Argonautica IV 1652-1728

Onwards to Crete and Anaphe

The Argonauts' voyage continues towards Crete. There they encounter the bronze giant Talos, who is conquered by Medea's magic. Further progress is then made. Near the island of Anaphe, they are engulfed by darkness. They are rescued by a dazzling golden epiphany on the part of Apollo.

1654: κέκλυτέ μευ: It can be no accident that Medea begins her equally heroic speech at Pind. P. 4.13 with κέκλυτέ. Medea may be the true Homeric ‘hero’ of the Argonautica. Her short speech proposes an unusual form of Iliadic single combat. μούνη: “by myself.” the emphatic position suggests this interpretation rather than “alone (of us all).” Medea is very blunt and matter of fact, though she uses some ornate language (see below.)

1655: ἄνδρα . . . ἐστί: “this man whoever he is.” A. echoes Il. 20.101–2 in the second part of the line.

1656: ὁππότε μή οἱ ἐπ᾿ ἀκάματος πέλοι αἰών: lit. “provided that there may not be to him eternal life”: ἐπ’ either with οἱ or in tmesis.

1657–8: ἀλλ᾿ ἔχετ᾿ αὐτοῦ νῆα: “hold the ship here.” θελήμονες: “calmly.” ἐκτὸς ἐρωῆς / πετράων: “out of range of the rocks.” εἵως κεν ἐμοὶ εἴξειε δαμῆναι: lit. “until he might yield to me to be destroyed.” εἴκω + inf. is used of yielding up an (in)direct object for a certain purpose. δαμῆναι: aor. pass. infin. > δαμάζω. The scene echoes the Cyclops episode in the Odyssey (Od. 9.480–92). The Argonauts take things gently (θελήμονες), Odysseus’ men row furiously.

1659: ὑπὲκ βελέων ἐρύσαντο: “they protected the ship from the missiles.” Il. 18.152, 232 are usually quoted as parallels, where the verb would mean “dragged,” making ἐπ᾿ ἐρετμοῖσιν, an awkward phrase, “on the oars.” However, ἐρύομαι can mean “protect” (LSJ s.v. ἐρύω) and Il. 4.542 βελέων ἀπερύκοι ἐρωήν, “protected from the onrush of missiles” ~ (Arg. 4.1657) ἐρωῆς may also be an important parallel.

1660: δεδοκημένοι: irreg. perf. part. of δέχομαι (= δεδεγμένοι).

1661: μῆτιν: “plan.” μῆτις plays an important role in the Homeric story of the Cyclops (see 181–2n.); for the link between Μήδεια and μῆτις, see further (Holmberg 1998, 135–59).

1661­­–2: πτύχα πορφυρέοιο / προσχομένη πέπλοιο παρειάων ἑκάτερθεν: “holding the fold of her robe over her two cheeks:” a remarkable example of alliteration. On such effects see (Silk 1974, 173–92) and (Peabody 1975, 449). The Homeric model is Il. 5.315–16. The verbal effect must mark the dangerous magical situation that Medea is controlling.

1663: ἐπ᾿ ἰκριόφιν: “on to the deck;” see Smyth §280 and further (Overduin 2014, 68). μεμαρπὼς: perf. part. act. < μάρπτω: takes the acc. (ἑ), with the gen. of the part taken hold of (χειρὸς) and the dat. instrument (χειρί).

1664: διὰ κληῖδας: “through the benches,” (LSJ 2 iv).

1665: ἀοιδῇσιν μειλίσσετο: “she appeased with songs.”

1665–6: μέλπε δὲ Κῆρας / θυμοβόρους: The Keres “eat your soul.” We are perhaps to imagine Medea actually invoking the “the swift dogs of Hades,” just as she calls upon Sleep and Hecate at 146–8. Howling dogs often make their presence at such moments; see further (Dombrowski 2015).

1666–7: αἳ περὶ πᾶσαν / ἠέρα δινεύουσαι: ‘whirling through all the air.” Keres and Erinyes are often associated but there are differences; see further (Adkins 1969, 404–5) and www. theoi s. v. Keres. ἐπὶ ζωοῖσιν ἄγονται: “are set upon mortals.”

