GREEK EXCERPTS
AND FRAGMENTS
Many of the earliest works about the Argonauts' journey have been lost and are known only from fragments preserved in later authors. Additionally, evidence comes from brief references to the Argonauts in the surviving but mostly unrelated poems of Homer and Hesiod. This section collects some (but by no means all) of the most interesting fragments and excerpts that provide the earliest written accounts of the Jason myth.
Homer, The Odyssey
c. 700 BCE
xii. 69-72:
The only coursing ship that ever passed this way was Argo, famed of all, when voyaging from Aeëtes: and her the waves would soon have dashed on the great rocks, but Here [Hera] brought her through from love of Jason. (Trans. Palmer)
The only coursing ship that ever passed this way was Argo, famed of all, when voyaging from Aeëtes: and her the waves would soon have dashed on the great rocks, but Here [Hera] brought her through from love of Jason. (Trans. Palmer)
Hesiod, The Theogeny
7th c. BCE
And the son of Aeson by the will of the gods led away from Aeëtes the daughter of Aeëtes the heaven-nurtured king, when he had finished the many grievous labours which the great king, overbearing Pelias, that outrageous and presumptuous doer of violence, put upon him. But when the son of Aeson had finished them, he came to Iolcus after long toil bringing the coy-eyed girl with him on his swift ship, and made her his buxom wife. And she was subject to Iason, shepherd of the people, and bare a son Medeus whom Cheiron the son of Philyra brought up in the mountains. And the will of great Zeus was fulfilled. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Hesiod, The Catalogue of Women
7th c. BCE
Tyro the daughter of Salmoneus, having two sons by Poseidon, Neleus and Pelias, married Cretheus, and had by him three sons, Aeson, Pheres and Amythaon. And of Aeson and Polymede, according to Hesiod, Iason was born. “Aeson, who begot a son Iason, shepherd of the people, whom Chiron brought up in woody Pelion.” (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Fragments attributed to Hesiod
6th-5th c. BCE
'Eratosthenes', Catast. xix. p. 124:
This [the ram] it was that transported Phrixus and Helle. It was immortal and was given them by their mother Nephele, and had a golden fleece, as Hesiod and Pherecydes say. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 181:
Hesiod in the "Great Eoiae" says that Phineus was blinded because he revealed to Phrixus the road; but in the third "Catalogue", because he preferred long life to sight. Hesiod says he had two sons, Thynus and Mariandynus. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358 fr. 2 (3rd cent. A.D.):
`(The Sons of Boreas pursued the Harpies) to the lands of the Massagetae and of the proud Half-Dog men, of the Underground-folk and of the feeble Pygmies; and to the tribes of the boundless Black-skins and the Libyans. Huge Earth bare these to Epaphus -- soothsaying people, knowing seercraft by the will of Zeus the lord of oracles, but deceivers, to the end that men whose thought passes their utterance might be subject to the gods and suffer harm -- Aethiopians and Libyans and mare-milking Scythians. For verily Epaphus was the child of the almighty Son of Cronos, and from him sprang the dark Libyans, and high-souled Aethiopians, and the Underground-folk and feeble Pygmies. All these are the offspring of the lord, the Loud-thunderer. Round about all these (the Sons of Boreas) sped in darting flight . . . of the well-horsed Hyperboreans -- whom Earth the all-nourishing bare far off by the tumbling streams of deep-flowing Eridanus . . . of amber, feeding her wide-scattered offspring -- and about the steep Fawn mountain and rugged Etna to the isle Ortygia and the people sprung from Laestrygon who was the son of wide-reigning Poseidon. Twice ranged the Sons of Boreas along this coast and wheeled round and about yearning to catch the Harpies, while they strove to escape and avoid them. And they sped to the tribe of the haughty Cephallenians, the people of patient-souled Odysseus whom in aftertime Calypso the queenly nymph detained for Poseidon. Then they came to the land of the lord the son of Ares . . . they heard. Yet still (the Sons of Boreas) ever pursued them with instant feet. So they (the Harpies) sped over the sea and through the fruitless air . . . ' (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Apollodorus, i. 9.21.6:
As they were being pursued, one of the Harpies fell into the river Tigris, in Peloponnesus which is now called Harpys after her. Some call this one Nicothoe, and others Aellopus. The other who was called Ocypete, or as some say Ocythoe (though Hesiod calls her Ocypus), fled down the Propontis and reached as far as to the Echinades islands which are now called because of her, Strophades (Turning Islands). (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 297:
Hesiod also says that those with Zetes turned and prayed to Zeus: `There they prayed to the lord of Aenos who reigns on high.' Apollonius indeed says it was Iris who made Zetes and his following turn away, but Hesiod says Hermes. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 296:
Others say (the islands) were called Strophades, because they turned there and prayed Zeus to seize the Harpies. But according to Hesiod . . . they were not killed. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 284:
But Hesiod says they (the Argonauts) had sailed in through the Phasis. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 259:
But Hesiod (says) . . . they came through the Ocean to Libya, and so, carrying the Argo, reached our sea. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
This [the ram] it was that transported Phrixus and Helle. It was immortal and was given them by their mother Nephele, and had a golden fleece, as Hesiod and Pherecydes say. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 181:
Hesiod in the "Great Eoiae" says that Phineus was blinded because he revealed to Phrixus the road; but in the third "Catalogue", because he preferred long life to sight. Hesiod says he had two sons, Thynus and Mariandynus. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358 fr. 2 (3rd cent. A.D.):
`(The Sons of Boreas pursued the Harpies) to the lands of the Massagetae and of the proud Half-Dog men, of the Underground-folk and of the feeble Pygmies; and to the tribes of the boundless Black-skins and the Libyans. Huge Earth bare these to Epaphus -- soothsaying people, knowing seercraft by the will of Zeus the lord of oracles, but deceivers, to the end that men whose thought passes their utterance might be subject to the gods and suffer harm -- Aethiopians and Libyans and mare-milking Scythians. For verily Epaphus was the child of the almighty Son of Cronos, and from him sprang the dark Libyans, and high-souled Aethiopians, and the Underground-folk and feeble Pygmies. All these are the offspring of the lord, the Loud-thunderer. Round about all these (the Sons of Boreas) sped in darting flight . . . of the well-horsed Hyperboreans -- whom Earth the all-nourishing bare far off by the tumbling streams of deep-flowing Eridanus . . . of amber, feeding her wide-scattered offspring -- and about the steep Fawn mountain and rugged Etna to the isle Ortygia and the people sprung from Laestrygon who was the son of wide-reigning Poseidon. Twice ranged the Sons of Boreas along this coast and wheeled round and about yearning to catch the Harpies, while they strove to escape and avoid them. And they sped to the tribe of the haughty Cephallenians, the people of patient-souled Odysseus whom in aftertime Calypso the queenly nymph detained for Poseidon. Then they came to the land of the lord the son of Ares . . . they heard. Yet still (the Sons of Boreas) ever pursued them with instant feet. So they (the Harpies) sped over the sea and through the fruitless air . . . ' (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Apollodorus, i. 9.21.6:
As they were being pursued, one of the Harpies fell into the river Tigris, in Peloponnesus which is now called Harpys after her. Some call this one Nicothoe, and others Aellopus. The other who was called Ocypete, or as some say Ocythoe (though Hesiod calls her Ocypus), fled down the Propontis and reached as far as to the Echinades islands which are now called because of her, Strophades (Turning Islands). (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 297:
Hesiod also says that those with Zetes turned and prayed to Zeus: `There they prayed to the lord of Aenos who reigns on high.' Apollonius indeed says it was Iris who made Zetes and his following turn away, but Hesiod says Hermes. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. ii. 296:
Others say (the islands) were called Strophades, because they turned there and prayed Zeus to seize the Harpies. But according to Hesiod . . . they were not killed. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 284:
But Hesiod says they (the Argonauts) had sailed in through the Phasis. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iv. 259:
But Hesiod (says) . . . they came through the Ocean to Libya, and so, carrying the Argo, reached our sea. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
The Nostoi (The Returns)
7th c. BCE
Forthwith Medea made Aeson a sweet young boy and stripped his old age from him by her cunning skill, when she had made a brew of many herbs in her golden cauldrons. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
The Taking of Oechalia
7th c. BCE
Didymus contrasts the following account given by Creophylus, which is as follows: while Medea was living in Corinth, she poisoned Creon, who was ruler of the city at that time, and because she feared his friends and kinsfolk, fled to Athens. However, since her sons were too young to go along with her, she left them at the altar of Hera Acraea, thinking that their father would see to their safety. But the relatives of Creon killed them and spread the story that Medea had killed her own children as well as Creon. (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
The Aegimus
7th c. BCE
Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. iii. 587:
But the author of the Aegimius says that he (Phrixus) was received without intermediary because of the fleece. He says that after the sacrifice he purified the fleece and so: "Holding the fleece he walked into the halls of Aeetes." (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
But the author of the Aegimius says that he (Phrixus) was received without intermediary because of the fleece. He says that after the sacrifice he purified the fleece and so: "Holding the fleece he walked into the halls of Aeetes." (Trans. H. B. Evelyn-White).
