P T4 Cornell University WM) Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924079597898 Cornell University Library reformatted this volume to digital files to preserve the informational content of the deteriorated original. The original volume was scanned bitonally at 600 dots per inch and compressed prior to storage using ITU Group 4 compression. 1997 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Slenirg m. Sage 1891 /ftij .v..r|.^.r i.sJM.i'i.o'j.. BOSN'S CLASSICAL LIBRARY. APOLLONIUS RHODIUS. "THE ARGONAUTICA" or APOLLONIUS EHODIUS. TEAJSfSLATED INTO ENGLISH PEOSE FEOM THE TEXT OP E. MEEKEL EDWARD P. COLERIDGE, B.A. K COLL. OKI EL, OXON. LONDON : G-EOEGE BELL AND SONS, TOEK STEEET. COVENT GAKDEN. 1889. CHI5W1CK PRESS t— C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE. TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. Tkanslaioe's Pkeface II. Life of Apollonius Kuodius .... III. Two ANCIENT ArGDHENTS OF THE " ARGONAUTICA IV. Genealogical Tree of the jEolid.e . V. Route of the Argonauts VI. Apollonius's use of Possessive Adjectives and Per- sonal Pronouns VII. Translation of the Poem with Notes PAGE ix XV xix XX XXJV 1 PREFACE. IN the following translation I have adhered strictly to the text of Apollonius Rhodius as revised by E. Merkel from the Laurentian MS. (Leipzig, 1852, Teubner's small edition), without noticing any variant readings. As it would obviously be impossible to give reasons for adopting a particular reading out of several without add- ing greatly to the bulk of the book and running the risk of mystifying the reader, I have thought it advisable to adopt the plan of taking the best critical text which has hitherto appeared, and translating without any deviation from it. The footnotes added to the translation are of a some- what mixed nature — classical, mythological, geographical, and occasionally etymological — but all attempts at textual criticism have been avoided, as one could scarcely hope to exhaust the elaborate work on vexed questions in a short footnote, for which reason also the notes on etymology will be found few and brief. The short introductions to the poem and to each sepa- rate book are adaptations, more or less free, from the virodfiTsig prefixed by the Scholiasts. Wellauer's collation of the Scholia has been consulted throughout. SHORT LIFE OF APOLLONIUS RHODIUS, WITH A FEW REMARKS ON HIS " ARGONAUTICA/' APOLLONITJS RHODirS was born about b.c. 235, in the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes, either at Alexandria or at Naucratis. Strabo is in favour of the former, while Athenaeus and iElian declare for the latter place. He appears to have given himself up at an early age to literary pursuits, and his choice is scarcely to be wondered at when we reflect upon the age in which he lived and the literary atmosphere in which he found himseK. We are not expressly told whether it was choice or necessity that led him to select the career he did, but from the fact that the leading poet of that day took the young aspirant in hand and instructed him in his art, we may fairly infer that ApoUonius was a man of some standing and position in life. His studies, however, under his master Callimachus were not destined to do either pupil or teacher much credit ; no doubt he obtained some technical skUl in his art, but the tastes of Callimachus and ApoUonius were so diametrically opposed that the two poets quarrelled, and allowed their professional jealousy to go to such lengths that ApoUonius lampooned the style of his teacher, while CaUimachus was weak enough to retaliate in a studied X SHORT LIFE OF APOLLONIUS EHODITJS. retort tinder the title of " Ibis," the character of which poem, though lost to us, may be gathered from Ovid's poem of the same nam.e. Callimachus was the leading exponent of the strained and artificial poetry of his day. ApoUonius, with more true artistic instinct, revolted from the want of reality characteristic of most of his contemporaries, and having a genuine admiration for the straightforward simplicity of the Epic age, set himself to imitate Homer. Naturally he made many enemies among the host of poetasters who took their cue from the animosity shown to him by the " Laureate " of the Alexandrine court. Hence, when the " Argonautica " appeared, it was at once condemned as violating the accepted canons of style and composition, and partly, perhaps, owing to certain youthful