near the Erginus River on a crag
called “Rock of Sarpedon” today—that’s where
he blanketed the maiden in a mist
and ravished her.
310Their sons arrived on flapping,
dusky wings that grew out of their ankles
(a wonder to behold)—those golden scales,
those feathers shimmering. The jet-black braids
that sprouted from their heads and tumbled down
315 (223)across their backs kept swaying in the wind.
Even Acastus—yes, the very son
of stubborn Pelias!—refused to miss out
by staying safely in his father’s palace.
Argus, the shipwright of Athena, too.
320Both of them claimed their places on the roster.
Such were the men who rallied to assist
the son of Aeson. People took to calling
these heroes “Minyans,” since most of them
(and many of the stronger fighters) claimed
325descent from Minyas’ daughters. Jason
was Minyan himself: Alcimede
his mother was the daughter of Clymena,
and she, in turn, was Minyas’ daughter.
After the slaves had placed those goods aboard
330 (235)that ships require when business forces men
to sail abroad, the heroes strode through town
to where the Argo stood upon a shorefront
known as Magnesian Pagasae. Though crowds
of giddy citizens had gathered round them,
335the heroes shone like starlight between clouds.
The men who watched them marching under arms
stood wonderstruck and muttered to each other:
“King Zeus above! what’s Pelias’ plan?
To what wild tract outside Achaean lands
340has he dispatched this large brigade of heroes?
Well, let’s assume they’re sailing to Aeëtes.
Even if he refuses them the fleece,
they could destroy his palace with consuming
fire in a single day. But, ah, the voyage—
345 (246)that’s the hard thing, not to be avoided,
a chore impossible to all who try.”
Thus were the townsmen talking, while the women
raised their hands and asked that heaven grant
a heartwarming conclusion to the voyage.
350Tears flowed as they lamented to each other:
“Poor Alcimede, anxiety
has come to you as well, however late.
No, you have not concluded life in splendor.
And Aeson, too—he’s terribly unlucky.
355The honest truth is it would have been better
if he had wound up shrouded long ago
and stowed in earth and so remained unwitting
of this atrocious quest. I wish the waves
had swallowed, darkly, Phrixus and the ram
360 (256)along with that girl Helle when she drowned.
That baneful beast spoke with a human voice
only to cause Alcimede distress
and countless sorrows in the days to come.”
So they commiserated as the heroes
marched to the launch.
365At Jason’s home a crowd
of serving men and women had assembled.
When his mother poured her arms around him,
poignant grief pierced every woman’s bosom.
Aeson was lying on a cot, wrapped up
370in shawls because of his decrepit age,
groaning among the women.
After Jason
had done his best to soften their distress,
he bade the slaves collect his battle gear.
They heeded the command in perfect silence,
375 (268)eyes averted. But Alcimede,
who had embraced him when he first appeared,
refused to let him go, and only sobbed
with greater violence.
As a lonely maiden
clings desperately to a gray-haired nurse,
380her last remaining friend, and weeps because
she lives a heavy life without protectors,
only a stepmother who so assails her
with fickle insults and relentless scorn
that she cannot stop weeping, and her heart
385is bound and gagged by all this misery,
and she cannot sob out the countless sorrows
that throb within her, so Alcimede
was weeping, weeping, and she couldn’t stop.
Squeezing her son, she wailed in despair:
390 (278)“I wish that on the day when I first heard
Pelias, much to my dismay, pronounce
his cruel commandment, I had left off living
and blacked out all my woes. Then, oh, my son,
you could have buried me with your own hands.
395That was the sole remaining expectation
I had of you, since I had long enjoyed
all other joys of motherhood. Though once
the envy of Achaean woman, I
shall now be left here like a slave to tend
400an empty palace, withering away
with missing you, the son because of whom
I had such fame and glory in the past.
For you alone, my first and last, I loosened
my bridal sash. The goddess Eileithuia
405 (289)begrudged me many children. Ah! not ever,
not even in my dreams, did I imagine
that Phrixus’ escape would prove my ruin.”
So, sobbing, she exclaimed and heaved a groan,
and all her handmaids wailed in turn, but Jason
soothed her with sympathetic words:
410“Please, Mother,
don’t lay such bitter pains upon yourself,
since you will not drive off distress with tears
and may well end up heaping further sorrow
upon your sorrows. Sudden are the woes
415the gods allot to mortals. Strive to bear
your portion of them, though it pains your heart.
