Argonautica IV 980-1050

The arrival of the Argonauts at Drepane:

The happiness of arrival at the Drépané (Scheria) of Alkinoös is almost immediately subverted by the threat of recapture at the hands of Aiëtés' relentlessly pursuing Colchians. No safe homecoming this. But there is an extra twist: it would be impossible for Ap.'s audience not, at this point, to think of Odysseus, whose landfall here marked the end of his wanderings, his safe escorting to his own country. As usual, the Homeric model is evoked to mark difference.

982: ἔστι δέ τις . . . νῆσος: “there is an island.” A. typically and elegantly encloses his description of Corcyra between the words of his opening statement. Its phraseology is a traditional way of establishing an important landmark: Od. 4.354–5 and see further(Kenney 1996, 213). πορθμοῖο παροιτέρη Ἰονίοιο: “in front of the Ionian gulf.”

983: ἀμφιλαφὴς πίειρα: “spacious and rich in soil.” There are different interpretations of ἀμφιλαφής; see further (and also Harder 2012, 177). Κεραυνίῃ εἰν ἁλὶ: the sea between the Ceraunian mountains (518–21n.) and the Italian coast.

984: A. chooses to use the name Drepane for the island because it allows him to tell the story of two Aetia to explain it (see link above.) ᾗ . . . φάτις: “beneath which, the legend says.” ἵλατε Μοῦσαι: “’be gracious, O Muses.” A typical address, from which one might expect an appeal for information to flow. . .

985: οὐκ ἐθέλων ἐνέπω προτέρων ἔπος: “I do not willingly tell a tale told by men of old (προτέρων). This must a be a piece of delightful mock-modesty, otherwise what is the point of the Argonautica (see, above all Arg. 1.1.)? ᾧ ἀπὸ πατρὸς: he still goes on to relate it: Hes. Th. 180–1.

986–7: οἱ δέ ἑ: “but others say (κλείουσι) that it (ἑ) was (ἔμμεναι).” καλαμητόμον . . . ἅρπην: “the

reaping hook;” see further (Thomas 1988, 231).

988: Δηὼ γὰρ: “for Demeter.” ποτε νάσσατο: “once settled.”

989: ἔδαε: “she taught.” There seems to be a link between this line and Call. h. 6.19–21. στάχυν ὄμπνιον: “rich crop.”

 990: Μάκριδα φιλαμένη: “loving Makris.” φιλαμένη: aor. mid. participle < φιλέω. Is Makris, the island or a nymph, or maybe, both? It is in the nature of Hellenistic poetry to make the reader work hard on the text. See 540. It is only in 1131–40 that matters become plainer. Δρεπάνη τόθεν ἐκλήισται: “for that reason(s),” relating back to the two Aetia. ἐκλήισται: perf. ind. 3rd sg. < κλῄζω: “the name has been called.”

991: Φαιήκων ἱερὴ τροφός: “holy nurse of the Phaeacians.” (1741n.). ὣς δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ: “and thus.”

992: αἵματος Οὐρανίοιο γένος: “by race (accus. of respect) of the blood of Ouranos.”

993: Ἀργὼ: as often Argo is personified and takes upon herself the toils of the Argonauts. Peleus explains at 4.1373–4.

993–4: τοὺς Ἀργὼ . . . ἵκετ᾿: “reached them (the Phaeacians); accusative of motion (without preposition): Smyth § 1588. Θρινακίης αὔρῃς . . . ἐξ ἁλός: “(born) by the breezes of the Ionian Sea. ἀγανῇσιν: “pleasing” (agreeing with θυηπολίῃσιν, sacrifices i.e. to the gods).

995: Ἀλκίνοος λαοί τε: “Alcinoos and his people.” ἰόντας: “coming, arriving,” i.e. the Argonauts.

996: δειδέχατ᾿: perf. ind. 3rd pl. < δειδίσκομαι / δέχομαι, “received.” ἀσπασίως: “joyfully,” looking towards 4.1781 (and Od. 23.296; see further (Montanari, Matthaios, and Rengakos 2015, 110)). καγχαλάασκεν: “smiled upon.” This verb can have a malicious flavour(also Arg. 3.124, 286), but here is an example of the pathetic fallacy (120–30n.).

997: φαίης κεν: “you would say” (238–40n.). ἑοῖς ἐπὶ παισὶ γάνυσθαι: “you would say that they were rejoicing over their own sons.” The Argonauts are treated as though they are long-lost family members; see further (Clare 2002, 201).

998: ἀνὰ πληθὺν: “among the throng.” κεχάροντο: “rejoiced” reduplicated aor. middle < χαίρω.

999: τῷ ἴκελοι, οἷόν τε: lit. “like to that (situation) such as / as if.”

999–1000: μεσαιτάτῃ ἐμβεβαῶτες / Αἱμονίῃ: “having setting foot in the middle of the land of Haimon,” i.e. Thessaly. When the Argonauts stop in Phaeacia, they are received as though they are returning home.

1000: μέλλον δέ: “but they were about.” The adversative δέ is very strong. There is almost something like the Virgilian fatum about A.’s use of this verb: “they were fated to . . .” βοῇ ἔπι θωρήξεσθαι: i.e. “to be armed for the war-cry (war).”

1001: ὧδε μάλ᾿ ἀγχίμολον: “so very near (to them).” “στρατὸς ἄσπετος . . . Κόλχων: “a boundless host of Colchians.” The pursuers who passed out of the Black Sea (4.303–4) and sailed across the Aegean and round the Peloponnese. ἐξεφαάνθη: aor. ind. pass. 3rd sg. < ἐκφαίνω. στρατὸς ἄσπετος stresses the vastness of the barbarian hoard.

1002–3: echoes 1.2–3. μαστῆρες ἀριστήων: “searchers for the Argonauts,” reversing the glorious statement of the Argonautic mission.

1004–7: setting up a situation similar to that described in 4.338–49. Matters will be decided by arbitration rather than outright warfare. Does this reflect contemporary Ptolemaic diplomacy? (338–40n.); see further (Mori 2008, 149)

1004: Μήδειαν δ᾿ ἔξαιτον: “Medea (from the rest).” If the Argonauts agree to give up Medea, they are presumably free to go on their way.

1005: ἵεντ᾿ ἀπροφάτως: ‘they desired without further ado.” ἵεντ᾿(ο): imperf. ind. 3rd pl. < ἵημι. στονόεσσαν ἀυτήν: “the dreadful war cry.”

1006: νωμήσειν . . . ὁμόκλεον: is a vivid phrase. the interwoven pattern of the line makes it likely that νωμήσειν (“will raise”, lit. “deal out,” as though the Colchians were dealing out retribution) depends on ὁμόκλεον (“they were threatening,” unaugmented, uncontracted imperfect). χαλεπῇσιν . . . ἀτροπίῃσιν: lit. “with harsh inflexibility:” another reversal of a previously used phrase (4.387). The Colchians are not “for turning.”

1007: αὖθί τε καὶ μετέπειτα: “both then and afterwards.” σὺν Αἰήταο κελεύθῳ: “with the expedition that will come with Aietes.” κέλευθος can be the equivalent of στόλος.

1008: κατέρυκεν: “restrained.” The diplomatic Alcinous begins the work of arbitration. He is portrayed in the manner of one of Hesiod’s “Just Kings;” see further (Stoddard 2004, 190).

1009: λελίητο: “he wanted:” 3^rd. sg. plpf. < λιλαίομαι / λελίημαι.

1010: δηιοτῆτος ἄνευθεν: “without warfare.” ὑπέρβια νείκεα λῦσαι: “to allay the boundless strife.” Later Arete plays her part in this (see below).

1011: κούρη δ᾿: i.e. Medea. In her campaign, she takes groups on one side to plead with or admonish as she did in the previous negotiation scene (4.338–49). This divided approach is marked by the anaphora of πολλὰ μὲν ~ πολλὰ δέ.

1012: μειλίσσετο: “she implored.” There must be a connection with the phrase μειλιχίοις ἐπέεσσι (4.1738 and often), “with soothing words” but the phrase is perhaps more descriptive of the speech that she makes to Arete that her appeal(s) to the Argonauts.

1013: γούνων ἀλόχου θίγεν: “she touched the knees of the wife (of Alcinous).” This is part of the ritual of supplication; see further(Naiden 2006, 131). 

1014: γουνοῦμαι, βασίλεια: “I beg you, O Queen,” echoes the beginning of a very famous speech of supplication: at Od. 6.149Odysseus says to Nausicaa: γουνοῦμαί σε, ἄνασσα: θεός νύ τις, ἦ βροτός ἐσσι. Medea treats Arete with great respect: σὺ δ᾿ ἵλαθι: “Be gracious to me” is a phrase generally used in addressing a person of very high status (4.1773) or a god. The form and etymology have generated considerable discussion (see Chantraine DE s.v. ἱλάσκομαι). In general, ἵληθι appears in Homer and the Homeric hymns, while ἵλαθι, dialect considerations aside, is found in Hellenistic and later Greek (Stephens on Call. h. 6.138).

1015: μηδέ . . . ἐκδώῃς: aor. subj. act. 2^nd. sg. < ἐκδίδωμι: “do not surrender:” ᾧ πατρὶ: “to my father:” LSJ s.v. (POSSESS. PRON) ὅς ιιι.εἴ νυ καὶ αὐτή: “if you also . . .” The language of Medea’s plea (especially in the next two lines) is very elevated, as she tries to appeal to the Queen’s emotions.

1016: ἀνθρώπων γενεῆς μία φέρβεαι: “you are nourished (exist) as one of the race of men.” This metaphorical use of φέρβω seems to be due to A. alone. This and the line that follows sounds like one of the gnomic utterances of Pindar (e.g. Pind. P. 4.139).

1017: κούφῃσι . . . ἀμπλακίῃσιν: “light mistakes.” Medea has used ἀμπλακία, when discussing the morality of her actions (4.413); see 411–13n.

1018–19: ἐκ πυκιναὶ ἔπεσον φρένες: “good sense deserted me,” lit. “wise minds fell away.” οὐ μὲν ἕκητι μαργοσύνης: “not for the sake of lust.” Medea is moulding her argument to suit the recipient. At 4.375, she explicitly confesses to μαργοσύνη.

1019: Medea swears a double oath to strengthen her assertions. ἴστω ἱερὸν φάος Ἠελίοιο: “be witness the light of the Sun (of whom she is the granddaughter.) ἴστω: perf. imperat. act. 3^rd. sg. < οἶδα. The asyndeton and hiatus make the individual phrase more distinctive.

1020: ἴστω . . . ὄργια: “be witness the rites.” νυκτιπόλου κούρης: “of the night-wandering maiden.” Medea makes a similar call to Hecate at 4.148, 829. Περσηίδος: “daughter of the Perses (the Titan: Hes. Th. 409–11.)

1021: μὴ μὲν: “that . . .” Smyth §2705. Once again, the tone of her argument was different in her speech to Jason at 4.360. Did Medea leave “willingly” (ἐθέλουσα) is a contentious issue through most of Book 4. There may be important links with other poetry here; see further (Acosta-Hughes 2010, 48).

1022: κεῖθεν ἀφωρμήθην: “I fled from there:” ἀφωρμήθην: aor. pass. form with an active meaning.

1022–3: στυγερὸν . . . τάρβος: Medea’s “hateful fear” is the theme of the opening lines of book 4. It is what “persuaded” (ἔπεισεν) her to flee (τῆσδε φυγῆς μνήσασθαι) rather than commit suicide. ὅτ᾿ ἤλιτον: “when I sinned,” by offering help to the Argonauts. The verb echoes what she says at 3.891.

1023–4: οὐδέ τις ἄλλη / μῆτις: “no other plan was possible.” ἔτι μοι μίτρη μένει: “my maiden’s girdle remains . . .”

1025: ἄχραντος καὶ ἀκήρατος: “immaculate and untouched.” A recently published papyrus: (P.Oxy. LXXXIV 5428 (Benaissa, Slattery, and Henry 2019, 114) see Media) offers a possible new reading in this line (1025): instead of δώμασιν (unnecessary with ἐνὶ πατρὸς, cf. 4.1004) the papyrus seems to show the remains of a lunate sigma (Ϲ), suggesting perhaps παρθεν]̠ο̣ϲ. Pace the Editio Princeps (Benaissa, Slattery, and Henry 2019, 114): “the specification ‘maidenly’ is not needed”, the close parallel (not mentioned ibid.), Moschus, Europa 73 παρθενίην μίτρην ἄχραντον seems to offer strong support for the new reading. Also, for παρθένος used as an adjective add to LSJ s.v. aii (in addition to Eur. Hipp. 1006, Epigr. Gr. 319.3=Kaibel p.122) Eur. Heracl. 783, Ion 270, Phoen. 838. For a full discussion of this papyrus, see here.

1026–7: ὀπάσειαν / ἀθάνατοι: “may the immortals grant you,” with a clever reversal of roles, echoing Odysseus’ wish for Nausicaa at Od. 6.180–2, but with a bitter edge as the things which Odysseus wishes the Phaeacian princess, Medea is destined never to have with Jason (“oneness of heart”). ὀπάσειαν: optative of wish: Smyth § 1814.

 1027–8: βίοτόν τε τελεσφόρον: “a full life.” ἀγλαΐην τε / καὶ παῖδας: “a perfect life in a glorious city free from the ravages of war.” κῦδος ἀπορθήτοιο πόληος: lit. “the glory of an unravaged city,” the two genitive sing. nouns depending on κ. The phrase is probably meant to remind the reader of Il. 12.11.

1029: A recently published papyrus (Benaissa, Slattery, and Henry 2019, 114) offers the reading δακ̣ρ̣υοεσσα. There is every reason to think that this is A.’s variation of a more usual Homeric phrase (Il. 1.357, Od. 24.438 ~ Arg. 4.1277.)

1030: Medea’s tone now changes to something more recriminatory as she addresses individual Argonauts (ἐναμοιβαδὶς ἄνδρα ἕκαστον).

1031–2: ὑμέων . . . οὕνεκεν: a case of extreme hyperbaton. Medea makes the opening words of her appeal to the Argonauts more dramatic by placing the personal pronoun first. She then pauses to employ a rhetorically elaborate form of address to the heroes (ὦ πέρι δὴ μέγα φέρτατοι), then goes to link together (ἀμφί . . . οὕνεκεν) the two grounds for her distress. Word order in Hellenistic poetry can be complex, e.g. 4.83–4 where ἔκ similarly governs Αἰήταο in the next line; see further (Wilamowitz-Moellendorff 1924, 2:202n.2) and also (Shaw 1779, 445).

1032: ἧς ἰότητι: “by whose help”. Medea refers to herself and reinforces this with ἧς εἵνεκεν (1034).

1034: ἐκ . . . κείρατε: tmesis, “you reaped”. γηγενέων: agreeing with ἀνδρῶν depends on θέρος οὐλοὸν, “deadly harvest” in the previous line. ἧς εἵνεκεν: “through me,” lit. “because of whom”.

1035: νοστήσαντες: “returning”, the use of the spondaic aorist part emphasises the momentous nature of the task, confronting the Argonauts.