crudities which were afterwards corrected. Great was the chagrin of the young poet at the reception of his work, and fierce was his anger against Callimachus. The position of the latter, however, was unassailable, and so ApoUonius, after a fruitless wordy warfare, determined to seek some new opening for his genius. Accordingly he bade farewell to ungrateful Alexandria, and retired to Rhodes, then the second great seat of literature, taking his poem with him. Possibly experience had taught him wherein his poem was deficient. At any rate, he revised the whole of it; and now, free from the cabals of jealous rivals, he received a fair verdict, and at once rose to fame. So popular, indeed, did he become on the reading of his poem, that the Ehodians, it is said, rewarded him with extraordinary honours, and conferred their franchise upon him. From SHORT LIFE OF APOLLONItTS EHODIUS. XI this incident in his career he came to he called " the Rhodian," a name which has clung to him for ever. It was only natural that in his hour of triumph he should long to have his merit acknowledged in his native city — in Ak 'andria, the gathering place of the old world's declining literature and art. Thither, therefore, he came, with his honours upon him, and whether it was that Callimachus and his followers were out of favour, or whether the Alexandrines had relented towards their ill- used poet, certain it is that he attained to great celebrity, and was advanced to valuable posts of trust. Henceforth he could afford to rest upon his hardly-won laurels, his period of " Sturm und Drang " was over ; he had passed through the fire, and it had done him no hurt — weighed in the balance he had not been found wanting. Of his life henceforth we learn but little, beyond what Suidas tells us as to his having become librarian in the vast royal museum at Alexandria, about B.C. 194. It may well be that this was so ; for the Ptolemies, in whose reigns Apollonius lived and wrote, were monarchs not unlikely to bestow such an important literary post upon a man of marked ability and studious habits. Assuming that Suidas is correct in his statement, we find plenty of internal evidence in the poem to suggest that the writer must have been a man of vast erudition, or have had at his command extensive stores of knowledge from which to draw his materials. During this period of his life the poet was not idle. Imbued to some extent with the spirit of his age, he produced works at a great pace ; epigrams, grammars, and the so-called Kriaetg, i.e. poems on the origin and XU SHOET LIFE OV APOLLONITTS BHODITJS. foundation of towns, but all these are lost to us save a few mutilated fragments and stray lines preserved in other writers. In the library at Alexandria he remained until his death in b.c. 181, happy enough, no doubt, amongst the endless treasxu-es of that vast repository of art and learning. Of his work that has come down to us, too little notice has been taken by English scholars ; for though his style at times bears too evident traces of laboured study, the structure of his poem is simple and straightforward. The mind is not burdened by a multiplicity of episodes, the descriptions are singularly beautiful, and the similes, which are abundant and varied, show the hand of a master, who, if he did sometimes imitate, had at least something graceful of his own to add to what he borrowed, and not infrequently paid back his loan with interest. The work found numerous commentators in ancient times, to whom we are indebted for the Florentine and Parisian Scholia. Moreover, ApoUonius was very popular among the Romans ; so much so that his poem was trans- lated by Publius Terentius Varro Atacinus, and was imitated by Valerius Flaccus and many others. EDITIONS. (i.) J. Lascaris. a.d. 1496. Quarto. Florence. Con- tains the Scliolia. (ii.) The Aldine edition, a.d. 1581. Octavo. Venice. Little more than a reprint of the Florentine edition. (iii.) Brunck. a.d. 1780. Quarto and octavo. Argen- torat. First really critical edition. (iv.) Beck. a.d. 1797. Octavo. Leipzig. Incomjilete. Text -with Latin translation and a few critical notes. (v.) Gr. Schiifer. a.d. 1810-13. 2 vols, octavo. Leipzig. A better edition, and the first containing Paris Scholia. (vi.) Wellauer. a.d. 1828. 