Argonautica IV 883-979

The Sirens:

Thetis does not tell Peleus about the Sirens at all, allowing the Argonauts to depart in complete ignorance of the dangerous beings awaiting them. The home of the Sirens has been identified with several islands. According to Strabo (1.2.12.10–13.20), some ancient sources located the Sirens close to Cape (Capo del Faro, the northeastern promontory of Sicily), others (A. included) near the Galli Islands (modern Sirenuse), between Capri and the Amalfi Coast.

885 "Dawn the light-bearer struck the horizon." ἄκρον . . . οὐρανόν: literally, "the edge of heaven."

886  λαιψηροῖο κατηλυσίῃ ζεφύροιο: "With the descent of quick-moving Zephyr" (i.e. the west wind). λαιψηροῖο . . . ζεφύροιο / . . . βυθοῖο: is a striking sequence of rhymes at the caesura and line ends. λαιψηρός often alludes to fast-dancing feet, so conveys a fine image when used of a lively wind. κατηλυσία is a rare word, only used here and at Arat. 536 where it refers to the ‘going down’ of stars on each of the great celestial circles. For ‘descending winds’ see here.

887  κληῖδας: ‘Rowing benches.’ (LSJ 2IV).

888   εὐναίας εἷλκον: "they pulled up the anchors." A. uses εὐναίη for εὐνή, usually ‘bed’ here the stone thrown from the prow of a Homeric ship and used as an anchor. For discussion and illustration of what these anchors might have looked like, see here (Wachsmann 2009, 255–93). περιγηθέες: "Very joyful." Only the night before, the Argonauts were amusing themselves by playing games on the shore. This sets up an ironic contrast with the corresponding episode in the Odyssey. There the heroes are in a sombre mood, having just buried their pilot Elpenor (Od. 12.1–200). The irony is intensified when we consider that Circe warned Odysseus that whoever approaches the Sirens unawares is doomed to lose his nostos (Od. 12.39–43). In the Argonautica, no one seems to perceive the Sirens as a threat to the heroes, not even Hera. When she discusses with Thetis how to help the Argo through the Wandering Rocks, the Sirens are not even mentioned.

 889  ἄρμενα μηρύοντο κατὰ χρέος: "they fastened the cables as was proper."  ἄρμενα is the general term for the ropes or tackle of a ship. κατὰ χρέος means "according to what is needful" (cf. Hom. Hym. Herm. 138, Arg. 3.189, Aratus 343). The passage in Aratus is particularly of interest since the context is the description of the Argo constellation.

889–90  λαῖφος / εἴρυσσαν τανύσαντες ἐν ἱμάντεσσι κεραίης: "They drew up the sail stretching it on the rigging of the yardarm." ἱμάς: is the halyard, the rope that is used to raise and lower the beam (κεραίη) over which the sail is extended (i.e., the yardarm). For discussion and illustration of these terms, see here (Casson 1971, 229) and here (Wachsmann 2009, 248). Virgil seems to have understood the terminology: Aen. 5.829 iubet ocius omnes / attolli malos, intendi bracchia velis, "He (Aeneas) bids all the masts be raised with speed and the yards spread with sails." Virgil seems to have this description in mind: (830–2), "Together all set the sheets, and all at once, now to the left and the right, they let out the canvas; together they turn to and fro the yardarms aloft; favouring breezes bear on the fleet." εἴρυσσαν τανύσαντες ἐν ἱμάντεσσι is an internal rhyme.

891  νῆα δ᾿ ἐυκραὴς ἄνεμος φέρεν: "the gentle Wind [Zephyr] bore the ship on." The image of a beautiful day with ideal sailing conditions contributes to the suspense felt by the reader familiar with the Sirens episode in the Odyssey. The echo of ἐυκραὴς ἄνεμος at 2.1228 reinforces the same feeling; the symmetry contributes to the heroes' false sense of safety. In the earlier scene, they departed the island of Ares with a fair wind, leaving behind a flock of bird-monsters. Here the reader knows that the fair wind is blowing them toward similar bird-monsters. ἐυκραής: ‘brisk, blowing-strongly.’ The formation of this word properly involves some Alexandrian Homeric scholarship. A. seems to intend it as a variation on ἀκραής, with, in this context, basically the same meaning. It is a matter of whether the word is divided as ἀκρ–αής, ‘strong, verging on violent’ or ἀ–κραής, unmixed and derived from ἄημι or κεράννυμι. The details are clearly explained here (Rengakos 1994, 42–3). For other scholarly allusions in A., which depend on the interpretation see 152–3n. on ἄβρομος. 

