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οὐδ᾽ ἄλοχον Κρονίδαο Διὸς λάθον: ἀλλά οἱ ῀Ἰρις 753
πέφραδεν, εὖτ᾿ ἐνόησεν ἀπὸ μεγάροιο κιόντας. αὐτὴ γάρ μιν ἄνωγε δοκευέμεν, ὁππότε νῆα 755 στείχοιεν. τὸ καὶ αὖτις ἐποτρύνουσ᾿ ἀγόρευεν· “Ἶρι φίλη, νῦν, εἴ ποτ᾿ ἐμὰς ἐτέλεσσας ἐφετμάς, εἰ δ᾿ ἄγε λαιψηρῇσι μετοιχομένη πτερύγεσσιν δεῦρο Θέτιν μοι ἄνωχθι μολεῖν ἁλὸς ἐξανιοῦσαν· κείνης γὰρ χρειώ με κιχάνεται. αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα 760 ἐλθεῖν εἰς ἀκτάς, ὅθι τ᾿ ἄκμονες Ἡφαίστοιο χάλκειοι στιβαρῇσιν ἀράσσονται τυπίδεσσιν· εἰπὲ δὲ κοιμῆσαι φύσας πυρός, εἰσόκεν Ἀργὼ τάς γε παρεξελάσῃσιν. ἀτὰρ καὶ ἐς Αἴολον ἐλθεῖν, Αἴολον, ὅς τ᾿ ἀνέμοις αἰθρηγενέεσσιν ἀνάσσει· 765 καὶ δὲ τῷ εἰπέμεναι τὸν ἐμὸν νόον, ὥς κεν ἀήτας πάντας ἀπολλήξειεν ὑπ᾿ ἠέρι, μηδέ τις αὔρη τρηχύνοι πέλαγος· ζεφύρου γε μὲν οὖρος ἀήτω, ὄφρ᾿ οἵ γ᾿ Ἀλκινόου Φαιηκίδα νῆσον ἵκωνται.” ὣς ἔφατ᾿· αὐτίκα δ᾿ Ἶρις ἀπ᾿ Οὐλύμποιο θοροῦσα770 τέμνε, τανυσσαμένη κοῦφα πτερά. δῦ δ᾿ ἐνὶ πόντῳ Αἰγαίῳ, τόθι πέρ τε δόμοι Νηρῆος ἔασιν. πρώτην δ᾿ εἰσαφίκανε Θέτιν καὶ ἐπέφραδε μῦθον Ἥρης ἐννεσίῃς, ὦρσέν τέ μιν εἰς ἓ νέεσθαι. δεύτερα δ᾿ εἰς Ἥφαιστον ἐβήσατο, παῦσε δὲ τόν γε 775 ῥίμφα σιδηρείων τυπίδων, ἔσχοντο δ᾿ ἀυτμῆς αἰθαλέοι πρηστῆρες. ἀτὰρ τρίτον εἰσαφίκανεν Αἴολον Ἱππότεω παῖδα κλυτόν. ὄφρα δὲ καὶ τῷ ἀγγελίην φαμένη θοὰ γούνατα παῦεν ὁδοῖο, τόφρα Θέτις Νηρῆα κασιγνήτας τε λιποῦσα 780 ἐξ ἁλὸς Οὔλυμπόνδε θεὰν μετεκίαθεν Ἥρην. ἡ δέ μιν ἆσσον ἑοῖο παρεῖσέ τε, φαῖνέ τε μῦθον· “κέκλυθι νῦν, Θέτι δῖα, τά τοι ἐπιέλδομ᾿ ἐνισπεῖν. οἶσθα μέν, ὅσσον ἐμῇσιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ τίεται ἥρως Αἰσονίδης ἠδ᾿ ἄλλοι ἀοσσητῆρες ἀέθλου, 785 οἵη τέ σφ᾿ ἐσάωσα διὰ Πλαγκτὰς περόωντας πέτρας, ἔνθα πυρὸς δειναὶ βρομέουσι θύελλαι, κύματά τε σκληρῇσι περιβλύει σπιλάδεσσιν. νῦν δὲ παρὰ Σκύλλης σκόπελον μέγαν ἠδὲ Χάρυβδιν δεινὸν ἐρευγομένην δέχεται ὁδός. ἀλλά σε γὰρ δὴ790 ἐξέτι νηπυτίης αὐτὴ τρέφον ἠδ᾿ ἀγάπησα ἔξοχον ἀλλάων, αἵ τ᾿ εἰν ἁλὶ ναιετάουσιν, οὕνεκεν οὐκ ἔτλης εὐνῇ Διὸς ἱεμένοιο λέξασθαι (κείνῳ γὰρ ἀεὶ τάδε ἔργα μέμηλεν, ἠὲ σὺν ἀθανάταις ἠὲ θνητῇσιν ἰαύειν), 795 ἀλλ᾿ ἐμέ τ᾿ αἰδομένη καὶ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ δειμαίνουσα ἠλεύω· ὁ δ᾿ ἔπειτα πελώριον ὅρκον ὄμοσσεν, μή ποτέ σ᾿ ἀθανάτοιο θεοῦ καλέεσθαι ἄκοιτιν. ἔμπης δ᾿ οὐ μεθίεσκεν ὀπιπεύων ἀέκουσαν, εἰσότε οἱ πρέσβειρα Θέμις κατέλεξεν ἅπαντα, 800 ὡς δή τοι πέπρωται ἀμείνονα πατρὸς ἑοῖο παῖδα τεκεῖν· τῶ καί σε λιλαιόμενος μεθέηκεν δείματι, μή τις ἑοῦ ἀντάξιος ἄλλος ἀνάσσοι ἀθανάτων, ἀλλ᾿ αἰὲν ἑὸν κράτος εἰρύοιτο. αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ τὸν ἄριστον ἐπιχθονίων πόσιν εἶναι 805 δῶκά τοι, ὄφρα γάμου θυμηδέος ἀντιάσειας τέκνα τε φιτύσαιο· θεοὺς δ᾿ εἰς δαῖτα κάλεσσα πάντας ὁμῶς· αὐτὴ δὲ σέλας χείρεσσιν ἀνέσχον νυμφίδιον, κείνης ἀγανόφρονος εἵνεκα τιμῆς. ἀλλ᾿ ἄγε καί τινά τοι νημερτέα μῦθον ἐνίψω. 810 εὖτ᾿ ἂν ἐς Ἠλύσιον πεδίον τεὸς υἱὸς ἵκηται, ὃν δὴ νῦν Χείρωνος ἐν ἤθεσι Κενταύροιο νηιάδες κομέουσι τεοῦ λίπτοντα γάλακτος, χρειώ μιν κούρης πόσιν ἔμμεναι Αἰήταο Μηδείης· σὺ δ᾿ ἄρηγε νυῷ ἑκυρή περ ἐοῦσα, 815 ἠδ᾿ αὐτῷ Πηλῆι. τί τοι χόλος ἐστήρικται; ἀάσθη· καὶ γάρ τε θεοὺς ἐπινίσσεται ἄτη. ναὶ μὲν ἐφημοσύνῃσιν ἐμαῖς Ἥφαιστον ὀίω λωφήσειν πρήσσοντα πυρὸς μένος, Ἱπποτάδην δὲ Αἴολον ὠκείας ἀνέμων ἄικας ἐρύξειν 820 νόσφιν ἐυσταθέος ζεφύρου, τείως κεν ἵκωνται Φαιήκων λιμένας. σὺ δ᾿ ἀκηδέα μήδεο νόστον· δεῖμα δέ τοι πέτραι καὶ ὑπέρβια κύματ᾿ ἔασιν μοῦνον, ἅ κεν τρέψαιο κασιγνήτῃσι σὺν ἄλλαις. μηδὲ σύ γ᾿ ἠὲ Χάρυβδιν ἀμηχανέοντας ἐάσῃς 825 ἐσβαλέειν, μὴ πάντας ἀναβρόξασα φέρῃσιν, ἠὲ παρὰ Σκύλλης στυγερὸν κευθμῶνα νέεσθαι (Σκύλλης Αὐσονίης ὀλοόφρονος, ἣν τέκε Φόρκῳ νυκτιπόλος Ἑκάτη, τήν τε κλείουσι Κράταιιν), μή πως σμερδαλέῃσιν ἐπαΐξασα γένυσσιν 830 λεκτοὺς ἡρώων δηλήσεται. ἀλλ᾿ ἔχε νῆα κεῖσ᾿, ὅθι περ τυτθή γε παραίβασις ἔσσετ᾿ ὀλέθρου.” |
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753–769: Hera is a presiding deity in Book 4, though divine machineryis often a notable absentee in the Argonautica.She intervenes at 4.510and restrains the Colchian pursuit, she stops them with a shout at 4.640–4, when the Argonauts are about to go the wrong way up the River Rhodanusand hereshe takes precautionary measures through the agency of Iris, who is almost aprofessional messenger(Cesca 2017, 31) of the gods. Read More 753–4: ἄλοχον ΚρονίδαοΔιὸς: ‘The wife of Zeus, the son of Cronos.’ οἱἾρις / πέφραδεν: ‘Iris told her’ For the dative ‘οἱ’: A3. οὐδ᾽ . . . λάθον: Remarks like this (‘It is not possible to escape thenotice of the gods(Α4) or some all-seeingpresence’) are often expressed through litotes. Virgil’s nec latuere doli fratrem Iunonis et iraeoccurs in a similar context (Aen. 1.124): Neptune has realised that Iuno had destroyed Aeneas’ fleet and calls the East and West Wind before him. 754: ἀπὸ μεγάροιοκιόντας: ‘leaving the hall (of Circe)’. Iris spots Jason and Medea on the way back to join the other Argonauts, after their interview with Circe.εὖτ᾿ ἐνόησεν: νοέωdenotes perceptionwith understanding. Iris sees them and knows she must tell Hera. 755: αὐτὴ γάρ μινἄνωγε: ‘for she ordered her.’ δοκευέμεν: present active infinitive. ‘to watch out,’like a houndwatching for his prey. Callimachus elaborates on this idea at h.4.228(Iris and Aressimilarly keep watch, to prevent Leto finding a place to give birth). ὁππότε: A2b. 755–6: νῆα / στείχοιεν: Cognate accusative(3). τὸ καὶ αὖτις:‘a further mission.’ lit. ‘Also this further.’ τό is used here as a demonstrative pronoun. ἐποτρύνουσ᾿ ἀγόρευεν:A. is adapting Homeric phrases. ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει (Il.6.439) are often paired. Here A. splits the words (755 ἄνωγε) for variation, as part of his ‘partially formulaic diction(Martin 2012, 9). 757 Ἶρι φίλη: ‘Dear Iris.’ Ἶρι θεά (Il.18.182), Ἶρι ταχεῖα (Il.24. 144) are the ways in which Iris is addressed in the Iliad. Hera opens in conciliatory fashion. νῦν, εἴ ποτ (ε):‘Now, if ever.’ This phrase usually introduces a reminder of past servicesoffered in a suppliant prayer. Hera turns it into an order, underlined by the weighty second half of the line. Her mood is not completely conciliatory. ἐμὰς ἐτέλεσσας ἐφετμάς:This phrase echoes some important Homeric lines: Il. 1.495(Thetis and Achilles) Θέτις δ’ οὐ λήθετ’ ἐφετμέων / παιδὸς ἑοῦ, 5.818(Diomedes and Athene) ἐφετμέων ἃς ἐπέτειλας, 15.593(Zeus and the Trojans) Διὸς δ’ ἐτέλειον ἐφετμάς, 21.299(Poseidon, Athene and Achilles) θεῶν ὄτρυνεν ἐφετμή. 758: εἰ δ᾿ ἄγε:‘Come now!’ This is commonly explained by an ellipsis of βούλει, ‘if you will, come now!’ But it is probable that no definite verb was in the speaker’s mind in such expressions, even when we find it necessary to supply one. Here is a fuller discussionand Read More 759: ἄνωχθι: ‘Order!’ perfect active imperative 2nd singular > ἄνωγα, which is a word often used in instruction scenes. Zeus gives similar instructions (Il. 11.185–190) Ἶριν δ᾽ ὄτρυνε χρυσόπτερον ἀγγελέουσαν / ‘βάσκ᾽ ἴθι Ἶρι ταχεῖα . . . ἀνώχθω / μάρνασθαι or Odysseus at Od. 22.483ἐλθεῖν ἐνθάδ’ ἄνωχθι σὺν ἀμφιπόλοισι γυναιξί. The dependent infinitive is μολεῖν> βλώσκω. The line is nicely balanced by ἁλὸςἐξανιοῦσανagreeing with Θέτιν(Thetis). 760: κείνης γὰρ χρειώ με κιχάνεται.‘I have need of her.’ lit. ‘Need of her has come upon me.’ The line is a verbal echo of Il. 10.118= 11.610 χρειὼ γὰρ ἱκάνεται οὐκέτ’ ἀνεκτός but the construction also recalls Il.1.340–1(Achilles) εἴ ποτε δ’ αὖτε / χρειὼ ἐμεῖο γένηται. The use of the abstract noun as subject adds an air of solemnity. In the case of Achilles, the talk is of a serious matter. In Hera’s mouth, however, the words are undercut by the fact she is asking for aid from a much less powerful goddess (οὐκέτ’ ἀνεκτός- no longer to be endured!). 761: ἐλθεῖν: The infinitive is used as an imperative (Smyth § 2013; see also above (759n.)). Homer had kept the location of Hephaestus’ forge on Mount Olympus (Il. 18.369–71). Callimachus gives specific details and places it on Lipari, one of the islands off the N.E. coast of Sicily (h. 3.46–9). A., to some extent, agrees with Callimachus, though he does not name a particular island here and at Arg. 3.42talks of ‘the deep recess of Wandering island.’ He may be following Thucydides (3.88.3) and Strabo6.2.10, having in mind Hiera(= Thermessa= Volcano), bearing in mind its volcanic nature and his insistence on the physical explanation for Hephaestus’ fires. The association, however, between the ‘Wandering Islands’, Hephaestus and the details of the story of the Argonauts’ return is obviously very important for A. (see below on the opening of Hera’s speech). He may envisage the ‘Wandering rocks’ or ‘Islands’ as actually located in the Straits of Messina between Itlay and Sicily, following the geographer Timaios who had a great influenceon the route which he adopts for the Argonauts. Virgil has a double allusion to both poets at Aen. 8.416–22, naming the island of Volcano as Vulcan’s work-place (Apollonius) and mentioning Lipari (Callimachus). Meligounis is given as the earlier name by Philitas, Hermes (fr. 1.1a Spanoudakis; the poem is summarized in Parthenius 2.1), where it figures as the island of Aeolus visited by Odysseus (see also Harder on Aetia fr. 93). The point of the name-change in this hymn may be to signal the post-Homeric world (in fact the Suda credits Callimachus with a treatise on the Foundations of Islands and Cities and their Name- Changes, an interest that is visible throughout the hymns). The island also may have had contemporary relevance: the first naval battle of the Punic Wars in 260 BCE was fought there, in which Carthage defeated Rome. 786: Πλαγκτὰς: This line presents problems. Hera seems to be claiming credit for getting the Argonauts through the Clashing Rocks, something for which Athena was responsible and, at the same time, confused about the meaning of the word that she uses to describe them: Planctae(Πλαγκταί), when the reader might have expected Symplegades(Συμπληγάδες). If A. were a modern editor of his own text, he might perhaps have considered printing πλαγκτὰςrather than the capitalisation which all editors (except Seaton 1912) have adopted. The two points at issue are as follows: first, Hera’s statement, ‘I saved them as they crossed through the W/wandering rocks’ is a reference to a speech in the Odyssey made by Circe to Odysseus - it can be no coincidence that Circe has just made an appearance in the Argonautica. Secondly, the use of the terms Clashing and Wandering to describe non-fixed rocks was a matter of some discussion in antiquity. Hera is lying to Thetis in order to get her onside and, courtesy of the poet, winking at learned readers in Alexandria and elsewhere. There is no need to talk of lacunae or to resort to emendation. It’s a joke! Read More περόωντας: > περάω: for the contracted participle: Smyth § 643. 787: πυρὸςδειναὶβρομέουσιθύελλαι:‘the terrible gusts of fire roar’: the phrase deliberately echoes Od. 12.68: Read MoreThe variation βρομέουσιfor φορέουσι is typical of A. The word is related to βρέμωand, while these verbs are more usually used of the roar of the sea, cognate βρόμος describes crackling of fire at Il. 14.396in a context (§ 14.388) that also speaks of the noise of the waves (4.238–40n.). 788: σκληρῇσι(§ 214 D) agrees with σπιλάδεσσιν(§ 250D). When similarpassages to this are comparedacross the Argonautica, it becomes clear that A. is aiming at an Homeric patina containing subtle variation in the use of language. There is a useful discussion of this topic here. (Martin 2012, 9). περιβλύει: is a rare formation and seems to be connected with boiling or bubbling rather than the action of waves on rocks. If this use is not a subtle variation, we might have expected perhaps περικλύζωor, in line with the similar passage at Arg. 2.551, ἀνακλύζω. The simple verb κλύζωis very common in such contexts. One mss. (according to Fränkel’s OCT app. crit.) does have βλfor κλat Arg.2.551. There is similar manuscript confusion between βρand κλnoted here ad. loc. by Fränkel. 789: νῦνδέ: Hera has opened her speech with a claim that amounts to a bare-faced lie (see above), ‘but now’ gets on with explaining what she wants Thetis to do. She is soon diverted from this into a recap of the close ties between the two of them and only resumes her instructions at Arg.4.823–30. She does not name the Planctai as such during the rest of her speech and it is only in 4.860that Thetis stresses that the name of the frightening rocks looming up is Planctae. Possibly she knew that Hera was telling lies all along. The whole speech is a character study of a scheming goddess at work. The last part of the line (ΣκύλληςσκόπελονμέγανἠδὲΧάρυβδιν) echoes Od.12.430. For Scylla and Charybdis see here(Knight, 1995, 207–80) and hereand here. 790: δεινὸνἐρευγομένην: ‘belching or roaring out in terrible fashion’: Odysseus hears the same when he is swimming towards the rocks of Scherie (Od. 5.401, 403, 405). δέχεταιὁδός: (IV)‘now the route leads them beside . . .’. ἀλλάσεγὰρδὴ: Hera interrupts her flow to anticipate any objections that Thetis may have to helping the Argonauts and does not resume her instructions until 817. One can imagine her raising an admonitory finger as she reminds Thetis of help that she has given in the past (Smyth § 2786, 2816–19, 2840). There is more on Hera’s manipulative disingenuousness in the section that follows here. 791: ἐξέτινηπυτίης:PaceHunter ad loc., the phrase seems to be a variation on ἐκνηπίου, ‘from a child, from infancy’. It is difficult to see how νηπυτίηςcan be an adjective. To remind someone that you brought them up is a powerful piece of persuasion, strengthened as it is by a phrase (τρέφονἠδ᾿ἀγάπησα) with Homeric precedents (Il. 16.191, Od. 19.354;Il.14.202 οἵμ'ἐνσφοῖσιδόμοισινἐῢτρέφονἠδ' ἀτίταλλον). Although he substitutes ἀγάπησαfor ἀτίταλλονhere, A. does use the rare verb at 4:1737 ζευξάμενος, τήντ᾽αὐτὸςἑῷἀτίταλλεγάλακτι. 