Argonautica IV 1051-1107

Medea’s supplication of the Argonauts:

Medea  makes an  impassioned appeal to the Argonauts to save her from Aietes.

1053–4: ὅς refers back to ὅν τινα: “whoever she supplicated (γουνάζοιτο) that man”. μιν: Medea: ἀχέουσαν, “in her distress”.

1055–6: σεῖον δ᾿ ἐγχείας εὐήκεας: the antics of the Argonauts here described-they shake their spears and (draw) their swords (φάσγανά τ᾿ ἐκ κολεῶν) - have something of the comic about them. The poet seems to be implying that this is mere bravado. οὐδὲ σχήσεσθαι ἀρωγῆς: “will not restrain from help”. σχήσεσθαι: fut, inf. mid. < ἔχω. Typically, however, of Hellenistic poetry the mood suddenly changes with the developed simile that follows.

1057: ἀντιάσειεν: “were to meet with”. δίκης ἀλιτήμονος: “an unfair judgment”.

1058: στρευγομένοις: “in their distress”, agreeing with ἄνδρεσσι in the next line. Nicander Alexipharmaca 291 τῷ καὶ στρευγομένῳ περ ἀνήλυθεν ἐκ καμάτοιο / πνεῦμα μόλις, “distressed, though he is. despite his efforts the wind can scarcely go (escape) upwards”, offers support for the transmitted text rather than the emendation στρευγομένης, though the context is very different. ἀν᾿ ὅμιλον: “through the army, band (of Argonauts). ἐπήλυθεν: often used of the “onset of time”, in some way (LSJ s.v. ἐπέρχομαι ii). εὐνήτειρα: is someone you share a bed with but here A.’s phrase is metaphorical, “night, the bedfellow of works”, “night that makes work cease”.

1059: ἄνδρεσσι: “for men”, in general and the Argonauts, in particular. κατευκήλησε: “calmed”. There is a hint here of the almost magical, soothing quality of night in the connection with κηλέω (see LSJ s.v.). For descriptive passages such as this involving night, see further (Moskalew 1982, 67).

1060: τὴν . . . εὔνασεν ὕπνος: “sleep did not, in any way, calm her (i.e. Medea)”. οὔ τι μίνυνθά “not in any, for a little while”. The repeated consonants in the former phrase emphasise pacifying qualities of sleep.

1061: ἀλλά οἱ ἐν στέρνοις: but (a heavy contrast) there is no chance of calming sleep for Medea. Her heart is whirling (εἱλίσσετο) in her breast (ἐν στέρνοις) in her anguish (ἀχέων).

1062: κλωστῆρα γυνὴ ταλαεργὸς: the subject of the comparison: “a poor woman with her spindle” is a change of direction but not unexpectedly so: epic often contrasts the heroic with the humble. ἑλίσσει: “turns”, picks up the previous εἱλίσσετο.

1063: κινύρεται: “moan’ of which the subject is the neuter plural ὀρφανὰ τέκνα, “orphan children”(Smyth §959).

1064: χηροσύνῃ πόσιος: “for the lack of a husband”. χηροσύνη is a rare word. This theme of love, loss and longing is perhaps an echo of passages such as Aeschylus Pers. 133–39; see further (Dué 2009, 57–90).

1064–5: σταλάει δ᾿ ὑπὸ δάκρυ παρειὰς / μνωομένης: “a tear drips down her cheek as she remembers”. σταλάει: is a lyrical word: Euripides Hel. 633 and the remembrance of happier times (μνωομένης) is something that heroines often indulge in (4.383–4). ἐπισμυγερὴ: “gloomy, sad’. A. may have taken the adjectival use from Hesiod.

1066: ὣς τῆς ἰκμαίνοντο παρηίδες: “so, Medea’s (τῆς) cheeks were moistened”: another lyrical phrase. A. perhaps had in mind the choral passages of Euripides: ὦ πολλαὶ δακρύων λιβάδες, / αἳ παρηίδας εἰς ἐμὰς / ἔπεσον (Eur. IT 1106–8). ἐν δέ οἱ ἦτορ: “her heart within her”, in Homer, usually the introduction to a description of heroic doubt and deliberation (Il. 1.188).

