The Path of the Argo
 0521810361, 9780521810364

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The Path of the Argo In this innovative study of Apollonius Rhodius' influential epic poem from the Hellenistic period, the author aims both to offer fresh insights into popular critical issues and to consider the work from new perspectives. The principal, unifying concern is the poet's measured and complex use of language and the manipulation of meaning generated therewith. The first part presents a detailed analysis of the poem's constantly shifting commentary on the voyage of the Argo as articulated throughout all four books of the poem, and the conflicting strategies according to which the epic journey of the Argonauts is presented for interpretation. The second part of the book identifies hitherto unexplored descriptive, thematic and image~related rhythms within the narrative, which serve both to bind the poem together and to generate further complexities of meaning. The book is written to be accessible to non-specialists and passages of original Greek text are accompanied by an English translation. is currently Lecturer in Classics at the University of Leeds. He was educated in Dublin and Cambridge and has held a research fellowship at the University of Manchester and a lectureship at the University of Durham. He is the author of articles on Homer, Apollonius Rhodius, Catullus and Virgil.

R. J. CLARE

CAMBRIDGE

CLASSICAL

STUDIES

General editors

R. L. HUNTER, R. G. OSBORNE, M. D. REEVE, P. D. A. GARNSEY,

M. MILLETT,

D. N. SEDLEY

THE PATH OF THE ARGO Language,imageryandnarrativein the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius

R. J. CLARE

Universityof Leeds

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

PUBLISHED

BY THE PRESS

SYNDICATE

Of/ THE UNIVERSITY

OF CAMBRIDGE

The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

CONTENTS

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU,UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 100ll-42II, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarc6n 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge 2002

This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2002 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typeface Times I 1/13 pt.

System It-Tfi)(2£

[TB]

Preface Note on texts, translations and abbreviations Introduction

page ix X

l

Part I There and back again Epic beginnings 2 Outward bound 3 Other journeys 4 Homeward bound

119

Part II Order and disorder 5 Patterns of action 6 Orpheus and Medea 7 Poetics and rhetoric

231 261

9 33

84

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Clare, R. J. The path of the Argo: language, imagery, and narrative in the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius / R. J. Clare. p. cm. - (Cambridge classical studies) Includes bibliographical references (p. 286) and index. ISBN O 521 8rn36 I r. Apollonius, Rhodius. Argonautica. 2. Greek language, Hellenistic (300 Bc-600 AD)- Figures of speech. 3. Greek poetry, Hellenistic - History and criticism. 4. Epic poetry, Greek - History and criticism. 5. Argonauts (Greek mythology) in literature. 6. Jason (Greek mythology) in literature. 7. Medea (Greek mythology) in literature. 8. Narration (Rhetoric). 9. Rhetoric, Ancient. I. Title. u. Series.

175

Bibliography Passages discussed General index

PA3872.Z4 C55 2002 8831.01-dc21 2001037379 ISBN O 52r

81036 I hardback

vii

PREFACE

No book is ever the product of one author, and in this instance I have numerous debts to acknowledge. My first thanks must go to Leeds University for the grant of a period of research leave in order to complete the manuscript. I am very much indebted to the staff of the Inter-Library Loan Counter in the Brotherton Library for their helpfulness during the writing-up process. Malcolm Heath, David Levene and Damien Nelis all read drafts of the work and offered invaluable comments and advice. The friendship and support of Ken Belcher and Kevin Matthews and, not least, their skills in proofreading made the final months a lot more bearable than they would otherwise have been. The editorial comments of Pat Easterling and Michael Reeve considerably improved the style and content of the finished product, as did the meticulous copy-editing of Muriel Hall. This study of Apollonius' poem began as doctoral research, and special thanks must be given to my Cambridge supervisor Philip Hardie, who has for many years now encouraged my academic career, and without whom a thesis would never have become a book. As well as those named above I am privileged to have had the support of many friends in the various universities in which I have worked and studied. In particular I benefited enormously from a year spent in the Department of Classics at Durham University and would like to record my gratitude to Tony Woodman in this regard. Two other people also deserve special mention, Ellen O'Gorman and Geoff Foote, both of whom have contributed significantly in many ways to the writing of this book. My greatest debt of all, however, is to my parents and brother, and it is to my family that this book is dedicated.

ix

NOTE ON TEXTS, TRANSLATIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Except in a few very minor instances noted ad loc., the text of Apollonius Rhodius comes from the Bude edition (3 vols.) of Francis Vian, as cited in the bibliography. The text of all other Greek authors is cited from the Oxford Classical Text. All translations are my own. Abbreviations for periodicals generally follow the system set out in L'Annee Philologique.

