Jason
Greeks, undertook the first bold maritime expedi succeeded by a stratagem in slaying the dragon,
tion to Colchis, a far distant country on the coast and on his return he secretly carried away Medeia
of the Euxine, for the purpose of fetching the with him.
Greeks, undertook the first bold maritime expedi succeeded by a stratagem in slaying the dragon,
tion to Colchis, a far distant country on the coast and on his return he secretly carried away Medeia
of the Euxine, for the purpose of fetching the with him.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
Apol-
Justin, xxvi. , Prol. ) He was the king of Sparta lod. ii. 1. $ 3. ) 6. The wife of Polybus and mo
to whom the Jews sent the embassy mentioned in ther of Argus, the builder of the ship Argo. (Hy-
1 Mucc, xii. 20.
gin. Fab. 14. ) C. A daughter of Adrastus and
2. Areus II. , a posthumous son of Acrotatus, Amphithea, and wife of Polyneices. (Apollod. i. 9.
was born as king probably in 264 a. D. , and died $13, iii. 6. & 1; Hygin. Fab. 72. ) d. A daughter
at the age of eight years. He was succeeded by of Autesion and wife of Aristodemus, the Heraclid,
his great uncle, Leonidas II. (Plut. Agis, 3 ; Paus. by whom she became the mother of Eurysthenes
iii. 6. § 3. )
(P. S. ) and Procles. (Herod. vi. 52; Paus. iv. 3. § 3;
AREUS ('Apeus), a Spartan exile, who was re- A pollod. ij. 7. $ 2. )
(L. S. )
stored to his country with Alcibiades, another ARGEIPHONTES ('ApyeipóVTNS), a surname
exile (see p. 100, a], about B. c. 184, by the of Hermes, by which he is designated as the mur-
Achaeans, but afterwards went as ambassador to derer of Argus Panoptes. (Hom. II. ii. 103, and
Roine to accuse the Achaeans. (Polyb. xxiii. 11, numerous other passages in the Greek and Latin
12, xxiv. 4 ; Liv. xxxix. 35 ; Paus. vii. 9. & 2. ) poets. )
(L. S. )
ARGAEUS ('Apraios), king of Macedonia ARGEIUS ('Apycios), was one of the Elein
was the son and successor of Perdiccas I. , who deputies sent to Persia to co-operate with Pelopidus
## p. 280 (#300) ############################################
280
ARGONAUTAE.
ARGONAUTAE.
(B. C. 367) in counteracting Spartan negotiation times in the Iliad (vii. 467, &c. , xn. 40, rxiii.
and attaching Artaxerxes to the Theban cause. 743, &c. ), but not as the leader of the Argonauts.
(Xen. Hell. vii. I. $ 33. ) He is again mentioned [Jason. ) Hesiod (Theog. 992, &c. ) relates the
by Xenophon (Hel. vii. 4. & 15), in his account of story of Jason mying that he fetched Medeia at
the war between the Arcadians and Eleans (K C. the command of his uncle Pelias, and that she bore
365), as one of the leaders of the democratic party him a son, Medeius, who was educated by Cheiron.
at Elis. (Comp. Diod. xv. 77. ) [E. E. ) The first trace of the commion tradition that Jason
ARGE’LIUS, wrote a work on the lonic temple was sent to fetch the golden fleece from Aea, the
of Aesculapius, of which he was said to have been city of Aeetes, in the eastern boundaries of the
the architect. He alse wrote on the proportions of earth, occurs in Mimnermus (ap. Strub. i. p. 46,
the Corinthian order (de Symmetriis Corinthiis). His &c. ), a contemporary of Solon; but the most an-
time is unknown. (Vitruv. vii. praef. $ 12. ) (P. S. ) cient detailed account of the expedition of the
ARGENNIS ('Apyevvis), a surname of Aphro Argonauts which is extant, is that of Pindar.
dite, which she derived from Argennus, a favourite (Pyth. iv. ) Pelias, who had usurped the throne of
of Agameninon, after whose death, in the river locus, and expelled Aeson, the father of Jason,
Cephissus, Agamemnon built a sanctuary of Aph. had received an oracle that he was to be on his
rodite Argennis. (Steph. Byz. s. v. 'Apyervis ; guard against the man who should come to him
Athen. xiii. p. 608. )
(L. S. ] with only one sandal. When Jason had grown
M. ARGENTARIUS, the author of about up, he came to locus to demand the succession to
thirty epigrams in the Greek Anthology, most of the throne of his father. On his way thither, he
which are erotic, and soine are plays on words. had lost one of his sandals in crossing the river
We may infer from his style that he did not live Anaurus. Pelias recognised the man indicated by
before the time of the Roman empire, but nothing the oracle, but concealed his fear, hoping to destroy
more is known of his age. (Jacobs, Anthol. Graec. him in some way; and when Jason claimed the
xiii. pp. 860, 861. )
[P. S. ] throne of his ancestors, Pelias declared himself
ARGES. [CYCLOPES. )
ready to yield; but as Jason was blooming in
ARGILEONIS ('Apyunewvis), mother of Bra- youthful vigour, Pelias entreated him to propitiate
sidas. When the ambassadors from Amphipolis the manes of Phrixus by going to Colchis and
brought the news of his death, she asked if he had | fetching the golden fileece. (Phrixus; HELLE. )
behaved bravely; and on their speaking of him in Jason accepted the proposal, and heralds were sent
reply as the best of the Spartans, answered, that to all parts of Greece to invite the heroes to join him
the strangers were in error ; Brasidas was a brave in the expedition. When all were assembled at lot
man, but there were many better in Sparta. The cus, they set out on their voyage, and a south wind
answer became famous, and Argileonis is said to carried them to the mouth of the Axeinus Pontus
have been rewarded for it by the ephors. (Plut. (subsequently Euxinus Pontus), where they built
Lyc. 25, Apophth. Lac. )
(A. H. C. ) a temple to Poseidon, and implored his protection
ARGI'OPE ('Apyiban), a nymph by whom against the danger of the whirling rock. The
Philammon begot the celebrated bard, Thamyris. ship then sailed to the eastern coast of the Euxine
She lived at first on mount Parnassus, but when and ran up the river Pbasis in the country of
Philammon refused to take her into his house as Aeetes, and the Argonauts had to fight against the
his wife, she left Parnassus and went to the coun- dark-eyed Colchians. Aphrodite inspired Medeia,
try of the Odrysians in Thrace. (A pollod. i. 3. & 3; the daughter of Aeetes, with love for Jason, and
Paus. iv. 33. $ 4. ) Two other mythical personages made her forget the esteem and affection she owed
of this name occur in Diod. iv. 33, and Hygin. to her parent. She was in possession of magic
Fab. 178.
