Argonautica IV 1535-1594

Intervention of Triton

The Argonauts struggle to find the way out of Lake Triton. Orpheus promises the local gods an offering of Apollo’s tripod, if they give assistance. This leads to an encounter with Triton himself who offers them a clod of earth as a guest gift. The god gives them directions about reaching the open sea. After he vanishes into the lake, they sacrifice to him in thanks.

1537  ἔβαν: “had gone (on board).”

1537-8: πρήσσοντος ἀήτεω . . . νοτίοιο: “blowing.” The wind is up! A South Wind to take them in the direction of Greece. A. seems to use πρήσοντα, πρήσοντος as pres. part., 4.819, 1537.

1538  ἀπετεκμαίροντο: “were trying to discover,” possibly even “failed to discover.”

1539: λίμνης ἐκπρομολεῖν Τριτωνίδος: the Argonauts are trying to find the way out of Lake Triton.

1540  ἀφραδέως: “aimlessly.” At the moment, in spite of divine riddles and encounters, the Argonauts are truly ἀμηχάνοι. While the content of simile that A. introduces to describe this wandering is not out of place - we are, after all, in a land of snakes - the way in which it is applied to the narrative is unexpected and effective.

1541  εἱλιγμένος: perf. part. masc. nom. sg. (ionic) < ἑλίσσω: “writhing.” σκολιὴν . . . ἔρχεται οἶμον: “goes along its twisted way.”

1542  εὖτέ μιν: ‘when . . . it,” referring to the snake.

1543  ῥοίζῳ: “with a hiss,” recalling the serpent that guarded the Golden Fleece in Colchis: 4.138. ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα κάρη στρέφει: the motion is typically snake-like and epitomises the total confusion of the heroes. ἐν δέ οἱ ὄσσε: “and its eyes”. . . In Homeric Epic eyes can be full of fire (or tears); see 16-17n. The fierce snake is likened to an Iliadic warrior (Il. 19.16).

1544  σπινθαρύγεσσι πυρός: “sparks of fire.” σπινθαρίς (=σπινθήρ) is a rare word. ἐναλίγκια μαιμώοντι: “like to one raging.” μαιμώοντιagrees with οἱ.

1545  λάμπεται: singular verb with a neut. plur. subject. ὄφρα: usually “until”, but here perhaps a purpose clause dependent on μαιμώοντι, “in its furious eagerness to slip into . . .”

1546  ὣς Ἀργώ: leaving the comparison of the Argo to an angry snake and returning to the main narration. στόμα ναύπορον: “a navigable channel.” ναύπορος is A.’s equivalent of the more usual ναυσίπορος (see 282-3n.).

1547  ἀμφεπόλει δηναιὸν ἐπὶ χρόνον: “roamed about for a long time” (LSJ ἀμφιπολεύω A.4). 

1547  αὐτίκα δ᾿ Ὀρφεύς: as often, in times of uncertainty, one of the Argonauts makes a decisive intervention. This time, it is Orpheus.

1548  κέκλετ(ο): “called upon (the rest of the Argonauts).” In typical elegant fashion, the verb and its dependent infinitive (θέσθαι) enclose the substance of Orpheus’ instruction. 

1548-9  Ἀπόλλωνος τρίποδα μέγαν: “the great tripod of Apollo” see further 529n. ἔκτοθι νηός: “outside the ship.” They are going to land on the shore of the lake (ἔκτοθι νηὸς) and ask for divine intervention (δαίμοσιν ἐγγενέταις). For μείλια see 1190n.

1550  καὶ τοὶ μέν: i.e. the Argonauts. Φοίβου κτέρας: “the gift of Apollo.” ἵδρυον ἐν χθονὶ: they set the tripod up on dry land; see further 529n.

1551  Such encounters are familiar in epic. αἰζηῷ ἐναλίγκιος: “in the guise of a youngman”; Od. 10.277-9, Pindar P. 21, 28-9. ἀντιβολέω is the word used when Odysseus encounters Hermes (see link).

1552  Τρίτων εὐρυβίης: “wide-ruling Triton”: Hes. Th. 931. γαίης δ᾿ ἀνὰ βῶλον ἀείρας: “picked up a clod of earth.” On the significance of the clod of earth for the Greek colonization of North Africa, see further Acosta-Hughes and Stephens 2012:156, Green 1997, note on 1547-61.