792:The next line and a half deliberately echoes the speech at Il. 18.432–4 that Thetis makes, complaining to Hephaistos about the wrongs that she has suffered at the hands of Zeus in connection with her marriage to Peleus and the raising of her son Achilles. ἔξοχονἀλλάων, αἵτ᾿εἰνἁλὶναιετάουσινexplains the more allusive Homeric phrase: ἐκμένμ᾽ἀλλάωνἁλιάων, ‘me from all the other Nereids.’ 793: οὕνεκεν:relat. Conj. for οὗἕνεκα, ‘on account of which’ or possibly ‘because’. Whichever interpretation is adopted there must be some link with the story of Asterie (see Steat Callimachus h. 4.247–8 ἀλλά μινἔκπαγλόντισεβίζομαι, / οὕνεκ’ ἐμεῖοδέμνιονοὐκἐπάτησε, Διὸςδ’ ἀνθείλετοπόντον. Hera responds to Iris with a face-saving speech, first directing her vitriol to Zeus’s liaisons generically, then mollifying her anger by “forgiving” Asteria, who at least did not “trample upon” Hera’s bed by sleeping with Zeus.’ Stephens ad loc. on the Callimachus passage. οὐκἔτλης:Il. 18.433 ἔτληνἀνέροςεὐνήν‘I submitted to be wedded to a man.’ (see above for more on this passage). Pace Hunter ad loc.‘had the recklessness to . . .’, the contrast with the Homeric passage must be that here the verb is negated. The meaning is still ‘submit.’ ἱεμένοι:cf. λεχέωνS.Tr. 514 (lyr.). 794: λέξασθαι: ‘tosleep’; cf. τῷἔνιλεξάσθηνIl. 14.350 (fromtheseductionscenebetween HeraandZeus). ἔργαμέμηλεν:for the construction cf. Arg. 3:292 χερνῆτις, τῇπερταλασήιαἔργαμέμηλεν(perf ind act 3rd sg of μέλω). Does the formality of the phrasing portray Hera as embarassed by her husband’s antics: ‘these matters have always been a concern to him, to sleep with either goddesses or mortal women.’ 795:The crucial ἰαύειν(explaining what he is actually up to) is delayed until the last possible minute. It means ‘pass the night’, whether in sleep or wakefulness, in Homer, Ibycus fr. S257(a).1 col. i.15–16 PMGF, and [Eur.] Rhes. 740, as well as here; elsewhere the sense is ‘sleep’, ‘rest abed’ (cf. Eur. Phoen. 1538, Her. 1049 (coni.)). It has a certain ambiguous quality in meaning about it. It may refer to sleep of differing natures (cf. Arg. 4.137 with Il. 14.213 Ζηνὸς . . . ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἰαύεις and Od. 11.261). 796: ἀλλ᾿ ἐμέ: The initial position of the pronoun (object of the two participles: αἰδομένηand δειμαίνουσα, both weighty in sound and meanng) stresses the emphasis that Hera is placing on her relationship with Thetis. ‘It was me you respected and feared.’ Il.10.123 (paceHunter ad loc.) is an excellent parallel for the use of τε here. 797: ἠλεύω: 2nd sing. aor. of ἀλέομαι, ‘you shunned him.’ The emphasis on this word is created by the enjambment. Thetis’ actions are summed up in one word. She is very much a pawn in the machinations that characterise the relationship between Zeus and Hera. The strong pause that the movement of the argument demands after the verb permits the hiatus (375–6n.). πελώριονὅρκονὄμοσσεν: There is a similar scene at Il. 19.108f. (the main players are Zeus and Hera and the context seems to be the birth of Heracles-seems very relevant to what Hera is saying here. An oath is regarded as the greatest, i.e. the most binding and sacred of pledges (for μέγαςwith ὅρκος: Aesch. Ag. 1290, Il. 9.132, 15.37–8, Hes. Th. 400, 784, 358–9n. and 388–9n). This oath is ‘enormous’: πελώριοςis used of things built on a monstrousscale. A degree of self-parody on the part of Hera (and the author). 798:see 96–8n. The line constitutes a semi-formulaic phrase that runs through the Argonautica as a theme. See Smyth § 2726 for the use of μή+ infintive after a verb of swearing. 799: ὀπιπεύων: Zeus as Peeping Tom (cf. Od. 19.67 ὀπιπεύσειςδὲγυναῖκας). The iterative imperfect (μεθίεσκεν) underlines the fact that this behaviour is habitual. ἀέκουσαν:Thetis is not a willing victim (Il. 18. 434 οὐκἐθέλουσα): see above (792n.). 