(L. S. ] powers, and taught Jason how to avert the dan-
ARGIUS, a sculptor, was the disciple of Poly- gers which her father might prepare for him, and
cletus, and therefore flourished about 388 B. C. gave him remedies with which he was to heal his
(Plin. xxxiv. 19. ) Thiersch (Epochen, p. 275) wounds. Aeetes promised to give up the fleece to
supposes that Pliny, in the words “Argius, Asopo Jason on condition of his ploughing a piece of land
dorus," mis-translated his Greek anthority, which with his adamantine plough drawn by fire-breath-
had 'Apyeios 'Aowróbwpos, “Asopodorus the Ar- | ing exen. Jason undertook the task, and, follow-
give. ” But Argius is found as a Greek proper name ing the advice of Medeia, he remained unhurt by
in both the forins, 'Apylos and ’Apycios. (Apollod. the fire of the oxen, and accomplished what had
ü. 1. $5; Aristoph. Eccles. 201. ) [P. S. ) been demanded of him. The golden fleece, which
ARGO. [ARGONAUTAE. ]
Jason himself had to fetch, was hung up in a
ARGONAUTAE ('Apyovaūtai), the heroes and thicket, and guarded by a fearful dragon, thicker
demigods who, according to the traditions of the and longer than the ship of the Argonauts.
Jason
Greeks, undertook the first bold maritime expedi succeeded by a stratagem in slaying the dragon,
tion to Colchis, a far distant country on the coast and on his return he secretly carried away Medeia
of the Euxine, for the purpose of fetching the with him. They sailed bome by the Erythraean
golden fleece. They derived their name from the sea, and arrived in Lemnos. In this account of
ship Argo, in which the voyage was made, and Pindar, all the Argonauts are thrown into the
which was constructed by Argus at the command background, and Jason alone appears as the acting
of Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. The time hero. The brief description of their return through
which the Greek traditions assign to this enter- the Erythraean sea is difficult to understand. Pin-
prise is about one generation before the Trojan dar, as the Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius (iv.
The story of the expedition seems to have 259) remarks, like some other poets, makes the
been known to the author of the Odyssey (xii. 69, Argonauts return through the eastern current of
&c. ), who states, that the ship Argo was the only Oceanus, which it must be supposed that they en-
one that ever passed between the whirling rocks tered through the river Phasis; so that they sailed
(rés por Thayktai). Jason is mentioned several from the Euxine through the river Phasis into the
W2r.
## p. 281 (#301) ############################################
ARGONAUTAE.
281
ARGONAUTAE.
eastern occan, and then round Asia to the southern Igntions, and whose works were used by Apollo-
coast of Libya. Here the Argonauts landed, and nius Rhodius, is given by the Scholiast on this
carried their ship through Libya on their shoulders poet. Besides the Argonautics of the Pseudo-
until they came to the lake of Triton, through | Orpheus, we now possess only thosc of Apollonius
which they sailed northward into the Mediterra- Rhodius, and his Roman imitator, Valerius Flaccus.
nean, and steered towards Lemnos and lolcus. The account which is preserved in Apollodorus'
The Erythraean sea in this account is the eastern Bibliotheca (i. 9. 88 16—27) is derived from the
ocean. There is scarcely any other adventure in best sources that were extant in his time, and
the ancient stories of Greece the detail of which chiefly from Pherecydes. We shall give his ac-
has been so differently related by poets of all kinds. count here, partly because it is the plainest, and
The most striking differences are those relative to partly because it may fill up those parts which
the countries or seas through which the Argonauts Pindar in his description has touched upon but
returned home. As it was in most cases the object slightly.