1553  ξείνι᾿ ἀριστήεσσι: the clod of earth is a guest gift, welcoming the Argonauts.

1554  δέχθε: plur. imperative < δέχομαι.

1554-5  ἐπεὶ οὐ περιώσιον . . . ἀντομένοισιν: “since I do not have”, (lit. there is not here by me πάρ᾿ ἐμοὶ) . . . “here and now an outstanding (περιώσιον) gift to grant (ἐγγυαλίξαι) to my visitors (ἀντομένοισιν).

1556  τι  “in some way”, used adverbially to stress the Argonauts’ uncertainty and lack of knowledge. πόροι ἁλός are the paths of the sea, i.e. the sea, (Od. 12.259). , οἷά τε πολλά: a typical epic generalisation: Od. 9.128-9.

1557  ἐπ᾿ ἀλλοδαπῇ περόωντες: “passing through a strange land.”

1558  ἐξερέω: “I will tell you.” The Argonauts have encountered a propitious deity. ἐπιίστορα πόντου: “knowledgeable about this sea.” με πατὴρ . . . θῆκε Ποσειδάων τοῦδ᾿ ἔμμεναι: “my father Poseidon . . . has made (θῆκε) me to be (ἔμμεναι) . . .of this (τοῦδ᾿) sea (πόντου).

1559-60  ἀνάσσω / παρραλίης: “I am the ruler of this shore.” εἰ δή τιν᾿ ἀκούετε: “you may have heard of me”. . . Triton decides to assume a disguise and closes with a solemn four-word hexameter to announce himself.

1561  Εὐρύπυλον: Eurypylus was perhaps either the first or an early King of Cyrene.

1562  ὑποέσχεθε: “held out his hands for the clod.” This is an emendation for transmitted ὑπερέσχεθε, which would give the less appropriate meaning: “held his hands under . . .”

1563  Εὔφημος: will play an important role in the closing stage of Book 4. παραβλήδην: A. generally uses this word to mean “in answer” (LSJ s.v.).

1564  Ἀπίδα: “the Peloponnese.” This rather than Ἀτθίδα, the transmitted text. πέλαγος Μινώιον: “the Minoan Sea, named after King Minos of Crete. εἴ νύ που: “by chance,” marking a polite enquiry.

1565  ἔνισπε: aor. imper. < ἐνέπω.

1566  οὐκ ἐθέλοντες ἱκάνομεν: the Argonauts are unwilling visitors to Libya.

1566-7  βορείαις . . . θυέλλαις: “heavy storms.” Adjective and noun enclose the participial (χρίμψαντες) phrase. γαίης ἐνὶ πείρασιτῆσδε: “within the borders of this land.” The phrase exhibits the same elegant arrangement.

1568  νῆα μεταχρονίην: See 1385n. “our ship aloft.” Euphemus updates Triton on the Argonauts’ Libyan experiences.

1568-9  ἐς τόδε λίμνης / χεῦμα: “to the waters of this lake,” (LSJ for similar phrases).

1570  πῇ πλόος ἐξανέχει: “where passage extends (ἐξανέχει) to the land of Pelops.” It is difficult to decide between this and the alternative ἐξανάγει. Hunter ad loc. mentions Hdt. 4.179.2 where ἐξαγωγή is similarly used.

1571  δεῖξε δʼ ἄπωθεν: “showed in the distance.”

1572  ἀγχιβαθὲς στόμα λίμνης: “the deep mouth of the lake.” ἀγχιβαθὲς: Α. may be alluding to the situation at Od. 5.413 where Odysseus seeks a way out of the sea, rather than a way into, as is the case with the Argonauts.

1573  κείνη: “that is . . . “As the unusual introduction to the speech shows, emphasising gesture rather than words, Triton is pointing the way. πόντοιο διήλυσις: “outlet to the sea.”

1574  μελανεῖ: the sea also grows black at Il. 7.63-4.

1575-6  φρίσσουσι: “ripple,” another detail from the Iliadic simile (see link above). ῥηγμῖνες . . . διαυγέες: “the gleaming breakers ripple.” The Argonauts are to navigate the narrow passage (στεινὴ . . . ὁδὸς between). ἐκτὸς ἐλάσσαι: the infinitive depends loosely on στεινὴ . . . ὁδὸς: “(narrow) for you to row outside.”

