Argonautica IV 294-349

The voyage of the Argonauts and pursuing Colchians across the Black Sea, through the Ister, to the Adriatic begins. Trapped in the Adriatic, the Argonauts are forced to negotiate regarding the return of Medea to Colchis.

294–6  ὧς ἄρ’ ἔφη. τοῖσιν δὲ θεὰ τέρας ἐγγυάλιξεν . . . στέλλεσθαι τήνδ ̓ οἶμον: “So he spoke, and the goddess granted them a favourable omen; as they saw it they all shouted in approval that they should take this path.” The mention of a portent may continue the Herodotean theme that runs through Argos’ speech. In both Herodotus and A. oracles and portents are one of the permitted exceptions to the distanced position of the gods in the narrative as compared with Homer. The idea of a guiding portent is based on scenes such as Il. 4.75–7 19.375–6 (~ 4.301 οὐρανίου πυρὸς αἴγλη), Il. 12.252–6 (Zeus sends a whirlwind to lead the way for the Trojans against the Greek ships).

294  τέρας ἐγγυάλιξεν: is not Homeric. τέρας is more usually found with φαίνω. ἐγγυαλίζω is always used of ‘making a gift’ and almost invariably implies hand-to-hand exchange. A.’s τέρας ἐγγυάλιξεν is an appropriate invention in connection with the Argonauts’ presiding deity. The guiding star is Hera’s gift to the Argonauts. She cuts short Argos’ geographical speculations and points them towards the correct route. The Colchians are, after all, close behind them.

295  αἴσιον: frequently used of omens. ᾧ καὶ πάντες ἐπευφήμησαν recalls a famous Homeric scene: Il. 1.22 and the similar description at Arg. 4.1618–19. For the construction of στέλλεσθαι τήνδ ̓ οἶμον cf. Aesch. Pers. 607–9, Soph. Aj. 1045, Phil. 911, 1416.

296–7  ἐπιπρὸ γὰρ ὁλκὸς ἐτύχθη . . . ἀμεύσιμον ἦεν: “For a trail of heavenly light appeared right in front, marking the route they had to travel.” Virgil elaborated the idea of the shooting star making a mark in the sky, when describing the star which shows Aeneas and his family that they must leave Troy (Aen. 2.692–7, Lucan 5.561–3, 10.502, Dante Paradiso 15.13–8). A. uses ὁλκός similarly at 3.1377–8. Before A. the word is not so used, but cf. σμίλης ὁλκούς, ‘the traces of a chisel in wood’ (Ar. Th. 779) and ὁλκὸς τοῦ ξύλου, ‘the furrow made by the wood’ (Xen. Cyn. 9.18), where there is some connotation of dragging and the marks left by it; to talk of a star making an ὁλκός in the heavens is not difficult and implies the mirroring of celestial and terrestrial phenomena inherent in the idea of omens. The rare word ἀμεύσιμον (against transmitted μόρσιμον) is the correct reading of the Etymologicum Magnum (81.48 Gaisford).

298–300  γηθόσυνοι δέ . . . οὔρεα Παφλαγόνων θηεύμενοι: “Leaving Lykos’ son there, joyfully they sailed over the sea with the sails spread, gazing with wonder on the mountains of the Paphlagonians.” The Argonauts’ joy results from the omen that Hera has sent them. For joy at a cosmic event: Il. 8. 559, Od. 5.269. The dactyls of 298 perhaps signify the frantic activity of departure. Things slow down as the sails are spread, the Argo glides over the waves and the sailors gaze at the passing landmarks. For statistics about dactylic lines in A. see Hunter (2015) 25.

298  Λύκοιο: the son of King Lykos of the Mariandynoi was last heard of at 2.813.

299  λαίφεσι πεπταμένοισιν: the Homeric phrase is ἱστία λευκὰ πέτασσαν (Il. 1.480, Od. 5.269 = 10.506). For variation A. substitutes λαίφεα (first in Hom. Hym. 3.406).

300–2  οὐδὲ Κάραμβιν / γνάμψαν . . . Ἴστροιο μέγαν ῥόον εἰσαφίκοντο: “Nor did they round Karambis, since both the breezes and the gleam of heavenly fire stayed with them until they arrived at the great stream of the river Ister.” The Argonauts do not hug the coast after the fashion of a periplous, which was the way they approached Colchis. Instead of rounding the point, they set course across the Black Sea, carried along by the winds and guided by Hera’s portent.