Mimnermus
c. 630 BCE
Strabo, Geography I.2.40:
Never would Jason himself have brought back the great fleece from Aea, accomplishing his mind-racking journey and fulfilling the difficult task for insolent Pelias, nor would they have come even to the fair stream of Oceanus … To the city of Aeëtes, where the rays of the swift Sun lie in a chamber of gold beside the lips of Oceanus, whither glorious Jason went. (Trans. Horace Leonard Jones)
Never would Jason himself have brought back the great fleece from Aea, accomplishing his mind-racking journey and fulfilling the difficult task for insolent Pelias, nor would they have come even to the fair stream of Oceanus … To the city of Aeëtes, where the rays of the swift Sun lie in a chamber of gold beside the lips of Oceanus, whither glorious Jason went. (Trans. Horace Leonard Jones)
Eumelus, Corinthiaca
5th c. BCE (?)
Pausanias, Description of Greece (Book II, Chapter III, 8):
Eumelus said that Helius (Sun) gave the Asopian land to Aloeus and Ephyraea to Aeëtes. When Aeëtes was departing for Colchis he entrusted his land to Bunus, the son of Hermes and Alcidamea, and when Bunus died Epopeus the son of Aloeus extended his kingdom to include the Ephyraeans. Afterwards, when Corinthus, the son of Marathon, died childless, the Corinthians sent for Medea from Iolcus and bestowed upon her the kingdom. Through her Jason was king in Corinth, and Medea, as her children were born, carried each to the sanctuary of Hera and concealed them, doing so in the belief that so they would be immortal. At last she learned that her hopes were vain, and at the same time she was detected by Jason. When she begged for pardon he refused it, and sailed away to Iolchus. For these reasons Medea too departed, and handed over the kingdom to Sisyphus. (Trans. W. H. S. Jones)
Eumelus said that Helius (Sun) gave the Asopian land to Aloeus and Ephyraea to Aeëtes. When Aeëtes was departing for Colchis he entrusted his land to Bunus, the son of Hermes and Alcidamea, and when Bunus died Epopeus the son of Aloeus extended his kingdom to include the Ephyraeans. Afterwards, when Corinthus, the son of Marathon, died childless, the Corinthians sent for Medea from Iolcus and bestowed upon her the kingdom. Through her Jason was king in Corinth, and Medea, as her children were born, carried each to the sanctuary of Hera and concealed them, doing so in the belief that so they would be immortal. At last she learned that her hopes were vain, and at the same time she was detected by Jason. When she begged for pardon he refused it, and sailed away to Iolchus. For these reasons Medea too departed, and handed over the kingdom to Sisyphus. (Trans. W. H. S. Jones)
Simonides
556-468 BCE
Scholiast on Euripides' Medea:
Some call it all-gold [the Golden Fleece], others purple. Simonides in his hymn to Poseidon says it was dyed with the sea-purple. (Trans. Campbell)
Some call it all-gold [the Golden Fleece], others purple. Simonides in his hymn to Poseidon says it was dyed with the sea-purple. (Trans. Campbell)
Sophocles, The Root-cutters
5th c. BCE
Macrobius, Saturnalia V.19.8 (4th c. CE):
The tragedy of Sophocles even presents in its title that which we are inquiring after: for it is entitled The Herbalists (The Root-cutters), in which he describes Medea cutting harmful plants, but turning away, lest she be killed by the power of their noxious odors; pouring the juice of the plants into bronze jars; and cutting the plants themselves with bronze blades. These are Sophocles’ lines:
Covering her eyes with her hand
She collects in bronze jars the cloudy white juice
That drips from the cut
And a little later:
… These covered
Chests hide the cut roots
That she reaped with bronze blades
While naked, crying out, and shouting
(Trans. Jason Colavito)
The tragedy of Sophocles even presents in its title that which we are inquiring after: for it is entitled The Herbalists (The Root-cutters), in which he describes Medea cutting harmful plants, but turning away, lest she be killed by the power of their noxious odors; pouring the juice of the plants into bronze jars; and cutting the plants themselves with bronze blades. These are Sophocles’ lines:
Covering her eyes with her hand
She collects in bronze jars the cloudy white juice
That drips from the cut
And a little later:
… These covered
Chests hide the cut roots
That she reaped with bronze blades
While naked, crying out, and shouting
(Trans. Jason Colavito)
Herodotus, The Histories
430-423 BCE
Histories I.2