892   Ἀνθεμόεσσαν: A proper name meaning "blossomy." Homer describes the Sirens' island as having a flowery meadow λειμῶν᾽ ἀνθεμόεντα (Od. 12.159), but he does not give it a name. According to Σ to Arg. 4.892 (p. 298.7 Wendel), Apollonius seems to be following Hesiod (fr. 27 M-W), who called the island "Anthemoessa." Clearly, both the name and the description are meant to be euphemistic, since the image in the Odyssey of the Sirens sitting in their meadow with the mouldering corpses of their victims heaped up all around hardly suggests a place worthy of the epithet καλή (Od. 12.39–46; cf. 4.901–2). A's. first picture of the island is intensely sensual, engaging sight, smell (καλὴν Ἀνθεμόεσσαν ἐσέδρακον 4.892), sound (λίγειαι, 4.892; θέλγουσαι μολπῇσιν, 4.894), and touch (σίνοντ᾿ . . . ἡδείῃσιν 4.893).

892–93  λίγειαι / Σειρῆνες σίνοντ᾿ Ἀχελωίδες ἡδείῃσιν / θέλγουσαι μολπῇσιν: "Clear-toned Sirens, daughters of Achelous, destroy by enchanting with their pleasing songs." "With a clear tone," Often signifies a beautiful but sad or mournful sound, especially in tragedy (e.g., Aes. Pers. 332, 468; Ag. 1146; Soph. OC 671). In the fourth century, the Sirens were frequently portrayed on funerary art, often depicted as mourners or as musicians (with the lyre or double pipes) on gravestones or as statues on tombs; see D. C. Kurtz and J. Boardman, Greek Burial Customs (London 1971, 134–35). The importance of the sonic dimension of poetry is especially highlighted in this episode by the piling up of several sound devices. In these lines alone, there are alliteration (note the sigmas above) and internal rhyme ἡδείῃσιν / θέλγουσαι μολπῇσιν (between metrical breaks, line end, and caesura). 

895–96 τὰς μὲν ἄρ᾿ εὐειδὴς Ἀχελωίῳ εὐνηθεῖσα / γείνατο Τερψιχόρη, Μουσέων μία: "Beautiful Terpsichore, one of the Muses, bore them after laying with Achelous." Internal rhyme occurs in εὐειδὴς Ἀχελωίῳ εὐνηθεῖσα, alliteration in Μουσέων μία. The Sirens are almost always presented as the children of Achelous; the exception is a fragment of Sophocles (fr. 861 TrGF) where Odysseus refers to them as the daughters of Phorcys. The repetition of Achelous suggests that Apollonius is "correcting" the Sophoclean genealogy. The mother of the Sirens varies: in addition to Terpsichore, Melpomene, and Calliope (fellow Muses), Gaia and Sterope are named. Apollonius' choice of a Muse over Gaia or Sterope creates a nice balance between the Sirens and Orpheus, whose mother is Calliope. The preference for Terpsichore, the Muse of choral poetry, over Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy, seems to highlight the opposition between, on the one hand, choral song and dance and, on the other, epic poetry (the province of Calliope). This generic tension is an important aspect of Orpheus' function in the poem; see Nishimura-Jensen 2009, 1–23.

895–96 καί ποτε Δηοῦς / θυγατέρ᾿ ἰφθίμην ἀδμῆτ᾿ ἔτι πορσαίνεσκον: "And once upon a time they attended Demeter's stately daughter, still a virgin." Apollonius seems to be the earliest extant poet to say that the Sirens were with Persephone when Hades carried her off. In Euripides' Helen (164–78), it is only hinted at: their role as mourners links them to Persephone, the queen of the dead. According to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, e.g., Persephone was attended by the daughters of Oceanus.

898  ἄμμιγα: Adverb, "mixed together"; i.e., together in a chorus; cf. LSJ ἄναμιγα.

898–99  τότε δ᾿ ἄλλο μὲν οἰωνοῖσιν, ἄλλο δὲ παρθενικῇς ἐναλίγκιαι ἔσκον ἰδέσθαι: "At that time, they were partly like birds and partly like maidens in appearance." In art (as mentioned above), the Sirens are depicted as birds with women's heads or torsos or legs. Apollonius' description is noncommittal enough to agree with the range of visual representations. He also glosses over a controversy in the tradition about how the Sirens obtained their birdlike form. Whereas Ovid (Met. 5-552–63) says that they were transformed into birds in order to search for Persephone, Hyginus (Fab.141) reports their transformation as a punishment from Demeter for not preventing the rape. ἰδέσθαι: "to look at," is an epexegetical infinitive.

900  εὐόρμου δεδοκημέναι ἐκ περιωπῆς: Literally, "from a well-harboured lookout," i.e.,from a lookout above a good harbour. δεδοκημέναι: Irregular perfect participle < δέχομαι, "waiting and watching."

901  ἦ θαμὰ δή: "Often indeed," a collocation of particles and adverbs found only in the Argonautica (1.631, 3-954, 4-59, 4.1242). In most cases, it emphasizes the action as habitual. The language describing the watchfulness of the Sirens recalls the description of the Lemnian women on the lookout for ships (1.631 ἦ θαμὰ δὴ πάπταινον ἐπὶ πλατὺν ὄμμασι πόντον). πολέων: = πολλῶν (sc. ναυτῶν), genitive of separation.