300  οὔρεα Παφλαγόνων: Phineus mentions the Paphlagonian mountains as one of the sights on the Argonauts’ outward route at 2.357–8. θηεύμενοι: is used of “gazing in wonder”.

301  πυρὸς αἴγλη: recalls πυρὸς αὐγή (Il. 9.206, 18.610, Hom. Hym. 5.86, Aesch. Ag. 9). A guiding star is similarly described at Plut. Caes. 43.3. The maps (Media section) shows the initial route across the Black Sea and its continuation.

303–4  Κόλχοι δ ̓ αὖτ ̓ ἄλλοι μὲν ἐτώσια μαστεύοντες / Κυανέας Πόντοιο διὲκ πέτρας ἐπέρησαν: “Some of the Colchians travelled through the Dark Rocks at the mouth of the Pontos, searching in vain.” This first group are not seen again until the Argonauts reach Phaeacia (4.1001–3).

304  Κυανέας: the rocks are elsewhere so called at 1.3, 2.318, 770, and 4.1003. The Cyanean Rocks in question are identified with the Blue Rocks near the Thracian Bosporus. Homer never uses κυανέος of the sea; but see 4.842–3. 

305–6  ἄλλοι δ ̓ αὖ ποταμὸν . . . πεῖρε λιασθείς: “the others, under the command of Apsyrtus, made for the river, which he entered through the Lovely Mouth, leaving the Argonauts behind.” Apsyrtos’ party follow a route based on the (erroneous) idea that the Danube, having its source in the Rhipaean mountains, divides at a central point, the Kauliakos spur (line 324) with one arm emptying eastward into the Black Sea, and the other westward into the Adriatic.

306  Καλὸν δὲ διὰ στόμα: A. mentions only two mouths in the Ister delta, though different estimates exist. Herodotus (4.47) says five. The ‘Fair Mouth’, Καλὸν στόμα, was north of the mouth called Narex. The triangular island Peuke is described as being formed by these two mouths, which unite above its apex. Apsyrtos and the Colchians take the southern route, and get ahead of the Argonauts, who enter by the northern one. Based on its name Καλὸν στόμα, is a well-omened place that will lead to a far from well-omened result. However, someone reading this line for the first time in scriptio continua would probably take the words not as a proper name but as καλὸν δὲ διὰ στόμα, ‘through a fair mouth’, and be reminded of lines such lines as Il. 16.405, 16.346 (~ διὲκ πέτρας ἐπέρησαν). 

306  λιασθείς: "separated." The word also used in the context of hand-to-hand combat: Il. 15.520 (similar are Il. 15.543, 20.418, 21.255).

307–8  τῶ καὶ ὑπέφθη τούσγε βαλὼν . . . πανέσχατον Ἰονίοιο: “In this way, crossing the neck of land, he reached the furthest gulf of the Ionian Sea before them.” ὑπέφθη is also a ‘fighting’ word, generally used to mean ‘getting in first with one’s blow’: Il. 7.144–5. The same is true of τούσγε βαλών: Il. 5.658, 14.412.

307  αὐχένα γαίης: designates the long stretch of land between the Pontus and the Adriatic, the present-day Balkans. After giving the overall route, the narrator backtracks to fill in the details. There was a mistaken belief that the division between the Adriatic and the Aegean was narrow enough for both seas to be visible from the summit of Mt. Haimos in the Balkan range of Thrace (Strabo 7.5.1).

308  κόλπον: together with αὐχένα and καλὸν στόμα, continues the use of words also associated with the body. It forms part of a chiasmus (κόλπον ~ πανέσχατον / ἔσω πόντοιο ~ Ἰονίοιο), which ends the paragraph and divides the ring structure into which this passage is set (305–8 ~ 313–14).

309–11  Ἴστρῳ γάρ τις νῆσος . . . στεινὸν δ ̓ αὖτ ̓ ἀγκῶνα ποτὶ ῥόον: “For a certain island is enclosed by Ister, by name Peuke, three-cornered, its base stretching along the coast, and with a sharp elbow towards the river.” Callimachus in the Aetia, while also dividing the pursuing Colchians into two groups, said that the Argonauts returned by the same route which they came. Perhaps A. is commenting on the Aetia, based on his own geographical research. A. writes in the style of a versifying geographer; cf. Od. 3.295–6, 7.244, 9.25, Hdt. 1.180. 