In this manner the Persians report that Io came to Egypt, not agreeing therein with the Hellenes, and this they say was the first beginning of wrongs. Then after this, they say, certain Hellenes (but the name of the people they are not able to report) put in to the city of Tyre in Phenicia and carried off the king's daughter Europa;--these would doubtless be Cretans;--and so they were quits for the former injury. After this however the Hellenes, they say, were the authors of the second wrong; for they sailed in to Aia of Colchis and to the river Phasis with a ship of war, and from thence, after they had done the other business for which they came, they carried off the king's daughter Medea: and the king of Colchis sent a herald to the land of Hellas and demanded satisfaction for the rape and to have his daughter back; but they answered that, as the Barbarians had given them no satisfaction for the rape of Io the Argive, so neither would they give satisfaction to the Barbarians for this. (Trans. Macauley)
Histories IV.179
The following moreover is also told, namely that Jason, when the Argo had been completed by him under Mount Pelion, put into it a hecatomb and with it also a tripod of bronze, and sailed round Pelopponese, desiring to come to Delphi; and when in sailing he got near Malea, a North Wind seized his ship and carried it off to Libya, and before he caught sight of land he had come to be in the shoals of the lake Tritonis. Then as he was at a loss how he should bring his ship forth, the story goes that Triton appeared to him and bade Jason give him the tripod, saying that he would show them the right course and let them go away without hurt: and when Jason consented to it, then Triton showed them the passage out between the shoals and set the tripod in his own temple, after having first uttered a prophecy over the tripod and having declared to Jason and his company the whole matter, namely that whensoever one of the descendants of those who sailed with him in the Argo should carry away this tripod, then it was determined by fate that a hundred cities of Hellenes should be established about the lake Tritonis. Having heard this the native Libyans concealed the tripod. (Trans. Macauley)
Histories VII.62
The Medes served in the expedition equipped in precisely the same manner; for this equipment is in fact Median and not Persian: and the Medes acknowledged as their commander Tigranes an Achaimenid. These in ancient time used to be generally called Arians; but when Medea the Colchian came from Athens to these Arians, they also changed their name. Thus the Medes themselves report about themselves. The Kissians served with equipment in other respects like that of the Persians, but instead of the felt caps they wore fillets: and of the Kissians Anaphes the son of Otanes was commander. The Hyrcanians were armed like the Persians, acknowledging as their leader Megapanos, the same who after these events became governor of Babylon. (Trans. Macauley)
Histories VII.193
They, I say, came for the second time and lay with their ships about Artemision: and from that time even to this they preserve the use of the surname "Saviour" for Poseidon. Meanwhile the Barbarians, when the wind had ceased and the swell of the sea had calmed down, drew their ships into the sea and sailed on along the shore of the mainland, and having rounded the extremity of Magnesia they sailed straight into the gulf which leads towards Pagasai. In this gulf of Magnesia there is a place where it is said that Heracles was left behind by Jason and his comrades, having been sent from the Argo to fetch water, at the time when they were sailing for the fleece to Aia in the land of Colchis: for from that place they designed, when they had taken in water, to loose their ship into the open sea; and from this the place has come to have the name Aphetai. Here then the fleet of Xerxes took up its moorings. (Trans. Macauley)
In this manner the Persians report that Io came to Egypt, not agreeing therein with the Hellenes, and this they say was the first beginning of wrongs. Then after this, they say, certain Hellenes (but the name of the people they are not able to report) put in to the city of Tyre in Phenicia and carried off the king's daughter Europa;--these would doubtless be Cretans;--and so they were quits for the former injury. After this however the Hellenes, they say, were the authors of the second wrong; for they sailed in to Aia of Colchis and to the river Phasis with a ship of war, and from thence, after they had done the other business for which they came, they carried off the king's daughter Medea: and the king of Colchis sent a herald to the land of Hellas and demanded satisfaction for the rape and to have his daughter back; but they answered that, as the Barbarians had given them no satisfaction for the rape of Io the Argive, so neither would they give satisfaction to the Barbarians for this. (Trans. Macauley)
Histories IV.179