of the poets to make them return through some un- When Jason was commissioned by his unclo
known country, it was necessary, in later times, to Pelias of lolcus to fetch the golden fleece, which
shift their road, accordingly as geographical know- was suspended on an oak-tree in the grove of Ares
ledge became more and more extended. While in Colchis, and was guarded day and night by a
thus Pindar makes them return through the eastern dragon, he commanded Argus, the son of Phrixus,
ocean, others, such as Apollonius Rhodius and to build a ship with fifty oars, in the prow of
Apollodorus, make them sail from the Euxine into which Athena inserted a piece of wood from the
the rivers Ister and Eridanus into the westem speaking oaks in the grove at Dodona, and he in-
ocean, or the Adriatic; and others, again, such as vited all the heroes of his time to take part in the
the Pseudo-Orpheus, Timaeus, and Scymnus of expedition. Their first landing-place after leaving
Chios, represent them as sailing through the river lolcus was the island of Lemnos, where all the
Tanais into the northern ocean, and round the women had just before murdered their fathers and
northern countries of Europe. A fourth set of husbands, in consequence of the anger of Aphro-
traditions, which was adopted by Herodotus, Cal dite. Thoas alone had been saved by his daughters
limachus, and Diodorus Siculus, made them return and his wife Hypsipyle. The Argonauts united
by the same way as they had sailed to Colchis. themselves with the women of Lemnos, and Hyp-
All traditions, however, agree in stating, that sipyle bore to Jason two sons, Euneus and Nebro-
the object of the Argonauts was to fetch the golden phonus. From Lemnos the Argonauts sailed to
fleece which was kept in the country of Aeetes. the country of the Doliones, where king Cizycus
This fleece was regarded as golden as early as the received them hospitably. They left the country
time of Hesiod and Pherecydes (Eratosth. Catast. during the night, and being thrown back on the
19), but in the extant works of Hesiod there is coast by a contrary wind, they were taken for
no trace of this tradition, and Mimnermus only Pelasgians, the enemies of the Doliones, and a
calls it “a lar ficece in the town of Aeetes, struggle ensued, in which Cizycus was slain ; but
where the rays of Helios rest in a golden chamber. ” being recognised by the Argonauts, they buried
Simonides and Acusilaus described it as of purple him and mourned over his fate. They next landed
colour. (Schol. ad Eurip. Med. 5, ad Apollon. Rhod. in Mysia, where they left behind Heracles and
iv. 1147. ). If, therefore, the tradition in this form | Polyphemus, who had gone into the country in
bad any historical foundation at all, it would seem search of Hylas, whom a nymph had carried off
to suggest, that a trade in furs with the countries while he was fetching water for his companions.
porth and east of the Euxine was carried on by In the country of the Bebryces, king Amycus
the Minyans in and about Iolcus at a very early challenged the Argonauts to fight with him; and
time, and that some bold mercantile enterprise to when Polydeuces was killed by him, the Argo-
those countries gave rise to the story about the nauts in revenge slew many of the Bebryces, and
Argonauts. In later traditions, the fieece is uni- sailed to Salmydessus in Thrace, where the seer
versally called the golden fleece; and the won- Phineus was tormented by the Harpyes. When
drous rain who wore it is designated by the name the Argonauts consulted him about their voyage,
of Chrysomallus, and called a son of Poseidon and he promised his advice on condition of their deli-
Theophane, the daughter of Brisaltes in the island vering him from the Harpyes. This was done by
of Crumissa. (Hygin. Fab. 188. ) Strabo (xi. Zetes and Calais, two sons of Boreas; and Phineus
p. 499; comp. Appian, de Bell. Mithrid. 103) en- now advised them, before sailing through the Sym-
deavours to explain the story about the golden plegades, to mark the flight of a dore, and to judge
fleece from the Colchians' collecting by means of from its fate of what they themselves would have
skins the gold sand which was carried down in to do. When they approached the Symplegades,
their rivers from the mountains.
they sent out a dove, which in its rapid fight
The ship Argo is described as a pentecontoros, between the rocks lost only the end of its tail
.
that is, a ship with fifty oars, and is said to have The Argonauts now, with the assistance of Hera,
conveyed the same number of heroes. The Scho followed the example of the dove, sailed quickly
liast on Lycophron (175) is the only writer who between the rocks, and succeeded in passing through
states the number of the heroes to have been one without injuring their ship, with the exception of
hundred. But the names of the fifty heroes are not some ornaments at the stern. Henceforth the
the same in all the lists of the Argonauts, and it is Symplegades stood immoveable in the sea.
a useless task to attempt to reconcile them. (A pol- their arrival in the country of the Mariandyni, the
lod. i. 9. & 16 ; Hygin. Fab. 14, with the commen- Argonauts were kindly received by their king,
tators ; compare the catalogue of the Argonauts in Lycus. The seer Idmon and the helmsman Tiphys
Burmann's edition of Val. Flaccus. ) An account died here, and the place of the latter was supplied
of the writers who had made the expedition of the by Ancaeus. They now sailed along the Thermo-
Argonauts the subject of poems or critical investi don and the Caucasus, until they arrived at the
On
## p. 282 (#302) ############################################
282
ARGONAUTAE.
ARGYRUS.
mouth of the river Phasis. The Colchian king ! tingen, 1788; Ukert, Geom. der Griech. u. Röm.
Acetes promised to give up the golden tieece, if 1. 2. p. 320, &c. ; Müller, Orchom. pp. 164, &c. ,
Jason alone would yoke to a plough two fire 267, &c. ) The story of the Argonauts probably
breathing oxen with brazen feet, and sow the teeth arose out of accounts of commercial enterprises
of the dragon which had not been used by Cadmus | which the wealthy Minyans made to the coasts of
at Thebes, and which he had received from Athena. the Euxine.