1668: τὰς γουναζομένη: “kneeling in supplication, (παρακέκλετ’: “she called”) upon them.” παρακέκλετ’: aor. 2 > παρακέλομαι, a rare word, that occurs only here. Possibly we might read ἐπεκέκλετʼ and compare the similar phrase: Il. 9.454 στυγερὰς δʼ ἐπεκέκλετʼ Ἐρινῦς. On the significance of “3” in Greek antiquity and Literature, see 75–6n., and further (Hansen and Hansen 2004, 306–7).

1669: θεμένη δὲ κακὸν νόον: ‘making her mind evil, malevolent.”

1669–70: ἐχθοδοποῖσιν / ὄμμασι: “hostile eyes.” χαλκείοιο Τάλω: ‘of bronze Talos.” Τάλω is gen. sing. < Τάλως. Talos has ὀπωπάι, Medea ὄμματα: the two words balance the line. ἐμέγηρεν: “bewitched,” a rare use of the verb βασκαίνειν. Megaera is attested as one of the Furies.

1671: λευγαλέον δ᾿ ἐπὶ οἷ πρῖεν χόλον: lit. “she gnashed terrible anger against him.”

1671–2: ἀίδηλα / δείκηλα: “terrible phantoms / visions.” ἐπιζάφελον κοτέουσα: “violently angry.” ἐπιζάφελον is adverbial.

1673: Ζεῦ πάτερ: A. directly addresses the King of the Gods in mock astonishment. θάμβος ἄηται: lit. “amazement is blowing in my mind.”

1674: μὴ νούσοισι τυπῇσί τε μοῦνον: “not only through diseases and blows.”

1675: ἀντιάει: “comes upon.” ἀπόπροθεν: the evil eye, the weapon which Medea is using, works even “from afar.”

1676: ὑπόειξε δαμῆναι: fulfils the prediction of 1658: “yielded to destruction.”

1677: Μηδείης βρίμῃ πολυφαρμάκου: “through the power of Medea, of the many drugs.” On Medea v. Talos in general, see further (Lovatt, 2013, 335–36). βρίμῃ: is a very rare word but see βριμώ, one of the names of Hecate and βριμόομαι, perhaps the use of β. stress the strangeness of the combat in which Medea is involved. ἂν: is a shortened form of ἀνα, in tmesis with –οχλίζω.

1678: ἐρυκέμεν: “to prevent them from arriving at the anchorage,” infinitive after a verb of hindering or preventing: Smyth 2744.

1679: Although the vocabulary in this description is very choice (βρίμῃ ~ λάιγγας ~ στόνυχι), the sentence construction and grammar is simple and flows easily. πετραίῳ στόνυχι: “the sharp point of a rock.” χρίμψε σφυρόν: lit. “brought near his ankle to.” ἰχὼρ: is what flows in the veins of the gods, and giants such as Talos.

1680: τηκομένῳ ἴκελος μολίβῳ ῥέεν: “was flowing like molten lead;” see further (Albis 1996, 88–89).

1681: εἱστήκει: pluperfect < εἱστήκειν < ἵστημι with force of imperfect. ἐπεμβεβαὼς: pf. part. < ἐπεμβαίνω, “standing,” leading into the simile of the pine tree, often used of Homeric warriors falling in battles; see further (Barchiesi 2001, 249).

1682: ἀλλ᾿ ὥς τίς τ᾿: “just like”, τε emphasises the generalising qualities of the simile. ἐν ὄρεσσι: “in the mountains,” matching προβλῆτος . . . σκοπέλοιο, “on a jutting headland.” πελωρίη: the pine is πελώριος, “gigantic”, matching Talos. The adjective is also used of the guardian serpent at 129, a monster of similar dimensions (see 127–9n.).

1683: ἡμιπλῆγα: another rare word adds descriptive richness.

1684: ὑλοτόμοι δρυμοῖο κατήλυθον: “the woodcutters return from the forest.”