The following moreover is also told, namely that Jason, when the Argo had been completed by him under Mount Pelion, put into it a hecatomb and with it also a tripod of bronze, and sailed round Pelopponese, desiring to come to Delphi; and when in sailing he got near Malea, a North Wind seized his ship and carried it off to Libya, and before he caught sight of land he had come to be in the shoals of the lake Tritonis. Then as he was at a loss how he should bring his ship forth, the story goes that Triton appeared to him and bade Jason give him the tripod, saying that he would show them the right course and let them go away without hurt: and when Jason consented to it, then Triton showed them the passage out between the shoals and set the tripod in his own temple, after having first uttered a prophecy over the tripod and having declared to Jason and his company the whole matter, namely that whensoever one of the descendants of those who sailed with him in the Argo should carry away this tripod, then it was determined by fate that a hundred cities of Hellenes should be established about the lake Tritonis. Having heard this the native Libyans concealed the tripod. (Trans. Macauley)
Histories VII.62
The Medes served in the expedition equipped in precisely the same manner; for this equipment is in fact Median and not Persian: and the Medes acknowledged as their commander Tigranes an Achaimenid. These in ancient time used to be generally called Arians; but when Medea the Colchian came from Athens to these Arians, they also changed their name. Thus the Medes themselves report about themselves. The Kissians served with equipment in other respects like that of the Persians, but instead of the felt caps they wore fillets: and of the Kissians Anaphes the son of Otanes was commander. The Hyrcanians were armed like the Persians, acknowledging as their leader Megapanos, the same who after these events became governor of Babylon. (Trans. Macauley)
Histories VII.193
They, I say, came for the second time and lay with their ships about Artemision: and from that time even to this they preserve the use of the surname "Saviour" for Poseidon. Meanwhile the Barbarians, when the wind had ceased and the swell of the sea had calmed down, drew their ships into the sea and sailed on along the shore of the mainland, and having rounded the extremity of Magnesia they sailed straight into the gulf which leads towards Pagasai. In this gulf of Magnesia there is a place where it is said that Heracles was left behind by Jason and his comrades, having been sent from the Argo to fetch water, at the time when they were sailing for the fleece to Aia in the land of Colchis: for from that place they designed, when they had taken in water, to loose their ship into the open sea; and from this the place has come to have the name Aphetai. Here then the fleet of Xerxes took up its moorings. (Trans. Macauley)
Aristotle, The Politics
c. 350 BCE
Politics, 3.13
And it is on this account that democratic states have established the ostracism; for an equality seems the principal object of their government. For which reason they compel all those who are very eminent for their power, their fortune, their friendships, or any other cause which may give them too great weight in the government, to submit to the ostracism, and leave the city for a stated time; as the fabulous histories relate the Argonauts served Hercules, for they refused to take him with them in the ship Argo on account of his superior valour. (Trans. William Ellis)
And it is on this account that democratic states have established the ostracism; for an equality seems the principal object of their government. For which reason they compel all those who are very eminent for their power, their fortune, their friendships, or any other cause which may give them too great weight in the government, to submit to the ostracism, and leave the city for a stated time; as the fabulous histories relate the Argonauts served Hercules, for they refused to take him with them in the ship Argo on account of his superior valour. (Trans. William Ellis)
(Pseudo) Artistotle, On Marvelous Things Heard
c. 350 BCE
On Marvelous Things Heard 105
