Argonautica IV 109-182

Seizure of the fleece

After a short journey along the River Phasis, Jason and the Argonauts, together with Medea, arrive at the Grove of Ares where Aietes has hung the Fleece on an oak tree. Throughout this entire passage, which functions as a self-contained Epyllion, the language is heightened: an elaborate geographical excursus emphasises the extent of the Colchian kingdom and Aietes’ power, richly worded similes stress the size of the Guardian Serpent but, above all, the action centres on the leading role played by Medea in achieving the main goal of the mission and the ways in which it might affect her relationship with Jason.

109  ἦμος: "at the time when," looking forward to τῆμος, "at that time," in line 114. ἀνέρες . . . ἀγρόται: “countrymen,” actually hunters, as emerges. The hyperbaton enfolds the opening statement of the comparison concerning their early morning wakefulness. ὕπνον is the object of ἐβάλοντο.

110  πεποιθότες: "trusting in," + dat. LSJ πείθω B. iii, perf. act. participle.

111  ἄγχαυρον: qualifying νύκτα: “night when it has not yet turned into day.” This rare word, as is usual with A., is enjambed. ἀλευάμενοι: < ἀλέομαι: aorist middle, “avoid, shun.”

111  φάος: > φάος / φῶς, accusative singular neuter.  ἠοῦς: < ἠώς, genitive singular feminine.

112  μὴ πρὶν ἀμαλδύνῃ: the light of the sun is the subject. Subjunctive after μή denotes a fear for the future (Smyth 2225). ἠδὲ καί: “and also.”

113  θηρείην: “scent (of wild animals).” The repetition and chiasmus θηρῶν στίβον ~ ὀδμὴν θηρείην seems deliberate, though there have been attempts to emend θηρῶν. The balanced phrase λευκῇσιν ἐνισκίμψασα βολῇσιν (datives either side of the participle) is typically Hellenistic.

114  τῆμος . . . ἀπὸ νηὸς ἔβησαν: “Then Jason and the girl went ashore.” The action switches back to the reality of the moment. The contrast is a sharp one: Jason and Medea are on the trail of the Fleece, just like the early morning hunters.

115–16  ποιήεντ᾿ ἀνὰ χῶρον: “on to the grassy place.” The phrase seems to echo the opening of Od. 14.2 χῶρον ἀν’ ὑλήεντα. The monster is lurking in a pastoral setting. The poet pictures a locus amoenus, disrupted in this case by the serpent in the garden. This is where the Ram came almost to the end of its journey (ἵνα Κριοῦ καλέονται / Εὐναί, lit. "where the Ram’s bed is called”), a place associated with weakness and tiredness.

116  κεκμηότα γούνατ᾿ ἔκαμψεν: “bent his weary knees” lends an anthropomorphising touch to the description of the Ram, which, on arrival in Colchis, speaks to its passenger (Arg. 2.1141). Yet it is also the point from which Jason and Medea begin their journey.

117  νώτοισιν φορέων: referring to the Ram. Μινυήιον: “Minyan,” derived from the mythical Minyas. Minyas is only known through his adjective, used of the Argonauts as well as Orchomenos. The epithet is older than the Trojan Wars and is used by both Homer and A. to add legendary status, as does the patronymical phrase υἷ’ Ἀθάμαντος.

118  αἰθαλόεντα . . . βωμοῖο θέμεθλα: “smoke-blackened foundations of the altar,” stresses that the altar is in regular use. Smoke played an important part in ancient sacrifice; see  (Naiden 2013, VII). Although the ancients would have been used to soot on altars, a sacrificial altar hidden deep in a sacred grove is an exotic descriptive detail.

119  Αἰολίδης . . . Φρίξος: “Phrixos of the race of Aiolos.” Διὶ Φυξίῳ: Φυξίος occurs as a title of Zeus in Thessaly, appropriate for a descendant of Aiolos. It occurs elsewhere in poetry only at Lycophron Alex. 288 (Hornblower, S. 2015, 65).

119  εἵσατο: “established,” aorist middle > ἵζω.

