Argo

InGreek mythology,theArgo(/ˈɑːrɡoʊ/AR-goh;Ancient Greek:Ἀργώ,romanized:Argṓ) was the ship ofJasonand theArgonauts.The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. TheArgocarried the Argonauts on their quest for theGolden FleecefromIolcostoColchis.After the journey, the ship was retired and dedicated toPoseidon,the divine ruler of the seas.

The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sources beyond the originalmythfrom books, films and more.

Name

Most accounts name the ship after her builder,Argus.The adjectival form^[1]isArgoan/ɑːrˈɡoʊən/,^[2]from GreekἈργῶοςthrough LatinArgōus.^[3]

Prow of theArgoon thereverseof a coin ofIolcos(4th century BC), withArtemis Iolkiaon theobverse

Diodorus Siculusrecords that some thought the name was derived from an ancient Greek word for "swift" to indicate that the ship was designed to move quickly.^[4]^[5]Cicero,theRoman senatorand orator, proposed that it was named after theArgives,a name for the Greek people ofArgosin thePeloponnesethat was commonly used byHomer.

Construction

Roman terracotta relief of Athena (left) with Argus (right) and Tiphys building theArgo(British Museum)

TheArgowas constructed by theshipwright Argus,and its crew were specially protected by the goddessHera.The best source for the myth is theArgonauticabyApollonius Rhodius.Argus was said to have planned or constructed the vessel with the help ofAthena.The ship was built for travel in the open sea and designed to move quickly with the assistance of a sail. Apollodorus stated the ship had fifty oars, all of which were manned by the Argonauts.^[6]His description of the boat would place it as a forerunner or early version of a boat type that became known as apenteconter.

The boat was built with a variety of wood from around the region of Greece. InMedea,Euripidesmentions the oars were made from pine trees aroundMount Pelion.^[7]Catulluslater mentioned the boat was made out of fir-wood.^[8]Theprowof the ship was also made with a special piece of oak fromDodona,an area sacred toZeus.The oak was said to be able to speak with a human voice and could tell oracles.^[9]

According to Apollodorus and Catullus, theArgowas the first ship to sail the seas and was favored by the gods.^[10]Dionysius Scytobrachioncalled theArgoa well crafted vessel but did not consider her the first ship.^[11]Some sources state that since people had not seen a ship before they described theArgoas a monster.^[10]

TheArgowas built inThessalyaround the area of Mount Pelion.^[12]The Roman poetSextus Propertius,writing during the reign ofAugustus,said it departed from the port ofPagasae.^[13]

Voyage

The Argo(c. 1500–1530), painting byLorenzo Costa

It was Athena who taughtTiphysto attach the sails to the mast, since he was the steersman and would need to know the workings of the ship.^[14]Other sources say he had previously been a sailor along with two other members, which is why he was chosen to steer the boat.^[11]Lynceus was also said to have helped guide the ship because he had great sight during night and day.^[10]

The ship carried enough supplies, such as vases holding water, for the collective crew and lasted four days before having to refuel.^[15]Other items, such as a bronze tripod, were carried aboard.Herodotusclaimed the bronze tripod was given toTritonafter the Argonauts got lost in Lake Tritonis and needed assistance.^[16]It was said the boat had to be carried over land for 12 days to get back on course.^[17]

TheArgowas said to be loved by theNereids,who alongside Triton helped guide the ship at dangerous times in the Argonauts' journey.^[18]

After the journey

The constellation Argo Navis drawn byJohannes Hevelius

After her successful journey,Argowas consecrated toPoseidonin theIsthmus of Corinth. Because the ship was a sacred item, having been made with the help of the gods, she was made into a monument as well as being dedicated to the gods.^[12]Years later, a beam fell from the top of the ship and killedJasonwhile he was asleep on the ground.^[19]He was then translated into the sky and turned into theconstellation Argo Navis.^[20]

In other sources

The Argo was a well recognized motif in ancient Greece and has been used in plays, movies, books, philosophical writings and more. Several authors of antiquity (Apollonius Rhodius,Pliny,^[21]Philostephanus) discussed the hypothetical shape of the ship. Generally she was imagined like a Greek warship, agalley,and authors hypothesized that she was the first ship of this type that had gone out on a voyage on the high seas.^[20]Aristotleused the ship as an example to talk aboutostracismin Athens, specifically remarking that the ship leftHeraclesbehind because he was too heavy.^[22]

1963 film

Honor Blackman as Hera in the 1963 movie. Her face was used as a model for the head on the stern of the ship.