310  τριγλώχιν: recalls Il. 5.393, 8.297and 11.507, referring to the arrowhead, apparently meaning ‘three-barbed’. Later the word was used to describe the three headlands of Sicily (ἡ Τρινακρία). A. is describing a similarly shaped piece of land. The εὖρος or wide, lower edge of the arrowhead-like island faces the sea and the surrounding αἰγιαλοί (310), while the point of the arrow (στεινὸν . . . ἀγκῶνα) is turned towards the mouth of the river Ister (ποτὶ ῥόον). For the use of comparisons to shapes, geometrical and otherwise. 

311  ἀγκῶνα: continues the theme of using terms for parts of the body but with a geographical reference: Il. 5.582, Hdt. 2.99.3.

311–13  ἀμφὶ δὲ δοιαὶ / σχίζονται προχοαί . . . Καλὸν στόμα: “and round it the waters are split in two. One mouth they call the mouth of Narex, and the other, at the lower end, the Fair mouth.” For the geography see 305–6n. A. may have confused the position of the mouths. The estuary splits into two around the pointed end of the island. δοιαὶ / σχίζονται is the equivalent of διχῇ σχίζεσθαι (288–90n.) 

312  προχοαί: can mean “the mouth, the estuary” of a river, or its waters (132–4n.). 

312  τὴν μὲν καλέουσι: adds verisimilitude to the narrative. With τὴν δ ̓ ὑπὸ τῇ νεάτῃ, understand νησῷ “on the lower side of the island”, as opposed to 315 νήσοιο κατ ̓ ἀκροτάτης.

313–6  τῆσδὲ διαπρό . . . ἐνέοντο / τηλόθεν: “And through this [the lower mouth] Apsyrtus and his Colchians rushed with all speed; but the heroes went upwards, along the upper part of the island, far away.” These lines complete the ring composition that opened with 303 (see 307–8n.). Read τῆσδε, for transmitted τῇ δέ. The natural thing is to say that one of the parties went through one of the two openings, and not that they went through τῇδε, ‘there’. Il. 5.281 τῆς δὲ διαπρό supports the alteration. Similar phrases always refer to spears piercing shields; in particular Il. 4.138.

316  ὡρμήθησαν: also occurs in the context of hand-to-hand combat: Il. 10.359 φευγέμεναι· τοὶ δ ̓ αἶψα διώκειν ὁρμήθησαν.

316–8  εἱαμενῇσι δ ̓ ἐν ἄσπετα πώεα λεῖπον . . . ἐξανιόντας: “And in the meadows the country shepherds left their countless flocks through fear of the ships, thinking that they were beasts coming out of the monster-teeming sea.” The fear that the Argo inspires in these early pastoral nomads must be linked to the tradition (rejected by A) that Argo was the first ship. A. uses the shepherds’ fear to stress that the Argonauts (and Colchians) are going into unknown territory. Transhumance still exists as a way of life in Romania. For its existence in antiquity: Soph. OT 1132–5.

316  A. delays the subject of λεῖπον by the enjambment of ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι, and οἷά τε θῆρας placed at the end of the line suggests that he is leading into a land- animal development of the description. The meaning only becomes clear with πόντου μεγακήτεος ἐξανιόντας. The clausula, οἷά τε θῆρας, is doubly misleading in that θῆρ is frequently specifically opposed to ἰχθυς etc: Od. 24.291–2

317  ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι: occurs in the famous passage at Hes. Th. 26 and elsewhere. For shepherds (and others) fearful at the sight of the Argo or in general: 4.319n., the fragment of Accius’s Medea preserved by Cicero (N. D. 2.89), Catull. 64.15 (monstrum = the Argo), Virg. Aen. 8.107–10 (of Aeneas’ arrival in Rome). It is not difficult to imagine a relief or group sculpture (like the Laocoon or the dying Gauls) with such fearful emotions vividly depicted on the faces of the subjects, after the fashion of the Pergamene school. The passage contrasts the rusticity of these shepherds who mistake ships for sea monsters, with the background of Greek thought about ships and seafaring as exemplified in the Homeric epics. The allusion marks how A.’s Argonauts’ are on the edge of the Ptolemaic sphere of influence and, in a literary sense, have gone much further than any of their predecessors.