120  ῥέζων: A. is describing a typical scene from epic poetry: Callimachus h. 3.199–200 ἀνεστήσαντο δὲ βωμούς / ἱερά τε ῥέζουσι, based on Homeric Hymn 5.100–1 περιφαινομένῳ ἐνὶ χώρῳ, / βωμὸν ποιήσω, ῥέξω δέ τοι ἱερὰ καλὰ, the relative calm of which is going to be shattered in the rest of the passage.

120  τέρας: although here used of the ram, often describes a monster such as the one that Medea and Jason are soon to encounter.

120  παγχρύσεον: the Fleece is generally described as golden, although Simonides and others said it was purple or even white.

121–22  Ἑρμείας πρόφρων ξυμβλήμενος: in epic poetry encounters between men and gods occur frequently. Hermes’ encounters with Odysseus (Od. 10.275–307 ἱερὰς ἀνὰ βήσσας ~ ποιήεντ᾽ ἀνὰ χῶρον; ἀντεβόλησεν ~ ξυμβλήμενος) and Priam (Il. 24.345–468) show him as a typical helper figure.

121 ξυμβλήμενος: aorist middle participle > συμβάλλω. Homeric mss. vary between ξυμ– and συμ­– (West, M.L. 2017, 230; Graziosi, Barbara and Haubold, Johannes 2019). 

121 τούσγε: Jason and Medea, object of μεθέηκαν "let go," i.e., "put on shore" < μεθίημι: aorist active indicative 3rd plural.

122­–86  This description of Jason and Medea’s confrontation with the guardian snake and the rescue of the Fleece opens and closes with non-Homeric similes concerned with different aspects of its radiance. Initially it is compared to the light of the rising sun (125–6), then of the moon (169–70) and finally the lightning of Zeus (185). Between these comparisons are two other similes, both inspired by Homer. The snake’s spiraling body and the rising smoke rings to which it is compared (4.139–44) bring to mind two Iliadic passages (18.207, 21.522–5) used of the fear provoked by Achilles among the Trojans. In the second half of the passage, as the snake relaxes under Medea’s ministrations, it is compared to soundless waves (4.152–3), an imitation of Il. 14.16–22, where Nestor hesitates over a decision, and also an inversion of similes where the sea roars (Il. 2.209–10, 394–97, 14. 394–5, 17. 263–6).

123  τώ: “they,” Jason and Medea (dual nom.). 

123 μεθ’: μετά, "in quest of" 

123  ἱερὸν ἄλσος: “the sacred grove.” This recalls the scene at Od. 6.321–2 κλυτὸν ἄλσος ἵκοντο / ἱρὸν Ἀθηναίης. The sanctity of this particular grove is soon to be shattered.

123   ἵκοντο: for the mixture of dual subjects (τώ and διζημένω) with a plural verb see Smyth 955.

124–5  ᾗ ἔπι κῶας / βέβλητο: the Fleece hangs on a tree (2.404–7, 1268–70, 4.162). On a cup by Douris (Rome, Vatican Museums, ARV 437.116), Jason is being disgorged by the serpent, with the Fleece hanging on a tree nearby. βέβλητο < βάλλω: pluperfect passive indicative 3rd singular (epic).

125  νεφέλῃ ἐναλίγκιον: “like a cloud.” A. has a number of descriptions which are concerned with the effect of light (1.450–3, 519–21, 1280–3, 2.164–5, 3.755–9, 1223–4, 4.109–11, 167–70). It has been argued that A. saw and described like a painter.

125–26  ἀνιόντος / ἠελίου: “of the rising sun,” recalling Il. 22.134–5 ἐλάμπετο εἴκελος αὐγῇ / ἢ πυρὸς αἰθομένου ἢ ἠελίου ἀνιόντος.  The genitive phrase depends on φλογερῇσιν . . . ἀκτίνεσσιν, “fiery beams.”

126  The image of the cloud flecked with red may originate from passages such as Aratus 867 φαίνωνται νεφέλαι ὑπερευθέες ἄλλοθεν ἄλλαι and also 880–2.

126  ἐρεύθεται: the cognates of  ἔρευθος are thematic in the Argonautica. The word combines craft, magic and eroticism as part of the chiaroscuro that permeates this passage. The middle of ἐρεύθειν occurs first at Sappho fr. 105a.1 Voigt οἶον τὸ γλυκύμαλον ἐρεύθεται ἄκρῳ ἐπ᾽ ὔσδῳ, an image which A. may be recalling here. See further 474n.