(L. S. )
The love of Medeia furnished Jason with means to ARGUS ("Apyos ). 1. The third king of
resist fire and steel, on condition of his taking her Argos, was a son of Zeus and Niobe. (Apollod. i.
as his wife; and she taught him how he was to 1. $ 1, &c. ) A Scholiast (ad Ilom. Il. 1. 115) calls
create feuds among and kill the warriors that were him a son of Apis, whom he succeeded in the
to spring up from the teeth of the dragon. While kingdom of Argos. It is from this Argus that the
Jason was engaged upon his task, Aectes formed country afterwards called Argolis and all Pelopon-
plans for burning the ship Argo and for killing all nesus derived the name of Argos. (Hygin. Fab.
the Greek heroes. But Medeia's magic powers 145; Paus. ii. 16. Q 1, 22. $ 6, 34. $ 5. ) By Eu-
sent to sleep the dragon who guarded the golden adne, or according to others, by Peitho, he became
fleece; and after Jason had taken possession of the father of Jasus, Peiranthus or Peiras, Epi-
the treasure, he and his Argonauts, together with daurus, Criasus, and Tiryns. (Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen.
Medeia and her young brother Absyrtus, embarked | 1151, 1147; ad Eurip. Orest
. 1252, 1248, 930. )
by night and sailed away. Aeetes pursued them, 2. Surnamed Panoptes. His parentage is stated
but before he overtook them, Medeia murdered differently, and his father is called Agenor, Ares-
her brother, cut him into pieces, and threw his tor, Inachus, or Argus, whereas some accounts de
limbs overboard, that her father might be detained scribed him as an Autochthon. (Apollod. ii, 1, 2,
in his pursuit by collecting the limbs of his child. Sc. ; 0v. Met. i. 264. ) He derived his sumame,
Aeetes at last returned home, but sent out a great Panoptes, the all-seeing, from his possessing a
number of Colchians, threatening them with the hundred eyes, some of which were always awake.
punishment intended for Medeia, if they returned He was of superhuman strength, and after he had
without her. While the Colchians were dispersed slain a fierce bull which ravaged Arcadia, a Satyr
in all directions, the Argonauts had already reached who robbed and violated persons, the serpent
the mouth of the river Eridanus. But Zeus, in Echidna, which rendered the roads unsafe, and the
his anger at the murder of Absyrtus, raised a murderers of Apis, who was according to some ac-
storm which cast the ship from its road. When counts his father, Hera appointed him guardian of
driven on the Absyrtian islands, the ship began to the cow into which lo had been metamorphosed.
speak, and declared that the anger of Zeus would (Comp. Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 1151, 1213. )
noi cease, unless they sailed towards Ausonia, and Zeus commissioned Hermes to carry off the cow,
got purified by Circe. They now sailed along the and Hermes accomplished the task, according to
coasts of the Ligyans and Celts, and through the some accounts, by stoning Argus to death, or ac-
sea of Sardinia, and continuing their course along cording to others, by sending him to sleep by the
the coast of Tyrrhenia, they arrived in the island sweetness of his play on the flute and then cutting
of Aeaea, where Circe purified them. When they off his head. Hera transplanted his eyes to the
were passing by the Sirens, Orpheus sang to pre- tail of the peacock, her favourite bird. (Aeschyl.
vent the Argonauts being allured by them. Butes, Prom. ; Apollod. Ov. U. cc. )
however, swam to them, but Aphrodite carried 3. The builder of the Argo, the ship of the Argo
him to Lily baeum. Thetis and the Nereids con- nauts, was according to Apollodorus (ii. 9. gr 1, 16),
ducted them through Scylla and Charybdis and a son of Phrixus. Apollonius Rhodius (i. 112) calls
between the whirling rocks (rét pa. haykTal); him a son of Arestor, and others a son of Hestor
and sailing by the Trinacian island with its oxen or Polybus. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 4, ad
of Helios, they came to the Phaeacian island of Lycophr. 883; Hygin. Fab. 14; Val. Flacc. i 39,
Corcyra, where they were received by Alcinous. who calls him a Thespian. ) Argus, the son of
In the meantime, some of the Colchians, not being | Phrixus, was sent by Aeetes, his grand father, after
able to discover the Argonauts, had settled at the the death of Phrixus, to take possession of his in-
foot of the Ceraunian mountains ; others occupied heritance in Greece. On his voyage thither
the Absyrtian islands near the coast of Illyricum; he suffered shipwreck, was found by Jason
and a third band overtook the Argonauts in the in the island of Aretias, and carried back to
island of the Phaeacians. But as their hopes of Colchis. (Apollon. Rhod. ii. 1095, &c; Hygin.
recovering Medeia were deceived by Arete, the Fab. 21. ) Hyginus (Fab. 3) relates that after the
queen of Alcinous, they settled in the island, and death of Phrixus, Argus intended to flee with his
the Argonauts continued their voyage. (Alcinous. ] brothers to Athamas.
[L. S. ]
During the night, they were overtaken by a storm ; ARGYRA ('Apyopa), the nymph of a well in
but Apollo sent brilliant flashes of lightning which | Achaia, was in love with a beautiful shepherd-boy,
enabled them to discover a neighbouring island, Selemnus, and visited him frequently, but when
which they called Anaphe. Here they erected an his youthful beauty vanished, she forsook him.
altar to Apollo, and solemn rites were instituted, The boy now pined away with grief, and Aphro-
which continued to be observed down to very late dite, moved to pity, changed him into the river
times. Their attempt to land in Crete was pre Selemnus. There was a popular belief in Achaia,
vented by Talus, who guarded the island, but was that if an unhappy lover bathed in the water of
killed by the artifices of Medeia. From Crete this river, he would forget the grief of his love.
they sailed to Aegina, and from thence between (Paus. vii.
