ARISTOTELEIO PANEPISTHMIO QESSALONIKHS FILOSOFIKH SXOLH TMHMA FILOLOGIAS Hassan Atia Hassan Sayed Ahmed Heakal QEMA: "H EIKONA THS QALASSAS STHN ARGONAUTIKH TOU APOLLWNIOU RODIOU" Prwteu/ousa Metaptuxiakh/ Ergasi/a Epo/pthj Kaqhghth/j: A. Regka/koj QESSALONIKH 2007 Table of Contents 1- Introduction 2 2- I: The Role of Gods in the Argonautica 2.1. Zeus 6 2.2. Hera and Thetis 11 2.3. Athena 25 2.4. Apollo 35 2.5. Poseidon, Triton and Glaucus 46 3- II: The Interaction between the Argonauts and the Marine Environment in the Argonautica 3.1. Election of the Leader 54 3.2. The Launch of Argo 57 3.3. The Winds and the Navigation 59 3.4. Phineus’ Episode 64 3.5. The Symplegades or the Planctae 67 3.6. Passage of the Symplegades 78 3.7. The Sirens in Scylla and Charybdis 88 3.8. What did Jason Learn from these Situations? 93 4- III: The Marine Similes in the Argonautica 4.1. Concept of the Simile 97 4.2. The First Book 100 4.3. The Second Book 105 4.4. The Third Book 111 4.5. The Forth Book 112 5- Bibliography 116 1 Introduction The Argonautica recounts the mythical voyage of the Argonauts who, on the order of King Pelias, undertake a long and dangerous voyage to Colchis, located on the southeast corner of the Black Sea (modern Georgia), in search of the Golden Fleece and, eventually, succeed in returning with it to Greece. They are led by Jason, a young hero who succeeds in winning the Fleece from Aeetes, king of Colchis, with the help of Medea, the Colchian princess expert in magic powers with whom he gets involved in a love affair, and who accompanies him back to Greece, thus providing the setting for Euripides' great tragic play of betrayal and infanticide, Medea. In length the poem may be said to fit perfectly Aristotle's prescription that an epic should be "about as long as the number of tragedies presented at one sitting" (Poet. 1459b 21f). It is without question meticulously structured. Books I and II give the reasons for the voyage, describe the gathering of the crew and relate the voyage to Colchis. They include the encounter with Hypsipyle and the Lemnian women (Argo. 1.609-914); the crew's loss of Hylas and Heraldes (1.1207-357); the boxing match between Polydeuces and Amycus (2.1- 97); the encounter with the Harpies and Phineus, and his prophecy (2.178-447); the passage through the Clashing Rocks, or Symplegades (2.549-606); and the long voyage along the southern coast of the Black Sea (2.619-1261). Book III is dedicated to the story of Jason and Medea and the completion of the hero's trials. It includes a memorable depiction of Aeetes, father of Medea and tyrannical ruler of Colchis (3.302-438; also 4.212-40); a dramatic account of the young princess falling in love with the foreign hero (3.275-98, 439-824); and the aristeia of Jason when he yokes the bulls and defeats the earthborn men (3.1246-407). Book IV relates the actual taking of the Fleece (99-182) and the return journey, which follows a quite different route from the outward voyage, bringing the Argonauts home to Greece via the Danube, the Rhone, the western coast of Italy, Corfu, North Africa, and Crete. It includes the murder of Apsyrtus (410-81), the encounter with Circe in Italy (659-752), Orpheus' singing match with the Sirens (885-922), the stay in the land of the Phaeacians (982- 1223), the beaching of the "Argo" on the Libyan shore and the subsequent carrying of the ship back to the sea (1232-587), and eventually the return to Greece via Crete, where the giant Tales is defeated by Medea's magical powers (1638-688). The poem ends with the Argonauts setting foot safely back in Greece, and the poet looking forward to future recitations of his work (1773-774). In the final line he addresses his heroes: "and happily did you step out onto the beach of Pagasae" (4.1781). The reader is thus offered both easy, natural closure and the possibility of endless repetition of the poem and its 2 story. Apollonius here draws attention to issues such as the relationship between his poem and the Argonautic myth as a whole and the very difficulty of deciding on a beginning and an end in order to mark out his poem within that whole.1 In the first book of Apollonius’ Argonautica, when the Argonauts have assembled on the shore of Pagasae and Jason has been chosen leader of the expedition, the Argonauts ready the ship, sacrifice to Apollo, and feast. They embark at dawn the next day (1.519-534a). A tearful Jason turns his gaze from his homeland as the ship leaves the shore (534b-535), propelled