318: ὀσσόμενοι: “imagine, see with the mind’s eye” at Il. 18.224, Od. 1.115 etc, but “predict evil to others”, Il. 14.17, 24.172. As often in the case of a word whose meaning is disputed, A. reflects all the possibilities. At 2.28 ἐπὶ δ ̓ ὄσσεται οἰόθεν οἶον / ἄνδρα τόν means “he looks only at the man”and here A. uses ὀσσόμενοι, with the earlier Homeric connotation. μεγακήτεος: also a word with a disputed meaning: Il. 8.222, 11.5, 11.600 μεγακήτει νηΐ, “a ship of very great size”, 21.22 δελφῖνος μεγακήτεος, “a dolphin with great jaws”, Od. 3.158 μεγακήτεα πόντον, “a sea yawning with mighty hollows”. A. adopts the latter meaning here. A. emphasises this interpretation by emphatic οἷα τε θῆρας in line 317.

319  οὐ γάρ πω ἁλίας γε πάρος ποθὶ νῆας ἴδοντο: “For never yet before had they seen seafaring ships.” The motif of amazement at a possible new find or invention, or, here, sighting at sea has a long history:

320–2  οὔτ ̓ οὖν Θρήιξιν μιγάδες Σκύθαι, . . . μέγα ναιετάουσι: “neither the Scythians mixed with the Thracians, nor the Sigynni, nor yet the Traukenii, nor the Sindi that now inhabit the vast desert plain of Laurium.” Catalogues and lists play a part in epic poetry. A catalogue is first and foremost a way of giving information and in this passage A. has something in common with periplous and periodos poetry, popular in the Hellenistic period, such as the works attributed to Pseudo-Scymnus of Chios, and Pseudo-Scylax. Geographical catalogues are prominent in Hellenistic poetry (Call. h. 1.18ff., 4.16–22, 41–54, 70–205, Theocr. Id. 15.100ff., 17.68ff.). There are earlier examples, such as the Catalogue of Ships at Il. 2.494–974, which may originate in a description of a voyage along the coast of Greece because the order of place names corresponds to a logical circuit of much of the known Greek world.

320  Σκύθαι: Scythia was traditionally seen as being one of the ends of the earth; cf. [Aesch.] PV 1–2, Hdt. 4.99. Herodotus knows of (at least) four different versions of the Scythians’ origins, which he reports, consecutively, at the beginning of Book 4. Perhaps A.’s phrase Θρήιξιν μιγάδες Σκύθαι reflects his knowledge of Herodotus. His Argonauts are explorers extending the limits of the known Greek world. The Σίγυννοι: are mentioned at Hdt. 5.9. At 2.99, A. talks of the Bebryces wielding ‘hard clubs and hunting spears,’ κορύνας ἀζηχέας ἠδὲ σιγύννους and Σ (p. 283 Wendel) says that the name of the weapon derives from the name of the tribe. The names of exotic tribes and the mention of the deserted plains of central Europe strengthens A’s picture of the Argonauts as explorers of the unknown.

321  οἱ περὶ Λαύριον, together with part of ναίω makes A.’s description sound like the ‘Catalogue of Ships’ ( Il. 2.757–8).

322  Σίνδοι: are mentioned by Herodotus at 4.28 during his description of Scythia, as living near the Cimmerian Bosphorus. ἐρημαῖον πεδίον μέγα: echoes [Aesch.] PV 1–2

323–6  αὐτὰρ ἐπεί τ ̓ Ἄγγουρον ὄρος . . . πεδίον τε τὸ Λαύριον ἠμείψαντο: “But when they had passed near the mount Angouron, and the cliff of Kauliakos, far from the mount Angouron, round which the Ister divides and pours its stream in abundance this way and that, and the Laurion plain.” An ὄρος is often a natural landmark in such descriptions (Il. 2.603). The repetitions in this passage may also be another attempt at imitating the ‘Catalogue’ style (Il. 2.730 Οἰχαλίην ~ Οἰχαλιῆος, 741–2 Πειριθόοιο ~ 840 Πειριθόῳ, 654–5 Ῥόδου ~ Ῥόδίων ~ Ῥόδου, 840 Πελασγῶν ~ Πελασγοῦ and for another repetitious geographical passage, see 4.1759–61).