Justin, xxvi. , Prol. ) He was the king of Sparta lod. ii. 1. $ 3. ) 6. The wife of Polybus and mo
to whom the Jews sent the embassy mentioned in ther of Argus, the builder of the ship Argo. (Hy-
1 Mucc, xii. 20.
gin. Fab. 14. ) C. A daughter of Adrastus and
2. Areus II. , a posthumous son of Acrotatus, Amphithea, and wife of Polyneices. (Apollod. i. 9.
was born as king probably in 264 a. D. , and died $13, iii. 6. & 1; Hygin. Fab. 72. ) d. A daughter
at the age of eight years. He was succeeded by of Autesion and wife of Aristodemus, the Heraclid,
his great uncle, Leonidas II. (Plut. Agis, 3 ; Paus. by whom she became the mother of Eurysthenes
iii. 6. § 3. )
(P. S. ) and Procles. (Herod. vi. 52; Paus. iv. 3. § 3;
AREUS ('Apeus), a Spartan exile, who was re- A pollod. ij. 7. $ 2. )
(L. S. )
stored to his country with Alcibiades, another ARGEIPHONTES ('ApyeipóVTNS), a surname
exile (see p. 100, a], about B. c. 184, by the of Hermes, by which he is designated as the mur-
Achaeans, but afterwards went as ambassador to derer of Argus Panoptes. (Hom. II. ii. 103, and
Roine to accuse the Achaeans. (Polyb. xxiii. 11, numerous other passages in the Greek and Latin
12, xxiv. 4 ; Liv. xxxix. 35 ; Paus. vii. 9. & 2. ) poets. )
(L. S. )
ARGAEUS ('Apraios), king of Macedonia ARGEIUS ('Apycios), was one of the Elein
was the son and successor of Perdiccas I. , who deputies sent to Persia to co-operate with Pelopidus
## p. 280 (#300) ############################################
280
ARGONAUTAE.
ARGONAUTAE.
(B. C. 367) in counteracting Spartan negotiation times in the Iliad (vii. 467, &c. , xn. 40, rxiii.
and attaching Artaxerxes to the Theban cause. 743, &c. ), but not as the leader of the Argonauts.
(Xen. Hell. vii. I. $ 33. ) He is again mentioned [Jason. ) Hesiod (Theog. 992, &c. ) relates the
by Xenophon (Hel. vii. 4. & 15), in his account of story of Jason mying that he fetched Medeia at
the war between the Arcadians and Eleans (K C. the command of his uncle Pelias, and that she bore
365), as one of the leaders of the democratic party him a son, Medeius, who was educated by Cheiron.
at Elis. (Comp. Diod. xv. 77. ) [E. E. ) The first trace of the commion tradition that Jason
ARGE’LIUS, wrote a work on the lonic temple was sent to fetch the golden fleece from Aea, the
of Aesculapius, of which he was said to have been city of Aeetes, in the eastern boundaries of the
the architect. He alse wrote on the proportions of earth, occurs in Mimnermus (ap. Strub. i. p. 46,
the Corinthian order (de Symmetriis Corinthiis). His &c. ), a contemporary of Solon; but the most an-
time is unknown. (Vitruv. vii. praef. $ 12. ) (P. S. ) cient detailed account of the expedition of the
ARGENNIS ('Apyevvis), a surname of Aphro Argonauts which is extant, is that of Pindar.
dite, which she derived from Argennus, a favourite (Pyth. iv. ) Pelias, who had usurped the throne of
of Agameninon, after whose death, in the river locus, and expelled Aeson, the father of Jason,
Cephissus, Agamemnon built a sanctuary of Aph. had received an oracle that he was to be on his
rodite Argennis. (Steph. Byz. s. v. 'Apyervis ; guard against the man who should come to him
Athen. xiii. p. 608. )
(L. S. ] with only one sandal. When Jason had grown
M. ARGENTARIUS, the author of about up, he came to locus to demand the succession to
thirty epigrams in the Greek Anthology, most of the throne of his father. On his way thither, he
which are erotic, and soine are plays on words. had lost one of his sandals in crossing the river
We may infer from his style that he did not live Anaurus. Pelias recognised the man indicated by
before the time of the Roman empire, but nothing the oracle, but concealed his fear, hoping to destroy
more is known of his age. (Jacobs, Anthol. Graec. him in some way; and when Jason claimed the
xiii. pp. 860, 861. )
[P. S. ] throne of his ancestors, Pelias declared himself
ARGES. [CYCLOPES. )
ready to yield; but as Jason was blooming in
ARGILEONIS ('Apyunewvis), mother of Bra- youthful vigour, Pelias entreated him to propitiate
sidas. When the ambassadors from Amphipolis the manes of Phrixus by going to Colchis and
brought the news of his death, she asked if he had | fetching the golden fileece. (Phrixus; HELLE. )
behaved bravely; and on their speaking of him in Jason accepted the proposal, and heralds were sent
reply as the best of the Spartans, answered, that to all parts of Greece to invite the heroes to join him
the strangers were in error ; Brasidas was a brave in the expedition. When all were assembled at lot
man, but there were many better in Sparta. The cus, they set out on their voyage, and a south wind
answer became famous, and Argileonis is said to carried them to the mouth of the Axeinus Pontus
have been rewarded for it by the ephors. (Plut. (subsequently Euxinus Pontus), where they built
Lyc. 25, Apophth. Lac. )
(A. H. C. ) a temple to Poseidon, and implored his protection
ARGI'OPE ('Apyiban), a nymph by whom against the danger of the whirling rock. The
Philammon begot the celebrated bard, Thamyris. ship then sailed to the eastern coast of the Euxine
She lived at first on mount Parnassus, but when and ran up the river Pbasis in the country of
Philammon refused to take her into his house as Aeetes, and the Argonauts had to fight against the
his wife, she left Parnassus and went to the coun- dark-eyed Colchians. Aphrodite inspired Medeia,
try of the Odrysians in Thrace. (A pollod. i. 3. & 3; the daughter of Aeetes, with love for Jason, and
Paus. iv. 33. $ 4. ) Two other mythical personages made her forget the esteem and affection she owed
of this name occur in Diod. iv. 33, and Hygin. to her parent. She was in possession of magic
Fab. 178.