902  τηκεδόνι φθινύθουσαι: φθινύθουσαι: is transitive < φθινύθω, "causing them to perish by (a) wasting away," as the sailors could not drag themselves away to eat. τηκεδόνι is the very form used by Homer in his description οf dead mortals (Od. 11.201). ἀπηλεγέως: "Without caring for anything, outright, bluntly" (LSJ). In Homer, the word appears only in the context of speaking, as in μῦθον ἀπηλεγέως ἀποειπεῖν (Il. 9.309; Od. 1.373).

903  ἵεσαν ἐκ στομάτων ὄπα λείριον: "They sent forth from their mouths a lily-like sound." It is uncertain what the adjective λείριος means precisely, but it is generally assumed to be etymologically related to the noun λείριον "lily." Some scholars assume that the metaphor implies a "delicate" sound, others a "smooth" sound, but both meanings are unsatisfactory. In the context, the sound catches the hearers' attention from a good distance and over the noise of the wind and the waves (910). The related adjective λειριόεις (Hes. Th. 41, ll. 3.152) is part of a simile in the Iliad comparing the chatter of old men at the city gate to the noise of cicadas (ὄπα λειριόεσσαν ἱεῖσι): neither of these sounds is, of course, "delicate" or "smooth." Since the metaphor obviously brings together different sense perceptions, experience should be our guide. It is more convincing that the issue is not the delicacy or smoothness of the lily but, rather, its brightness or stiffness compared to other flowers. On the one hand, the intensity of the lily's colour translates into the intensity of sound's dynamism; on the other, the stiffness of the flower corresponds to the tautness of the strings of musical instruments or the rigidity of cicada wings, a quality organologically responsible for the production of sound that carries. In either case, we are left with the impression that Sirens emit a stentorian sound– loud, clear, and powerful.

904–7  ἔμελλον . . . ἀοιδῆς: "They would have cast their cables ashore immediately, if the son of Oeagrus, Thracian Orpheus, had not stretched tight his Bistonian lyre with his hands and twanged out a fast-paced melody of a smooth-rolling song." The expected ἄν in the apodosis of this counterfactual condition has been omitted, as ἔμελλον, "were about to," already suggests that the action of βαλέσθαι did not occur. ἄρα, “ I guess" or "after all," expresses an inference drawn from impression or feeling, rather than a positive conclusion drawn from facts (Smyth 2787a).

905–6  Οἰάγροιο πάις Θρηίκιος Ὀρφεὺς / Βιστονίην: Line 905 echoes the first line of Phanocles fr. 1 (Collectanea Alexandrina). The accumulation of identity markers for Orpheus is striking. The only other places in the poem where they all occur in the same context (but over several lines) are his introduction in the catalogue (1.23–34) and his paean in response to the sudden appearance of Apollo with his bow stretched tight (2.685–704). In the latter case, as here, Orpheus takes the lead by using his music to respond to the unexpected danger. It is interesting that Apollonius attributes θέλξις, "enchantment," only to the Sirens' song; to Orpheus' music, he only grants speed, loudness, smoothness, and violence. The Bistonians were Thracian tribesmen; here "Bistonian" = "Thracian." ἐνὶ χερσὶν ἑαῖς φόρμιγγα τανύσσας: The verb is more often used with weapons, notably the bow. Given Apollo's association with the lyre and the bow, this language at least equates poet and hero by assimilating lyre playing to bow shooting. An allusion to the strength required to string Odysseus' bow is also very likely (Od. 21.315 ἐντανύσῃ χερσίν).

907  κραιπνὸν ἐυτροχάλοιο μέλος κανάχησεν ἀοιδῆς: "[Orpheus] twanged out a fast-paced melody of a smooth-rolling song." The metaphor associates Orpheus' song with a smooth-rolling fast-paced wheeled vehicle (cf. 1.845, 3.889), a favourite metapoetic image of poets, especially Pindar, for whom the image represents epinician poetry. Significantly, in Pythian 4 (17–81, 244–48), Pindar's "Argonautica" is figured both as a "ship of song" and a "'chariot of song." Apollonius makes the same double association at Arg. 1.1156–58 and 4.1604–10; see J. Murray, "Polyphonic Argo" (PhD diss., University Of Washington, 2005), 25-42.

908–9  ὄφρ᾿ ἄμυδις κλονέοντος ἐπιβρομέωνται ἀκουαὶ κρεγμῷ: "So that their ears would buzz together with the sound of him wildly thrumming the strings." κλονέοντος is genitive of source with κρεγμῷ; Orpheus is the subject of the participle. The metaphor recalls Apollonius' earlier use of the verb in a simile to describe bees smoked out of a hive: 2.132–33 αἱ δ' ἤτοι τείως μὲν ἀολλέες ᾧ ἐνὶ σίμβλῳ βομβηδὸν κλονέονται. Metrically, lines 907–8 are literally fast-paced because of their dactylic quality. The alliteration of kappa and chi words and the onomatopoeia in ἐπιβρομέωνται and κρεγμῷ create sound effects that reinforce the image.

