. 4.933-936). The Homeric and the Apollonian similes that
share u 0u pm are considerably closer to each other since the verb
occurs in both for games at the beach: m o1t 1I yuu0oV EuI uI
0uIuoo, / o 1 t EtI ou V EoI oq u 0upu1u VEIt qoIV/ u y uu 1IouVt tut
EooIV xuI tpoIV u0upmV. (Il. 15362-364) m o1 u0otV1o t EIotoV

1
The Nereids are the children of two marine deities: Doris, the daughter of Oceanus,
and Nereus, the son of Pontus (Theogony 240-242). Nereus is, however, not merely a
water god, but he is described as u ytu and uI0 (Theogony 233); he possesses
the same sort of powers of truthfulness and memory as the Muses and their mother.
That the Nereids inherited these intellectual powers, and not merely the marine
aspect of their parents, is clear from some of their names, which contain the same
root as Vou , "mind": poVo, ouIuVo, Au1oVo (Theogony 161, 194, 258). 36
Similarly, the names ^tIuop and Iu uop (Theogony 257) imply a facility for
speaking (uopt m), and so in this, too, the Nereids resemble the Muses. Those
members of Apollonius audience especially well versed in Hesiod would recall that
one of the Nereids is named "Erato" (Theogony 246), homonymous with the only
Muse Apollonius invokes by name. Another way the Nereids and Muses are
connected is that they appeared together in the Trojan Cycle, when both came to
mourn the dead Achilles: NououI t 0om IIIxmVu IIEououI / Iu0oV u Io u Iuo1oV
tVI o1tpVoIoIV tououI, / u pVutVuI 1IV t IIxm EII pIVq. This comes from the late
epic poet Quintus Smyrnaeus (3.594-596), but we know from Proclus summary
that the Muses and Nereids also joined in lamentation in a cyclic poem, the
Aeihiopis. The Nereids, like the Muses, act as guides for the mortals they take
under their care. While the Muses are invoked by poets for help in completing their
poetic journey, numerous literary references show that the Nereids were often
invoked to help seafarers achieve a safe voyage (Sappho 5; Euripides Helen 1584-
1587; Herodotus 7.191; Orphic Hymn 74; Anthologia Palatina 6.349).39 The role the
Nereids play in the Argonautica, guiding the Argo through the wandering rocks, is
traditional. Albis (1996), 106-107

114
uI IuIoIo Eup0tVIxuI, Iu xo IEoV t E I uu tIIIuouI, ouIpq u 0upou
oIV EtpIt I (Argo. 4.948-950). Nevertheless, the similarity stops here.
In the Iliad Apollos ruthless leveling of the Greek wall is likened to a
boys playful destruction of his sand-castle, whereas in the
Argonautica the Nereids who toss Argo back and forth are compared
to young girls who play ball at the beach. Connotations of
ruthlessness and lack of concern are manifestly present in the
unusually bold Homeric simile, since Apollos destructive force
furnishes a chilly background to the boys play and the little boy
coolly exerts a wanton destructive power similar in its ease to that of
the god Apollo: both Apollo and the boy are all-powerful and distant in
their might. They destroy at whim and not even their own effort is of
concern to them as they lightheartedly trample everything underfoot.
Apollonius simile has no such connotations for a variety of reasons.
First of all, the hl apart, the chief Homeric model for this simile was
obviously Nausikaas play at the beach with her maids, the incident
which led to Odysseus safe return to Ithaca. The graceful suavity of
the Odyssean scene imbues Apollonius simile which, moreover, is not
as "exact" as Homers. Although Apollo and the boy are obviously very
different from each other, their actions are markedly comparable and,
since Apollo was an unshorn boy-god, the association becomes closer
and easier. The Nereids, on the other hand, are clearly not playing.
Although Apollonius compares them to young girls at play, he stresses
that their task was difficult (Arg. 4.961-963). The connection is a loose
analogy provided by Apollonius in order to highlight the unusual
situation at hand. The Nereids struggle like warriors but they are
young girls who have to perform a demanding non-martial task. The
striving divinities keep the ship away from the rocks but they are
compared to maidens amusing themselves with the ball.
1


tV0u oIV xoupuI pIt uIIo0tV uIIuI
V1toV, o EI0t E1tpuo 0It EuIIoIo
Iu t1I, Iux1qoIV tVI oEIIutooIV tpuo0uI.
m oEo1uV tIIVt uEt uIo tuIomV1t
oEtpotVV u tIoV tIIoomV1uI EtpI Vu,
uIIo1t tV EpoEupoI0tV opmtVoI uIIo1 oEIo0tV
u IIo1t EuppoIuV, Vuu1qoI t upu 1t1ux1uI
.

m uI uEtxEpo0tououI tE1pIoI tIIIoooV1o
Apq q EtpI VI t 1I I0uVt xtItu0oV.
(IV.930-938)

Hereupon on this side and on that the daughters of
Nereus met them; and behind, lady Thetis set her hand
to the rudder-blade, to guide them amid the Wandering
rocks. And as when in fair weather herds of dolphins
come up from the depths and sport in circles round a

1
Kyriakou (1995), 29-31.
115
ship as it speeds along, now seen in front, now behind,
now again at the side and delight comes to the sailors;
so the Nereids darted upward and circled in their ranks
round the ship Argo, while Thetis guided its course.
(IV.930-938)

This image of seaborne Nereids was later borrowed by Virgil, Aen.
10.219 ff. The dolphin simile was popular in Hellenistic poetry (for a
collection of parallels, at the same time, it is perhaps worth
mentioning that the scene here described was, and indeed still is, a
common one in the Aigaian and Mediterranean: the ferry (for instance)
from Peiraieus to Mytilene, as I can testify, regularly collects a dolphin
escort in the early morning, on the run between Chios and Lesbos.
1

































1
Green (1997), 301, 330
116
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