(L. S. ] powers, and taught Jason how to avert the dan-
ARGIUS, a sculptor, was the disciple of Poly- gers which her father might prepare for him, and
cletus, and therefore flourished about 388 B. C. gave him remedies with which he was to heal his
(Plin. xxxiv. 19. ) Thiersch (Epochen, p. 275) wounds. Aeetes promised to give up the fleece to
supposes that Pliny, in the words “Argius, Asopo Jason on condition of his ploughing a piece of land
dorus," mis-translated his Greek anthority, which with his adamantine plough drawn by fire-breath-
had 'Apyeios 'Aowróbwpos, “Asopodorus the Ar- | ing exen. Jason undertook the task, and, follow-
give. ” But Argius is found as a Greek proper name ing the advice of Medeia, he remained unhurt by
in both the forins, 'Apylos and ’Apycios. (Apollod. the fire of the oxen, and accomplished what had
ü. 1. $5; Aristoph. Eccles. 201. ) [P. S. ) been demanded of him. The golden fleece, which
ARGO. [ARGONAUTAE. ]
Jason himself had to fetch, was hung up in a
ARGONAUTAE ('Apyovaūtai), the heroes and thicket, and guarded by a fearful dragon, thicker
demigods who, according to the traditions of the and longer than the ship of the Argonauts.
Jason
Greeks, undertook the first bold maritime expedi succeeded by a stratagem in slaying the dragon,
tion to Colchis, a far distant country on the coast and on his return he secretly carried away Medeia
of the Euxine, for the purpose of fetching the with him. They sailed bome by the Erythraean
golden fleece. They derived their name from the sea, and arrived in Lemnos. In this account of
ship Argo, in which the voyage was made, and Pindar, all the Argonauts are thrown into the
which was constructed by Argus at the command background, and Jason alone appears as the acting
of Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. The time hero. The brief description of their return through
which the Greek traditions assign to this enter- the Erythraean sea is difficult to understand. Pin-
prise is about one generation before the Trojan dar, as the Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius (iv.
The story of the expedition seems to have 259) remarks, like some other poets, makes the
been known to the author of the Odyssey (xii. 69, Argonauts return through the eastern current of
&c. ), who states, that the ship Argo was the only Oceanus, which it must be supposed that they en-
one that ever passed between the whirling rocks tered through the river Phasis; so that they sailed
(rés por Thayktai). Jason is mentioned several from the Euxine through the river Phasis into the
W2r.
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ARGONAUTAE.
281
ARGONAUTAE.
eastern occan, and then round Asia to the southern Igntions, and whose works were used by Apollo-
coast of Libya. Here the Argonauts landed, and nius Rhodius, is given by the Scholiast on this
carried their ship through Libya on their shoulders poet. Besides the Argonautics of the Pseudo-
until they came to the lake of Triton, through | Orpheus, we now possess only thosc of Apollonius
which they sailed northward into the Mediterra- Rhodius, and his Roman imitator, Valerius Flaccus.
nean, and steered towards Lemnos and lolcus. The account which is preserved in Apollodorus'
The Erythraean sea in this account is the eastern Bibliotheca (i. 9. 88 16—27) is derived from the
ocean. There is scarcely any other adventure in best sources that were extant in his time, and
the ancient stories of Greece the detail of which chiefly from Pherecydes. We shall give his ac-
has been so differently related by poets of all kinds. count here, partly because it is the plainest, and
The most striking differences are those relative to partly because it may fill up those parts which
the countries or seas through which the Argonauts Pindar in his description has touched upon but
returned home. As it was in most cases the object slightly.
