THE EXPEDITION
Jason cared little about the motives of the king in sending him after
the Golden Fleece. His courage ran high and the anticipation of seeing
other countries and doing valiant deeds filled his mind. He set about
building a large ship, the finest the world had ever seen, and to do
this he employed Argos, a famous shipbuilder. No expense or labor was
spared, and when the ship was finished it was named the Argo in honor
of the builder. It was the largest ship that had ever sailed from
Greece.
When the ship was ready Jason assembled the noblest heroes of all
Hellas, Herakles, Kastor and Pollux, Meleagros, Peleus, Admetos,
Theseus, Orpheus and two sons of Boreas, and many others of great
renown. Jason invited them to go with him on this expedition, and
they gladly accepted the invitation. They praised the ship; it was
such a remarkable piece of work, and said that Athena must have
advised and helped Argos, for no human being could make such a good
boat. Jason was to be the captain, and all those who embarked on it
with him would receive the name Argonauts, which means those who sail
in the Argo.
Before sailing, the heroes gathered around the altar of Zeus, and
Jason offered up a sacrifice and prayed for a sign of good luck, if
the God looked favorably on their undertaking. Zeus answered with a
peal of thunder and a flash of lightning, which pleased Jason and gave
the heroes courage. At first the voyage went so smoothly that it
seemed like a grand holiday trip. As they sailed out from the
olive-clad plains surrounding Iolkos, Orpheus with his god-like voice
and magic lyre quieted the wild waves of the sea, and inspired the men
on the Argo with love for battle.
In this way they sailed along until they came to the island of Lemnos,
where they were received in kindly fashion and remained a long time
enjoying the new scenes and the festivals. Then they set sail again
and came to a small island where they stayed a short time. Herakles
had broken his oar and he wanted to replace it. He left the ship,
taking with him a beautiful youth, Hylas, and they went into the woods
to cut down a tree to make a new oar.
But the wood-nymphs saw Hylas and said to each other, "We will keep
this beautiful youth to ramble with us in the forest, for he is gentle
and kind and would be an agreeable companion. He is strong and will
protect us against the rude creatures that cause us alarm." So they
carried Hylas away and hid him, and Herakles would not leave the
island without him. Then the Argo sailed on toward Kolchis, and the
heroes mourned the loss of their two comrades.
They landed again soon on another island, where lived a king who was
known to fame as a great boxer. He was cruel to travellers. He
challenged them to boxing matches and killed them in the sport. The
Argonauts asked him to give them a supply of fresh water for their
ship, and in return he asked them to box with him. Pollux accepted the
challenge, and gave him such a beating that his bones were broken.
Then they took all the fresh water they needed and went back to the
ship. After this, Pollux, instead of the cruel and boastful king, was
known as the great boxer.
The Argo sailed on across the Ægean Sea and through the Hellespont,
where the unfortunate Helle was drowned, and reached the straits of
the Bosporus. There were the immense Symplegades, two high cliffs that
were not solidly rooted in the ground, but clashed together under the
power of the winds, making the passage through the sea dangerous. It
seemed impossible for the Argo to pass them without being crushed.
But they were saved from this peril by the advice of Phineus, the
blind old king of the district, who was also a soothsayer. Phineus had
long suffered a terrible penalty, which the gods had sent on him for
some unkindness, and he had been punished quite enough. Whenever he
sat down to a meal the Harpies pounced upon his food, devouring the
most of it and polluting the rest of it so that it was unspeakably
filthy. When the Argonauts asked him to direct them past the
Symplegades, he promised to do so if they would free him from the
Harpies. This the Argonauts promised to do.
They set a table before him laden with food, and the Harpies rushed
down with great cries, perching on the table, eating greedily and
snatching the food with their brazen claws.
Then the winged sons of Boreas, who were with Jason, rose into the
air and pursued the Harpies with swords. The feathers of the Harpies
flew like dirt in a windstorm as they rushed screaming this way and
that. They fled from that region, and so Phineus was rescued.
Phineus showed the Argonauts how to steer their ship. He advised them
to let a pigeon fly across the Symplegades, and if the bird passed
unhurt they should quickly follow. When the Argonauts had come near
the rocks they let a pigeon loose from the prow of their ship. It flew
through between the cliffs, and the clashing together of the rocks
caught only the end of its tail. Watching for the moment when the
rocks should open and swing away from each other, the Argonauts sailed
between them, rowing with all their might.
They called on Hera for assistance, and the goddess bade the rocks
move slowly. The cliffs did not have time to close together upon the
ship, and she got through safely, except that a small portion of the
rudder was broken off. From that time on the Symplegades became one
rock and remained firm. After this the Argonauts sailed along the
whole coast of the Black Sea toward the east, and finally reached
Kolchis.