1067: εἰλεῖτο: “revolved, twisted”, imperfect passive < εἴλω. πεπαρμένον: perf. part. pass. masc. acc. sg. < πείρω. The phrase ὀξείῃς . . . ἀμφ᾿ ὀδύνῃσιν, “with sharp pains” depends on the participle. The phrase is based on Homeric passages like Il. 16.517–8 ἀμφὶ δέ μοι χεὶρ / ὀξείῃς ὀδύνῃσιν ἐλήλαται.

1068: The scene changes to the palace and the mood from anguish to a marital harmony, which is obviously “of long-standing”, (ὡς τὸ πάροιθεν). A. is tracing this backwards from the memorable scenes between the Alcinoos and Arete in the Odyssey (Od. 6.and 7).

1069: κρείων: usually used of kings and chieftains. πολυπότνιά: strengthened form of πότνια, to balance the grandiloquent κρείων. Elsewhere only used of Demeter (πολυπότνια Δηὼ: Hom. Hym. Dem. 211). It is meant to be a humorous touch. Consider the context and their ensuing conversation!

1070: μητιάασκον: “were plotting”, Iterative imperfect (Goodwin 1875, 47) =§30.2)< μητιάω: imperf. ind. act. 3rd pl. (epic ionic).

1071: οἷαδ’: “like, as”, οἷος is here used as an adverb.

1071–2: ἀκοίτην / κουρίδιον: “lawful husband”. The situation is generalised to make it more affectionate.

1072: θαλεροῖσι . . . μύθοις: “affectionate . . . words”. προσπτύσσετο: “greet warmly”, almost with a sense of embracing.

1073: ναί: Adv., used to express strong affirmation: “Yes, Please!”. εἰ δ᾿ ἄγε: “come on”! freq. in Hom., who mostly strengthens it, εἰ δʼ ἄγε, νῦν δʼ ἄγε, ἄγε δή, ἀλλʼ ἄγε: “Please, dear husband . . .”. ῥύεο: pres. imperat. 2nd sg. <ῥύομαι: “protect the unhappy girl from the Colchians (Κόλχων).

1074: παρθενικήν: as often in the emphatic position, stressing her virginity which is to be a strong factor in the ensuing negotiations. Μινύαισι: “showing favour to the Minyae”, sc. the Argonauts. ἐγγύθι δ᾿Ἄργος: “Argos is nearby”. Arete perhaps means Greece as a whole: but at Il. 2.681 it refers to Pelasgian Argos from where Jason and his men come. ἀνέρες Αἱμονιῆες: “the Haimonians”, “Thessalians”: another reference to the Argonauts; see further (Thalmann 2011, 129 n.45).

1076­–7: Αἰήτης / Αἰήτην: Arete repeats the King’s name to emphasise her point: Northern Greece is closer than Colchis. ἴδμεν: perf. ind. act. 1st pl< οἶδα. The end of the line is dismissive: “we do not even know him, we only know his name”.

1078: αἰνοπαθὴς: “suffering dreadful ills”, used once in the Odyssey at 18.201 of Penelope. The Queen is using all her persuasive arts to plead Medea’s cause. κατά μοι νόον ἔκλασεν: “she broke my heart” is also a very strong phrase based on the Homeric κατεκλάσθη φίλον ἦτορ. The tmesis makes it stronger. The end of the line (ἀντιόωσα: pres. part. act. fem. nom. < ἀντιάω) alludes to Arete’s previous interview with Medea, “when she came to me”.

1079: μη . . . πόροις: for the Optative of Wish see Smyth §1814. ἄναξ: “Great King that you are’”. Arete is trying to flatter Alcinous. ἐς πατρὸς ἄγεσθαι: “to take her back to her father”, with δώματα understood (4.1004, 1024–5).

1080: ἀάσθη: “she sinned”, recalling what she says before the murder of Apsyrtus (4.412) and also her remarks at 1016. Ate is a theme is a dominant theme throughout the Argonautica and Ancient Greek Literature; see further (Dawe 1967), (Sommerstein 2013), (Doyle 1984, 1). βοῶν θελκτήρια: “magical charms for bulls” amusingly recalls Od. 1.337 βροτῶν θελκτήρια, “magic charms for mortals”, meaning “songs”.

1081: φάρμακά οἱ: using the first position in the line for two important words: “drugs”, and “to him”. οἱ (dat. sg. of demonstrative pronoun) denotes Jason and stresses that his success at the end of Book 3 is only achieved through Medea’s magic. κακῷ κακόν: this sentiment (an evil remedy to cure an evil) can be paralleled from Tragedy: Soph. Aj. 362.