X

INTRODUCTION

Introductions are supposed to enlighten the reader as to a book's content, but it will perhaps be better if I begin with something of apraeteritio. The sentiment lying behind Apollonius Rhodius' reflection upon the poetic tradition to which his poem belongs - o\ ,rp6a0ev ht Kt-Eiova1v 6:0160\ - is one which might profitably be applied to the corpus of critical literature on the Argonautica. There are a number of well-trodden critical paths associated with the interpretation of this epic, leading to the heart of the poem via its two central characters. On the one hand there is a preoccupation with Apollonius' representation of Jason. The nature and limitations of Jason's heroism, his status as (or qualifications to be) first among Argonautic equals and, especially, his relationship with Heracles are all important facets of the ambiguous presentation of the poem's hero. Nor may consideration of the man be divorced from the woman. The Argonautica's portrayal of Medea offers other, equally complex, lines of enquiry. Again one may nominate topics particularly attractive to critics: the extent to which Medea becomes the poem's dominant personality in the second half of the epic; the psychological intensity and complexity of her portrayal; the poem's exploration of the power of Eros; the polarity between male and female experience. Certainly the relationship between Jason and Medea is central to the reading of the Argonautica, and it would be a very strange thematic study of this text which had nothing whatever to say about either of them. In the writing of this book, however, I have endeavoured to look beyond Jason and Medea to another even more fundamental source of ambiguity in the poem, from which all else follows. It is sometimes all too easy to forget the very title of Apollonius' work; the poem is first and foremost the story of a voyage. We are told from the outset that the intention is to recount a mythical journey from the distant past, deeds perpetrated by J

INTRODUCTJON

men of long ago. The poem is thus advertised as an essay in the oldest and most traditional poetic form of them all, with all of the consonant implications of this. Also conveyed by the reference to naAwysviwv KAEOq,wTwv in the first verse is the first hint of the episodic structure of the narrative, and herein lies the essential characteristic of Apollonius' epic technique. One inevitable task confronting the reader of the Argonautica is appreciation of how the poet, as he constructs the complex itinerary and sequence of adventures which, when put together, constitute the story of Argo, constantly and consistently changes the frame of reference for the interpretation of the epic voyage. In the first part of this book my overall aim is to highlight the complexities of this process and the bewildering range of perspectives which the poet brings to bear on the quest for the Golden Fleece. The ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding Apollonius' narrative of the Argo voyage begin at the beginning. In Chapter I I examine how the poet's declaration of his theme resonates with inner tensions, offers a number of contradictory and potentially misleading insights into the nature of the epic journey to be recounted, and also fails to provide certain vital information. Also, as part of the process of introducing the narrative, the Argonautica prologue implicitly identifies one important yardstick against which the progress of Argo may be measured, namely the itinerary of Homer's Odysseus. That the exemplum of Odysseus' wanderings constitutes an essential element in the Hellenistic poet's sophisticated treatment of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts has long been recognised by critics, but the extent of the intertextuality between the respective beginnings of the Odyssey and the Argonautica has not been fully apppreciated. Accordingly, for the purposes of comparison, my study of Apollonius' prologue is prefaced by a detailed reading of the beginning of the Odyssey. In Chapter 2 I follow the progress of the outward journey to Cole his, showing how Apollonius' articulation of the voyage and the main themes associated with it gather momentum in gradual, cumulative fashion. A variety of perspectives is provided from which the quest may be considered, a concatenation of situations and viewpoints, motivations and opinions which moulds and sometimes modifies our understanding of what is taking place. Set pieces 2

INTRODUCTION

such as the song of Orpheus and the prophecy of Phineus are also / crucial in the establishment of parameters for the interpretation of the voyage. By the end of book 2, by which stage the Argonauts have arrived at the river Phasis within sight of the grove of Ares where the Golden Fleece resides, many questions have been answered, but still more have been raised. The story of more than one epic journey is told in the Argonautica, and in Chapter 3 I widen the scope of the discussion, examining how the voyage of Argo interacts with a number of other important journeys represented as taking place at the same time. These journeys are interwoven in complex fashion. An epic quest may have an unpredictable or unforeseen outcome, and the exploration, through the medium of these ancillary_missions, of themes of success and failure, of wandering and return, of posiii:o.ne01entand ,Insure inevitably infiltratesour reading of the vc,yage of Argo itself. Chapter 4 concentrates upon t!Je fourth bpok, and the various twists and turns taken by the itinerary of the voyage back to Greece. The Argonauts set out on their homeward journey under the aegis of the geographical advice tendered by Argus son of Phrixus, and I therefore devote considerable attention to the excursus on the Pillars of Aea, one of the most underestimated passages in the poem. At the same time the paradigm of epic journeying represented by Odysseus' wanderings functions as an ever more apparent, but by no means straightforward, commentary uponArgo's maritime itinerary. Most important of all, the presence ofMedea on board ship and the divine imperative of her arrival in Greece diminishes the importance of the acquisition of the fleece itself and sets a different agenda for the homeward leg. The conflicting demands of these (;()mpeting fr~amesofreference transform the return journey into the most complex part of Apollonius' epic narrative, and it is in such a context that I consider at the end of this chapter overall strategies for the reading of Apollonius' version of the Argo voyage. The principal theme introduced in book r by the song of Orpheus - which, by virtue of its narrative position immediately before the departure of the Argonauts from Pagasae, may be said to offer a commentary upon the quest itself - is that of tension between order and disorder. The second part of my book explores 3