1685: ῥιπῇσιν μὲν πρῶτα τινάσσεται: “is shaken by the blasts (of wind).”

1686: πρυμνόθεν: “at the base.” ἐξεαγεῖσα: “broken off,” aor. pass. part. < ἐξάγνυμι. κατήριπεν: “crashed down:” a similar verb in the Homeric models for this simile (see 1681n. link.)

1686–7: ποσσὶν / ἀκαμάτοις: “on unwearied feet.” He is, after all, made of bronze, even though his life-source is ebbing through the scratched vein. ᾐωρεῖτο: 3^rd pers. sing. passive < αἰωρέω> “He was swaying, while standing.”

1688: This line must be a reference to the frequent Homeric δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχε’ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ (Il. 4.504 et al.), “he fell with a thud and upon him his armour clanged.” ἀπείρονι κάππεσε δούπῳ: “he fell with a monstrous clang.” ἀμενηνὸς: “weak, powerless” is closely associated with the feebleness of mortality. ἀπείρων: is another word, like πελώριος (see above), that A. uses when evoking gigantic scale; see in particular 140–5.

After their encounter with Talos, the man of bronze, the Argonauts’ journey from Crete has been a terrifying experience. They have been enveloped in the deepest darkness and Jason has called on Apollo to save them. In answer to this prayer, the god appears in a golden epiphany, lifts his bow on high, and by its light they are able to make out the Island of Anaphe, where they drop anchor. Having landed, and in thanks for their salvation, the Argonauts build both a sanctuary and an altar for the god. The passage is marked by deliberate variation from the scene from Apollo’s other epiphany in the poem at Thynias (note particularly 2.678 ~ 4.1709) with Apollo’s motivated appearance having an immediate effect on the poem. Whatever the debt of the scene at Anaphe to Callimachus it, like the scene at Thynias, also rewrites Apollo’s opening appearance in the Iliad, with Jason playing the role of Chryses and Apollo’s appearance “like night” replaced by his gleaming light which saves the heroes from darkness.

1689: ἐνί: probably in tmesis with ηὐλίζοντο.

1690: νέον φαέθουσαν ἐς ἠῶ: “just as dawn was growing bright.”

1691: Ἀθηναίης Μινωίδος: a rare epithet of Athene but perhaps A. is trying to add some authentic Bronze Age colour to his narrative.

1692: ὕδωρ τ᾿ εἰσαφύσαντο: “they drew water.” The compound verb (rather than simple ἀφυύσσομαι) is rare. εἰσέβαν: aor. ind. act. 3^rd. pl. (epic) <εἰσβαίνω.

1693: παμπρώτιστα: an Apollonian extravagance: “at the very earliest opportunity.” Homer does not use the superlative of the adjective / adverb. The Argonauts are eager to get home. However, there is one further climatic incident to undergo. βάλοιεν ὑπὲρ: “round.” The verb is an example of anastrophic tmesis: LSJ s.v. ιιι ιβ. Σαλμωνίδος ἄκρης: perhaps referring to Cape Sidero.

1694: αὐτίκα: “suddenly.” The Argonauts (unusually for Greeks in the Aegean) are out in the open sea (Green 1997, 356–57). Κρηταῖον ὑπὲρ μέγα λαῖτμα: “over the great Cretan Sea.”

1695: νὺξ ἐφόβει: “night scared them, that night which . . .” As ever in A. night is a time for dramatic actions (see the opening scenes of Books 4). κατουλάδα: it is typical of A.’s learned style that he enriches a dramatic moment with an item of rare etymology (see 111n. ἄγχαυρον). Ancient Lexicography explains κατουλάδα in various ways.

1696: νύκτ᾿ ὀλοήν: “that fatal night,” defining what A. thinks κατουλάδα means. διίσχανεν: “pierced, separated,” a rare alternative for διέχω ( LSJ s.v.)

1696-7: οὐκ ἀμαρυγαὶ / μήνης: “nor the beams of the moon.” Another unusual touch, ἀμαρυγή is more usually used of anything that sparkles or twinkles (LSJ s.v.).