127  ὁ: looks forward to ὄφις in the next line 

127  περιμήκεα . . . δειρήν: τhe long neck of the serpent calls to mind Scylla at Od. 12.90 ἓξ δέ τέ οἱ δειραὶ περιμήκεες.

128  ὀξύς: "keen-sighted," LSJ  ὀξὺς A.ΙΙ.2.

129  ῥοίζει δὲ πελώριον: “and hissed mightily.” πελώριον is used as an adverb. The Hesiodic passage describing the birth of Typhoeus (Hes. Th. 835 ῥοίζεσχ’, ὑπὸ δ᾽ ἤχεεν οὔρεα μακρά) is one of A.’s models here.

129­–30  ἀμφὶ δὲ μακραὶ / ἠιόνες: supply ἴαχον, from the second half of the sentence (ἴαχεν). This passage is based on Il. 17.264–5 ἀμφὶ δέ τ᾽ ἄκραι / ἠϊόνες βοόωσιν ἐρευγομένης ἁλὸς ἔξω. In the Homeric passage the meaning of ἄκραι ἠϊόνες is not clear. It has been translated ‘the shores echo to their farthest points’ (Leaf). The scene described is an estuary bordered by sands on which the waters churn noisily. It is possible to see here A. in his role as Homeric critic, reading ἠϊόνες at Il. 17.264–5 and making the simple emendation μακραί for τ᾽ ἄκραι.

130  The vast sound of the echo (μακραὶ . . . ἄσπετον) emphasises the size of the monster.

130  ἄσπετον ἴαχεν ἄλσος: "the immense grove echoed,"  LSJ ἰάχω A.2. The assonance of the phrase is striking and further enhances a vivid description. It seems to allude to Hom. Hym. 27.7 ἰαχεῖ δ᾽ ἔπι δάσκιος ὕλη. A. has other examples of the pathetic fallacy at 3.1218 πίσεα δ᾽ ἔτρεμε πάντα κατὰ στίβον, 4.1171–2 αἱ δ᾽ἐγέλασσαν / ἠϊόνες νήσοιο. Expressions such as these, which endow Nature with human emotion, are found in Homer and become a topos in hexameter poetry; cf. Il. 13.18, 19.362, Theocr. 7.74.

131  “They heard the noise, who, even very far from Titan Aia, inhabited the Colchian land . . .” The loudness of the hiss is emphasised by the vast area over which it is heard. Virgil imitated this passage at Aen. 7.515–18 contremuit nemus et siluae insonuere profundae. / audiit et Triuiae longe lacus, audiit amnis / . . . / et trepidae matres pressere ad pectora natos. A. is describing a place whose name is Αἶα (i.e. the city of Colchis), called Τιτηνίδος Αἴης because of the links with Prometheus—the Argonauts hear his agonised cry, as they draw near to Colchis (2.1247–9). Possibly Τιτηνίδος also refers to Aietes’ ancestry, the son of Helios (2.1204) and so grandson of the Titan Hyperion.

132  Κολχίδα γῆν: makes an immediate contrast with Τιτηνίδος Αἴης. For ἐνέμοντο, cf. the formulae of the Homeric Catalogue of Ships; e.g. Il. 2.499 οἱ τ᾽ ἁμφ’ Ἅρμ’ ἐνέμοντο, emphasising the size of Aietes’ empire and forces.

132  παρὰ προχοῇσι Λύκοιο: “by the waters of the Lycus.” Attempts to identify this particular River Lycus have not met with success. The sense seems to call for a river, a long way from Colchis (πολλὸν ἑκάς) and closely associated with the Araxes (mentioned in the next line). Κύροιο (i.e. the river Kyrus-modern day Kura) or perhaps Κόροιο, mentioned by Strabo (11.3.2) as its earlier name would make better sense of the description. The error, which A. or his geographical sources made, is in thinking that the Kyrus joined the Phasis somewhere in the Caucasus Mountains (see map in Media section).

133  ὅς τ᾿ ἀποκιδνάμενος: “which, breaking off from . . .” + gen.