909  παρθενίην δ᾿ ἐνοπὴν ἐβιήσατο φόρμιγξ: "The lyre overpowered the girls' voice." The metaphor figures the lyre as a weapon or a violent man. In prose, the use of βιάω + a word referencing a woman (as its object) denotes rape (e.g., Hdt. 4–43), a theme that was introduced at lines 89 5–96 with the allusion to the rape of Persephone.

911  ἄκριτον: The meaning "indistinguishable" is here preferable to "ceaseless." The point is that the Argonauts could not make out the Sirens' words with Orpheus' music and the noise of the wind and waves in their ears.

912  καὶ ὧς: ”Even so." Τελέοντος ἐὺς πάις: The only other mention of Boutes is at 1.95–96, where he and his brother Eribotes are introduced as coming from Cecropia (Attika). Apollonius seems to be the earliest extant source to connect Boutes to Aphrodite and Eryx.

913  προφθάμενος ξεστοῖο κατὰ ζυγοῦ ἔνθορε πόντῳ: "He had already leapt (< ἐνθρῴσκω) into the sea"; i.e., Boutes was the only one to hear the Sirens' song before Orpheus started playing.

914  ἰανθείς: < ἰαίνω, warmed, melted," i.e., charmed.

916  νόστον ἀπηύρων: “The Sirens would have robbed him of his homecoming." A past contrafactual without åv. ἀπηύρων is act., 3rd., pl., aor., indic. < ἀπούρας (aor. according to LSJ).

917–18   θεὰ Ἔρυκος μεδέουσα / Κύπρις: Apollonius is silent, but according to Diodorus Siculus 4.83–citing the Hellenistic historian Timaeus (ca. 345–250 BCE), an older contemporary of Apollonius–Aphrodite bore Boutes a son, Eryx, who was the eponymous founder of the city Eryx, now modern Erice in the west of Sicily, where a famous temple to Aphrodite-Venus was built by Aeneas, according to Virgil Aen. 5–760. It is worth bearing in mind that at the time the final form of the Argonautica was published, the Carthaginians had just lost their control οf Sicily. At the beginning Of the Second Punic War, they had destroyed Eryx (260 B.C.), but by the end, they had to surrender Lilybaeum to the Romans (241 B.C).

919  Λιλυβηίδα ναιέμεν ἄκρην: "To dwell at Cape Lilybaeum," infinitive of purpose. The modern city Marsala, which is about sixteen miles from Erice, is on the site of ancient Lilybaeum.

920  ἄχεϊ σχόμενοι: ‘seized by anguish.’ σχόμενοι < ἔχω: aor. mid. particip. nom. plural masc. The construction is based on Od. 11.279 (see also Od. 8.182) ᾧ ἄχεϊ σχομένη· τῷ δ’ ἄλγεα κάλλιπ’ ὀπίσσω, (of Epicaste-mother of Oedipus: "caught by her own grief; but for him she left behind countless woes."), the content of which is similar to the present lines. τὰς μέν: the Sirens. It is true (Hunter ad loc.) that the lines constitute an example of the Odyssean theme of "leaving comrades behind and moving on after a disaster" but the twist that A. gives it is that those who are left behind are the agents of the disaster not those who have suffered from it as at Od. 9.62–3.

920–1  ἄλλα δ᾿ὄπαζον / κύντερα: “Other worse (than the Sirens) dangers (lit. “worse things”) pressed upon them.” ὀπάζω usually has the sense of ‘grant, bestow’ but see LSJ III. The use of a plural verb with a neuter pl. subj. does occur in Homer (Smyth 959a). For the irregular comparative κύντερα see Smyth 321. It agrees with ῥαιστήρια νηῶν, ‘destructive of ships’ > ῥαιστήριος is an Apollonian speciality, as is μιξοδίῃσιν ἁλὸς > μιξοδία, ‘in the joining places of the sea, i.e. the Straits of Messene.

922  This mention of Scylla and Charybdis adapts Od. 12.235–61. ; τῇ μὲν . . . τῇ δ᾿ is A.’s adaption of Homer’s ἔνθεν μὲν . . . ἑτέρωθι δέ. Three dangers are looming and the line opens with four spondees (a rare occurrence: 2.13, 3.700 and here) to mark the solemn moment: τῇ μὲν: the smooth rock of Scylla; τῇ δ᾿: Charybdis roaring and spouting and ἄλλοθι: the Wandering Rocks. However, Σκύλλης λισσὴ . . . πέτρη: recalls Od. 12.79 πέτρη γὰρ λίς ἐστι, περιξεστῇ ἐικυῖα, which is Circe’s earlier description of the dangers that will face Odysseus and his men (see 786n.). It is typical of A. (and Hellenistic poetry in general) that he alternates between different parts of his original to create a more subtle texture of allusion. προυφαίνετο: < προφαίνω, “appeared, was seen.” The form only occurs a couple of times in Homer (elsewhere Od. 9.143), one of which seems to be significant: προὐφαίνετο: Od. 13.169 οἴκαδ’ ἐλαυνομένην· καὶ δὴ προὐφαίνετο πᾶσα, “she was returning home and indeed was in full sight.” Poseidon has turned the Phaeacians’ ship to stone, as it returns home after taking Odyssey to Ithaca. The two passages constitute two very conspicuous stone landmarks.