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

this theme as manifested on different levels in the Argonautica. Three studies are offered. Chapter 5 examines the distinctive visual style employed by Apollonius in his representation of the action. Close reading of this epic reveals recurrent imagery and recurrent patterns of action binding together disparate scenes and episodes. The poet's techniques of visualisation are geared towards the highlighting of uniformity of action, and the intricacies of visual description in theArgonautica themselves become a device of implied authorial comment, where scenes are deliberately set up to be read for the extent to which they conform to or depart from expected, ordered patterns of visualisation. The insights presented in this chapter form the basis for a discussion of formulaic composition in the Argonautica, in which I argue for a wider appreciation of the subtleties of Apollonius' poetry in this regard. Chapter 6 explores themes of order and disorder from a different angle, concentrating upon the portrayals of Orpheus and Medea. In this chapter I juxtapose examination of these two individuals, placing particular emphasis on the presentation of their supernatural powers, and the way in which Apollonius' portrayals of Orpheus and Medea look towards, and depend upon, each other. The disjunction between these two characters and their respective functions in the action is an important feature of the thematic architecture of the epic. During the course of his poem Apollonius goes to considerable lengths to draw attention to the act and art of narration; without question this is the most self-conscious of poetic narratives. Modern critical interest in matters narratological means that, in recent years, this aspect of Apollonius' composition has been highlighted as never before, but there is still more to be said. In my final chapter I point out how, by means of shared vocabulary, the specifications according to which Apollonius in his persona as narrator presents himself as organising his narrative interact with the rhetorical specifications for the discourse of his characters and, also, recurrent motifs in the poet's descriptions. What all three sets of specifications have in common is a self-conscious preoccupation with the nature and purpose of communication. The chapters of this book follow on from each other in logical sequence and are thematically related, but they may also be read

as discrete essays. My concern throughout, and the common factor which binds all seven chapters together, is Apollonius' use of language. The Argonautica is deceptive, full of ambiguous language, hidden, postponed and unexpected meanings, striking juxtapositions, attempts to tease and mislead the reader. Throughout this work I have endeavoured to shed new light on well-known passages and episodes in the poem from this point of view, as well as bringing to prominence less well investigated aspects of Apollonius' poetic technique. The Argonautica is a poem of many voices, and the reader of this monograph will find that it is premised throughout upon close textual readings, as this is the best, indeed the only way to ensure that the full range of harmonies and disharmonies in Apollonius' poem is heard.

4

5

PART I

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

I

EPIC BEGINNINGS

Some beginnings have a certain amount of inevitability attached to them. 1 The classical epic tradition as established and exemplified by the Homeric poems and the epic cycle demands that the parameters of epic be declared in advance. According to this model of beginning the epic proem is constituted as the place of overall thematic clarification, the occasion upon which the poet gives notice of the major issues inspiring his work. Consequently, our first task in reading the Argonautica of Apollonius will be to establish the ways in which the poem's opening relates to and prefigures the action of the remainder of this epic. At the same time, however, one may reasonably look to the beginning of Apollonius' poem for indications of how the poet defines his work in relation to the epic tradition.' The Argonautica is written in the knowledge that, for any epic whose chosen theme is the representation of the heroic quest, the exemplarity of the travels of Odysseus as narrated in the Odyssey hovers ever in the background and often in the foreground. This is an aspect of Apollonius' poem which has been explored on many occasions by many critics, and will necessarily inform many of the discussions in this book. Less obvious is the extent to which the intertextuality between the two poems begins at the very beginning. The opening of the Odyssey is of fundamental importance for the appreciation of Apollonius' strategies of beginning, and so it will be useful if we explore beforehand some of the complexities inherent in the opening verses of Homer's poem.

Odyssean beginnings At first sight it might seem as if the proem to the Odyssey is a model of transparency. As is also true of the Iliad, the opening ' On beginnings in Greek poetry see Race (1992) 13-36. Also Conte (1992) 147-9. ' Cf. Goldhill (1991) 285-6.

9

EPIC BEGINNINGS

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

of the Odyssey exhibits precision of expression to such an extent that the act of beginning is accomplished with ultimate speed and directness: crucial thematic information is conveyed in the first word of the first verse. 3 The fragmentary evidence of the cyclical poems reinforces the uniqueness of the Homeric poems in this regard. Both the Thebaid ('Apyos OEIOE,e,a,TTOAv6i\j/lOV, evew &voKTES) and the Little Iliad ('!Atov &Ei6w Kai l;op6oviriv EVTTWAov) begin with equally emphatic nouns, but these are intimations of geographical location, rather than concise expressions oftheme. 4 Although the declaration of theme may be the most overt function of the epic proem, there are other no less important functions to be considered. The beginning of an epic, as indeed of any narrative, is a complex transaction between author and reader or audience, a moment of maximum potentiality, a process of orientation in space, time and action. The reader or audience is entirely dependent upon the author for the provision of a frame within which that which is to be narrated may be understood. For example, there are legitimate expectations that a setting for the action will be established and, also, a point in time denoted, at least on a provisional basis, from which the events of the action may unfold. The manner and extent to which such expectations are fulfilled can be in itself an invaluable insight into the text in question. Mention of expectations brings me to my first fundamental point: we sometimes forget the importance of the blank canvas. As we shall see, many of the subtle effects achieved by epic beginnings depend upon the impartiality of an implied first-time reader or audience. Our overall recursive, scholarly knowledge of an epic text and the familiarity of the tale told within it may blind us to the significance of the epic prologue, misleading us as to what exactly the prologue does say, delays in saying, or indeed avoids completely; there must be a willingness on our part both to activate and set aside such foreknowledge, as appropriate. Brief consideration of the prologue to the Iliad will provide an excellent illustration of what I mean. The Iliad can at times be problematic because of the paucity of its spatial referents and the 3 See Pucci (1982) 39.