134  Φάσιδι συμφέρεται ἱερὸν ῥόον: "blends its sacred stream with (the river) Phasis," LSJ συμφέρω B.I. Rivers are often seen as holy (Il. 11.726 ἱερὸν ῥόον Ἀλφειοῖο). The adjective ἱερός has been linked with the Vedic root denoting “swift movement” and perhaps the fact that the fact that the rushing water flows with ἱερός ῥόος is the root of the belief that the river contains godhead.

135  Καυκασίην ἅλαδ(ε): “to the Caucasian sea.” For the -δε suffix see Smyth 1589. A. thinks of the Caucasus Mountains as being one of the landmarks near Colchis (2.1247, 1267, 3.852, 3.1224) and so it is a natural extension to talk of the ‘Caucasian Sea’. εἰς ἓν ἐλαυνόμενοι: “united into one.”

136–8  δείματι δ᾿ ἐξέγροντο λεχωίδες: “new mothers are awakened in terror.” The emphasis turns from geography to a more personal level. The gesture described, grasping something (ἀμφὶ δὲ παισὶν / νηπιάχοις . . . χεῖρας βάλον) in extreme danger, is natural, and the whimpering of the children in their sleep (ὑπ᾿ ἀγκαλίδεσσιν ἴαυον) is a vivid detail. It is a good example of a Hellenistic poet adding enargeia (G. Zanker 1981) to a description.

137  σφιν ὑπ᾿ ἀγκαλίδεσσιν: “in their arms” (lit. "in the arms to them," see Smyth 1476).

138  ῥοίζῳ παλλομένοις: “shaking at the hissing,” agreeing with νηπιάχοις in the previous line.

139–42  τυφομένης ὕλης ὕπερ: The preposition is in anastrophe: “above a burning forest.” This is the first of the elaborate similes in this passage. Similes based on forest fires or smoke rising from a fire are found in Homer. At Il. 11.155–7 fire, “falls upon a wood and the thickets perish in the onrush of the flames,” just as the Trojans perish under the attack of Agamemnon. A. is unexpectedly linking the fear experienced in battle with the horror caused by the monstrous snake.

139­–40  αἰθαλόεσσαι / καπνοῖο στροφάλιγγες ἀπείριτοι: "immense sooty whirls of smoke."

140  εἱλίσσονται: "coil." Word from the same root recur in this passage: εἰλίγγοισιν (142),  ἐλέλιζε (143),  ἑλισσομένοιο (145). As the smoke billows so the huge serpent gyrates through the wood.

141  ἄλλη δ᾽ αἶψ(α) ἑτέρῃ ἔπι τέλλεται: “one rises immediately upon another,” rather than transmitted ἐπιτέλλεται. A. is fond of anastrophe (see above). ἐπιτέλλομαι meaning ‘rise after’ is unusual. In similar phrases with ἄλλος κ.τ.λ., ἐπί is usually part of the ἄλλος phrase; e.g. Arg. 2.81 ἐπ’ ἄλλῳ δ᾽ ἄλλος, 2.1042 ἄλλος ἐπὶ προτέρῳ, Callimachus h. 2.101 ἄλλον ἐπ’ ἄλλῳ. The construction ἐπί plus dative regularly means “one after another.”

141  αἰὲν ἐπιπρὸ: “ever forwards (and upwards)." A.’s description of how the smoke clouds behave is very detailed.

142  “lifted up (ἐπήορος) from below (νειόθεν) in swirls (εἰλίγγοισιν), as it rises up (ἐξανιοῦσα).” The additional line, drawing out the picture, echoes the action as the rising smoke slowly dissipates. Retaining the better attested ἐξανιοῦσα (rather the textual variant ἀίσσουσα) strengthens the alliterative qualities of the line.

143  πέλωρον: “monster”, a good word to use of a δράκων (Il. 12.202).

143  ἀπειρεσίας: echoes ἀπείριτοι (140). The word fits with A.’s description of the dragon's size as being of  cosmic scale. The exaggeration contrasts with line 149 and the simple way in which Medea conquers it (156–9).

143  ἐλέλιζεν: (impf. rather than transmitted ἐλέλιξεν) is the correct word to use of a dragon’s writhing (Il. 2.316).