1081–2: πολλὰ / ῥέζομεν ἀμπλακίῃσιν: “as we often (πολλά) do in our foolishness”. ἀκειομένη: “curing / trying to cure”, with κακόν as the object of the participle. ὑπάλυξεν: aor. ind. act. 3rd sg. < ὑπαλύσκω

1083: πατρὸς ὑπερφιάλοιο βαρὺν χόλον: “heavy anger of her overbearing father”. The barbaric tyrant is how Aietes is characterised throughout the Argonautica. αὐτὰρ Ἰήσων: “but Jason . . .”. It is typical of A. that he splits the line with a contrast.

1084: ὡς ἀίω: “as I hear”. Arete has good informants. The statement in this line and the next goes back to their encounter at 4.95­–7, when Jason swears this oath. μεγάλοισιν ἐνίσχεται . . . ὅρκοις: “is bound by mighty oaths.” ἐξ ἕθεν: could mean “from that time”, taking ἕθεν as the equivalent of ἐξ οὗ [χρόνου]: LSJ s.v. A ii ἐκ but, considering the word order and meaning of the phrase, it seems more likely to be reflexive and refer to Jason himself: “bound by great oaths that he himself has made.” The phrase ἐξ ἕθεν is literally bound by the “great oaths.” For the reflexive use of ἐξ ἕθεν, see further (Meliado 2019, 5)and also LSJ s.v. ιιι 4 ἐκ.

1085: A solemn sounding line; it sounds like part of the marriage formula. It also echoes what Jason has said to her earlier (4.97). κουριδίην agrees with ἄκοιτιν, enclosing the line.

1086–7: ἑκὼν ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσαι / θείης: “do not willingly make him forsworn (break his oath).” θείης aor. opt. act. 2nd sg. < τίθημι. The phrase echoes a passage of Hesiod that is very relevant to what Alcinous is saying: Hes. Op. 282.

1088: δηλήσαιτο: “commit cruel deeds (ἄσχετα) against his child (παῖδα). δηλέομαι takes two accusatives. κεκοτηότι: “with anger in his heart.” κεκοτηότι: perf. part act. dat. sg. < κοτέω.

1089: λίην γὰρ δύσζηλοι . . . τοκῆες: “parents are exceedingly jealous,” echoing Od. 7.307 (Odysseus to Alcinous).

1090: οἷα: “such things as . . .” With perhaps a slight echo of the ē' hoiē-formula in Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women, Arete marshals her examples from mythology like an orator or another epic poet! Ἀντιόπην: Antiope of Thebes was abducted by Zeus (=Jason?). εὐώπιδα: “fair of face.” Also used of Nausicaa (Od. 6.113).

1091: Δανάη: King Acrisius of Argos cast Danaë and Perseus into the sea in a wooden chest. πόντῳ ἔνι πήματ᾿: “suffering on the sea,” forceful alliteration joined by the anastrophe of ἔνι. The verb ἀνέτλη, “endured”, recalls Od. 14.47.

1092: πατρὸς ἀτασθαλίῃσι: “by the wickedness of her father.” · νέον γε μέν, οὐδ᾿ ἀποτηλοῦ: “only recently and not far from us,” bringing a note of contemporary realism to a list of Bronze Age mythological exempla.  Echetus stands out as extremely cruel.

1093: ὑβριστὴς: “brutal.” The giant Typhaon / Typhoeus is similarly described at Hes. Th. 307. γλήναις ἔνι χάλκεα κέντρα: “bronze spikes into her eyes.” Assonance, again combined with anastrophe, helps to make the description a stronger and ghastlier phrase.

1094: πῆξε: “drove,” used of plunging a spear into an enemy in the Iliad (Il. 4.460) aor. ind. act. 3^rd. sg. θυγατρὸς ἑῆς: “of his daughter.” The genitive depends on γλήναις in the previous line. στονόεντι δὲ κάρφεται οἴτῳ: “she wastes away from grievous doom.” The metaphorical use of κάρφεται pathetically recalls the literal use, “will wither the fair skin” at Od. 13.398.

1095: ὀρφναίῃ ἐνὶ . . . καλιῇ: “in her darkened barn (hut).” ‘Dark’ because she has been blinded. There may be an allusive reference to Callim. Hecale fr. 263 φιλοξείνοιο καλιῆς. The word is rare and would have been of interest to both Hellenistic poets.

1096: φρένες ἰαίνοντο: “his heart was softened (by his wife’s words).” Arete’s persuasive rhetoric has won the day. Also, they are in bed together!

1098: ἐξελάσαιμι: “I could certainly repel the Colchians by force of arms but . . .” καί marks the fact that this is in addition to the other possibilities that Alcinous goes on to mention.

1099: ἡρώεσσι φέρων χάριν: “showing favour to the heroes.”

1100: δίκην ἰθεῖαν: “the straight justice.” A direct allusion to Hesiod: Op. 8-9; see further (Morrison 2020, 205). ἀτίσσαι: aor. inf. act. < ἀτίζω.

1101: ἀθεριζέμεν: balancing ἀτίσσαι in the previous line and depending on λώιον (ἐστι) in the next.

1102: βασιλεύτερος: “more lordly than . . .”, perhaps with echoes of Agamemnon (Il. 9.160).

1103: κ᾿ ἐθέλων: “he could (κε), if he wished.” ἕκαθέν περ: “although he’s far away.” ἐφ᾿ Ἑλλάδι: “upon Greece.” νεῖκος ἄροιτο: “he might stir up.” This is better than the alternative νεῖκος ἄγοιτο: see LSJ s.v. ἀείρω iv4: Theog. 90 νεῖκος ἀειράμενος etc. A. probably intended it as a variation on the Homeric νεῖκος ὠρώρει (Il. 18.497).

1104: δίκην: is the objective of another infinitive: δικαζέμεν. To give judgments like this is the mark of a ‘Just (Hesiodic) King’: Hes. Op. 39, the intervening phrase (ἥ . . . ἀνθρώποισι) adds to the solemnity of Alcinoos’ pronouncement.

1105: οὐδέ σε κεύσω: “Nor will I hide it from you.” This little touch gives a very humane tone to Alcinoos’ characterisation, before he gives his decision.

1106: παρθενικὴν μὲν ἐοῦσαν: “if she is still a virgin.” ἑῷ . . . πατρί: “to her father.” ἀπὸ . . . κομίσσαι: “to lead back.” The infinitive is in tmesis.

1107: ἰθύνω: “I decree.” For this sense of the verb, noticeably, placed in the emphatic first position, see LSJ. s.v. A3 ἰθύνω. “But (δέ), if, she is sharing a bed (λέκτρον . . . πορσαίνουσαν) with a man (σὺν ἀνέρι).

1108: μιν: “her,” i.e. Medea. ἑοῦ πόσιος: “of her husband.” οὔ . . . νοσφίσσομαι: fut. indic. <νοσφίζομαι: “I will separate.” γενέθλην: “child, off-spring,” object of ὀπάσσω, in the next line.

1109: ὑπὸ σπλάγχνοισι: ‘ in her womb. δῄοισιν ὀπάσσω: “will I give it to an enemy.”

Bibliography:

Dawe, R.D. 1967. “Some Reflections on Ate and Hamartia.” In HSPh 72, 89–123.

Doyle, R. 1984. Atē: Its Use and Meaning: A Study in the Greek Poetic Tradition from Homer to Euripides. New York.

Dué, Casey, ed. 2009. Recapturing a Homeric Legacy. Hellenic Studies Series 35. Washington, D.C. : Cambridge, Mass: Center for Hellenic Studies ; Distributed by Harvard University Press.

Goodwin, William Watson. 1875. Syntax of the Moods and Tenses of the Greek Verb. Ginn and Heath.

Meliado, Claudio. 2019. “Aristarchomastix. Dionysius of Sidon between Epic and Lyric Poetry.” In Approaches to Greek Poetry: Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, and Aeschylus in Ancient Exegesis, edited by Marco Ercoles, Lara Pagani, Filippomaria Pontani, and Giuseppe Ucciardello. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.

Morrison, A. D. 2020. Apollonius Rhodius, Herodotus and Historiography. Cambridge University Press.

Moskalew, Walter. 1982. Formular Language and Poetic Design in the Aeneid. BRILL.

Sommerstein, A. 2013. “Ate in Aeschylus.” In Tragedy and Archaic Greek Thought, edited by D.L. Cairns. Swansea.

Thalmann, W. 2011. Apollonius of Rhodes and the Spaces of Hellenism. Oxford.