923 ἄμοτον: “ceaselessly, insatiably,” but the meaning and sense of the word, in Homer and as adapted later by A. are unclear. Cuypers (1997, 315) discusses the various possibilities, which, apart from the two just given, are: “unconstrained/able, unleashed/able, unstoppable, uncontrolled/able, continual, insatiate." βοάασκεν: “was continuously barking.” For the iterative imperfect see 76–81, 799nn. There are a number in A.’s principal model (Od. 12.235–61). ἀναβλύζουσα: “gushing forth,” see 788n. The description, as a whole, recalls Od. 12.85 δεινὸν λελακυῖα, “yelping terribly.” The twin monsters have been vividly described but it is the Wandering Rocks that claim the reader’s sole attention now.

924  ἄλλοθι δὲ Πλαγκταὶ . . . πέτραι: “In another part (of the strait), the Wandering Rocks.” The vagueness of ἄλλοθι, “somewhere else”, must allude not only to the geographical situation of the Planktai but to the literary games (Cartledge et al. 1997, 67) that Hera introduced as an element in her negotiations with Thetis starting at 786 (n.): Hera simply forgets that the hero whom she now advises is not Odysseus. She is following Homer closely, as closely as can be expected from a reader of Homer, but too closely for a reliable trip advisor.

924–5  μεγάλῳ ὑπὸ κύματι . . . / ῥόχθεον: These lines rewrite Od. 12.59–60 ἔνθεν μὲν γὰρ πέτραι ἐπηρεφέες, προτὶ δ᾽ αὐτὰς / κῦμα μέγα ῥοχθεῖ. The link between the two is the rare verb ῥοχθέω and indeed the vocabulary is very rich in this passage (see below).

925  ἀπέπτυεν: “spat out.” Very appropriate for the mouth of a Volcano.  αἰθομένη φλὸξ: This must be Aetna, which the Argonauts would sight as they made their way through the Straits of Messina, avoiding the Planktai. The Aeneadae make the same sighting (Aen. 3.554 tum procul e fluctu Trinacria cernitur Aetna.) This striking phrase, used as subject of the main verb ἀπέπτυεν, seems to recall Pindar P. 1.23–24 ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ὄρφναισιν πέτρας / φοίνισσα κυλινδομένα φλὸξ ἐς βαθεῖαν φέρει πόντου πλάκα σὺν πατάγῳ, which also describes Aetna. This possibility gains support from the fact that the name of the Volcano (Paschalis 1997, 138) is commonly derived from αἴθω, beginning in ancient times; e.g. the Etymologicum Magnum (40.29) specifically says that the name is derived παρὰ τὸ αἴθω, τὸ καίω. That such a link might have been known to A. is reinforced by the Virgilian phrases Aen. 3.579–80 Aetnam . . . flammam, 7.786 Aetnaeos . . . ignis and Georg. 1.471–2 effervere . . . Aetnam.

926  ἄκρων ἐκ σκοπέλων: “from the high peaks.” This is another link with the Odyssean model: Od. 12.239 ἄκροισι σκοπέλοισιν (from the description of Scylla and Charybdis). Virgil had this passage in mind when describing Aeneas and his followers encountering the same dangers. He describes Aetna as Trinacria, commonly derived from the τρεῖς ἄκραι (the three promontories) of Sicily: Pelorus, Pachynus and Lilybaeum (Paschalis 1997, 137). A.’s phrase must refer to these peaks. πυριθαλπέος ὑψόθι πέτρης: "high above the rocks," presumably reefing to the mouth of Aetna. πυριθαλπέος is gen. sing. and agrees with π. The adjective seems to be a coinage by A.

927  καπνῷ δ᾿ ἀχλυόεις αἰθὴρ πέλεν: Virgil develops A.’s description of Aetna wonderfully at Aen. 3.571–77, “and Aetna's throat / with roar of frightful ruin thunders nigh. / Now to the realm of light it lifts a cloud / of pitch-black, whirling smoke, and fiery dust” Read More.

927–8  οὐδέ κεν αὐγὰς / ἔδρακες ἠελίοιο: “nor could you have seen the rays of the sun:” a typical second person address to the reader. ἔδρακες: aor. ind. act. 2nd. sg. < δέρκομαι.

928–9  λήξαντος ἀπ᾿ ἔργων / Ἡφαίστου: “though Hephaestus ceased from his labours” (gen. absolute), in accordance with the original instructions of Hera (763). ἔτι κήκιε: “was gushing forth.” θερμὴν . . . ἀυτμήν: “warn vapour,” which literally (and elegantly) encloses the sea (πόντος).

930  ἔνθα σφιν κοῦραι Νηρηίδες: the Nereids intervene: “then the daughters of Nereus, crowding in from every side came to their aid (ἤντεον). ἄλλοθεν ἄλλαι: lit. “on this side and on that.”