IO

4 Davies (1989) 24.

intermittent difficulty experienced by the reader or audience in placing the events of the action within an appropriate visual context. This is a difficulty which may be traced back to the opening of the epic. Though we may take it for granted, it is remarkable that at the beginning of the Iliad the Trojan setting remains unmentioned until verse 19, even then only being glossed periphrastically as llpioµoto TTOAtvin the speech of one of the characters. Up to this point the only locative designation has been an incidental reference to the ships of the Greeks (12). Instead the opening of the poem concentrates upon the theme of anger and the identification of the two principal protagonists implicated in this theme: Agamemnon is mentioned for the first time and Achilles for the second in the seventh verse. Verses 8-r 2 elaborate upon the theme of anger by dealing with the initial generative cause, the pestilential punishment inflicted upon the Greeks by Apollo for the dishonour done to Chryses, yet it is retrospectively made clear by the explanatory 6 yap f\M, in verse 12 that this too has been a proleptic view of the action; the true beginning of the sequence of events narrated in this poem is actually Chryses' original embassy to the Greeks. The combined effect of this spatial uncertainty and temporal regression generates a curious mix of clarity and confusion; with the bare minimum of introduction one finds oneself finally and abruptly in mid-action from verse 17 onwards, the scene being that of the priest's plea to the Greek leaders.5 The beginning of the Odyssey is no less complex. For the purposes of this discussion I shall examine the first twenty-one verses of the poem, as it is only by that stage that the preview of the forthcoming narrative is complete. In the opening five verses the essentials of what is about to be narrated are outlined as follows: ~Av8pa µ01 EvvETTE,MoVcra, 1ro/\VTpo1rov,Os µ6:i\a rroA/\0: 1r/l.6yx0ri,E1relTpolns iepOv1r,o?de0pov E1repcrE· ,ro/1.'i\&v 6' O:v6pWTTWV '(Oev&euy6Te5 1)6€ yvvo:1K65, T6v 5' oTov, v6cnov Kexp1-iµEvov v\Jµq:>ri 1T6Tv1'EpvKeKo:Av1.j1W, Ofo 6e6:wv, Ev crTTfocny/\o:q>vpofo1,/\1/\o:1oµEvl) 1r6ow eTvm.(Od. 1.6-15) But even so he did not save his comrades, though much desiring to do so; for they perished through their own recklessness, fools, who devoured the cattle of Helios Hyperion; and the god took away from them their day of return. Of these things, Goddess, daughter of Zeus, tell us also, taking it up from where you wish. Now all the others, those who escaped utter destmction, were back at home, having escaped both the war and the sea; but him alone, yearning for his homecoming and his wife, the august nymph Calypso, goddess of goddesses, detained in her hollow caves, longing for him to be her husband.

This section of the poem's introduction provides clarification, explanation and, in some measure, complication of what has gone before. In the first place the outcome of one of the aspirations attributed to the hero in verse 5 is immediately signalled in 6-9. The man fails completely in one of the primary aims alleged for him: despite his own aspirations he is unable to save the lives of his comrades, who are lethally punished by Helios for their reckless devouring of his cattle. Yet although this would appear straightforward enough, it is not an accurate preview of their fate as narrated by Odysseus himself, being at best a simplification and at worst a distortion of what takes place; the majority of Odysseus' men actually die at the hands of the Laestrygonians. ro For the sophisticated reader or audience familiar with the detail of the entire poem, this is perhaps the first indication of the Odyssey's preoccupation with the intricacies of tale-telling, the way in which truth may be massaged to fit the demands of context, in this instance condemnation· of the hero's comrades. Verse I o hands over responsibility for deciding the beginning of the story to the Muse. In the complex politics of beginning

this verse fulfils at least three functions: acknowledgement that the narrative proper has not yet begun; admission that there are many points in the story which could constitute an appropriate beginning;" indication that this verse in fact marks the start of the narrative. 12 The last is made immediately apparent by the clause introduced by "Ev0' in the succeeding verse, offering a second temporal orientation of events to follow on from verse 2, but still not fixing the timescale with any degree of exactness. This, however, is as accurate as the poet intends to be for the moment; it is not until 2. 175 that Odysseus' twenty-year absence is mentioned for the first time. Juxtaposed with the earlier preview of the doomed homeward journey of the hero's comrades is a reference to the homecomings of those who are destined to return from the war in safety (11-12). Verse 13 marks a shift of emphasis: at this point in the proceedings, after intimations of returns both successful and unsuccessful (and all, in any case, already decided one way or another), it is specifically stated that the (still) unidentified man is desirous of his own return, vo01T/I.LO'o-acr6ai 1T6:VTaµ6:AeV Ko:TO: K6crµovETio:pTfo Kt:lTa1tOUo-1 · TW oVK &v ◊T)Va!OV Exoiµeea TOIO EKT)TI vavT1AiT)S,0TE µo\Jvov Em1Tvs\Jcrovcrtv 6:flTat.