800: πρέσβειρα:πρέσβ-ᾰ (only nom.), ἡ, Ep. fem. of πρέσβυς, august, honoured (never aged); in Il. mostly of Hera, Ἥρη πρέσβα θεά 5.721, 8.383, al. κατέλεξεν ἅπαντα: recount, tell at length and in order, Hom., always in fut. or aor. 1, ταῦτα μάλ' ἀτρεκέως καταλέξω Il.10.413, al.; τόδε εἰπὲ καὶ ἀτρεκέως κατάλεξον ib.384. Zeus is spared no detail. What will happen if his philandering continues is spelled out. 801: ἀμείνονα πατρὸς ἑοῖο: Il. 1.404 and the self variation Arg.1:58: Καινεΐδης, ἐσθλὸς μέν, ἑοῦ δ᾽ οὐ πατρὸς ἀμείνων. 802: Hes. Th. 1001. τέκεπαῖδα. 804: εἰρύοιτο:see 372n. 806: δῶκά: an adaptation of the Homeric formula for gift-giving; cf. Od. 4.589–91 δώσω δέ τοι ἀγλαὰ δῶρα (see further 87–8n.).γάμου θυμηδέος ἀντιάσειας: 1:836: ‘Ὑψιπύλη, μάλα κεν θυμηδέος ἀντιάσαιμεν / χρησμοσύνης, Il. 24.62 ἀντιάασθε, θεοί, γάμου, 4:1055: ἔννεπον, εἴ κε δίκης ἀλιτήμονος ἀντιάσειεν. 807: τέκνα τε φιτύσαιο: Med., of the woman, bear, Ἠὼς . . . Κεφάλῳ φιτύσατο υἱόν Hes. Th. 986, cf. A.R.4.807, Opp.C.1.4; Ep. 2sg. fut. φιτύσεαι Mosch.2.160. εἰς δαῖτα κάλεσσα:cf. Hes. Op. 342. 808: σέλας χείρεσσιν ἀνέσχον: ἀ. φλόγα hold up a torch, esp. at weddings, E.IA 732: hence the phrase ἄνεχε, πάρεχε sc. τὸ φῶς) hold up, pass on the light in procession, Id.Tr.308, Cyc.203, cf. Ar.V.1326; also ἀ. φάος σωτήριον E.Med.482; τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ πυρός Th.4.111. 809: ἀγανοφροσύνη, ἡ, gentleness, kindliness, Il.24.772, Od.11.202, ἀγανό-φρων, ον, gen. ονος, poet. Adj. gentle of mood, Il.20.467, Cratin.238; Ἡσυχία Ar.Av.1321: ‘as a result of that gentle-minded honour’: A grandiloquent word. The nuance and tone of this long speech constantly alters as H. tries to cajole, pressurize and lecture the minor goddess. κείνης, doubted by Fränkel, is a simple reference back to what Thetis has done in resisting Zeus’ attentions and also adds a little weight to the phrase itself.(and maybe slightly condescending sounding) line that is meant to emphasise the rhetoric and flattery that Hera is using to influence Thetis. 810: νημερτέα μῦθον ἐνίψω: A line based on the formulae that Homeric characters use when trying to assert themselves: another change of tone on Hera’s part; cf. νημερτέα πάντ' ἐνέποντα Od.17.549. ἐνίψω: Il.7.447. νημερτέα εἰπεῖν or μυθήσασθαι to speak sure truths, 3.19, Il.6.376; ἦ μάλα τοῦτο ἔπος ν. ἔειπες 3.204; πάντα ναμερτῆ λόγον A.l.c. (troch.); μῦθος, βάξις, A.R.4.810, 1184: νημερτὲς ἐνίσπες Od.22.166. 811: Ἠλύσιον πεδίον:Achilles (τεὸς υἱὸς) has not been mentioned before in the speech. After the admonishment in the previous line, his introduction is certainly unexpected, made more so by the hysteron proteronthat Hera employs: she mentions Achilles 812: ἐν ἤθεσι:‘in the home of’ . . . Χείρωνος . . . Κενταύροιο: ‘Cheironthe Centaur.’ ἦθος: the accustomed place and in the plural ‘haunts.’ The education and up-bringingof Achilles by Cheiron has a long tradition. νῦν: ‘who now indeed is being tended by the Naiads’ shows that Hera is speaking in the present, as it is for her, the time before the Trojan War and visualising Achilles as a babe-in-arms (Arg. 1.553–8). Despite the important role that Cheiron plays in the early life of Achilles there are only four references to him in the Iliad (4.217-19, 11.828-32, 16.141-4, 19.388-91). The centaur, however, is important in the none-Iliadic strand of the story (for Achilles as the student of Chiron on Mount Pelion, Hesiod, Cat. fr. 204.87ff., Merkelbach and West, Fragmenta Hesiodea (Oxford, 1967); Pind. Pyth. 6.21-3, Nem. 3.43-58; cf. Hesiod, Cat. 40.2 (Jason); Theog. 1001 (Medeius)). A startling alternative to this is found in the embassy led by Phoenix to Achilles in Iliad9, during which Phoenix alludes quite clearly to the role that he has played in the hero’s upbringing (9.438-43 and 9.485-95). This problematic divergence might easily have been the subject of an Alexandrian ‘zetema.’ (Slater, 1982: 346). A.’s particular allusion to Achilles’ being in the care of Cheiron may be his way of emphasing that the action of the Argonauticaand the words of Hera’s are situated in pre-Iliadic times, before Phoenix’s claim to have been his tutor. 813: νηιάδες: ‘the Naiads’ (see links 812n.): 814: χρειώ: see 760n. Often used with some part or tense of γίγνομαι / ἱκνέομαι: lit. ‘it will be necessary that he becomes the husband . . .’ On this see 811n. ἔμμεναι: Smyth § 469 D. 815: ἑκυρή περ ἐοῦσα: There is a similiarly back-handed remark at Od. 20.131 (Telemachus on his mother) τοιαύτη γὰρ ἐμὴ μήτηρ, πινυτή περ ἐοῦσα, ‘For this is the way my mother is even though she is really intelligent.’ The present phrase could mean, ‘You are her mother-in-law, after all’ but, in the context of the speech (Hera’s version of the truth), the concessive force seems very strong, ‘even though you are her mother-in-law’: an even earlier mother-in-law joke than these(Parnell, 2018, 73–83). 816: ἠδ᾿ αὐτῷ Πηλῆι:‘(Help your daughter-in-law) . . . and Peleus himself.’ χόλος: is a very strong emotion, ‘heroic anger’of the kind that will later be exhibited by the couple’s son. ἐστήρικται: (perf ind mp 3rd sg) helps to form a forceful expression. τοι: is almost equivalent to the wag of a finger or a raised eyebrow, ‘let me tell you.’ 817: ἀάσθη:(aor ind pass 3rd sg >ἀάω): Typically of this speech, Hera loses the elaborate tone of 811–5 and makes a couple of almost staccato remarks. One might imagine a pause before and after this one-word justification of Peleus’ behaviour: ‘Peleus was guilty of folly . . . just like the gods.’ καὶ γάρ τε: marks a general inference. Il. 24.602 νῦν δὲ μνησώμεθα δόρπου· καὶ γάρ τʼ ἠΰκομος Νιόβη ἐμνήσατο σίτου, (‘but let’s remember dinner. Even Fair-haired Niobe rememebered food’) provides a good parallel. ἐπινίσσεταιis a rare word which is also used at 4.281 (279–81n.). The sense is, perhaps, of ‘visits’ which occur with some regularity, thus reinforcing Hera’s rhetorical point. ἄτη: ‘folly’, often used in combination with some part of ἀάω, is dificult to define: see 411–13n. The basis for this passage is Il. 19.88–131where Agamemnon offers an apology for what has happened between him and Achilles. He invokes 818: ναὶ μέν: introduces a view which the speaker thinks may meet opposition from his audience. Hera is still in the process of convincing Thetis that she should help (822). ἐφημοσύνῃσιν ἐμαῖς:‘On my instructions.’ This is a favourite word of A. (x9compared with Homer x3), as are formations in –ημοσή(356–8n.). The length of the word (and the phrase) adds force to Hera’s assertion. 819: λωφήσειν:‘will cease.’ This future infinitive forms part of an indirect statement (Smyth § 1973) after ὀίω(LSJ s.v. A). The subject of the infinitive is Ἥφαιστον. The participle πρήσσοντα seems to come from πρήθω, impf. ἔπρηθον, aor. ἔπρησα, Pass., pf. πέπρησμαι: aor. ἐπρήσθην. A. is following Homeric examples where the meaning is ‘blow’: Od.2.427 ἔπρησεν δ' ἄνεμος μέσον ἱστίον; Il.1.481 ἐν δ' ἄνεμος πρῆσεν μέσον ἱστίον. Here it means ‘blowing into a flame.’ (LSJ s.v.) It is an easy extension of meaning. πυρὸς μένος: ‘force of the fire.’(Brügger 2017 on Il.24.792),balancing ὠκείας ἀνέμων ἄικας in the next line. 819–20: Ἱπποτάδην δὲ / Αἴολονalludes to the opening of Od. 10. 1–2 Αἰολίην δ᾽ ἐς νῆσον ἀφικόμεθ᾽ ἔνθα δ᾽ ἔναιεν / Αἴολος Ἱπποτάδης, φίλος ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν. Juno describes the reverse sequence in Aeneid 1(Paschalis 1997, 37). 820: ἄικας:‘gusts, rushes.’ αἴξoccurs only in A, though both A. and Callimachus use κατάϊξ which may in turn be connected with the Homeric πολυᾶϊξ. Both poets may be varying phrases such as Pindar’s κυμάτων ῥιπαὶ ἀνέμων τε (Pi. P.4. 195). ἐρύξειν: the future infinitive balances λωφήσειν, giving a neat chiastic arrangement to 819–20. 821: ἐυσταθέος ζεφύρου:The Zephyr is the West Wind, generally considered the mildest and most favourableof the directional winds, though in the Iliada source of storms. It is the equivalent of the Latin Favonius: Horace’s Solvitur acris hiems grata vice veris et Favoniis famous, ‘Sharp Winter is loosening its grip as Spring and the West Winds bring a welcoming change.’ ἐυσταθέος: A. only uses the word here. In Homer it always describes the μέγαρονor θάλαμος, ‘well-built, steady.’ It’s use heremust underline the significance of the aid that Hera and Aeolus give to the Argonauts. τείως: is sometimes usedfor ἕως, perhaps to avoid the hiatus. The phrase has an Odyssean flavour: Od. 13:101: νῆες ἐΰσσελμοι, ὅτ’ ἂν ὅρμου μέτρον ἵκωνται. 822: Φαιήκων λιμένας: Homer describes the harbours of the Phaeacians at Od. 6.262–5 in more detail: ‘But when we are about to enter the city, about which runs a high wall, a handsome harbour lies on either side of the city, and the way between is narrow, and curved ships are drawn up along the road, for they all have stations for their ships, each man one for himself.’ Read More (Morton 2001, 125). σὺ δ᾿ ἀκηδέα μήδεο νόστον: ‘devise an untroubled return.’ μήδεο is present middle / passive imperative 2nd singular (epic Doric Ionic Aeolic). The phrase deliberately echoes Circe’s words at Arg. 4.739 κακὸν καὶ ἀεικέα μήσαο νόστον, ‘you have planned an evil and shameful return.’ Although it is possible to translate the latter example as ‘voyage’ (Hunter ad loc.), both phrases recall two particular moments in the Odyssey: Od. 3.132–3 Ζεὺς λυγρὸν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ μήδετο νόστον / Ἀργείοις, ‘Zeus planned, in his mind, a harsh return for the Argives, Od. 5.344–5 (Ino encouraging Odyssseus) ἐπιμαίεο νόστου / γαίης Φαιήκων ‘strive to reach the land of the Phaeacians’, where the meaning ‘return’ seems to resonate, inspite of the ambiguity of the latter instance, which A. would, undoubtedly have relished, as a Homeric scholar as well as poet. 823: ‘Surely (τοι) the only (μοῦνον) things to fear (δεῖμα) . . .’ ὑπέρβιος is one of A.’s favourite words used as an alternative to μάκρος (e.g. Il. 2:144: κινήθη δ’ ἀγορὴ φὴ κύματα μακρὰ θαλάσσης.) 824: ἅ κεν τρέψαιο: ‘which you might avert.’ τρεψαιο is aorist middle optative 2nd singular There is no need to refer to ἀποτρέπω (Hunter ad loc.). The meaning, ‘ward off, avert’, exists for the simple as well as the compound form of the verb (s. v. AIV). There is a parallel situation at Il. 8.451 (Zeus is talking about his irrestible might) οὐκ ἄν με τρέψειαν ὅσοι θεοί εἰσʼ ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ, ‘which all the gods on Olympus could not avert.’ κασιγνήτῃσι σὺν ἄλλαις: The Nereids are Thetis’ sisters. 825: μηδὲ σύγ . . . ἐάσῃς:‘Do not allow.’ For the Prohibitive subjunctive see Smyth § 1800. γε(with σύ) emphasises Hera’s points as you makes them.Χάρυβδιν:Thetis is to steer the Argonauts beween the twin terrors of Scylla and Charybdis. ἀμηχανίαis a frequent feature of the way in which the Argonauts (and particularly Jason) encounter critical moments and dangerous situations. The current state of how this characteristic is regarded by scholars is most recently and neatly summarised here(Nelson 2014). 826: ἀναβρόξασα:> ἀναβρόχω recalls Od. 12.240 (Charybdis) ἀναβρόξειε θαλάσσης ἁλμυρὸν ὕδωρ. The passages concerning the activities of Scylla and Charybdis are Od. 12.80–126, 234–59. The use of this rare verb points the allusion to these famous passages but avoids direct competition with Homer. In the Argonautica, the Argo passes through the Wandering Rocks, avoiding Scylla and Charybdis, but passing within sight of them; this reverses the pattern of the Odyssey, where Odysseus has to deal at different times with both S. and C. but avoids the Rocks. Read More(Knight (1995, 207)). The Argonauts’ passage through the Wandering Rocks is going to be A.’s set-piece, balancing the description of the Symplegades in Book 2. 827: παρὰ: with the accusative means ‘beside, near, by.’ (CI). The Argonauts will pass by (νέεσθαι), the hated (στυγερὸν- a favouriteadjective of A.) lair (κευθμῶνα) of Scylla. κευθμώνcan carry with it sinister overtones: Hes.Th.158 γαίης ἐν κευθμῶνι, ‘in a secret place of Earth’, (of Ouranos hiding his childrenas they are born.) ‘A κευθμών is any place which κεύθει you’ (Barrett on Eur. Hipp. 732–4)’ (Finglass (2014) on Stesichorus fr. 10.7.). 828: Σκύλλης Αὐσονίης:Scylla is “Ausonian”, i.e., Italian, because her lair was traditionally located on the Italian side of the Straits of Messina. A.’s version of her parentage is summarised here. In Homer Scylla is a twelve-footed, six-headed monster who feeds on dolphins and sailors, and poses a menace to Odysseus and his men. According to another tradition, she poaches Geryon’s cattle as Heracles is conveying them back to Greece, which leads Heracles to kill her; her body is then burnt by her father, which results in her resurrection. Read More. Points of contrast between Scylla and Thetis are discussed by Hopman (2012) here, (with a useful review here). For the epanalepsisof (Σκύλλης. . . Σκύλλης) see 263–5n. This repetition of Scylla is reproduced by the poet of the pseudo-Virgilian Ciris. Hera is piling on the rhetorical pressure. ὀλοόφρονος:‘malignant’ is used in the Iliadalways of savage animals the snake which bit Philoctetes (2. 723), a lion attacking cattle (15. 630), a furious wild boar (17.20) is applied in the Odysseyonly to people, namely Atlas (1. 52), Aietes (10.37) Minos (11.322); see furtherMatthews (1978, 228–32). Φόρκῳ: Phorcus /Phorcys the seagod, responsible for a host of monstrous children. For his lineage see hereand hereand 828n. (above). 829: νυκτιπόλος Ἑκάτη:for ‘night-wandering Hecate’ see 146–8n. Κράταιιν:Hecate is not always conflated with Crataeis, as she is here. τήν τε:Α. stresses by the use of τε(B5)in the relative clause that the genealogical variant that he is stating is the accepted truth. A typical piece of Hellenistic faux verisimilitude. 