1036–7: ἥδ᾿ ἐγώ: “while I”. Medea rhetorically lists the losses that she has incurred through her aid to Jason and his men: “native land . . . parents . . . home . . .”, with another fine climactic phrase: “the entire delight of life”, before she turns to list what they have gained.

1038: ὔμμι: < σύ (you): dat. 2nd pl. (epic, aeolic), “but you”. ναιέμεν: pres inf act (epic), dependent on ἤνυσα in the next line.

1039: ἤνυσα: aor. ind. act. 1st sg. (attic, epic, ionic), “for you I have made it possible for you to live in you country and your homes”. γλυκεροῖσιν goes with ὄμμασιν enclosing the important main verb: εἰσόψεσθε. I have lost everything but you will experience the sweet sight (γλυκεροῖσιν . . . ὄμμασιν) of your parents, lit. “you will see them with sweet eyes”. The combination of transferred epithet and emjambment (ὄμμασιν . . . ἀγλαΐας) add to the power of the passage.

1041: σὺν ὀθνείοις ἀλάλημαι: as often with Medea, the theme is one of wandering far from her native land in the company of strangers (4.360–5). ἀλάλημαι: pf. < ἀλάομαι, only in pres. sense.

1042: συνθεσίας τε καὶ ὅρκια: “agreements and oaths” are also a frequent subject of recrimination with Jason and his men (4.338–40). Ἐρινὺν: likewise she has threatened them with the goddesses of Vengeance (4.385–6).

1043­–44: εἰς χεῖρας ἰοῦσαν: the syntax and the sense of this are difficult. The problem may have been solved by P.Oxy. LXXXIV 5428 (Benaissa, Slattery, and Henry 2019, 114) which, according to editio princeps has ⟦αγ⟧⸌ι⸍ ουσαν, which is to be interpreted as αγ deleted and ι added. The photographic evidence (see Media), however, seems to show that the reading ἄγουσαν was very much in the scribe’s mind and that evidence of correction is indistinct. The reading Π gives good sense (see editio princeps ad loc.) and should be accepted: “leading (me) into the hands of Aietes to be killed with horrible suffering (λώβῃ πολυπήμονι)”. For a full discussion of this papyrus, see here.

1045: With this tricolon arrangement of the nouns, Medea again uses powerful rhetoric to support her points: “not temples, not defence tower, nor any other refuge”.

1046: οἰόθι δὲ προτιβάλλομαι: she uses enjambment, as she does throughout this speech, to lead to this climactic appeal: “I throw myself upon your protection alone (οἰόθι . . . ὑμέας αὐτούς).

1047: σχέτλιοι ἀτροπίης καὶ ἀνηλέες: “hard and pitiless in your cruelty”. ἀτροπίης: genitive of exclamation Smyth §1407 and another reference to her previous angry speech to Jason (4.386–9).

1048: the word-order (ξείνης . . . ἀνάσσης) encloses the physical elements in the gesture (γούνασι χεῖρας) and enhances its power.

1049: ἀμήχανον: “in my helplessness”. The adjective agrees with μ᾿ in the previous line. τείνουσαν ἀμήχανον: recalls Medea’s farewell to her native land as the Argonauts begin to row away from Colchis at 4.107–8. ἀλλά κε πᾶσιν: “you would have . . .”.

1050: Medea is very scornful of the Argonauts: “you would have taken them all on (ἐμείξατε δούρατα), cruel Aietes included (αὐτῷ τ᾿ Αἰήτῃ ὑπερήνορι), when you wanted the fleece (κῶας ἑλεῖν μεμαῶτες)”.

1051–2: νῦν δὲ: “but now.” λάθεσθε / ἠνορέης: “you forget your manhood (ἠνορέης contrasts with ὑπερήνορι), when they (the Colchians) are alone (μοῦνοι) and cut off (ἀποτμηγέντες: < ἀποτμηγω).

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