324  σκόπελον πάρα Καυλιακοῖο: Kauliakos has been identified as the spur of Kalemegdan at the confluence of the Sava and the Danube near Belgrade.

325  ᾧ πέρι δὴ σχίζων: Pl. Tim. 21e (288–90n.), Hdt. 2.33, 4.49. ῥόον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα is taken from Od. 5.327 τὴν δ ̓ ἐφόρει μέγα κῦμα κατὰ ῥόον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα.

325–6 Transmitted ῥόον ἁλός is difficult since ἁλός cannot sensibly be connected with anything else and A. is describing the course of a river not the sea. Therefore read ἅλις.

327–8  δή ῥα τότε Κρονίην Κόλχοι . . . κελεύθους: “then the Colchians emerged into the sea of Cronos and cut off every path by which the Argonauts could escape.” This whole passage has reminded critics of scenes from Xenophon’s Anabasis. In both works, Greeks achieve a dangerous return journey by a circuitous route, pursued by a barbarian multitude. The language also has a military flavour. The Sea of Cronos is the northern Adriatic The allusion to Cronos plays a part in A.’s attempt to recreate a pre-Homeric world. μή σε λάθῃσιν: parallels for such military manoeuvres include Thuc. 8.80.3. ὑπετμήξαντο κελεύθους: also has martial connotations (Hdt. 5.86.4).

329–30  οἱ δ ̓ ὄπιθεν . . . Βρυγηίδας ἀγχόθι νήσους: “and they (the Argonauts) came out of the river behind and reached the two Brygean islands of Artemis near at hand.” The maps (see Media section) shows the general area of engagement and the supposed end of the Argonauts’ journey across Europe.The Colchians have taken up a defensive position to prevent the Argonauts’ retreat. Even for Greeks of A.’s day this area was a kind of Finisterre, where the country of the beyond began. Perhaps read εἰς δ ̓ ἐπέρησαν for transmitted ἐκ δ ̓ ἐπέρησαν; cf. 4.654–5 Στοιχάδες αὖτε λιπόντες ἐς Αἰθαλίην ἐπέρησαν / νῆσον and 4.627 ἐκ δὲ τόθεν Ῥοδανοῖο βαθὺν εἰσεπέρησαν. The required meaning here must be ‘cross to’.

331–3  τῶν ἤτοι ἑτέρῃ . . . βαῖνον: “On one of these islands was a sacred shrine and on the other, the Argonauts disembarked, avoiding Apsyrtus’s great force.” The exactness of the detail reinforces A.’s adopted persona as military historian. ἔδεθλον is a recherché word, not in archaic epic. 

332 πληθὺν πεφυλαγμένοι: is another phrase with war-like associations: Il. 11.405, Thuc. 2.89.1. The sentence structure ἑτέρῃ μὲν ἐν . . . ἐν δ ̓ ἑτέρῃ is a Hellenistic inversion of the more usual τῇ μέν ἑτέρῃ . . . τῇ δ ̓ ἑτέρῃ.

333–5  ἐπεὶ κείνας πολέων λίπον ἔνδοθι νήσων . . . εἴρυντο θαλάσσης: “Since they (the Colchians) left these, among many islands, just as they were, showing reverence to the daughter of Zeus: but the others, packed full of Colchians, protected the ways of the sea.” Read νήσων instead of transmitted νήσους. A. is likely to have repeated νῆσος from 330 ἀγχόθι νήσους but in a different case or form; cf. 4.1712 νῆσος ἰδεῖν, ὀλίγης Ἱππουρίδος ἀγχόθι νήσου. The large number of islands needs to be stressed. The two islands of Artemis have been adequately introduced already.

334  There is a neat contrast between ἁζόμενοι κούρην Διός and Il. 1.21 ἁζόμενοι Διός υἱόν, an indirect reference to another situation in which the possession of a woman was the point at issue. Instead of a river packed with corpses (Il. 21.220 στεινόμενος νεκύεσσι) we have the Adriatic islands full of Colchians (στεινόμεναι Κόλχοισι), tracking the possible route of the Argonauts.