They say that the Ister flowing from the forests called Hercynian divides, and one part flows into the Pontus, and the other into the Adriatic. We can see proof not only at the present time, but still more in ancient days that the river at these points is not navigable; for they say that Jason made his entry to the Pontus by the Cyanean rocks, but his exit by the Ister; and they produce a considerable number of other proofs, and in particular they show altars in the district dedicated by Jason, and in one of the islands of the Adriatic a temple of Artemis built by Medea. They also say that he could not have sailed past the so-called Planktae, unless he had journeyed from there. Also in the island of Aethaleia, which lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea, they show other memorials of the heroes, and one which is called the "Pebble" memorial; for by the seashore they say that there are painted pebbles, and the Greeks who inhabit the island say that these derive their colour from the dirt removed by the scrapers when they oiled themselves; they say that these pebbles were to be seen from that date and not before, nor were they found afterwards. But they quote even more convincing evidence than this, that the voyage out did not take place through the Symplegades, using the poet himself in that place as a witness. For in explaining the seriousness of the danger he says that it is impossible to sail past the place. (Trans. W. S. Hett)
They say that the Ister flowing from the forests called Hercynian divides, and one part flows into the Pontus, and the other into the Adriatic. We can see proof not only at the present time, but still more in ancient days that the river at these points is not navigable; for they say that Jason made his entry to the Pontus by the Cyanean rocks, but his exit by the Ister; and they produce a considerable number of other proofs, and in particular they show altars in the district dedicated by Jason, and in one of the islands of the Adriatic a temple of Artemis built by Medea. They also say that he could not have sailed past the so-called Planktae, unless he had journeyed from there. Also in the island of Aethaleia, which lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea, they show other memorials of the heroes, and one which is called the "Pebble" memorial; for by the seashore they say that there are painted pebbles, and the Greeks who inhabit the island say that these derive their colour from the dirt removed by the scrapers when they oiled themselves; they say that these pebbles were to be seen from that date and not before, nor were they found afterwards. But they quote even more convincing evidence than this, that the voyage out did not take place through the Symplegades, using the poet himself in that place as a witness. For in explaining the seriousness of the danger he says that it is impossible to sail past the place. (Trans. W. S. Hett)
Palaephatus, On Unbelievable Things
c. 325-300 BCE
Excerpt from Myth 15
Athamas [...] had and administrator [...] whose name was Ram. [...] Ram himself equipped a ship: he put on board [...] a life-size, golden statue which a woman by the name of Fleece--she was the mother of Merops and the daughter of the Sun--had made of herself from her own wealth. [...] Phrixus married the daughter of Aeetes, the king of Colchis, giving as a dowry the golden statue of Fleece. Later when Athamas died, Jason sailed in the Argo after his golden Fleece--but it was hardly the skin of a ram. And this is the true story. (Trans. Jacob Stern)
Athamas [...] had and administrator [...] whose name was Ram. [...] Ram himself equipped a ship: he put on board [...] a life-size, golden statue which a woman by the name of Fleece--she was the mother of Merops and the daughter of the Sun--had made of herself from her own wealth. [...] Phrixus married the daughter of Aeetes, the king of Colchis, giving as a dowry the golden statue of Fleece. Later when Athamas died, Jason sailed in the Argo after his golden Fleece--but it was hardly the skin of a ram. And this is the true story. (Trans. Jacob Stern)
Philostephanus of Cyrene
3rd c. BCE
Pliny, Natural History, 7.57:
We learn from Philostephanus, that Jason was the first person who sailed in a long vessel. (Trans. Bostock and Riley)
We learn from Philostephanus, that Jason was the first person who sailed in a long vessel. (Trans. Bostock and Riley)
Aratus, Phainomena
3rd c. BCE
Sternforward Argo by the Great Dog's tail
Is drawn: for hers is not a usual course.
But backward turned she comes, as vessels do
When sailors have transposed the crooked stern
On entering the harbor; all the ship reverse,
And gliding backward on the beach it grounds.
Sternforward thus is Jason's Argo drawn.
And part moves dim and starless from the prow
Up to the mast, but all the rest is bright.
The slackened rudder has been placed beneath
The hind-feet of the Dog, who goes in front.
(Trans. Robert Brown)
Is drawn: for hers is not a usual course.
But backward turned she comes, as vessels do
When sailors have transposed the crooked stern
On entering the harbor; all the ship reverse,
And gliding backward on the beach it grounds.
Sternforward thus is Jason's Argo drawn.
And part moves dim and starless from the prow
Up to the mast, but all the rest is bright.
The slackened rudder has been placed beneath
The hind-feet of the Dog, who goes in front.