'A/I.AO., q>i/1.01, ~vvOsyO:pEs'E/\/\6.6a v6oTOS61tio-ow, ~vval 6' &µµ1 1tEAovTatEsAiT)Tao KEAev601, TOIJVEKCX v\Jv TOV &ptcrTOV 6:q>e1frr)cravTES E/\ecr0E Opxaµov \Jµekvv,G9KEV TO: EKacrTaµEAotTo, vE1Kwcrvv0ecrlasTE µnO: ~eivo1cr1[3aAfo6at.(1.331-40)

And the son of Aeson addressedthem with goodwill: All the equipmentthatis neededto fit out a ship lies readyin good orderfor our departure; thereforewe should not becauseof such mattersbe delayed long from sailing, once favou_rable winds blow. But, friends,for common is our returnto Hellas afterwards, andcommon is our pathto the land of Aeetes,

42

BOUND

thereforenow ungrudginglychoose the best leaderamongstyou, the man who will takecareof everything, undertakingboth our quarrelsand agreementswith foreign men.

Jason's address is of vital importance for a number of reasons. To begin, as has frequently been pointed out, his speech reasserts the communal nature of the expedition, implicit in the opening verses of the poem and in the lengthy Catalogue of Heroes. ' 5 As Jason makes clear to his audience, the quest which lies ahead of them is a shared quest. Second, we are at last afforded some insight into the hero's own opinion of the mission enjoined upon them, and in this regard his specifications for the journey are particularly enlightening. For the first time in the poem both the outward and return elements of the voyage are seen as a unity: this is to be a journey of there and back again. That Jason's speech reverses the natural order of the journey, thereby giving precedence to the fulfilment of nostos, is perhaps an early indication of where his priorities lie. But the most important aspect of Jason's speech is of course the insistence upon the election of a leader as a prerequisite for the voyage's taking place. Up to this point in the poem Apollonius has treated Jason separately from the other Argonauts both in the introduction and in the scenes of departure from Iolcus. The catalogue has concluded with the statement that all of the heroes mentioned have gathered as helpers (avµµfi,nopss, 228) of Jason 16 and, given the level of individual attention devoted to him so far, the impression has certainly been created that he is the acknowledged, automatic leader of this quest. Accordingly the final three verses of Jason's speech are something of a surprise. Instead of the command to launch the ship which might reasonably be expected from the reference to the unfitted mast and sails in verses 329-30 and Jason's own admission that all is now ready for departure, a much more fundamental question is raised. Whether or not the clarification of Jason's position vis-a-vis the others is a dramatic necessity, the poet transforms it into one in the most direct fashion possible by making the hero himself throw open the issue of leadership. 15

Levin (1971a) 44. See also Clauss (1990) 135; Zanker (1987) 202-3.

16 See Beye (1969) 40.

43

OUTWARD

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

As I have already suggested, given Apollonius' complex portrayal of Jason it is perhaps inevitable that much modern scholarship on the Argonautica should focus on the theme of heroism in the poem, a theme to which intimations of tension between Jason and Heracles are central. The election scene plays a vital part in the overall sequence of events at Pagasae, and the rhetoric surrounding the appointment of Jason as leader of the expedition is complex, with close examination of the speeches in the scene revealing hidden undercurrents. As various critics have shown with varying degrees of emphasis, Jason's list of qualifications for the position of leader of the expedition (339-40) is not perhaps as disinterested as the narrative introduction to his speech - in particular svC!lpovewvat 33 r 17 - would seem to imply, in that someone of Heracles' ilk is surely excluded. 18 Yet in response to Jason's request that they should nominate a leader, the Argonauts immediately try to prevail upon Heracles to undertake this responsibility, provoking a robust response from him: "Ws 6eVT05 Exov KpCnosOVA\Jµrro10· CDsTe ~ln Kai xepolv 6 µEv Kp6vepE'iKa6e,1µTj5, T) 6E 'PEn, Erreaov 6' Evl KIJµaow 'WKeavoTo· oi 6€ TEws µaK6:peao16eois TtTf\01v &vaaaov, Oq:>paZe\Js ETt KoCrpos,ETt q>peaivflma eioWs, D.tKTaiovvaieaKev Vrr6 arrEOs,oi 6€ µ1v o0 rrw y11yevEesKUKi\c.,:>TieS: EKap1\JvavToKEpo:vvq:> f3poVTfiTE O'TEpo,rfiTE' TO:yO:p .D.1iK06os 61T6:l;m. (1.496-5Il) He sang of how the earth, the heavens and the sea, formerly mingled together in a single form, were separated from each other by deadly strife; and how the stars and the paths of the moon and the sun forever have a fixed mark in the sky; how the mountains rose up, and how the sounding rivers with their own Nymphs and all creeping things came into being. And he sang how first of all Ophion and Eurynome, daughter of Ocean, held sway over snowy Olympus: and how by strength of arm the one yielded his place of honour to Cronos and the other to Rhea, and they fell into the waves of Ocean; Cronos and Rhea, meanwhile, ruled over the blessed Titan gods, while Zeus, still a child, still with infant thoughts, lived in the Dictaean cave; nor yet had the Earthborn Cyclopes empowered him with the bolt of thunder and lightning; for these weapons give renown to Zeus.