2 vols, octavo. Leipzig. Still better. Contains readings of thirteen MSS. ; also the Scholia, and notes in Latin. (vii.) E. Merkel. a.d. 1852. Teubner, Leipzig. A careful revision of the Laurentine MS., with notes. There are, besides these editions of the actual text, ■certain German essays upon ApoUonius, but in England hitherto this author has received but scanty justice. THE ARGUMENT OF THE "ARGONAU- TICA," FROM THE GREEK OF THE SCHOLIASTS. TTHO, the daughter of Salmoneus, had two sons by Poseidon, Neleus and Pelias ; she afterwards wedded Cretheus, son of ^olus, and bore to him ^Eson, Pheres, and Amythaon. Prom, ^son sprang Jason ; from Pheres, Admetus ; from Amythaon, Melampus. Now Jason was handed over to the Centaur Chiron to be brought up and to learn the art of healing ; while .ffison, his father, left the kingdom to Pelias, his own brother, bidding him rule Thessaly until Jason's return from Chiron. But Pelias had received an oracle from Apollo, bidding him beware of a man who should come with only one sandal ; for by him should he be slain. So Jason grew up, and came to his uncle, for to take his share in his father's kingdom. But when he came to the river Anaurus, which is in Thessaly, wishing to ford it, there upon the bank he found Hera in the disguise of an old dame, and she would cross, but was afraid. Then did Jason take her upon his shoulders, and carry her safe over, but one sandal left he in the mud in the middle of the river. Thence he fared to the city with his one sandal, and there he found an assembly of the folk, and Pelias doing sacrifice to the gods. When Pelias saw him thus he minded him of the oracle, and being eager to be rid of him he set him this task, that he should go to Scythia in quest XVl AEGTJMENT OF THE " ARGONATTTICA. of the golden fleece, and then receive the kingdom. Now this he did from no wish for the fleece, but because he thought that Jason would be slain by some man in that strange land, or be shipwrecked. This is the story of the golden fleece. A SECOND ARGUMENT, GIVEN BY BRUNCK, FROM AN UNKNOWN ANCIENT SOURCE. ATHAMAS, the son of iEolus, and brother of Cre- theus, had to wife Nephele first, and begat two children, Phrixus and Helle. When Nephele died, he married Ino, who did plot against the children of Nephele, and persuaded her country-women to roast the seed for sowing ; but the earth, receiving roasted seed, would not bear her yearly crops. So Athamas sent to Delphi to in- quire about the barrenness ; but Ino bribed his messengers, telling them to return and say, that the god had answered that Helle and Phrixus must be sacrificed if they wanted the barrenness to cease. Wherefore Athamas was per- suaded, and placed them at the altar ; but the gods in pity snatched them away through the air by means of the ram with the golden fleece ; now Helle let go, and fell into the sea that bears her name, while Phrixus landed safe in Colchis. There he offered up the ram to Zeus, who helped his flight, for that he had escaped the plot of his step- mother. And having married Chalciope, daughter of ^etes, king of the Scythians, he begat four sons, Argus, Cytissorus, Melas, and Phrontis. And there he died. CO O P5 > m CM I— I w IZi O I— I ■-^ I ° I— I o o W P^ Eh ^ o 1 S o s cS ^ a; ^ s ^ O e=: C a; «r za o w " M to S ,„ .2 — o r; H J, ri o t, o to . o -a s B 2 O 2 =2 1^ 2 3 o '°. :§ 's ^ u] eS p^ H — O -2 m c p — i cS ^ *-+3 ci 3 ig 0) '^ l> o «+-! ce u O Ol ® E" CO rQ fe d _LO N S ^ o. d o o S =" td CO 1^ S PM tacW o CD OD &'3 CD 3 a> -+j p d -I3 s ft i; CO .— 1 r3 r^ 3 § c3 1 c3 h-f g m "-J3 9 '>■ a ,j3 CO 3 Eh pn} tS 'o fl bE TJ -2 2 a 1— 1 c3 *^ -*^ THE EOUTE OF THE ARGONAUTS TO ^A, AND THEIR RETURN THENCE TO lOLCHOS. THEKE is no particular difficulty in following Argo on her outward voyage, or in identifying the numerous places mentioned by ApoUonius along the route ; indeed, his knowledge of the geography up to jEa, the goal of the enterprise, is singularly accurate. It is when we attempt to follow his account of the return journey, which was made by a different route, that we find ourselves utterly perplexed, and forced to the conclusion that our author has been drawing purely from imagination, without any idea of the impossibility of the course which he assigns to the heroes. However, we purpose to give the route as described by the poet, noticing difficulties as they occur, though we shall not attempt to correct geographical errors in an account which by no conceivable theory can be reconciled with actual fact. The expedition starts from lolchos in