335  πόρους . . . θαλάσσης: denotes the seaways around the Adriatic islands (see maps in Media section). The latter passage well describes the coastal waters between Rijeka and Zadar, where, as Pliny noted, there are over a thousand islands and a network of estuaries and narrow shallow channels. εἴρυντο: <ἐρύω: imperf. ind. mid. 3^rd. pl. (epic ionic) occurs in Homer at Il. 12.454, with the meaning ‘protected’. A., as often, is expressing an opinion concerning the meaning of a rare Homeric form. The same type of tactic is described at Aesch. Pers. 368.

 336–7: ὧς δὲ καὶ εἰς ἀκτὰς πληθὺν . . . ποταμοῦ καὶ Νέστιδος αἴης: “Also, in the same way, Apsyrtus left his host on to the coasts, near the islands, as far as the river Salangon and the Nestian land.” Τransmitted ἀκτὰς πληθὺν λίπεν ἀγχόθι νήσους is almost certainly corrupt. The scribe’s eye has gone back to 330 ἀγχόθι νήσους and 333 λίπον ἔνδοθι νήσους. However, the sense is clear: Apsyrtus, after having filled the islands with soldiers, does the same for the coasts near the islands. See the modern maps (above and below) for a possible site for these manoeuvres. If this interpretation is correct, the variant νήσων for νήσους is a necessity. Perhaps read ἐγγύθι for ἀγχόθι (1.633, 4.1074–5 and ἄγεν for λίπεν (4.761 ἐλθέμεν εἰς ἀκτάς). An Illyrian tribe Nesti lived by the side of the river Nestos. This has been identified with the modern Cetina. The geography of the area lends reality to the story that A. is trying to recreate. As a many-sided narrator, he is playing the role of both historian and geographer.

338–40  ἔνθα κε . . . ἐτάμοντο: “Then the Minyans would have yielded in grievous combat, few against many, but they avoided this great strife by first reaching an agreement.”

338  ἔνθα κε λευγαλέῃ . . . δηιοτῆτι: echoes Il. 13.723–4 ἔνθα κε λευγαλέως νηῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων / Τρῶες ἐχώρησαν.

339: ὑπείκαθον: "would have yielded to" + dat., 3 pl. aor. indic. act. > ὑπείκω, see LSJ ὑπεικαθεῖν.. At Il. 13.738–9 μάχονται / παυρότεροι πλεόνεσσι, Polydamas advises Hector that to fight when outnumbered is bad strategy. A. models this scene on a moment in Homer in which a warrior unusually advises caution rather than the pursuit of κλέος, even though Hector rejects the seer’s advice. There is a similar discussion of whether a smaller number can be made to fight against a larger at Hdt. 7.103 καὶ ἴοιεν ἀναγκαζόμενοι μάστιγι ἐς πλεῦνας ἐλάσσονες ἐόντες. It is a theme that runs through Greek history; cf. Thermopylae (Hdt. 7.228.1) and Salamis (Hdt. 8.60.1). The Homeric μάχονται contrasts with A.’s ὑπείκαθον. The Argonauts are portrayed as negotiators rather than fighters. A. ironically introduces the possibility of deadly combat, only for it to be avoided by treaty.

340  συνθεσίην: treaties (συνθεσίαι) are a recurring theme in this section and in the relationship of Jason and Medea as a whole Especially important are 4.1042–44, where Medea’s warning concerning treaties and oaths has a double meaning: agreements are to be feared not only because Nemesis and the Furies will punish those who violate them, but also because they may be made secretly to the disadvantage of others and lead easily to deception. Even in Book 3 (3.1105) when Medea is supposedly besotted with the exotic foreigner, she realises that she is entering into a bargain. The making and affirming of treaties played a particular part in Ptolemaic diplomacy. Perhaps the Argonauts’ solution represents something of contemporary diplomatic practice. 

340  μέγα νεῖκος: A.’s phrase elegantly combines Hes. Th. 87 and Il. 15.223. 

340  ἐτάμοντο: based on ὅρκια πιστὰ ταμόντες (Il. 2.124 and often). The use of ἐτάμοντο implies that the treaty has been sanctioned by sacrifice, the most significant ritual action of an oath.