1697: μέλαν χάος: total black out! Probably thinking of Hes. Th. 123. τις ἄλλη (σκοτίη): A.’s professed ignorance of the cause and origin of the phenomenon makes it appear all the more dreadful.

1698: ὠρώρει: < ὄρνυμι: plup. ind. act. 3^rd. sg. (attic, epic). μυχάτων ἀνιοῦσα βερέθρων: “raising from the nethermost depths.”

1699: εἴτ᾿ Ἀίδῃ εἴθ᾿ ὕδασιν: “whether in Hades or over the waters.” The hiatus between the two alternatives marks the desperation of the situation.

1700: ἠείδειν οὐδ᾿ ὅσσον: “they could not tell at all.” ἠείδειν: < οἶδα.aor. ind . act. 1^st. sg. (attic epic ionic). ἐπέτρεψαν: “they entrusted.”

1701: νόστον ἀμηχανέοντες, ὅπῃ φέροι: “at a loss as to where it (the sea) might take them.

1702: χεῖρας ἀνασχόμενος: “raising his hands in prayer.” The gesture of raised arms and hands is a universal one in ancient cultures, when seeking to invoke divine powers; see further 228-30n.

1703: ῥύσασθαι καλέων: Jason calls on Apollo to save them. As often in times of crisis, Jason shows his emotions: ἔρρεεν: imperf. ind. act. 3rd. sg. (epic ionic) <ῥέω.

1704: there are many links between the following prayer and Callimachus’ version of the same incident.

1704-5 πολλὰ . . . πολλὰ δ’ . . . / πολλά: Jason’s appeal is rhetorical (tricolon) even though it is reported in indirect speech. There is a similar prayer at 1.419-20. Πυθοῖ: adv. to Pytho or Delphi. Ἀμύκλαις: Amyclae in Laconia, famous for worship of Apollo.

1705: Ὀρτυγίην: this probably refers to Delos; see further (Lewis 2019, 45).

1706: Λητοΐδη: the son of Leto i.e. Apollo. τύνη: the poet directly addresses the god. ἵκεο: “you came (down from heaven): aor. ind. mid. 2^nd. sg. (epic doric ionic aeolic) <ἱκνέομαι.

1706-7: πέτρας . . . Μελαντείους: acc. of motion without a preposition: The scholiast (1707) locates the Melantian rocks “near Thera”, which may be no more than a contextual guess, but makes good sense; see further (Green 1997, 357): the logical place for the Melantian rocks and Apollo's dazzling epiphany would be Makra, less than three miles off to the east.

1708: ἧνται: <ἧμαι: “lie, are situated”: perf. ind. mid. 3^rd. pl. δοιάων δὲ μιῆς ἐφύπερθεν ὀρούσας: “darting (ὀρούσας) above one (μιῆς) of the two (δοιάων) peaks.”

1709: δεξιτερῇ: “in your right hand.” ἀνέσχεθες: “you held aloft”: aor. ind. act. 2^nd. sg. <ἀνάσχέθω. If Apollo carries the bow in his right hand, he cannot use it for shooting, it is in his left hand at 2.678 (similarly in the Callimachus passage mentioned above) and also at [Plut.] De Mus. 14. Whatever the significance, A. seems to be describing a type a sculpture (or painting of some type) that he and his readers would have known.

1710: the bow (βιός) glows in the middle of this line that illuminates the darkness of the Argonauts’ final desperate situation. μαρμαρέην δ᾿ . . . αἴγλην: “dazzling light.” βιός is the subject of the verb (ἀπέλαμψε): “shot beams of dazzling light all around (περὶ πάντοθεν).”

1711-2: τις Σποράδων βαιὴ . . . νῆσος: “a small island of the Sporades.” τόφρ᾿: “at that time.” “The use of the term “Sporades” (“scattered [islands]”) is a little confusing. In A.'s day and later, this group consisted of the southern fringe islands of the Aegaean not included among the canonical Cyclades: the list varied but always included Anaphe. Confusion is compounded for the modern traveller by the fact that today the term normally refers to a different group altogether, the Northern Sporades (Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonnisos, and Skyros)” (Green ad loc.)