Thessaly (i. 523). The ship Argo is moored in the river Anaurus (i. 320). Leaving the harbour of Pagasffi (i. 523), the Argonauts sail through the Sinus Pelasgicus, past the promontory of Tisa (i. 568) and the headland of Sepias (i. 582) ; then coasting between the island of Sciathus (i. 583) and along the ThessaUan coast, past the tomb of Dolops (i. 584), Melibcea (i. 592), the mouth of the river Amyrus (i. 596), Eurymense (i. 597), and the spurs of Ossa and Olympus (i. 598), they make right across the mouth of the Ther- maic gulf to the promontory of Pallene (i. 599) ; thence, after sighting Mount Athos (i. 601), they steer for Lemnos (i. 608). After some stay in this island, they go out of their course to the isle of Eleotra or Samothrace, for the sake of certain mysteries (i. 916) ; then keeping Thrace on the left of the ship and Imbros on the right, they sail across the jEgean Sea (i. 923) to the THE BOTJTE OF THE ARGONAUTS. XXI mouth of tlie Hellespont (i. 928). Through the Hellespont they sail past Bhoeteum, Ilium, Abydos, Percofce, Abarnis, and so to Cyzicias, then an island, now mainland (i. 929 sqq.) in the Pro- pontis. Next they pass the mouth of the river JSsepus (i. 940) and come to the harbour and bay of Chytus (i. 987), but at this point they are caught by contrary winds and driven back again to Cyzicus (i. 1110). Halting here awhUe they go inland to ascend Mount Dindymus and spy out their further route ; then go on again across the mouth of the river Ehyndaous in Mysia (i. 1165) until they reach the headland of Posideum (i. 1279), near to which live the savage Bebryces, whom they encounter and defeat (ii. 1 sqq.) at the mouth of the Bosporus. Thence, after meeting the bliud prophet Phineus in Bithynia (ii. 177), they pass through the dreadful Symplegades or Cyanean Eocks, which guard the entrance to the Euxine Sea (ii. 560 sqq.) ; coasting along Bithynia (ii. 621) they pass the mouth of the river Ehebas (ii. 652), the rock of Colone, the Black Headland (ii. 653), the river Phyllis (ii. 654), the river Calpe (ii. 661), and anchor at the Thynian island (ii. 675). Next they cross the mouth of the river Sangarius (ii. 724), passing the territory of the Mariandyni (ii. 725), the river Lycus, lake Anthemous, the river Acheron and its haven (ii. 726 sqq.) ; thence past river CaUichorus (ii. 906), the river Parthenius (ii. 938), Sesamus (ii. 943), Erythini, and the heights of Crobialus, Cromna, Cytorus and Carambis in Paphlagonia (ii. 945) ; after this they pass Sinope (Li. 948), the river Halys (ii. 965), the river Thermodon (ii. 972), the Amazons and Chalybes (ii. 987 sqq.), the Tibareni, Mossynoeci (ii. 1012 sqq.), land at the isle of Ares and rescue the sons of Chalciope (ii. 1033) ; thence to the isle of Philyra (ii. 1234), past the territory of the Macrones, Becheiri, Sapeirs, Byzeres, till they sight the range of Caucasus and the limit of their voyage (iL 1245 sqq.) ; they now enter the river Phasis, the river of Colchis, wherein hes the isle of .ffia (ii. 1264). The Argonauts have thus reached Ma,. Their voyage as sketched by ApoUonius is singularly accurate, and it is clear that he must have been familiar with the geography to have given such an exhaustive list of places, hills, and rivers. Briefly the voyage amounts to this. The Argonauts leave the Pelasgicus Sinus (Gulf of Volo), coast along Thessaly to Ther- maicus Sinus (Gulf of Salonica), steer across iEgaeum Mare (Archipelago) to the Hellespont (Dardanelles) ; through this strait into the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) ; through the Bos- porus into the Euxine (Black Sea). Except when they cross the Archipelago, their voyage is almost entirely a coasting one, and is easy to follow on a map. XXll THE EOTJTE OF THE AEGONArXS. The return route retraces their steps as far as the river Halys in Paphlagonia(iv.245),butthen, instead of roundingtheheadland of Carambis and following the coast-line (iv. 300), they strike out a new course across the open sea to the mouth of the Ister (Danube) (iv. 302). From this point very little information is afforded us by ApoUonius as to the places through which the heroes passed. Certain names indeed are mentioned, but they are difficult to identify or localize, e.g.. Mount Anchurus (iv. 828), the rock of Cauliacus (iv. 324), the plain of Laurium (iv. 326), the Brygian isles (iv. 330). ApoUonius was evidently aware of the weakness of his