144  ῥυμβόνας: "coils," a word not found elsewhere. Some snakes at rest curl up into neat piles of coils, and this is the position of the serpent when Medea and Jason approach. Then it uncoils for action and in the process its body goes round and round in circles. This is the motion of the ῥόμβος or “bull-roarer.”

144  ἀζαλέῃσιν ἐπηρεφέας φολίδεσσιν: “covered with dry scales.”

145  The meaning of this line is clear: Medea went (LSJ εἴσομαι II) into the eyeline (κατόμματον?  κατ᾽ ὄμματα?) of the writhing serpent (τοῖο δ᾿ ἑλισσομένοιο). What A. actually wrote is less so. Viewing the two oldest surviving Medieval manuscripts online shows the uncertain nature of the transmitted text: Laurentianus gr. 32.09 (AD 960–80) indicates that the scribe wrote κατόμματον εἴσατο, (fifteen text lines down from the top of the page), while the important Laurentianus gr. 32.16 is more difficult to read  (third line down on the left). On balance it seems better to follow the text of the older witness, although κατόμματος is recorded nowhere else.

146  Ὕπνον ἀοσσητῆρα: “Sleep the helper.”  

146  θεῶν ὕπατον: Medea is very respectful and is using strong magic. ὕ. is usually used only of Zeus.

146  καλέουσα: "calling upon," "summoning." Medea calls on the supernatural from below and above the earth, using a string of titles that we can imagine her chanting before the serpent. The language used displays a feature typical of prayer, successive epithets applied to the power or deity to whom the prayer is addressed.

147: ἡδείῃ ἐνοπῇ: “in a sweet voice.”

147  θέλξαι: aorist infinitive < θέλγω “to charm.” Medea’s ability to employ θέλξις is an important feature in her characterisation as a witch.

147 αὖε δ᾿ ἄνασσαν: “she cried out to the queen.” She turns her attention to Hecate, the queen of the Underworld. The assonance reinforces the strength of her incantation.

148  νυκτιπόλον, χθονίην: “the night wanderer, the infernal.” Both words are frequently used of Hecate.

148  εὐαντέα δοῦναι ἐφορμήν: lit. “to give a successful approach,” i.e., to ensure the success of the mission. After this dread invocation, Medea puts the beast out of action merely by dosing it with some harmless drugs. There is a degree of ironic humour in the whole passage.

149  εἵπετο δ᾽ Αἰσονίδης πεφοβημένος: “But the son of Aeson followed her, terrified.” The real hero of the scene (Medea) leads the way. One of the major contrasts in the present episode is between 4.109–61 where Medea is the leading figure and takes on the guardian dragon, and 4.161–83 during which Jason takes complete charge of the Fleece once all the dangers have been overcome.

149  πεφοβημένος: < φοβέω perfect middle-passive participle.

150  θελγόμενος: see 147n. above.

150 ἄκανθαν: (Latin: spina) is here used of the backbone of the snake. ἀνελύετ᾿(ο): occurs in Homer (of the undoing of Penelope’s web: Od. 2.105, 109) but, more importantly, it is used as a medical term meaning “relax.”

151  γηγενέος σπείρης: “of his earthborn coil.” Sacred snakes were associated either with what emerges from the earth, such as trees or springs, or what is placed inside it, such as foundations of houses and altars, or graves. μήκυνε δὲ μυρία κύκλα: the meaning (“myriad coils”), alliteration and rhythm of the line enhance the sense that the serpent is uncoiling on a cosmic scale.

152­–3  οἷον ὅτε: "as when," introducing a simile. The coils of the serpent’s body are likened to the rolling of waves on a sluggish sea.

152  κυλινδόμενον: “rolling.” As often the word order is intricate. κῦμα is delayed until the next line where it is forcefully described by three adjectives: μέλαν κωφόν τε καὶ ἄβρομον. There is no need, as some critics have done, to emend μέλαν into a main verb (πέλεν or the like). Similes, like this one, without a main verb are common enough. The blackness of the sea is a striking detail of the description.