BOUND

much discussed, 31 as has the unllli§t_akableallusion ill the first v~rse to Iliad I 8.483: Apollonius restatesthe divisions of the cosmos in the same order that they are described as appearing on the Homeric s.bield of Achilles.32 Acknowledgement of the allusive content of Orpheus' song is fundamental to its interpretation. Though Apollonius is clearly tapping into a multitude of sources,3 3 I should like in particular to focus upon the importance of Hesiodic allusion as a startingpoint for elucidation of the song's meaning. 34 The cosmogonical opening section of the song may be compared to the cosmogonical syllabus which the Muses are requested to expound in the Theogony: e!TrcrTE 6' Ws T2xrrp&Ta 6eol Kai yalo: yEvovTo Kai 1ro1aµoi Kai TT6VTOS 6:rreipnos o't6µaT1 6viwv 0:crTpCX TE Aaµm::r6wVTaKai o\Jpo:vOseVpVsVrrep6ev· [o'i T' EKTWv SyEvov,o, 6e0l 6w-rT)pesMwv·] &isT' &q:>evos 60'.o-aaVToKp(j) 6' Ev0a Kai Evea Kei\aivf) K{iraev 0:/1.µ11 6e1v6vµopµVpovcro:Ep106evEwvµEve16:v6pWv. I-rp6:1t-re8' V1t' T)ei\iC,tJ po:µT) EyyEA6:crnTTei\lrisKO:K0v ohov C(i\V~o:s, 0vEwv 6:yEpaO'TOV EBT)KE.(3.64-5) Os µ' V1Tep11vopEn So that Pelias may not mock me, having escaped an evil doom, Pelias, who in his insolence left me unhonoured in sacrifice.

The enmity between Hera and Pelias obliquely hinted at in the poem's prologue (1.14), and of which the learned reader will always have been aware, at last finds full expression in this admission. We may now add one more to the bewildering and evergrowing list of conflicting desires tied into the accomplishment, or otherwise, of the Argo quest: the punishment due to Pelias for his withholding of sacrificial rites is directly dependent upon the safe return of Jason to Greece (3.74-5). 8 Though Hera is quite honest in revealing her motives, the manner of her doing so obscures the true nature of what is involved, her preoccupation with the safety of Jason effectively postponing the revelation of the part to be played by Medea. It is not until much later in book 3, as the interview between Jason and Medea draws to a close amid much talk of hypothetical visits by Medea to Greece, that the Colchian maiden is finally identified as the direct instrument of Pelias' punishment:

HOMEWARD

BOUND

not a homecoming for Jason but an abandonment of her home by the Colchian maiden.9 In book 4 the initial impetus for the flight from Colchis comes from Medea, who arrives at the ship counselling escape as the only option ('AAXs1Tlvril I q,svywµsv, 85-6), and promising her help in subduing the serpent which keeps watch over the fleece. In the face of this unexpected turn of events Jason makes the first of two important declarations of intent: t:.cnµoviri,Zd.1sa.V-r6s'OAVµmos OpKtos foTw "Hpri TE Zvyiri, i\t6s e\JvET15,ri µEv Eµoicr1 KOVptOfrivcre 66µ01cr1v Ev1crTl)crm0at0:KOITlv, eVTO:vEs'EAi\6:6a yafov iKWµe0o:vocrTTjcro:vTes. (4.95-8) Dear girl, let Olympian Zeus himself be witness, and Hera goddess of marriage, who shares Zeus' bed, that I shall install you as my lawful wedded wife in my home, when we have reached the land of Hellas on our return.

The theme of nostos is once more to the fore in Jason's welcome of Medea. The Colchian maiden has abandoned her home forever, but Jason promises suitable reward in acknowledgement of Medea's offer of assistance, a reward contingent upon successful completion of the voyage. With these words the fate of Medea is admitted by Jason as inextricably bound up with the fate of the voyage. 10 Jason makes a further declaration to the Argonauts themselves after he and Medea have returned from the grove of Ares with the fleece. It is a pivotal moment in the action:

So Jason spoke and Medea's soul within was melted as she listened, but she shuddered to contemplate such dreadful deeds. Poor wretch, not for long would she refuse to live in Hellas, for so did Hera devise it, that Aeaean Medea should come to holy Iolcus as a bane for Pelias, abandoning her native land. (3.1131-6)

M11KET1 vOv x6:fi\01,TI6:TpfJv SE vEecr8o:i· fiOriy6:p xpeic\>TfiS elveKaTT\v6,6:i\eye1vfiv vavT1Af11vE-ri\riµev, 6111;01 µoxet~ov-res, EVTro:i\Eeus 1&TaSEATjTO:l. &"A/I.Cl. µ6:Aa cri T 6:E6/\01s oVveKevIJµETEpo1cr1v 6:TV~oµo:i,~s i6-rf)Tl

On this'doubling of crises'seeDyck(1989)466.Fora detailedanalysisof Apollonius' Phaeacianepisode see Byre (I997b) 65-73. 58 Dyck (1989) 466. 59 On Medea'sspeech see Paduanoand Fusillo (1986) ad 4.1029-52. 57

145

HOMEWARD

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

TaVpovs T El;;eV~o:cr6e Kal EK0Epos o\JAo6v O:v6pWv KElpaTey11yevEwv,ris ,JveKevAlµovl11v6E: xpVcreov alJTIKa KiDas Ov6:~eTE VOO'TTjcravTes. ~H6' EyW, fi 1r6:,p11vTE Kai oVs WAecrcraToKT)as, fi 66µov, fi cr\Jµ-rracravEvq>pocr\Jv11v 0t6Toto, \Jµµe 5S Kai TICnpT)vKoTfipes T)EµeA1crcroK6µ01 -rrETpn€v1Ka-rrv16wcr1v, 30

31

On the two similes see Cuypers (1997) ad 2.123-9, 2.130-6; Frankel (1952) 150-r; Knight (1995) 96-8; ~evin (1971a) 146-7; Paduano and Fusillo (1986) ad 2.123-36; Reitz (1996) 43-50. On the transitional nature of the simile in 2.130-4 see Carspecken (1952) 86.