931  πτέρυγος θίγε πηδαλίοιο: “took hold of the blade of the rudder.” Both a poetical image (blade / wing) and a technical term. θίγε: aor. ind. act. 3rd sg. < θιγγάνω. The idea of Thetis taking over control, as the Nereids begin to form their dolphin escort, forms part of a delightful pictorial effect. It could all easily be part of a contemporary mosaic.

932  ἔρυσθαι: “to guide, watch over.”

933  ὡς δ᾿ ὁπόταν: “as when.” This image of seaborne Nereids was later borrowed by Virgil, Aen. 10.219. However, dolphins escorting ships in the Aegean is still a frequent sight (Green ad loc.): I can also remember being on a ferry coming into Iraklion, Crete and seeing such a group. ὑπὲξ ἁλὸς εὐδιόωντες: “(come up) from the sea, enjoying good weather.

934  Another elegantly compact line: the speeding ship (σπερχομένην . . . περὶ νῆα) paradoxically seems to enclose the circling (ἑλίσσωνται) herd (ἀγεληδὸν) of dolphins.

935–6: ἄλλοτε: the triple anaphora, mirrors their constant diving and reappearing. παρβολάδην: “alongside, parallel to the ship.” ναύτῃσι δὲ χάρμα: “a joy for sailors,” both Argonauts and otherwise.

937  ὑπεκπροθέουσαι: the triple prefixes: “running up out (ὑπὲξ ἁλὸς: of the water) and in advance” summarise what has been said in the simile. ἐπήτριμοι: “in ranks” ~ ἀγεληδὸν. The verb εἱλίσσοντο is repeated. A. is trying to sharpen his picture, by aiming for a tight correspondence between tenor and vehicle (139–42n.).

938  Ἀργῴῃ περὶ νηί: “round the ship Argo.” Θέτις δ᾿ ἴθυνε κέλευθον: referring back to 931: “and Thetis guided its course.”

939  ἐνιχρίμψεσθαι ἔμελλον: “they (the Argonauts) were about to crash into (the Wandering rocks).

940  ἀνασχόμεναι πέζας: “lifting the hems (of their garments).” λευκοῖς ἐπὶ γούνασι: “up to their white knees.” (44–6n.). This adds a pleasant erotic note to the overall picture.

941  ὑψοῦ ἐπ᾿ αὐτάων σπιλάδων: “high upon the very rocks.” κύματος ἀγῆς: “the place where the wav breaks.” The combination is unique to A.

942  ῥώοντ᾿ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα: “they hurried along here and there.” They are almost dancing like the Muses at the beginning of Hesiod’s Theogony (8). διασταδὸν ἀλλήλῃσιν: “apart from each other, in separate groups.”

943  τὴν δὲ παρηορίην κόπτεν ῥόος: “the current struck her and made her move from side to side.” In the rough water around the rocks, the Argo is being thrust this way and that.

943–4  κῦμα / λάβρον: “the furious wave.” ἀειρόμενον: “being raised up.” πέτραις ἐπικαχλάζεσκεν: “was foaming against the rocks (the Planktai):” a four-word hexameter, with an onomatopoeic spondaic ending closes the section describing the very rough water around the Wandering Rocks.

945  αἱ δ᾿: “And the rocks.” The following description views the rocks from the sailors’ point-of-view. The motion is that of the Argo as it raises and falls with the buffeting of the waves. ὁτὲ μὲν: “at one moment.” κρημνοῖς ἐναλίγκιαι: “like crags.” ἠέρι κῦρον: “were reaching up to the sky.” κῦρον: (unaugmented) imperf. ind. act. 3rd pl. < κυρέω: Callimachus has δένδρεον αἰθέρι κῦρον (Call. h. Dem. 38; see also Arg. 2.363).

946  ἄλλοτε δὲ: And at another time.” βρύχιαι: as the Argo raises up with the wild sea, it seems to the sailors as though the rocks go under water. νεάτῳ ὑπὸ πυθμένι πόντου: “down in the very depths of the sea.”

947  ἠρήρειν: referring to the rocks: 3^rd pers. plural pluperfect passive < ἀραρίσκω: “were fitted, attached to” or < ἐρείδω: “were pressed down.” It is typical of A. that this rare form comes in the emphatic first position in the line. Apart from the question of the derivation, he is hinting at the question of whether the Rocks were fixed or moved about. Is their name to be associated with πλάζομαι or πλήσσω? A typical point of discussion for Alexandrian poets and scholars; see further (Montiglio 2005, 56 n. 45) with LSJ πλάζω Aii. ὑπείρεχεν ἄγριον οἶδμα: “the wild wave flow over them (the rocks).

948  αἱ δ᾿: “And they (the Nereids). The identical openings of 945 and 948 are perhaps awkward (αἵ θ᾽ has been suggested in 945, making it into a relative pronoun) but the sense is clear. ἠμαθόεντος ἐπισχεδὸν αἰγιαλοῖο: “near a sandy beach.” The scene immediately begins to recall Nausicaa playing ball with her maids (Od. 6.100–1).