by the oars of his companions to the tune of the song of Orpheus. The sun glints from their armor, and their wake is white behind them (536-546). All the gods look on from heaven at the ship and the Argonauts; the nymphs of Pelion, too, on its highest peak look with wonder on the ship, the handiwork of Athena, and on the Argonauts, her oarsmen. Chiron descends from the mountain top to the shore and bids them a fair voyage and return, while his wife holds the infant Achilles up for his departing father to see. pa/ntej d' ou)rano/qen leu=sson qeoiì hÃmati kei¿n% nh=a kaiì h(miqe/wn a)ndrw½n ge/noj, oiá to/t' aÃristoi po/nton e)piplw¯eskon: e)p' a)krota/tvsi de\ nu/mfai Phlia/dej skopiv=sin e)qa/mbeon, ei¹soro/wsai eÃrgon ¹Aqhnai¿hj ¹Itwni¿doj h)de\ kaiì au)tou/j hÀrwaj xei¿ressin e)pikrada/ontaj e)retma/: au)ta\r oÀg' e)c u(pa/tou oÃreoj ki¿en aÃgxi qala/sshj Xei¿rwn Filluri¿dhj, poliv= d' e)piì ku/matoj a)gv= te/gge po/daj, kaiì polla\ barei¿v xeiriì keleu/wn no/ston e)peufh/mhsen a)phre/a nissome/noisin: su\n kai¿ oi¸ para/koitij, e)pwle/nion fore/ousa Phlei¿+dhn ¹Axilh=a, fi¿l% deidi¿sketo patri¿. (I.547-58) On that day all of the gods looked down from heaven upon the ship and this race of demi-gods, best of men, who then sailed the sea. And the Nymphs on the topmost heights of Pelion gazed in wonder at the work of Itonian Athena and the heroes themselves plying the oars with their hands. And down from the mountain-top to the sea came Chiron son of Philyra, and where the white surf broke he dipped his feet, and with his stout hand often waving wished them a safe return as they departed. And with him his wife, bearing in her arms Achilles son of Peleus, showed the child to his dear father. 1 Foley (2005), 355. 3 The Argonauts are the sons of gods, but we have also learned that Athena helped build the Argo, giving advice to Argus (1.19, 111-112) and placing the divine beam of Dodonian oak in her stem (1.526-527), that it was she who impelled Tiphys to join the expedition (1.109-110), and that Jason has close ties with her (sunhmosu/nhsin, 1.300). We have learned, furthermore, that Apollo - whose dire prophecy to Pelias precipitated his ordering Jason to make the expedition - has given Jason favorable oracles (1.301-302), promising to guide his journey (1.360-362,412-414; cf. the prophesy of Idmon, 1.439-447).1 As Feeney has pointed out, the gods have been conspicuous by their absence from the early episodes of the Argonautica; even Apollo’s response to the sacrifice by the Argonauts on the beach is only conveyed by proxy. Yet the theme of partnership between mortals and immortals has been explicit both in the frequent mention of co- operation between Athena and Argus in the construction of the ship (18-19; 111-14; 226) and in Jason’s invocation of Apollo. Now at last the gods make their entrance into the action proper, affording yet another perspective on events. To some extent these scenes function as the divine equivalent of the earlier scenes of departure from Iolcus. As before, there are two distinct sets of observers, the Olympians keeping an eye on events from heaven and the local nymphs watching the ship from the vantage point of Mt Pelion. We are not privy to the reaction of the former to what they see and, at first sight, the heavenly gods may appear detached from proceedings. Yet the calculated reference to h(miqe/wn a)ndrw½n in 548, the only time in the poem that the Argonauts are so designated, reminds us of the parentage of many of the crew and that the gods too are implicated in the success of this venture. And in the narrative description of the Argonauts as the best of men then sailing the sea is perhaps to be found a hint of divine approbation.2 It is evident that interactions between the Argonauts and their natural surroundings are of considerable importance in the Argonautica whether they involve construction or other forms of remembrance of the presence of the Argonauts, or whether they result in some change in nature itself, caused by the skill of Orpheus. The poet, by emphasizing awareness of the powers of technē, seems to desire to make clear that the voyage of the Argo was not an insignificant event but one which changed the world, physically and perhaps intellectually also.3 The Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius is the work of an extremely learned and self-conscious artist, who set out to demonstrate that it was still possible to use the traditional epic form with great originality.