of the poets to make them return through some un- When Jason was commissioned by his unclo
known country, it was necessary, in later times, to Pelias of lolcus to fetch the golden fleece, which
shift their road, accordingly as geographical know- was suspended on an oak-tree in the grove of Ares
ledge became more and more extended. While in Colchis, and was guarded day and night by a
thus Pindar makes them return through the eastern dragon, he commanded Argus, the son of Phrixus,
ocean, others, such as Apollonius Rhodius and to build a ship with fifty oars, in the prow of
Apollodorus, make them sail from the Euxine into which Athena inserted a piece of wood from the
the rivers Ister and Eridanus into the westem speaking oaks in the grove at Dodona, and he in-
ocean, or the Adriatic; and others, again, such as vited all the heroes of his time to take part in the
the Pseudo-Orpheus, Timaeus, and Scymnus of expedition. Their first landing-place after leaving
Chios, represent them as sailing through the river lolcus was the island of Lemnos, where all the
Tanais into the northern ocean, and round the women had just before murdered their fathers and
northern countries of Europe. A fourth set of husbands, in consequence of the anger of Aphro-
traditions, which was adopted by Herodotus, Cal dite. Thoas alone had been saved by his daughters
limachus, and Diodorus Siculus, made them return and his wife Hypsipyle. The Argonauts united
by the same way as they had sailed to Colchis. themselves with the women of Lemnos, and Hyp-
All traditions, however, agree in stating, that sipyle bore to Jason two sons, Euneus and Nebro-
the object of the Argonauts was to fetch the golden phonus. From Lemnos the Argonauts sailed to
fleece which was kept in the country of Aeetes. the country of the Doliones, where king Cizycus
This fleece was regarded as golden as early as the received them hospitably. They left the country
time of Hesiod and Pherecydes (Eratosth. Catast. during the night, and being thrown back on the
19), but in the extant works of Hesiod there is coast by a contrary wind, they were taken for
no trace of this tradition, and Mimnermus only Pelasgians, the enemies of the Doliones, and a
calls it “a lar ficece in the town of Aeetes, struggle ensued, in which Cizycus was slain ; but
where the rays of Helios rest in a golden chamber. ” being recognised by the Argonauts, they buried
Simonides and Acusilaus described it as of purple him and mourned over his fate. They next landed
colour. (Schol. ad Eurip. Med. 5, ad Apollon. Rhod. in Mysia, where they left behind Heracles and
iv. 1147. ). If, therefore, the tradition in this form | Polyphemus, who had gone into the country in
bad any historical foundation at all, it would seem search of Hylas, whom a nymph had carried off
to suggest, that a trade in furs with the countries while he was fetching water for his companions.
porth and east of the Euxine was carried on by In the country of the Bebryces, king Amycus
the Minyans in and about Iolcus at a very early challenged the Argonauts to fight with him; and
time, and that some bold mercantile enterprise to when Polydeuces was killed by him, the Argo-
those countries gave rise to the story about the nauts in revenge slew many of the Bebryces, and
Argonauts. In later traditions, the fieece is uni- sailed to Salmydessus in Thrace, where the seer
versally called the golden fleece; and the won- Phineus was tormented by the Harpyes. When
drous rain who wore it is designated by the name the Argonauts consulted him about their voyage,
of Chrysomallus, and called a son of Poseidon and he promised his advice on condition of their deli-
Theophane, the daughter of Brisaltes in the island vering him from the Harpyes. This was done by
of Crumissa. (Hygin. Fab. 188. ) Strabo (xi. Zetes and Calais, two sons of Boreas; and Phineus
p. 499; comp. Appian, de Bell. Mithrid. 103) en- now advised them, before sailing through the Sym-
deavours to explain the story about the golden plegades, to mark the flight of a dore, and to judge
fleece from the Colchians' collecting by means of from its fate of what they themselves would have
skins the gold sand which was carried down in to do. When they approached the Symplegades,
their rivers from the mountains.
they sent out a dove, which in its rapid fight
The ship Argo is described as a pentecontoros, between the rocks lost only the end of its tail
.
that is, a ship with fifty oars, and is said to have The Argonauts now, with the assistance of Hera,
conveyed the same number of heroes. The Scho followed the example of the dove, sailed quickly
liast on Lycophron (175) is the only writer who between the rocks, and succeeded in passing through
states the number of the heroes to have been one without injuring their ship, with the exception of
hundred. But the names of the fifty heroes are not some ornaments at the stern. Henceforth the
the same in all the lists of the Argonauts, and it is Symplegades stood immoveable in the sea.
a useless task to attempt to reconcile them. (A pol- their arrival in the country of the Mariandyni, the
lod. i. 9. & 16 ; Hygin. Fab. 14, with the commen- Argonauts were kindly received by their king,
tators ; compare the catalogue of the Argonauts in Lycus. The seer Idmon and the helmsman Tiphys
Burmann's edition of Val. Flaccus. ) An account died here, and the place of the latter was supplied
of the writers who had made the expedition of the by Ancaeus. They now sailed along the Thermo-
Argonauts the subject of poems or critical investi don and the Caucasus, until they arrived at the
On
## p. 282 (#302) ############################################
282
ARGONAUTAE.
ARGYRUS.
mouth of the river Phasis. The Colchian king ! tingen, 1788; Ukert, Geom. der Griech. u. Röm.
Acetes promised to give up the golden tieece, if 1. 2. p. 320, &c. ; Müller, Orchom. pp. 164, &c. ,
Jason alone would yoke to a plough two fire 267, &c. ) The story of the Argonauts probably
breathing oxen with brazen feet, and sow the teeth arose out of accounts of commercial enterprises
of the dragon which had not been used by Cadmus | which the wealthy Minyans made to the coasts of
at Thebes, and which he had received from Athena. the Euxine.