own geography, and avoids all details concerning this remarkable river-voyage ; he eventually brings the heroes out into the Adriatic near the peninsula of Hyllis (iv. 524). It is scarcely necessary to remark on the impossibility of this route, owing to rocks, rapids, cataracts, and an impassable current ; nor are we told into what river the Argonauts made their way out of the Ister in order to arrive at the Adriatic at all. After this they steer towards the Italian coast, passing the islands of Issa, Dusceladus, Pityeia, Corcyra the Black (iv. 563), Melite, Cerossus, Nymphsea, and the Ceraunian hills (iv. 570 sqq.) ; they come to the Eridanus (Po) (iv. 594), and apparently sailing right across northern Italy, gain by some unaccountable means the river Ehone (iv. 625). Here again we are not informed how they achieved this remarkable feat ; the poet seems to labour under the delusion that the Eridanus and Ehone are connected, and that a continuous voyage is possible. Next the heroes are somewhat vaguely said to pass through the territory of the Celts and Ligyans (iv. 645), but no further point on their course is mentioned until they arrive at the Stcechades Insulae (Is. d'Hieres, ofif the southern coast of Provence) (iv. 652) ; thence they sail across the open sea (Mediterranean) to the isle of ^Slthalia, passing above Corsica (iv. 652), and so by a long coasting voyage along Italy they reach the jEsean harbour and the promontory of Circe (iv. 659) ; thence passing the island of the Sirens (iv. 890) they come to the ^olian isles, run the gauntlet of Scylla and Charybdis in the straits between Italy and Sicily (iv. 920 sgj.), coast round the bottom of Italy, and land at Drepane, i.e. Corcyra, where the Phaeacians live (iv. 980 sqq.) ; from Drepane they coast along Epirus, Ambracia, and Acarnania, till they reach the Echinades Insulse (iv. 1228) ; but here they are caught by a violent tem- pest and driven to the Syrtis Minor of Africa (iv. 1288). Being unable to get out of the quicksands they carry Argo overland to lake Tritonis (iv. 1389), and, launching her again, sail out to sea. Apparently they now made a very circuitous voyage along the coasts of Africa and Asia Minor until they were opposite to THE ROUTE OP THE AEGONA.UTS. XXlil the island of Carpathus, which they are said to pass ; froin thence they came to Crete (iv. 1635) ; thence through the Sporades into the JSgean to Mgiua (iv. 1764) ; then along the coast of Attica and between Euboea and the Opuntian Locri (iv. 1779), through the Sinus Pelasgicus, to Pagasae, whence they had started. The return voyage teems with such insurmountable difficul- ties, and is altogether so hopelessly confused and mythical, that it would be a mere waste of time and patience to attempt to follow it on a modern map. We can only indicate briefly the course the heroes are said to have taken. After crossing the Euxine (Black Sea), they rowed through river-ways right across Dacia, Mcesia, lUyria, and Dalmatia (Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina), into the Adriatic ; saihng to Italy they cross the northern part by the Eridanus (Po) ; sail into the Ehone, thence into the Mediter- ranean ; right across to the west coast of Italy, along which they pass ; through the Lipari islands and the strait of Messina ; up the east coast of Italy to the Adriatic again ; thence driven by storms they come to the African coast ; being caught in the shoals of the Syrtis they carry Argo overland to lake Tritonis {Bahr Faraouni in Tunis), and finding an outlet into the Medi- terranean, sail along the African coast to the coast of Asia Minor, and so into the Jilgean homewards. THE USE OF POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES AND PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN APOLLONIUS. EPIC poets after Homer, and perhaps none more than Apol- lonius, afifect a singular licence in the use of possessive adjectives, and to a less extent of personal pronouns, confusing their strict meaning to such a degree, that it may be of some service to collect in a short scheme examples of Apollonius' more notable divergences from classical usage. I. (T^wirtpof, the possessive adj. of the 2nd person dual, does duty for — (a) Possessive adj. of 2nd person singular. Cf. iii. 395. (J3) Possessive adj. of 3rd person singular. Cf. i. 643 ; iii. 335, 600, 625. (y) Possessive adj. of 3rd person plural. Cf. i. 1286. II. <7