(Trans. Robert Brown)
Timaeus of Tauromenium
c. 260 BCE
Diodorus Siculus, The Library, 4.56.3:
Many, both of the antient and modern writers, (amongst whom is Timaeus), report that the Argonauts (after the carrying away of the golden fleece) coming to. understand that Aeetes had blocked up the mouth of Pontus with his fleet, to prevent their return, performed that which was wonderfully remarkable: for it is said, they sailed up to the land of the river Tanais, and there drew the ship a considerable way over, and into another river that ran into the ocean, and so fell down that way into the sea; and then bending their course from the north to the west, leaving the continent on their left hand, they at length entered our sea near Gades. (Trans. G. Booth)
Many, both of the antient and modern writers, (amongst whom is Timaeus), report that the Argonauts (after the carrying away of the golden fleece) coming to. understand that Aeetes had blocked up the mouth of Pontus with his fleet, to prevent their return, performed that which was wonderfully remarkable: for it is said, they sailed up to the land of the river Tanais, and there drew the ship a considerable way over, and into another river that ran into the ocean, and so fell down that way into the sea; and then bending their course from the north to the west, leaving the continent on their left hand, they at length entered our sea near Gades. (Trans. G. Booth)
Strabo, Geography
c. 20 BCE - 24 CE
Geography 11.2
Among the nations that assemble at Dioscurias are the Phtheiropagi, who have their appellation from their dirt and filth.
Near them live the Soanes, not less dirty in their habits, but superior perhaps to all the tribes in strength and courage. They are masters of the country around them, and occupy the heights of Caucasus above Dioscurias. They have a king, and a council of three hundred persons. They can assemble, it is said, an army of two hundred thousand men, for all their people are fighting men, but not distributed into certain orders. In their country the winter torrents are said to bring down even gold, which the Barbarians collect in troughs pierced with holes, and lined with fleeces; and hence the fable of the golden fleece. Some say that they are called Iberians (the same name as the western Iberians) from the gold mines found in both countries. The Soanes use poison of an extraordinary kind for the points of their weapons; even the odour of this poison is a cause of suffering to those who are wounded by arrows thus prepared. (Trans. Hamilton and Falconer)
Geography 11.13
Many of their customs are the same as those of the Armenians, from the similarity of the countries which they inhabit. The Medes however were the first to communicate them to the Armenians, and still before that time to the Persians, who were their masters, and successors in the empire of Asia. The Persian stole, as it is now called, the pursuit of archery and horsemanship, the court paid to their kings, their attire, and veneration fitting for gods paid by the subjects to the prince,—these the Persians derived from the Medes. That this is the fact appears chiefly from their dress. A tiara, a citaris, a hat, tunics with sleeves reaching to the hands, and trowsers, are proper to be worn in cold and northerly places, such as those in Media, but they are not by any means adapted to inhabitants of the south. The Persians had their principal settlements on the Gulf of Persia, being situated more to the south than the Babylonians and the Susii. But after the overthrow of the Medes they gained possession of some tracts of country contiguous to Media. The custom however of the vanquished appeared to the conquerors to be so noble, and appropriate to royal state, that instead of nakedness or scanty clothing, they endured the use of the feminine stole, and were entirely covered with dress to the feet.
Some writers say that Medeia, when with Jason she ruled in these countries, introduced this kind of dress, and concealed her countenance as often as she appeared in public in place of the king; that the memorials of Jason are, the Jasonian heroa, held in great reverence by the Barbarians, (besides a great mountain above the Caspian Gates on the left hand, called Jasonium,) and that the memorials of Medeia are the kind of dress, and the name of the country. Medus, her son, is said to have been her successor in the kingdom, and the country to have been called after his name. In agreement with this are the Jasonia in Armenia, the name of the country, and many other circumstances which we shall mention. (Trans. Hamilton and Falconer)
Among the nations that assemble at Dioscurias are the Phtheiropagi, who have their appellation from their dirt and filth.