830: μή πως:‘Lest’ followed by the epic form of the subjunctive (δηλήσεται) in the next line. The guardian serpent of the Golden Fleece is similarly described: 154–5 ὑψοῦ σμερδαλέην κεφαλὴν μενέαινεν αείρας / ἀμφοτέρους ὀλοῇσι περιπτύξαι γενύεσσιν. This and the present passage recall Od. 12.90–2 where Scylla has a σμερδαλέηκεφαλή. For the interlacing word order (σμερδαλέῃσινagrees with γένυσσιν) see 143–4n. σμερδαλέοςis a favourite word of A. (see here). ἐπαΐξασα, ‘rush upon’, emphasises that Scylla makes swift and dashing attacks on her victims. 831: The spondaic opening of the line denotes the weight of the attack, when it lands. λεκτοὺς ἡρώων:could be an abbreviated version of the longer decription of Scylla’s victims at Od. 12.245–6 ἐκ νηὸς ἑταίρους / ἓξ ἕλεθ', οἳ χερσίν τε βίηφί τε φέρτατοι ἦσαν, ‘she took six of my comrades who were the best in strength of arms and might.’ This would not be untypical of A.’s pactice (76–81n.). δηλήσεται>δηλέομαι(s.v. II for the epic subjunctive) is used to describe a range of generally malicious attacks. 832: κεῖσʼ, ὅθι: ‘There, where . . .’ τυτθή γε: τυτθός is Epic for μικρός, which is rarer in Homer.γεemphasises the small degree of leeway that the Argonauts will have. παραίβασις:(and its cognates) usually mean ‘trangression’. Here it means ‘escape’ (from doom). παραβαίνωhas a similar spectrum of meaning. The phrase is closely adapted by Virgil at Aen. 3.685 inter utramque viam let discrimine parvo, discussed at Henry (1895), 46.
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Bibliography:
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Parnell, J. (ed.) (2018) Representations of the Mother-in-Law in Literature, Film, Drama, and Television.
Hershkowitz, Debra (1998) The Madness of Epic: Reading Insanity from Homer to Statius
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Jamie Morton (2001) The Role of the Physical Environment in Ancient Greek Seafaring, Leiden, Boston, Köln.
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Knight, Virginia H. (1995) The Renewal of Epic: Responses to Homer in the Argonauticaof Apollonius, Leiden, Boston, Köln.
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Fowler, Robert L. (2013) Early Greek Mythography: Volume 2: Commentary, Oxford.
B. Kayachev (2016), ‘Scylla the beauty and Scylla the beast: a Homeric allusion in the Ciris’, in A. Efstathiou, I. Karamanou (eds.), Homeric Receptions Across Generic and Cultural Contexts (Berlin), p. 277-87
James Henry (1895), Notes of a Twelve Years' Voyage of Discovery in the First Six Books of the Eneis (London, Edinburgh).
Cesca, Ombretta. 2017. “Which Limits for Speech Reporting? Messenger Scenes and Control of Repetition in the Iliad." In Voice and voices in Antiquity, edited by Niall W Slater, 31–53. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2017.
Slater, William J. "Aristophanes of Byzantium and Problem-Solving in the Museum." The Classical Quarterly 32, no. 2 (1982): 336-49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/638574
Parnell, J. (ed.) (2018) Representations of the Mother-in-Law in Literature, Film, Drama, and Television.
Hershkowitz, Debra (1998) The Madness of Epic: Reading Insanity from Homer to Statius
Paschalis, Michael (1997) Virgil's Aeneid: Semantic Relations and Proper Names, Oxford.
Brügger, Claude (2017) Homer’s Iliad: the Basel commentary Book xxiv.
Jamie Morton (2001) The Role of the Physical Environment in Ancient Greek Seafaring, Leiden, Boston, Köln.
Nelson, T. J. (2014) ‘From Zero to Hero: Jason’s Redemption and the Evaluation of Apollonius’.’ Paper presented at ‘AMPAL 2014: Failure in Ancient Literature,’ University of Cambridge, 07/09/2014.
Knight, Virginia H. (1995) The Renewal of Epic: Responses to Homer in the Argonauticaof Apollonius, Leiden, Boston, Köln.
Matthews, V. J. (1978) “Atlas, Aietes, and Minos ΟΛΟΟΦΡΩΝ: An Epic Epithet in the Odyssey.” Classical Philology, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 228–232.
Fowler, Robert L. (2013) Early Greek Mythography: Volume 2: Commentary, Oxford.
B. Kayachev (2016), ‘Scylla the beauty and Scylla the beast: a Homeric allusion in the Ciris’, in A. Efstathiou, I. Karamanou (eds.), Homeric Receptions Across Generic and Cultural Contexts (Berlin), p. 277-87
James Henry (1895), Notes of a Twelve Years' Voyage of Discovery in the First Six Books of the Eneis (London, Edinburgh).