154­–5  ὑψοῦ . . . ἀείρας: the two words are to be taken together. The serpent rises his head on high. The action of the verb, in true snake-like manner, encircles its object (σμερδαλέην κεφαλὴν). In 154–5, the serpent’s sudden burst of activity is marked by a long stretch of dactyls, emphasising his speed of movement after his initial sluggishness.

155  περιπτύξαι: περιπτύσσω is more usual of the human embrace. A.’s extension of the word to cover the grip of the serpent’s jaws has a ghastly appropriateness.

156  ἡ δέ μιν: referring to Medea and the serpent respectively.

156  ἀρκεύθοιο: “of Juniper.” It has often been thought to have magical and medicinal properties.

156  τετμηότι: < τέμνω: perf. passive with passive sense: < τετμηώς. This version of the story in which Medea drugs the dragon emerges first in A., though the scholiast commentator on  4.156 says that he is following Antimachus who retold the Argonautica legend in his elegiac poem Lyde 

157  βάπτουσ᾿ ἐκ κυκεῶνος: “dipping it in a potion.” The use of ἐκ is strange. Perhaps it represents the gesture of dipping the sprig of juniper in the potion and then flicking the liquid towards the serpent’s eyes. The κυκεῶν is the magic potion that Circe uses at Od. 10.234.

157 ἀκήρατα φάρμακ᾿: “harmless drugs.” Almost an oxymoron, which fits well into the immediate context – after the application, the dragon goes to sleep.

157  ἀοιδαῖς: “with her spells.” Medea must be imagined as chanting as she gently administers the liquid (ῥαῖνε κατ᾿ ὀφθαλμῶν).

158  περί τ᾿ ἀμφί τε: “round and about.” The pleonasm stresses the transformation that takes place as the drug gradually overpowers the serpent.

158  νήριτος ὀδμὴ: is the transmitted text perhaps “powerful smell” (Hunter ad loc.) but the word is really equivalent to πολλή. Much more in keeping would be νήδυμος ὀδμή, bearing in mind that juniper is sweet smelling. The change would introduce a typical and pointed Hellenistic variation on a Homeric phrase (Il. 2.2 νήδυμος ὕπνος).

159  φαρμάκου: depends on ὀδμὴ. If we translate the transmitted text: “the immense smell of the drug spread sleep (ὕπνον ἔβαλλε). For βάλλω used in this sense, see LSJ Aii 2.

159  γένυν: denotes the serpent’s chin. It can also be used of a human chin.

160  θῆκεν ἐρεισάμενος: lit. “it placed its jaw in that very place, having lent down.”

160  ἀπείρονα πολλὸν ὀπίσσω: again the poet’s emphasis is on the immense size of the animal that he is describing.

161  πολυπρέμνος: a rare word used instead of the Homeric πολυδένδρεος. The abundance of trees is stressed because of their importance in the beliefs attached to sacred groves (see notes below).

161  τετάνυστο: is used of a large form stretched out, prone at Il. 7.271 ὕπτιος ἐξετανύσθη (Hector). The dragon has been laid low on the ‘battlefield’ of the grove of Ares.

162–3  χρύσειον goes with κῶας in another of A.’s elegantly interlaced phrases.

162  αἴνυτο: The gesture is a heroic one; cf. Od. 21.53 ἔνθεν ὀρεξαμένη ἀπὸ πασσάλου αἴνυτο τόξον but A. undercuts it by stressing that it is carried out at Medea's command by the genitive absolute at the beginning of line 163 (κούρης κεκλομένης).

163  ἡ δ᾿ ἔμπεδον ἑστηυῖα: “Medea stands her ground, until Jason and the Argonauts are ready to beat a retreat.

163  ἑστηυῖα: perf. participle < ἵστημι (ii 1).

164: φαρμάκῳ ἔψηχεν θηρὸς κάρη: Medea continues to treat the serpent very gently by applying the drug to his head.

165  ἑὴν ἐπὶ νῆα: “to his ship.” ἑός is restricted to the 3^rd person in older epic usage: Apollonius, liking the antique ring, uses it for all persons.

165–6  παλιντροπάασθαι Ἰήσων / ἤνωγεν: Jason retakes command.

166  ἤνωγεν < ἀνώγω: aorist) again and A. perhaps uses the rarepolysyllable infinitive to mark this shift.

166 λεῖπον: Jason and Medea leave together (transmitted λεῖπεν leaves Medea abandoned).

166  πολύσκιον ἄλσος Ἄρηος: A shady grove is a very holy place. The most famous Greek example is Dodona and in the Roman world that of Nemi. There are few references to sacred groves for Ares. One is Geronthrai in Messenia (Paus. 3.22.6–7).

167–70  παρθένος: Jason is unexpectedly compared to a young girl, as ὧς τότʼ Ἰήσων (170) shows. The language is choice (διχομήνιδα) and the word order complex (particularly the next line), all of which serves to heighten a fine image. The effects of light are a constant theme in A.’s poetry and here the light of the simile (σεληναίην διχομήνιδα . . . αἴγλην) is juxtaposed with πολύσκιον ἄλσος Ἄρηος. At the beginning of the episode (109–11), it is still night and Jason and Medea make their way to the dragon’s tree in darkness. A. begins to illuminate the scene in 167–9. He has already used images which suggest different kinds of light (118, 125–6, 139–40) but as the two return to the ship, the light grows and the glow of the Fleece suffuses the returning hero.

167  σεληναίης . . .  αἴγλην: these two nouns depend on each other. σεληναίης is from σελήναιη (epic form of σελήνη).

168  εἰσανέχουσαν: ἐξανέχουσαν is the transmitted text. we should read εἰσανέχουσαν instead of the transmitted text. The moon light is coming down into the girl’s bedroom.

168  ὑπωροφίου θαλάμοιο: alludes to the Homeric ὑπερῷον, the upper part of the house where the women lived. ὑπωροφίου is an emendation (Merkel 1854 CLXIII, 213) for transmitted ὑπωρόφιον which gives a very difficult sense.

169: λεπταλέῳ ἑανῷ ὑποΐσχεται: The maiden catches the light on her robe. Perhaps this refers to rich cloth’s being oiled to give it extra sheen. Just as the girl catches (ὑποΐσχεται) the light on her dress, so Apsyrtus later catches the blood from his wound to stain Medea's veil and dress (4.473).

169–70: ἐν δέ οἱ ἦτορ / χαίρει δερκομένης: The participle (δερκομένης) in the genitive seemingly agreeing with the enclitic pronoun οἱ is an attempt by A. to imitate an archaic oddity of the Homeric epic: there is another good example at Arg. 3.371. 

170  ὣς τότ᾿ Ἰήσων: Οnly now do we learn that Jason is the object of the simile. One might have imagined that Medea was being compared to the girl on the point of marriage. However, she has little cause for joy at the moment. The reversal of the gender roles heightens the eroticism of the moment and subverts the description in typical Apollonian fashion. What kind of hero is the poet describing?

171  μέγα κῶας ἑαῖς ἀναείρετο χερσίν: Jason lifts up the Fleece, bringing it close to his face, in the same way that the Maiden tries to catch the moonlight on her fine dress.

172  καί οἱ ἐπὶ ξανθῇσι παρηίσιν ἠδὲ μετώπῳ: the light of the Fleece plays over “his fair cheeks and forehead.”

172  καί οἱ: dative (of possession) third person singular pronoun as in ὄσσε δέ οἱ πυρὶ ἐίκτην (Il. 1.104), “and his two eyes were like fire.”

173  μαρμαρυγῇ ληνέων: “from the gleam of the wool.” ληνέων is scanned as two long syllables. Strabo (11.2.19) says “that in their country gold is carried down by the mountain torrents, and that the barbarians obtain it by means of perforated troughs and fleecy skins, and that this is the origin of the myth of the Golden Fleece.”

173  φλογὶ εἴκελον: the Fleece is also likened to fire at 4.1143–8. The Hellenistic painter Antiphilus, was admired for the way in which in his ‘Boy Blowing a Fire’ he made the house and boy’s face reflect the glow (Graham Zanker 2004, 62) 

173  ἷζεν ἔρευθος: the blush of red often defines personal beauty in A.’s poetry. Jason is similarly described at Arg. 1.725–26.