Near them live the Soanes, not less dirty in their habits, but superior perhaps to all the tribes in strength and courage. They are masters of the country around them, and occupy the heights of Caucasus above Dioscurias. They have a king, and a council of three hundred persons. They can assemble, it is said, an army of two hundred thousand men, for all their people are fighting men, but not distributed into certain orders. In their country the winter torrents are said to bring down even gold, which the Barbarians collect in troughs pierced with holes, and lined with fleeces; and hence the fable of the golden fleece. Some say that they are called Iberians (the same name as the western Iberians) from the gold mines found in both countries. The Soanes use poison of an extraordinary kind for the points of their weapons; even the odour of this poison is a cause of suffering to those who are wounded by arrows thus prepared. (Trans. Hamilton and Falconer)
Geography 11.13
Many of their customs are the same as those of the Armenians, from the similarity of the countries which they inhabit. The Medes however were the first to communicate them to the Armenians, and still before that time to the Persians, who were their masters, and successors in the empire of Asia. The Persian stole, as it is now called, the pursuit of archery and horsemanship, the court paid to their kings, their attire, and veneration fitting for gods paid by the subjects to the prince,—these the Persians derived from the Medes. That this is the fact appears chiefly from their dress. A tiara, a citaris, a hat, tunics with sleeves reaching to the hands, and trowsers, are proper to be worn in cold and northerly places, such as those in Media, but they are not by any means adapted to inhabitants of the south. The Persians had their principal settlements on the Gulf of Persia, being situated more to the south than the Babylonians and the Susii. But after the overthrow of the Medes they gained possession of some tracts of country contiguous to Media. The custom however of the vanquished appeared to the conquerors to be so noble, and appropriate to royal state, that instead of nakedness or scanty clothing, they endured the use of the feminine stole, and were entirely covered with dress to the feet.
Some writers say that Medeia, when with Jason she ruled in these countries, introduced this kind of dress, and concealed her countenance as often as she appeared in public in place of the king; that the memorials of Jason are, the Jasonian heroa, held in great reverence by the Barbarians, (besides a great mountain above the Caspian Gates on the left hand, called Jasonium,) and that the memorials of Medeia are the kind of dress, and the name of the country. Medus, her son, is said to have been her successor in the kingdom, and the country to have been called after his name. In agreement with this are the Jasonia in Armenia, the name of the country, and many other circumstances which we shall mention. (Trans. Hamilton and Falconer)
Aulus Claudius Charax
before 147 CE
Eustathius of Thessalonica, Commentary on Dionysus Periegetes
The Argonauts sailed into the Euxine, not with one ship, according to the report of many concerning the Argo, but with many ships. (Trans. Richard Paul Jodrell)
The Argonauts sailed into the Euxine, not with one ship, according to the report of many concerning the Argo, but with many ships. (Trans. Richard Paul Jodrell)
Philostratus the Younger, Imagines
c. 250-300 CE
The Achaeans, when they sailed for Troy and put in at the islands, were earnestly seeking the altar of Chryse, which Jason had formerly erected when he made his voyage to Colchis; and Philoctetes, remembering the altar from his visit to it with Heracles, pointed it out to the searchers, whereupon a water-serpent drove its poison onto one of his feet. Then the Achaeans et sail for Troy, but he was left here in Lemnos, “his foot dripping with devouring poison,” as Sophocles says . . . [quoting Sophocles' Philoctetes] (trans. Arthur Fairbanks)
See "Lemnos" for discussion.
See "Lemnos" for discussion.
Sources: Homer, The Odyssey, trans. George Herbert Palmer (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1921); Hesiod, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica, trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (London: William Heinemann, 1920); Palaephatus, On Unbelievable Tales, trans. Jacob Stern (Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1996); Strabo, The Geography of Strabo, trans. Horace Leonard Jones (London: William Heinemann, 1918); Pausanias, Description of Greece (Book II, Chapter III, 8), trans. W. H. S. Jones (London: William Heinemann, 1918); David Campbell, Greek Lyric: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, and Others, Greek Lyric Vol. III (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991); Pliny, The Natural History of Pliny, vol. 2, trans. John Bostock and H. T. Riley (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855); Herodotus, The History of Herodotus, trans. G. C. Macauley (London: Macmillan, 1890); Strabo, The Geography of Strabo, trans. Hans Claude Hamilton and William Falconer (London: George Bell, 1892); A Treatise on Government translated from the Greek of Aristotle, trans. William Ellis (London: J. M. Dent, 1912); Aristotle, Minor Works, trans. W. S. Hett (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1936); Diodorus Siculus, The Library, trans. G. Booth, vol. 1 (London: 1814); Aratos, The Phainomena or 'Heavenly Display' of Aratos, trans. Robert Brown (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1885); Richard Paul Jodrell, Illustrations on Euripides (London: J. Nichols, 1781); Elder Philostratus, Younger Philostratus, Callistratus, trans. Arthur Fairbanks (London: William Heinemann, 1931).