PATTERNS

OF ACTION

cd O f\Tot LE(wsµEv 6:oAAEes tp Evl aiµf>/\q:; poµ~1760v KAovfovTo/dn6' els T)µo:p&eiE£ fiµo:TOSl)ev vo:vT1A[ns·6np0v 8' &v E/1.ivvovo:Mt µEVovTES, ei µ'f] 60/1./1.iooo:s ET&povsCm6vw6e yvvaiK&v 'Hpo:KAEris TOio1mvEvmTCX~wv µeTEeme· L\a1µ6v101,1r6:TprisEµq,VAtov o:Tµ'Cm0Epye1 7lµfos; ""Hey6:µwv Em8EvEesEv66:6'€~riµev KET0ev, 6vooo6:µevo1 1ro/\.1T)T16as; AV0t 6' fo6e vaioVTaS /1.map'f]v&pootv /\T)µvoto Taµfo0a1; (I.861-8) And there was a delay in the sailing from day to day, and long would they have dallied, staying there, if Heracles, gathering his comrades together away from the women, had not upbraided them as follows: Fools, does kindred bloodshed keep us from our native land? Or is it in want of marriage that we have come here from our own land, scorning our native women? Is it our pleasure to live here and plough the fertile soil of Lemnos?

The assembly ofHeracles represents something of a dissident gathering, and the location for the delivery of this rebuke to his wayward colleagues is notable. The action presumably takes place by the ship (as implied in 855), but the location is principally chosen in any event so as to avoid, in the most physical sense, any potential opposition: the Lemnian women are quite clearly cast in the part of undesirable auditors (863). Given the content of Heracles' speech it proves highly ironic indeed that the women are not in attendance. Although' his primary aim is to make his comrades cringe, what Heracles has to say would undoubtedly make even 210

PATTERNS

OF ACTION

more uncomfortable hearing for the Lemnian women, particularly in its ironic reflection, in more ways than one, of their current predicament. 57 One of the most distinctive aspects of the representation of various congregations by the Argonauts themselves is that the poet, by manipulation of recurrent motifs, makes it possible to read into the visual disposition of such scenes an indication of the ongoing psychological state of the heroes. We have noted the ordered manner in which the Argonauts congregate to hear Jason's first address and, also, the careful preparations for the evening repast prior to departure from Pagasae. On the next occasion, however, that the Argo crew is gathered by the sea-shore in such a manner, the visual impression created is of a radically different variety. The sojourn among the Mariandyni is marked by the demise of both Idmon and Tiphys. After the burial of the latter, the dismay engendered among the heroes by the death of their navigator of choice translates itself into physical torpor:58 ST]y&p, E1reiKai T6v6e 1mpo:crxe66v EKTEpE,~av, npomS:poiee TI"E0"6VTES, CNToVCXµrixo:vfnowC(A.Os EVTvrrO:s e\JKfiAwseL\vµEvo1,oVTETI criTov µvWovTo◊TE lTOTofo-KaTfjµvcrav 6' CXxEeocr1 0vµ6v, E1re\µ6:Aa 1roi\i\Ov Crrr'EA1Ti8osE1ri\no v6o-Tos. (2.859-63) For when they had buried him without delay in his turn, they lay down where they were in helpless despair by the shore in silence, wrapped in their cloaks, nor did they take thought for food or drink; they were downcast in spirit, since hope of their return seemed very far away.

The visual designation 6µrixcxvino-1v &Ms rrporr6pot0s 1rw6vTESis in sharp contrast to the seating arrangements specified for the original scene of assembly (smo-xspw eop16wvTo, r.330) and, even more obviously, to the rro7\tov rrp6rrcxp aiy1cx7\otoI KEK7'tv0'ei;siris of r-454-5. The latter scene also provides a further point of contrast. On the eve of their departure from Pagasae the Argonauts were surrounded by an abundance of food and drink, all carefully laid out within easy reach. In the 57

Cf. Hunter ( I 993) 34.

sS On this scene see Fusillo (r985) 224-5.