174  ὅσση δὲ ῥινὸς βοὸς ἤνιος: another unexpected comparison. The Fleece, which a moment ago, seemed so delicate, is likened to the skin of two animals: a yearling (ἤνιος < ἤνις) heifer or a stag.

175  ἀγρῶσται: usually means “countrymen but here “hunters” seems to be better.

175  ἀχαιινέην: This is a very rare word but comparisons in which difficult words are glossed or explained are a feature of Hellenistic poetry. The use of καλέουσιν shows that A. is parading a piece of recondite learning. Although the hide is said to be of a young heifer, the stress is put on its size. The description is perhaps meant to make the reader stop and ponder on the appearance of the wonderous thing that Jason is carrying.

176­–77  punctuation and understanding of these lines has proved difficult. Translate: “so great in every way (πάντῃ) was the Fleece, golden above (χρύσεον δ᾽ἐφύπερθεν) and heavy with its thick covering of wool (βεβρίθει λήνεσσιν ἐπηρεφές)” and punctuate as printed. The κῶας is the whole skin . . . the ἄωτον is the woolly Fleece, on the skin, as it is in Homer. The ἄωτον does not grow all over the κῶας, hence the distinction between πάντῃ and ἐφύπερθε.

177  ἤλιθα: A word whose meaning was disputed in antiquity. Here the meaning is “very much, exceedingly”. Used also at 4.1265 where the meaning may be different.

178  A. takes his lead from Pindar’s κῶας αἰγλᾶεν χρυσέῳ θυσάνῳ (Pind. P. 231), “the Fleece gleaming with its golden fringe.”, and spreads the light of the Fleece through his narrative. Jason is suffused with a golden glow as he goes back to the ship, its extent emphasised by ἤλιθα, ὑποπρὸ ποδῶν and the fire-imagery of ἀμαρύσσω. αἰὲν ὑποπρό: the rare preposition combined with the adverb (“with every step”, Hunter ad loc.). intensifies the effect of this almost triumphal procession. νισσομένοιο: “as he walked along”. Genitive single of the participle describing Jason.

179–81  Jason carries the Fleece, sometimes with a great deal of show, sometimes fearfully hiding it. ἤιε: epic imperf. < εἶμι. “he was going”.

179   ἄλλοτε μὲν / δέ is in a chiastic arrangement. ἐπιειμένος: “having drapped”, < ἐπιέννυμι: perf part middle.

180  ποδηνεκές: in particular, denotes the flamboyant display of a warrior. Jason cannot entirely match this swagger.

181  εἴλει ἀφασσόμενος: The narrator doubts Jason's heroic pose. At the beginning, the exultant Jason passes the Fleece from hand to hand and examines it from every angle. Then the non-committal ἄλλοτε δʼ αὖτε introduces the unexpected εἴλει (LSJ CII) ἀφασσόμενος: making it seem that Jason's courage has suddenly failed him and that he fears that a chance encounter will rob him of the Fleece.

181–2  The next line and a half is full of allusion. Hunter (ad loc.) quite rightly says that ὄφρα (rather than just μή is unusual after a verb of fearing (Il. 17.666 ἤϊε πόλλ᾽ ἀέκων· περὶ γὰρ δίε μή μιν Ἀχαιοί). However there seems to be a possible allusion to Od. 20.20–1 ὄφρα σε μῆτις / ἐξάγαγ’ ἐξ ἄντροιο ὀϊόμενον θανέεσθαι where Odysseus thinks back to the μῆτις pun (Jenkin 2013) which saved him in the cave of the Cyclops. ἀντιβολήσας: is also a word that has associations with the type of meeting that Jason fears: (Il. 24.374–5) ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι τις καὶ ἐμεῖο θεῶν ὑπερέσχεθε χεῖρα, / ὅς μοι τοιόνδ᾽ ἧκεν ὁδοιπόρον ἀντιβολῆσαι (Priam’s words when he is met by Hermes in a way similar to that fearfully anticipated by Jason).

Bibliography:

Hornblower, S. 2015. Lykophron: Alexandra: Greek Text, Translation, Commentary, and Introduction. Oxford: OUP.

Naiden, F. S. 2013. Smoke Signals for the Gods: Ancient Greek Sacrifice from the Archaic Through Roman Periods. Oxford: OUP.