1712: ἰδεῖν: epexegetive infinitive: “appeared . . . so that they could see it.” ὀλίγης Ἱππουρίδος ἀγχόθι νήσου: “near the little island of Hippouris;” see further (Green 1997, 357).

1713: ἔνθ᾿ εὐνὰς ἐβάλοντο καὶ ἔσχεθον: ‘there they cast anchor and stayed.”

1714-5: τοὶ δ ̓ ἀγλαὸν Ἀπόλλωνι: “they built a glorious precinct for Apollo and a shaded altar in a shady grove.” there is simply too much shade! there is simply too much shade! there is simply too much shade! The fact that ancient altars would often be fragrant with the smell of sacrifice (cf. 4.1729-1730: Ἀπόλλωνα θυηλαῖς / Αἰγλήτην Ἀνάφης τιμήορον ἱλάσκωνται and the parallels Il. 8.48 = 23.148 = Od. 8.363 (ἔνθα τέ οἱ τέμενος βωμός τε θυήεις) suggest that τέμενος θυόεντά τε βωμόν might be what Apollonius actually wrote and the emendation should be attributed to Franz Ernst Heinrich Spitzner: see further (Hulse 2020).

1716-7: Αἰγλήτην μὲν . . . / Φοῖβον κεκλόμενοι: “calling on Phoebus, ‘the gleamer’.” ἐυσκόπου εἵνεκεν αἴγλης: “because of the far-seen gleam.”

1718: ἴσκον: “they called.” 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.). ἀνέφηνεν: <ἀναφαίνω aor. ind. act. 3^rd. sg. Φοῖβός: the repetition of the god’s name (previous line) emphasises the light that he has brought to the Argonauts’ darkness.

1719: ῥέζον δ᾿ οἷά κεν ἄνδρες: “they sacrificed with such things as . . .” They begin a sacrifice to the god. What have they got to offer the saviour deity?

1719-21: ἐρημαίῃ . . . ἀκτῇ: “on a desolate shore.” A. gives a humorous twist to the Aition; see (Hulse 2020). All they have is water! There is a deliberate contrast with the potentially smoking altar of 1715 (see above). δαλοῖς . . . αἰθομένοισιν: “the burning brands.”

1722: Μηδείης δμωαὶ Φαιηκίδες: the Phaeacian maids that Arete gave Medea as a parting gift (1221).

1723: γέλω: acc. of γέλων (LSJ s.v.). οἷα: “in as much as.” θαμειάς: “lavish,” The next line contrasts the Argonauts’ paltry offering with Alcinous’ lavish hospitality.

1724: αἰὲν . . . ὁρόωσαι: “constantly seeing.”

1725: αἰσχροῖς . . . ἔπεσσιν: “with unseemly words.” Again we have an aetiological explanation: this time for the custom, on Anaphe, of scurrilous raillery between men and women at the time of Apollo's festival. This exchange of mocking indecencies ( αἰσχρολογία) was in fact a widespread custom, perhaps best known through its practice during the sacred procession from Athens to Eleusis; see further (‘The Return of the Argonauts and the Rite at Anaphe | Dickinson College Commentaries’ n.d.).ἐπεστοβέεσκον: “were mocking.” Frequentative imperfect.

1726: χλεύῃ γηθόσυνοι: “delighted by the jesting.” This sounds like nervous relief after the terror that they have experienced.

1726-7: γλυκερὴ δ᾿ . . . κερτομίη καὶ νεῖκος ἐπεσβόλον: “sweet mockery . . . and mutual wrangling.” A natural reaction: the oxymoron is well-judged. ἀνεδαίετο: “was kindled.”

1728: μολπῆς: “game, playfulness.”

1728-9: τοῖα γυναῖκες / ἀνδράσι δηριόωνται: “the women dispute in such a way with the men in such a way.

1730: Αἰγλήτην Ἀνάφης: another Callimachean (fr. 7.5) echo opens the final line of the episode. τιμήορον: “protector, guardian of.” The four-word spondaic line brings closure to the episode. The Argonauts have nearly achieved their “nostos.”

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