Take courage from Athena’s covenants,
from oracles (since Phoebus has delivered
highly favorable prophecies),
420 (303)and from the strength of heroes. Now stay calmly
here among your handmaids. Don’t become
a bird of dire omen for the ship.
My friends and slaves will walk me to the shore.”
So he proclaimed and set out from his home
425to make the quest. Think of Apollo striding
out of a fragrant temple and parading
through holy Delos or through Claros, Pytho,
or level Lycia along the Xanthus—
that is how Jason strutted through the crowd.
430The townsfolk with a single voice let out
a cheer, and venerable Iphias,
priestess of Artemis the Town Protectress,
came shuffling up to him and kissed his hand.
Try as she might, she never got a word in
435 (310)because the crowd kept pressing close around him,
and she was left behind them on the roadside,
an old woman abandoned by the young,
and there was Jason shrinking in the distance.
And so he left the well-paved streets of Iolcus
440and came down to the beach at Pagasae,
and all the heroes waiting there for him
beside the Argo welcomed his arrival.
He stopped above the launch, and they assembled
opposite. Soon they glimpsed two men together—
445Argus! Acastus!—marching from the city.
Everyone was amazed to see them coming
in spite of Pelias’ orders. Argus,
Arestor’s son, had thrown around his shoulders
a rough dun-colored ox hide that was flowing<
br />
450 (325)down to his feet; Acastus, an exquisite,
two-layered cloak his sister Pelopeia
had given him. For all of his excitement,
Jason restrained himself from asking questions
and called for order, and the men sat down
455upon the furled sails and level mast,
and he proposed the course he thought most prudent:
“All the gear a ship requires for travel
has now been snugly stowed, and there’s no reason
for more delay. We will be setting forth
460soon as the proper winds are blowing. Comrades,
because our journey homeward will be shared,
and shared our voyage to Aeëtes’ realm,
choose freely, now, and without prejudice
who in the crew you wish to be your leader—
465 (339)some man to manage details and engage in
wars and alliances with foreigners.”
So he submitted, and the young men swiveled
their eyes and stared at mighty Heracles
sitting among them, and they all insisted
470he lead the quest. He stayed right where he sat, though,
held his right palm out, and said in answer:
“No, no, let no one offer me this honor.
I won’t accept. What’s more, I will prevent
the rest of you from standing for the job.
475The man who called us here should lead our party.”
Such were his mighty words, and all the heroes
assented with a single voice because
Heracles was the one who had proposed it.
The son of Aeson jumped up and addressed
his eager comrades:
480 (351)“Men, if you have truly
entrusted this position to my care,
let nothing more delay our expedition.
Come, let us first propitiate Apollo
with sacrifices, then at once prepare
485a feast. While we are waiting for the servants
who oversee my cattle stalls to drive
the largest of them here, let’s drag the Argo
down to the sea, stow all the gear aboard her,
and settle which of us will take which bench
490by drawing lots. We also should construct
a seaside shrine in honor of Apollo,
the God of Embarkation, since it was
his oracle that vowed to send me signs
and teach me all the highways of the sea,
495 (362)so long as I began my expedition
by giving sacrifices in his name.”
So he proposed and was the first to take up
the tasks at hand. The others duly rose,
stripped off their clothes, and laid them, piece by piece,
500above the surf upon a flat smooth stone
sea storms had long since scoured clean.
First off,
with Argus in the background shouting orders,
the heroes ran a triple-braided cable
snugly around the ship and pulled it taut
505from either end so that the bolts would stick
faithfully in the planking and withstand
whatever violence the sea swell sent them.
Next, they industriously dug a trench
wide enough to receive the vessel’s keel
510 (373)the whole way down into the sea (that is,
the total breadth of beach the ship would travel
pulled by their hands). As they approached the surf
they dug the channel deeper than was needed
to house the keel, inserted polished rollers
515into the extra space, and tipped the vessel
onto the rollers so that she would coast
oceanward while gliding over them.
Next, they reversed the oars that stuck out starboard
and port so that the blades were on the inside
520and handles sticking out a cubit’s length.
After the stems were fastened to the oarlocks,
they stood on either side between the oars,
their hands and torsos pressed against the hull.
Tiphys had climbed on deck to tell the crew
525 (382)when it was time to push. He bellowed hugely—
that was the signal. One concerted heave,
and they had loosed the vessel from the props,
feet dancing as they pushed and pulled it seaward.