1577-8  “there the sea stretches (εἰσανέχει πέλαγος) in mist (ὑπηέριον) to the divine land of Pelops (θείην Πελοπηίδα γαῖαν) beyond Crete (Κρήτης ὕπερ).

1578-9: ἀλλ᾿ ἐπὶ χειρὸς / δεξιτερῆς: “but keep to the right.”

1579: λίμνηθεν . . . βάλητε: ‘when you exit from the lake into the swell of the sea (εἰς ἁλὸς οἶδμα).”

1580-1 τόφρ᾿ . . . ἔστ᾿: co-ordinating the two parts of Triton’s directions: “as long as (ἔστ’) . . . the while . . . “Triton is instructing the Argonauts to hug the coast (παρὰ χέρσον ἐεργμένοι), until they have to set a course in to the open sea.

1581-2  περιρρήδην . . . χέρσοιο: genitive absolute: the land turning (κλινομένης χέρσοιο) in a curve (περιρρήδην) in the other direction (ἑτέρωσε), in other words, when the coastline drops away towards the South (see map In Media).

1582-3  τότε . . . ἰοῦσιν: “then your voyage safely stretches out (τετάνυσται) for you from the projecting headland.” τετάνυσται (owed to Brunck who deleted ἰθύς from the transmitted text) :perf. .ind. 3^rd. sg. < τανύω is supported by Od. 9.116.

1584  ἀλλ᾿ ἴτε γηθόσυνοι: “Go joyfully!” or “A happy voyage then!”

1584-5  “let there be (γιγνέσθω) no toilsome pain (so as to) weary limbs resplendent (κεκασμένα γυῖα) with youth (νεότητι).” A. is fond of loosely attached infinitives like μογῆσαι.

1586  ἴσκεν ἐυφρονέων: “he spoke in encouraging fashion.” The Alexandrian use of ἴσκεν as an equivalent of ἔλεγε is based on an ancient critical discussion of Od. 22.31 ἴσκεν ἕκαστος ἀνήρ (410n.).

1587  the Argonauts are eager (λελιημένοι) to be on their way (λίμνης ἐκπρομολεῖν), even though it requires hard work at the oars (εἰρεσίῃσιν).

1589  ἀνθέμενος τρίποδα μέγαν: “gathering up the great tripod”; (189n.). εἴσατο: “seemed.”

1590 μετὰ δ᾿ οὔ τις ἐσέδρακεν: “no one saw him after this.” οἷον: “seeing that,” both exclaiming, and explaining (Smyth 2685).

1591  ῑάνθη: aor. ind. pass. 3^rd. sg. < ἰαίνω.

1592  the Argonauts feel that they have had a favourable (ἐναίσιμος) encounter with the divine (μακάρων τις).

1593  μήλων ὅ τι φέρτατον ἄλλων: selecting the perfect specimen for the sacrifice to the god. For the superlative (φέρτατον) with ἄλλος, Smyth 1434.

1594  ἐπευφημῆσαι: “to say prayers (over the sacrifice).” ἑλόντα: aor. part. act. masc. acc. sg. <αἱρέω, presumably taking the victim and holding it out to the god.

1595  ἐσσυμένως ἐκρίνατο: “quickly picked out the victim.”

1596  σφάξε κατὰ πρύμνης: “he slaughtered it over the stern.” ἐπὶ δ᾿ ἔννεπεν εὐχωλῇσιν: “and in addition, spoke in prayer.”

1597  δαῖμον: “O god!”, recognising that their recent encounter was divine. φαάνθης: aor. ind. pass. 3^rd. pl. (epic) < φαίνω, “appeared, made manifest.”

1598  εἴτε: as often in such prayers, alternative forms of address are mentioned. ἅλιον τέρας: “sea-wonder.” Φόρκυν: Phorcys, the brother of Nereus. ἁλοσύδναι: “children of the sea,” used of Thetis at Il. 20.207.

1600  ἵλαθι: “be gracious,” pres. imperat. act. 2^nd. sg. (doric) <ἵλημι. The remainder of the line = 1.249.

Bibliography:

Acosta-Hughes, B., and S. and Stephens. 2012. Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets. Cambridge and New York.

Green, P. 1997. The Argonautika by Apollonios Rhodios Translated with Introduction, Commentary and Glossary. Berkeley.