949  δίχα κόλπον ἐπ᾿ ἰξύας εἱλίξασαι: “having rolled up the folds of their garments (κόλπον: LSJ s.v. αιι), out of the way (δίχα LSJ s.v. i ). This line links back to 940: the Maidens playing here are decidedly less modest than the Nereids.

950  σφαίρῃ ἀθύρουσιν περιηγέι: “they play with a round ball;” see link to Od. on 948 (above.) αἱ μὲν ἔπειτα: “then they . . .” αἱ refers to the Maidens of the simile. The transmitted text is ἡ, which was doubtless an alteration stemming from the difficulty of the singular verb (δέχεται-see below). αἱ is a correction that goes back to the first printed edition of the poem in Florence in 1496. ἔπειτα: means “then.” “First” the Maidens tucked up their dresses, “then” they started to play with the ball by throwing it from hand to hand.

951  ὑπ᾿: in tmesis with δέχεται (LSJ A iv), which is singular because of the intervening ἄλλη . . . ἐξ ἄλλης: “one from another.” There is also the influence of the so-called Schema Pindaricum; see further (Mastronarde 2004, 248). The pattern (plural subject plus singular verb) is exactly mirrored outside the simile in 953–4; see also perhaps Arg. 3.343. The whole phrase, itself, seems to echo Empedocles B. 115.12 Diels-Kranz ἄλλος δ᾽ἐξ ἄλλου δέχεται.

952  ὕψι μεταχρονίην: “high into the air.” There was some ancient dispute about the meaning of μεταχρόνιος. ἡ δ: i.e. the ball, contrasting with αἱ μὲν (above). οὔ ποτε πίλναται οὔδει: “never touches the ground” echoes the description of Ate at Il. 19.92–3.

953  ὣς αἱ: “in the same way they (the Nereids). The construction of 953–4 follows the same pattern as 950–1: plural subject (αἱ) with a singular verb (πέμπε), due in part to the phrase ἄλλοθεν ἄλλη, “one from another.”

954  διηερίην ἐπὶ κύμασιν: “into the air, on top of the waves.” This asks the reader to visualise a very different image from that of the Maidens playing with a ball: the Nereids are propelling the Argo through the Wandering Rocks.

955  περὶ δέ σφιν: there are differing opinions about the meaning of this phrase but σφιν is more likely to refer to the Nereids as they go about their work of safeguarding the Argo than the rocks. ζέεν: “seethed or boiled:” an emendation (of θέεν) but a good one.

956  τὰς δέ: The Nereids have spectators. The gods are looking on. The first watcher is αὐτὸς ἄναξ which connects with Ἥφαιστος (958). The hyperbaton of the god’s name gives breadth to the ekphrastic description as whole; see further (Green 1990, 205). κορυφῆς ἔπι λισσάδος ἄκρης: “on the summit of a smooth rock.” λισσάς is an adjective here. Later it was used as a noun.

957  ὀρθὸς ἐπὶ στελεῇ τυπίδος: “upright on the handle of his hammer.” To find the god standing upright is unexpected but see further (Fineberg 2009, 277) who, while discussing iconographic evidence (on various red figure vases) for the portrayal of Hephaestus walking upright, concludes “When Hephaestus rides, it is because he is lame and therefore unfit to serve Hera in her rivalry with Zeus; when he walks, he is sound of foot and thus the son his mother had hoped for - an ally against Zeus.” It would not be surprising if the lameness of Hephaestus were a topic discussed among the Alexandrian critics and A.’s phrase a subtle intervention on his part. βαρὺν ὦμον ἐρείσας: “resting his muscular shoulder.” For images of Hephaestus carrying a long-handled axe or hammer see LIMC s.v. Hephaistos 5, 44, 164b, 166, 172b).

958  θηεῖτο: “was looking on:” almost the mot juste for the so-called “epic gaze;” see further (Lovatt 2018, 129), adding Od. 5.75, 8.265.

958–9  αἰγλήεντος ὕπερθεν / οὐρανοῦ: “above the glittering heaven.” ἑστηυῖα Διὸς δάμαρ: “the wife of Zeus having stood (looked on). ἑστηυῖα: perf. part. act. < ἵστημι.

959–60  ἀμφὶ δ᾿ Ἀθήνῃ / βάλλε χέρας: “and she threw her hands around Athene.” A comic touch. Did A. get this from a work of art that he knew? How seriously are we meant to take the gods at this juncture? Green’s remarks (ad loc.) are very apposite here. He emphasises that Hera proves herself to be just as useless in an emergency (ἀμήχανος) as Jason can be on occasion, in spite of her earlier protestations (lies) that she helped the Argonauts through the Symplegades.

960  μιν ἔχεν δέος εἰσορόωσαν: referring to Hera as she watches the progress of the Argo.