Pelian Argo followed in a rush,
530the men on each side boisterously shouting
as they were swept up in its course. The rollers
squealed as the sturdy keel scraped over them.
Friction and torsion sent up coils of smoke.
After the ship had rolled into the surf,
535they yanked landward upon the lines to check
its forward motion. Then they snapped the oar pins
into the holes, locked them, and lugged aboard
the mast, the well-sewn sails, and all the gear.
Once they had scurried back and forth and seen
540 (395)to each detail, they turned to divvying
the benches up by lot, two men per bench.
Straight off, though, separate from the lottery,
they gave the center bench to Heracles
to work beside Ancaeus the Tegean.
545After the berths were set, they gladly handed
Tiphys the tiller of the well-keeled Argo.
Then they heaped some stones up on the beach
to make a seaside altar for Apollo
God of the Beachfront, God of Embarkation.
550Dried olive boughs were quickly laid upon it.
Meanwhile, Jason’s herdsmen had selected
two bulls out of the herd and led them back.
Some younger heroes tugged them toward the altar,
others lugged in grain and lustral water,
555 (409)and Jason duly summoned with a hymn
Phoebus Apollo, his ancestral god:
“Hear me, O lord, O power who inhabit
Pagasae and Aesonia, the city
that bears my father’s name. When I came seeking
560a prophecy at Pytho, you assured me
you would reveal the methods of success
and all the courses of my quest, since you
were equal partner in this enterprise.
Therefore, I ask you please to guide our vessel
565there and back again to Greece; please keep
my crew alive and healthy. Afterward,
to do you honor, I shall once again
heap up this altar with the sacrifice
of just so many bulls as men of mine
570 (418)have safely made the journey. Furthermore,
I shall deliver countless other gifts
to Pytho and Ortygia.
Far shooter,
come to us now; accept these sacrifices,
the first of many, that we offer asking
575for an auspicious boarding of our ship.
Lord, when I loose the hawsers, may I find
a future free of harm, and all because
of your assistance. May the gale be gentle,
the weather always favorable for sailing
580as we pursue our quest across the sea.”
So he intoned and tossed the barley offering.
Heracles, then, and proud Ancaeus stepped up
to slay the bulls. Heracles with his club
struck one of them dead center on the brow.
585 (429)It lay there in a heap, all crumpled up.
Ancaeus with a bronze ax hacked the other,
chopped clean on through the strained and stubborn sinew
that stuck out of its neck. It toppled forward
onto its horns. The other heroes all
590jumped in and slit the throats, stripped off the hides,
and made
the cuts. While divvying the portions,
they set aside the sacred thighbones, wrapped them
snugly in fat, and roasted them on spits,
and Jason poured a gift of unmixed wine
595into the fire. Idmon was delighted
to see the blaze enkindling the bones
and favorable coils of thick black smoke
ascending. He divulged Apollo’s will
straight off with perfect clarity:
“The gods
600 (440)by harbinger and oracle have promised
you shall return here with the fleece in hand
despite the countless labors that await you
on both the outward and the homeward journey.
The gods have also specified that I
605must perish somewhere on the Asian mainland
far from home. Although I learned my fate
some time ago from inauspicious bird signs,
I left my homeland, all the same, to join
the quest and win a name that would survive me
among my people.”
610So the seer spoke
and, when the heroes heard the prophecy,
they reveled in the news of their return
even as they succumbed to grief at learning
of Idmon’s doom.
Already at the hour
615 (450)when sunlight starts to slant toward evening
and mountain ridges fill the fields with shadows,
the men had heaped up leaf beds on the beach
and lay there side by side above the surf.
Abundant food was waiting near at hand,
620and, as the stewards poured them unmixed wine
from jugs, they told each other different stories,
the sort that young men tell to give amusement
over a meal or at a drinking party
when insult and offense are far away.
625Jason, however, like a man in sorrow,
minutely scrutinized within himself
all that might leave him feeling still more helpless.
Idas leered at him awhile, then ribbed him
in an obnoxious voice:
“Jason, what plan
630 (464)is spinning in your mind? Come now and share
what you are thinking. Has dismay, the monster
that panics cowards, shambled up and mauled you?
I’ll swear an oath and wager as a pledge
the spear with which, above all other heroes,
635I win renown in combat (no, not even
Zeus backs me up as well as my own spear):
no trouble you encounter will be fatal,
Jason and the Argonauts (Penguin Classics) Page 4