(L. S. )
The love of Medeia furnished Jason with means to ARGUS ("Apyos ). 1. The third king of
resist fire and steel, on condition of his taking her Argos, was a son of Zeus and Niobe. (Apollod. i.
as his wife; and she taught him how he was to 1. $ 1, &c. ) A Scholiast (ad Ilom. Il. 1. 115) calls
create feuds among and kill the warriors that were him a son of Apis, whom he succeeded in the
to spring up from the teeth of the dragon. While kingdom of Argos. It is from this Argus that the
Jason was engaged upon his task, Aectes formed country afterwards called Argolis and all Pelopon-
plans for burning the ship Argo and for killing all nesus derived the name of Argos. (Hygin. Fab.
the Greek heroes. But Medeia's magic powers 145; Paus. ii. 16. Q 1, 22. $ 6, 34. $ 5. ) By Eu-
sent to sleep the dragon who guarded the golden adne, or according to others, by Peitho, he became
fleece; and after Jason had taken possession of the father of Jasus, Peiranthus or Peiras, Epi-
the treasure, he and his Argonauts, together with daurus, Criasus, and Tiryns. (Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen.
Medeia and her young brother Absyrtus, embarked | 1151, 1147; ad Eurip. Orest
. 1252, 1248, 930. )
by night and sailed away. Aeetes pursued them, 2. Surnamed Panoptes. His parentage is stated
but before he overtook them, Medeia murdered differently, and his father is called Agenor, Ares-
her brother, cut him into pieces, and threw his tor, Inachus, or Argus, whereas some accounts de
limbs overboard, that her father might be detained scribed him as an Autochthon. (Apollod. ii, 1, 2,
in his pursuit by collecting the limbs of his child. Sc. ; 0v. Met. i. 264. ) He derived his sumame,
Aeetes at last returned home, but sent out a great Panoptes, the all-seeing, from his possessing a
number of Colchians, threatening them with the hundred eyes, some of which were always awake.
punishment intended for Medeia, if they returned He was of superhuman strength, and after he had
without her. While the Colchians were dispersed slain a fierce bull which ravaged Arcadia, a Satyr
in all directions, the Argonauts had already reached who robbed and violated persons, the serpent
the mouth of the river Eridanus. But Zeus, in Echidna, which rendered the roads unsafe, and the
his anger at the murder of Absyrtus, raised a murderers of Apis, who was according to some ac-
storm which cast the ship from its road. When counts his father, Hera appointed him guardian of
driven on the Absyrtian islands, the ship began to the cow into which lo had been metamorphosed.
speak, and declared that the anger of Zeus would (Comp. Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 1151, 1213. )
noi cease, unless they sailed towards Ausonia, and Zeus commissioned Hermes to carry off the cow,
got purified by Circe. They now sailed along the and Hermes accomplished the task, according to
coasts of the Ligyans and Celts, and through the some accounts, by stoning Argus to death, or ac-
sea of Sardinia, and continuing their course along cording to others, by sending him to sleep by the
the coast of Tyrrhenia, they arrived in the island sweetness of his play on the flute and then cutting
of Aeaea, where Circe purified them. When they off his head. Hera transplanted his eyes to the
were passing by the Sirens, Orpheus sang to pre- tail of the peacock, her favourite bird. (Aeschyl.
vent the Argonauts being allured by them. Butes, Prom. ; Apollod. Ov. U. cc. )
however, swam to them, but Aphrodite carried 3. The builder of the Argo, the ship of the Argo
him to Lily baeum. Thetis and the Nereids con- nauts, was according to Apollodorus (ii. 9. gr 1, 16),
ducted them through Scylla and Charybdis and a son of Phrixus. Apollonius Rhodius (i. 112) calls
between the whirling rocks (rét pa. haykTal); him a son of Arestor, and others a son of Hestor
and sailing by the Trinacian island with its oxen or Polybus. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 4, ad
of Helios, they came to the Phaeacian island of Lycophr. 883; Hygin. Fab. 14; Val. Flacc. i 39,
Corcyra, where they were received by Alcinous. who calls him a Thespian. ) Argus, the son of
In the meantime, some of the Colchians, not being | Phrixus, was sent by Aeetes, his grand father, after
able to discover the Argonauts, had settled at the the death of Phrixus, to take possession of his in-
foot of the Ceraunian mountains ; others occupied heritance in Greece. On his voyage thither
the Absyrtian islands near the coast of Illyricum; he suffered shipwreck, was found by Jason
and a third band overtook the Argonauts in the in the island of Aretias, and carried back to
island of the Phaeacians. But as their hopes of Colchis. (Apollon. Rhod. ii. 1095, &c; Hygin.
recovering Medeia were deceived by Arete, the Fab. 21. ) Hyginus (Fab. 3) relates that after the
queen of Alcinous, they settled in the island, and death of Phrixus, Argus intended to flee with his
the Argonauts continued their voyage. (Alcinous. ] brothers to Athamas.
[L. S. ]
During the night, they were overtaken by a storm ; ARGYRA ('Apyopa), the nymph of a well in
but Apollo sent brilliant flashes of lightning which | Achaia, was in love with a beautiful shepherd-boy,
enabled them to discover a neighbouring island, Selemnus, and visited him frequently, but when
which they called Anaphe. Here they erected an his youthful beauty vanished, she forsook him.
altar to Apollo, and solemn rites were instituted, The boy now pined away with grief, and Aphro-
which continued to be observed down to very late dite, moved to pity, changed him into the river
times. Their attempt to land in Crete was pre Selemnus. There was a popular belief in Achaia,
vented by Talus, who guarded the island, but was that if an unhappy lover bathed in the water of
killed by the artifices of Medeia. From Crete this river, he would forget the grief of his love.
they sailed to Aegina, and from thence between (Paus. vii.