961  ὅσση . . . αἶσα: As often in A., the point of comparison in a simile is unusual and unexpected: “as long as the space (αἶσα) of a spring (εἰαρινοῦ) day (ἤματος) is lengthened out (μηκύνεται).” There are possible connections with passages in the Odyssey (Od. 18.366–70) and in the hymns of Callimachus (Call. h. 3.170–82).

962  μογέεσκον . . . ὀχλίζουσαι: “they were labouring . . . heaving.” The Nereids are pictured as putting great effort into their work, compared with the Maidens (of the previous simile) playing ball and Hephaestus, not working at all, as he looks on.

963  πέτρας πολυηχέας: dangerous rocks always make a noise; see further (Lowe 2015, 80). οἱ δ᾿: i.e. the Argonauts. In spite on the emphasis on the length and intensity of the Nereids’ labours, the episode comes to an abrupt end, with the sea-nymphs diving into the depths (967), having fulfilled Hera’s commands.

963–4  ἀνέμοιο / . . . ἐπαυρόμενοι: “catching the wind (after the turbulence of passing through the Rocks).” προτέρω θέον: “they sped on.”

964  ὦκα δ᾿ ἄμειβον: “they quickly passed by.” Odysseus “immediately” (αὐτίκ᾽ ἔπειτα: Od. 12.261) reaches Thrinacia, after leaving Scylla and Charybdis.

965  Θρινακίης λειμῶνα: The identification of this place is uncertain. Here, it must a meadow somewhere on the East coast of Sicily: see further (Knight 1995, 158). βοῶν τροφὸν Ἠελίοιο: “nurse of the cattle of the Sun,” just as the maiden who appears from the clod of earth says she is τεῶν τροφός, ὦ φίλε, παίδων (1741), when speaking to Euphemus.

966  ἔνθ᾿ αἱ μὲν: “the Argonauts.” ἀλίγκιαι αἰθυίῃσιν: according to (Thompson 1895, 18), probably a large seagull, or shearwater. The latter are known for skimming along, close to the surface of the water; see further (Beardmore 2013, 2018–12). ἀλόχοιο Διὸς πόρσυνον ἐφετμάς: “they (had) accomplished the orders of the Wife of Zeus”; see further (Mori 2012, 16) ἐφετμάς: see 757n.

968–9  based on Od. 12.262–5. βληχή . . . μήλων: “the bleating of sheep. μυκηθμός τε βοῶν: “the lowing of cattle. οὔατ᾿ ἔβαλλεν: “struck their ears.” “Once the ship is past the Wandering Rocks, A. devises a charming pastoral landscape to go with the euphoric mood”; see further (Beye 2006, 217).

970  καὶ τὰ μὲν: i.e. the sheep. ἑρσήεντα κατὰ δρία: “over the dewy meadows.” This and the lines that follow introduce a very pastoral atmosphere. The iterative imperfect (ποιμαίνεσκεν) adds to this sense; see further (Morgan 2007, 471).

971  A melodious four-word hexameter enhances the picture that A. is painting; see further (Heslin 2005, 73).

972  ἀργύρεον χαῖον: “a silver crook.” Rare words (e.g. both χαῖον and πηχύνουσα) decorate this passage throughout; see further (Knight 1995, 220).

973  Λαμπετίη δ᾿: the elder daughter takes charge of the more valuable cattle . . . (ἐπὶ βουσὶν.)

973–4  ὀρειχάλκοιο φαεινοῦ / καλαύροπα: with more valuable equipment, “a staff of shining orichalk,” a mythical metal of great value. ὀπηδεύουσα: also used of herding at 4.675, in a very different context.

974–5  τὰς δὲ καὶ αὐτοί: the Argonauts (αὐτοὶ) view (εἰσορόωντο) the cattle (τὰς δὲ . . . βοσκομένας), as they graze, like spectators of an “Odyssean” episode that runs parallel to their own story. ποταμοῖο παρ᾿ ὕδασιν: “by the waters of a river,” unknown and unnamed.

976  ἂμ πεδίον καὶ ἕλος λειμώνιον: “through the plain and marshy meadow.”

976–7  οὐδέ τις ἦεν / κυανέη μετὰ τῇσι δέμας: “there was not a one among them that had a dark body.” A very clear statement that touches on a famous mathematical puzzle stemming from Archimedes of Syracuse; see further (Rorres 2017, 63).

977–8  πᾶσαι δὲ γάλακτι / εἰδόμεναι: “like milk,” εἰδόμεναι present part. < εἴδομαι: another fine four-word hexameter full of assonance. χρυσέοισι κεράασι κυδιάασκον: “glorying in their golden horns,” see 970 (above) for the iterative imperfect (κυδιάασκον). 

979  καὶ μέν: the narrative progresses. τὰς παράμειβον ἐπ᾿ ἤματι: it takes the Argonauts a day to pass by. παράμειβον: no stopping off like Odysseus’ men (Od. 12). νυκτὶ δ᾿ ἰούσῃ: unlike Odysseus and his men, the Argonauts keep going during the “coming night.”

980–1  The Argonauts sail across the open sea to Drepane (Phaeacia / Scherie); see further (Hunter 1993, 68).

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