341–4  κῶας μὲν χρύσειον . . . ἀπηύρων: “As to the Golden Fleece, since Aietes himself had promised them if they should fulfil the contests, they should keep it as justly won, whether they carried it off by craft or quite openly despite the King’s unwillingness.” The treaty between Colchians and Argonauts seems a reasonable proposal and contrasts with the emotional nature of Medea’s reaction. The language is suitably legalistic (e.g. εἴτε . . . εἴτε, emphasing the conditions attached to the agreement, and εὐδικίῃ σφέας ἑξέμεν).

342  κεῖνοι: Read κείνῳ for transmitted κεῖνοι. The use of the demonstrative pronoun κεῖνοι is awkward, especially after σφισιν in the previous line. The close parallel, Pind. P. 4.230–1, shows that we require a reference to Aietes and not to the Argonauts. 

342 ἀναπλήσειαν ἀέθλους: echoes Od. 8.22 The force of ἀνα– is that the ἀέθλοι are no light task and to be accomplished to their fullest extent.

343  ἔμπεδον . . . σφέας ἑξέμεν: the archaising form of the infinitive (–εμεν) stresses the formality of the agreement (14–15 n. ληθέμεν).

344  αὔτως ἀέκοντος ἀπηύρων: recalls Il. 1.430 = 4.646 τήν ῥα βίῃ ἀέκοντος ἀπηύρων, “the woman that they took from him by force, in spite of his (Achilles’) disagreement”, with its reference to the abduction of Briseis and the dispute over Chryseis at the beginning of the Iliad. See LSJ s.v. ἀπούρας for the defective (only ἀπηύρων, ας, α, ἀπηύρων) aorist indicative ἀπηύρων and LSJ s.v. 2 for αὔτως used in a contemptuous sense. It adds a note of legal nicety to the indictment: “they took the Fleece quite openly.”

345–6  αὐτὰρ Μήδειαν . . . νόσφιν ὁμίλου: “but Medea (for this was the point at issue) should be entrusted tο the daughter of Leto, away from everybody else.” The parenthesis heightens the tension, coming immediately after Μήδειαν – what is to become of her? The middle of the line has lost a single syllable. However, τόδε is to be preferred to τόγε as Demonstrative ὅδε is frequent in such statements by A.

346  παρθέσθαι: a syncopated form. Here the sense is ‘entrust or commit to the charge of another person.’ See LSJ s.v. 2a παρατίθημι for later parallels. 

346  κούρῃ Λητωίδι: is a variation on the Homeric κούρη Δίος (334n.) and appears elsewhere in A. at 2.938, 3.878.

347–9  εἰσόκε τις δικάσῃσι θεμιστούχων βασιλήων . . . ἕπεσθαι: “Until one of the kings who issue judgements should decide whether she had to return to the house of her father or to the rich city of Orchomenos or follow the heroes to Greece.” Line 347 consisting of four polysyllabic words gives a sonorous feel to the forthcoming judgement of the kings, eventually pronounced by Alcinoos in Phaeacia (4.1098–1120). 

347  θεμιστούχων βασιλήων: the concepts of Dike and Themis, together with συνθεσίαι and ὅρκια, are significant themes in the relationship between Jason and Medea 340n.). Both involve the notion of right, Themis having to do with what is right for all and Dike signifying what is right for each within the larger context of social life The mention of θεμιστούχοι βασιλῆες summons up a picture of traditional justice: Hes. Th. 84–7 The disputing parties come before the βασιλεύς, who settles the case (Hes. Op. 35) by pronouncing a legally binding judgment (θέμις). It contrasts with the conflict and the fierce reaction described in 350–91. The calm of epic legal procedure is disrupted not by the heroic temper of an Achilles, as at the beginning of Iliad 1, but by A.’s equally tempestuous replacement for him, Medea. θεμιστούχοι occurs only in A. It emphasises the right of such kings to judge.

348  For the εἴτε . . . εἴτε . . . εἴτε structure (341–4n.). The disputed line 348a (thus Fränkel and Vian): εἴτε μετ ̓ἀφνειὴν θείου πόλιν Ὀρχομενοῖο should perhaps be in the text and called 349, as it was before Ruhnken’s Epistola Critica II (1752) 67–8: