Argonautica IV 1316-1367

The Heroines of Libya:

The Heroines of Libya appear to Jason in a cross between a typical epic dream sequence and a desert mirage:

1315: αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾿ εἰς ἑτέρωσε παλιμπετὲς ὄμματ᾿ ἔνεικεν: “but he turned his eyes aside, falling back.

1316: δαίμονας αἰδεσθείς: “showing reverence for the goddesses.” He does not dare look them directly in the eye. αὐτὸν δέ μιν ἀμφαδὸν οἶον: lit. “him, openly, alone.” Jason is the only one who can see the goddesses and their words are for him alone.

1317: μειλιχίοις ἐπέεσσιν: “with kindly words.” The Heroines show pity to the hero.

1318: κάμμορε: the opening line of the heroines’ speech encapsulates the mental state (ἀμήχανος, as often) of the leader of the Argonauts. ἐπὶ τόσσον: “to such an extent.” ἐπὶ is an emendation for transmitted ἔτι; see further (Hulse 2020). βεβόλησαι: pf. pass. of βολέω ‘you have been stricken with.”

1319: ἴδμεν . . . ἴδμεν: “we know . . . we know.” The heroines are a much kindlier version of the Sirens tempting Odysseus at Od. 12.189–91. There may also be links with the words that the Muses speak to Hesiod at the beginning of the Theogony (27–8). ἐποιχομένους: “we know how you roamed the world after the Golden Fleece.”

1319­–20: ἕκαστα / ὑμετέρων καμάτων: “each of your labours.”

1320–1: ὅσ᾿ ἐπὶ χθονός, ὅσσα τ᾿ ἐφ᾿ ὑγρήν: “as many as, on land and on sea . . .”, object of κάμεσθε. The heroines’ words refer constantly to the action of the Odyssey (πλαζόμενοι κατὰ πόντον).

1322: the goddesses introduce and announce themselves: “the highborn solitary Spirits of the land.” αὐδήεσσαι: “speaking with a human voice.”

1323: ἡρῶσσαι Λιβύης τιμήοροι: as in 1309 and repeated again in 1358. A. establishes a semi-formulaic expression for the heroines. They are both protectors and “daughters’ of Libya.

1324: ἀλλ᾿ ἄνα: “up then!” the heroines attempt to rouse Jason from his lethargy of despair. ἄνα is a shortened form of the imperative ἀνάστηθι < ἀνίστημι. The guardians of the Libyan desert sound like Alcmena at Theocr. 24.35–6, when she rouses her husband Amphitryon, with repeated (ἄνστησον in the next line) imperatives. The prohibitive μηδ(ε) phrase is modelled on Il. 6.486. ἀκάχησο: pres. imperat. pass. 2^nd. sg. < ἀχεύω / ἀκᾰχίζω.

1325: εὖτ᾿ ἂν δέ τοι: “as soon as.” Ἀμφιτρίτη: the wife of Poseidon and mother of Triton.

1326: Paradoxically Poseidon’s brother Zeus is spoken of as having a ἐΰτροχον ἅρμα καὶ ἵππους at Il. 8.438 and then Poseidon takes care of them at 440 (λῦσε ~ λύσῃ). If one understands Amphitrite as standing by metonymy for the sea and ἅρμα as an equivalent for the Argo, the Libyans goddesses are speaking to Jason in true riddling fashion.

1327: σφετέρῃ: properly the possessive Adj. of the 3^rd. pers. pl. σφεῖς but can = ὑμέτερος.

1328: ὧν ἔκαμεν: =ἐκείνων ἅ, “those things which”. ὔμμε: “you”, acc. 2^nd. pl. (epic, aeolic) < σύ. The whole line metaphorically describes the Argo as though she were the ‘mother’ of the heroes: ἔκαμεν recalls κάματος which can be used of childbirth and κατὰ νηδύος is to be translated: “in her womb”.

1329: ἠγαθέην ἐς Ἀχαιίδα νοστήσαιτε: “you may return to the holy land of Achaea.” A solemn and weighty line with concludingspondeiazon ends the heroines prediction.

1330: ἵν᾿ ἔσταθεν: where they stood”: aor. ind. pass. 3^rd. pl. (epic) <ἵστημι.

1331: φθογγῇ ὁμοῦ: “together with their voices”. αὐτὰρ Ἰήσων: the poet turns his attention to Jason’s reaction.

1332: παπτήνας ἀν᾿ ἄρ᾿ ἕζετ᾿: “he sat up and looked around.” Has he dreamt or has he seen a divine vision?

1333; “ἵλατ᾿: “be gracious”, the proper term when addressing the divine, as is ἐρημονόμοι κυδραὶ θεαί: “glorious goddesses of the desert”.

1334: as is natural after the supernatural experience that he has just had, Jason’s language seems a little confused: οὔ τι μάλ᾿ ἀντικρὺ νοέω φάτιν: lit. “not all do I completely understand”, i.e. “I do not at all understand”. ἦ μὲν ἑταίρους: as often in a tricky situation, Jason’s immediate recourse is to collegiate responsibility (1336: πολέων δέ τε μῆτις ἀρείων, “it is better to rely on the counsel of many”).

1335-6: δήωμεν: pres. subj. act. 1^st. pl. <δήω. The planning will seek τέκμωρ . . . κομιδῆς: “an indication of how to return”. ἀρείων: nom. comp. adj. sg., used as Comp. of ἀγαθός, cf. ἄριστος.

1337: ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἀύτει: “shouted afar”. The use of this phrase makes Jason sound like a hero in full cry rather than a leader who does not know what to do (μακρὸν ἀΰτει Il. 20.50; καὶ μέγʼ ἀΰτει 21.582) and together with the simile likening him to a lion adds a note of incongruity to the description (see below on 1342-3).

1338: αὐσταλέος κονίῃσι λέων ὥς: “like a lion all squalid with dust”.

1339-40: σύννομον ἣν μεθέπων: “seeking its mate”. αἱ . . . βῆσσαι: balanced and elegant phrasing makes the description more vivid. The hyperbaton of definite article and noun embraces all the other elements of the sentence.

1341: ἄγραυλοί τε βόες: “the cattle in the fields” balances βουπελάται τε βοῶν in the next line: “the herdsmen of the cattle”. πεφρίκασιν: a perfect tense used with present meaning < φρίσσω.

1342-3: τοῖς δ᾿: i.e. to the Argonauts. His voice was not terrifying (ῥιγεδανή) to them. Their leader is not, after all, to be compared to an Iliadic lion but simply to a man calling to his friends (φίλοις ἐπικεκλομένοιο). Not for the first time, (e. g. 4.490-1), A., seems to be deflating, as it were, a typical Homeric theme.

1343: κατηφέες: “with their heads down”, suffering from typical Argonautic ἀμηχανίη.

1344: ὅρμοιο πέλας: lit. “near the anchorage”. Jason has assembled his men near to the Argo. μίγα θηλυτέρῃσιν: “men and women mixed together”: no social niceties for the castaways.

1345: μυθεῖτο: imperf. ind. 3^rd. sg. (attic epic)< μυθέομαι: A. introduces variations on the usual form of Speech introduction (e.g. Od. 13.37 Ἀλκινόῳ δὲ μάλιστα πιφαυσκόμενος φάτο μῦθον). In the speech that follows, Jason repeats varies and adds new information.

1346: κλῦτε, φίλοι: “listen my friends”: aor. imperat. act. 2^nd. pl. <κλύω. Jason opens his speech in Odyssean fashion: κλῦτε: Od. 14.495 κλῦτε, φίλοι· θεῖός μοι ἐνύπνιον ἦλθεν ὄνειρος (another dream sequence). τρεῖς γάρ μοι ἀνιάζοντι θεάων: another case of the word order emphasising the meaning: “three goddesses (three-the magic number; see further (Usener 1903)) . . . to me in my misery”. The goddesses literally ‘embrace’ the suppliant.

1347: στέρφεσιν αἰγείοις ἐζωσμέναι: an elaborate and recondite phrase: “girdled in goat-skin capes”. as though to stress their magical qualities; see further (Harder 2019, 381). ἐζωσμέναι: perf. part. mp. fem. nom. pl. <ζώννυμι.

1347-8: ἐξ ὑπάτοιο / αὐχένος: “from the top of the neck”. ἀμφί τε νῶτα καὶ ἰξύας: “around the back and the sides”. , ἠύτε κοῦραι: “like maidens (of Libya): see Hdt. 4.189.1-2.

1350: ἔσταν: aor. ind. act. 3^rd. pl. (doric) <ἵστημι: “they stood”. ἂν δ᾿ἐκάλυψαν: “they uncovered (me): an example of apocopation(ἂν for ἀνα) in tmesis.

1351: κούφῃ χερί: the goddesses have treated Jason in gentle and gracious fashion.

1352: αὐτόν τ᾿ ἔγρεσθαι: “to rouse myself” <ἔγρω, later form of ἐγείρω. Balanced by: ἀνά . . . ὄρσαι: aor. inf. act. <ὄρνυμι.

1353-7: rewrite 1325-8. A. rewords what the Heroines said and does not repeat verbatim as Homer would have done.

1353: σφετέρῃ: here means “our”. μενοεικέα: added by Jason: “plentiful, abundant”, probably meant to emphasise Jason’s usual emollient approach, when he is trying to win an audience over.

1354: Virtually repeating 1328. Jason is playing the role of messenger and, according to Homeric practice, they repeat themselves, when ‘reporting back’. A. is acknowledging his debt to Homer.

1355-6: see on 1326. πάγχυ νοῆσαι: again, acknowledging his lack of understanding of his experience but using more ornate (and oratorical) language to do so; see on 1334.

1357: τῆσδε θεοπροπίης . . . πέρι: “about this prophecy / divine message. ἴσχω with νοῆσαι: “I’m not able to explain φάν: imperf. ind. act. 3^rd. pl, (epic, doric, aeolic) <φημί, emphasised by γε μὲν: “indeed”.

1358: repeated from 1323, because this is their official title.

1359-60: Jason rewords the heroines’ claim to complete knowledge of the Argonauts’ exploits.

1360: διίδμεναι: “to discern, to know”, a rare formation see LSJ s.v. δίοιδα and for comparison (the derivation is disputable): the wiki LSJ. εὐχετόωντο: “they claimed”: imperf. ind. mp. 3^rd. pl. (epic) < εὐχετάομαι.

1361: ἐσέδρακον: “I saw them (τάσδ᾿) no longer (οὐδ᾿ ἔτι) in their place (ἀνὰ χῶρον).

1361-2: ἀχλὺς / ἠὲ νέφος: “a mist or a cloud”, language often associated often associate with distortions of vision or death (Il. 5.696 κατὰ δʼ ὀφθαλμῶν κέχυτʼ ἀ.). Jason finds it difficult to explain what has happened to him. μεσσηγὺ: goes closely with ἐκάλυψεν: “a kind of mist came between and hid them from sight”. φαεινομένας: epic form < φαίνω.

1363: ἐθάμβεον εἰσαΐοντες: “listened with amazement to his tale”.

1364: μήκιστον τεράων: “the most astounding prodigy (μήκιστον = μέγιστον) happened (ἐτύχθη) to the Minyans (i.e. the Argonauts).

1365: In line with what has been prophesied earlier by the Heroines of Libya: Poseidon's horses, complete with flowing golden manes, in the Iliad (13.23–38), where their natural habitat is underwater, in lake or sea. πελώριος: the horse is huge. ἔκθορεν: “leapt forth from the sea (ἐξ ἁλὸς).

1366: ἀμφιλαφής: here possibly meant to reinforce πελώριος but it is very often used of foliage and on occasion of hair (LSJ s.v. ἀμφιλαφής and χαίτη). As befits one of Poseidon’s horses, his neck is held high (μετήορος αὐχένα) and his hair is golden (χρυσέῃσι . . . χαίταις).

1367: The image of the mighty horse quickly (ῥίμφα) shaking (σεισάμενος) the abundant (νήχυτον) spry (ἅλμην) from his limbs (γυίων ἄπο) is a fine and natural one.

1368: ὦρτο θέειν: “he started to run”. πνοιῇ ἴκελος πόδας: “swift as the wind”. Aietes’ horses are similarly described at 4.221 (see 219-21n.). αἶψα δὲ Πηλεὺς: Peleus immediately (αἶψα) steps in and acts as interpreter of Jason’s vision / omen. He has played such a role before (e.g., 4.485-502).

1369: γηθήσας: “rejoicing”. If one bears in mind the incredibly tough nature of the proposal that P. makes to his assembled comrades (ἑτάροισιν ὁμηγερέεσσι), the use of this particular participle might be read as an ironic authorial comment.

Bibliography:

Harder, A. 2019. ‘Taking Position: Later Hellenistic Epigrammatists’. In A Companion to Ancient Epigram, edited by Christer Henriksén. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Hulse, P. 2020. ‘Κ.Φ. Unmasked: An Emendation Correctly Attributed’. Mnemosyne 1 (aop): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525X-BJA10017.

Usener, H. 1903. ‘Dreiheit’. RhM 58: 1–47.