2Il

ORDER AND DISORDER

aftermath of Tiphys' death the Argonauts take no thought for sustenance; the motif of feasting in the Pagasaean scene is now replaced by one of fasting. There are two significant gatherings of the Argonauts in book 3. Prior to sending an embassy to the palace of Aeetes the heroes consider their plan of action: 59 "Hpwes6' 6:rr6:vev6evEf']sSn\ o-Ei\µamv716s Ev1TOTaµ0Ka0'Si\os i\ei\ox1wEvoi T}yop6o:rVTO. AVT◊S 6' Aio-ovi671sµeTeaio1µ05"EKTwp, v60-q>1 veWv&yayWv rroTaµC\)Em 6tVr'jEVTl, Ev Ka0ap0, 801 Of] veK\Jwv 61E6f3cp !KET,o\J6E,is Eyvw ,T)vOEqivAaK,i)PWV,A00e 6S.mpeas 6pµn0efoa. "Ev0avlµev vn6v 6E µ6X Eqip6:oaT·o\J yo:µEvri, 0ei\16::pµal< Erracroev al0Ep1 Kai Trvo1f)cr1, T6: Ksv Kal Cmw0ev EOVTa Ken· oVpeos Tjyays 0fipa. (4-435-44) &yp1ov T)i\1P6:To10 And when she had communicated her message to the heralds, to charm her brother- once she had reached the goddess' temple as agreed and the black darkness of night enveloped them into coming, so that they might devise together a trick whereby seizing the great golden fleece she might return home to the palace of Aeetes, for by force had the sons of Phrixus given her to the strangers to be carried off; with such beguiling words she scattered in the air and the breezes bewitching drugs, which even from afar were capable of drawing a wild beast down from the steep mountainside.

For the first time in the poem the power of thelxis is usedfor.exclusively malign purposes. In this lengthy and complex anacolouthon Medea's inventions are prefaced by the infinitive 0E;\yeµev, bestowing upon the account of her devilishly plausible lies almost the fascination of a spell. 59 Furthermore the illustration chosen to emphasise the power of her 6er-KT11p1a q,apµaK'(442), under the terms of which the spellbound wild beast charmed down from the mountainside represents the doomed Apsyrtus, cannot but bring to mind the earlier manifestation of Orpheus' benevolent power (compare 444 to r.31). 58 59

55 See e.g. Beye (1982) 146-50; Hutchinson (1988) 121-41; Williams (1991) 273-94, 56 Cf. Hurst (1967) w8.

/ 57 See Lawall (.1966) 147; Williams (1991) 284.

252

AND MEDEA

Hunter (r993) 60: 'Medea is very deliberately drawn as she is to explore the inter~ relations between magic, eros and rhetoric.' On Apollonius' use of indirect discourse in these verses see Byre (1996) 12 11.29;Hunter (1993) 144-5. Hunter comments that 'Apsyrtus is lured to his death by gifts, words and dmgs: the "charm" of words is picked up by the "charm" of Medea's drugs'. See also Holmberg (1998) 146, 154.

253

ORDER AND DISORDER

Later on, the tensions surrounding Medea's role in the action are reflected in the ambiguous portrayal of Circe, the other witchlike figure in the poem. 60 The vivid dreams afflicting Circe at the beginning of the Aeaea episode. are the dramatic device through which the theme of her witchcraft is introduced: AlµaTI oi 06)-.aµoi tE Kai EpKEa1r6:vta 66µ010

µVpm0co 66Ksov, q>i\O~6' 6:0p6o:q,6:pµo:K E6cnnev, ofo1 1r6:pos ~e:ivous 8EA y' O:vEpo:s Os TtS iKono· ,Tjv 6' o:\JTT]cj,ovi~ af3Eaevalµo:Tl rropcp\Jpovoo:v, xepaiv O:q>vcrcro:µEVri, Arj~Ev6' 6i\oo'i'o 4>6/3010.(4.665-9) Her chambers and all the walls of her house seemed to drip with blood, and tlame consumed all the magic drugs by which she used to enchant any stranger who arrived; and she herself quenched the vivid flame with the blood of a victim, scooping it up in her hands, and her mortal fear left her.

By means of allusion to Homer, Circe's particular brand of thelxis is imbued with all of the potential deadliness of the Sirens of the Odyssey: IHpfivas µEv TTpl:-nov6:cpi~EOI, al paTS TT6:VTO:S lxv0pclmovs e,,yovo-,v, ems o-q,eas e!o-aq,lK~Tal. (Od. 12.39-40) You shall encounter the Sirens first of all, who enchant all men, whomsoever comes to them.

In yet another example of allusive manipulation, Circe's account to Odysseus of the malevolent Sirens is adapted by Apollonius to describe Circe herself. Yet despite these intimations of danger, Circe proves to be far from formidable. Her attempt to charm the heroes into following her is countered by the command of Jason, who bids his men stay where they are (688-9). 61 Ultimately the status , of Circe as a witch proves of secondary importance in comparison \ with her skill and knowledge in rites of purification. 62 In contrast to Homer's Circe, Apollonian Circe proves to be almost benign, an eminently respectable figure who is simultaneously sympathetic

ORPHEUS

AND MEDEA

towards Medea and horrified by her, one witch appalled by the extreme behaviour of another. Let us now return to consideration of Orpheus. So far in book 4, as in the previous book, Orpheus has been conspicuous by his absence from the action, and this remains the case until the episode of the _Sirens, when he is once again to the fore in combatting the new, unexpected danger facing the Argonauts. In one way this is a_contest betweenlik:e and like. Apollonius' measured choice of genealogy for the Sirens as daughters of the Muses (896) creates a direct link between them and Orpheus, son of Calliope. The Sirens also wield the powerof thelxis through the sweetness of their song (178ei11m I 6e11yov,m1 µ0A1Tji