The version of theArgothat appears in the 1963 filmJason and the Argonautswas modeled after a Greek warship, with shields lining the side of the boat. On either side of the boat are rowers, who are directed how to row through the drumbeat of a leader. A red sail with the head of the golden ram marks the goal of their journey. Besides its practical purposes, the ship is also decorated with ancient motifs, such as eyes on the front of the ship at the water level. The sacred oak of the ship is here represented as the head of a woman with partial extending wings making up the stern of the ship. The painted head is modeled on the goddess Hera in the movie (played byHonor Blackman) and has the ability to speak to Jason throughout the movie. Argus, the ship builder, said he was inspired to add that feature to the boat when creating it. Filmmakers gave this head thepractical effectof being able to open and close its eyes when speaking to Jason.^[23]

References

^e.g. Robert Cooper Seaton (1912),Rhodius Apollonius: The Argonautica,p. 339
^Noah Webster (1832)A Dictionary of the English Language
^Argo.Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short.A Latin DictionaryonPerseus Project.
^Lemprière, John (1825)."A Classical Dictionary: Containing a Copious Account of All the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors".
^Diodorus (Siculus) (1814)."The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian: In Fifteen Books. To which are Added the Fragments of Diodorus, and Those Published by H. Valesius, I. Rhodomannus, and F. Ursinus".
^Apollodorus (1921).The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer.London: Harvard University Press. pp. Chapter 9, Section 1.
^Euripides.Medea (Euripides with an English translation by David Kovacs).Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. Lines 1-48.
^Catullus, Carmina Valerius (1894).Carmina (translated by Sir Richard Francis Burton.London. pp. Poem on Marriage of Peleus and Thetis.
^Warner, Rex (1967).The Stories of the Greeks.USA: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Inc. p. 57.
^^a ^b ^cCurtius, Ernst Robert (2015). "The Ship of the Argonauts".Essays on European Literature.10.1515.97: 465–496.
^^a ^bJackson, Steven (1997)."Argo: The First Ship?".Rheinisches Museum für Philologie.Neue Folge.140(3/4):249–257.JSTOR 41234283.
^^a ^bP. Ovidius Naso (1813).Commentary on the Heroides of Ovid.London. pp. Hypsipyle Jasoni lines 3–6.
^Sextus Propertius (1995).Elegies (translated by Vincent Katz).Los Angeles: Sun and Moon Press. pp. Addressed to Gallus.
^"The Argo".Jason and the Argonauts.Retrieved2016-04-10.
^Sleeswyk, Andre Wegener; Meijer, Fik (January 1998)."The Water Supply of the Argo and Other Oared Ships".The Mariner's Mirror.84(2):131–138.doi:10.1080/00253359.1998.10656684.
^Herodotus; Strassler, Robert B.; Purvis, Andrea L. (2009).The landmark Herodotus: the histories.New York: Anchor Books.ISBN 978-1-4000-3114-6.OCLC 264043716.
^How, W. W.; Wells, J. (1991).A commentary on Herodotus with introduction and appendixes.Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-814384-2.OCLC 18558958.
^Conington, John (1876).Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid, Volume 1.London: Whittaker and Co. pp. Lines 144.
^Euripides; Murray, Gilbert (1912).The Medea. Translated into English rhyming verse with explanatory notes by Gilbert Murray.Robarts - University of Toronto. New York Oxford University Press. pp.77–78, 96.
^^a ^bThis article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chambers, Ephraim,ed. (1728)."Argo".Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences(1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. p. 132.
^Hist. Nat. 1.c.56
^Aristotle (1944).Politics (Aristotle in 23 Volumes translated by H. Rackham).London: Harvard University Press. pp. Book 3, Section 1284a.
^Chaffey, Don, director.Jason and the Argonauts.Columbia Pictures, 1963.

External links

[1] .g. Robert Cooper Seaton (1912),Rhodius Apollonius: The Argonautica,p. 339

[2] Noah Webster (1832)A Dictionary of the English Language

[3] Argo.Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short.A Latin DictionaryonPerseus Project.

[4] Lemprière, John (1825)."A Classical Dictionary: Containing a Copious Account of All the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors".

[5] Diodorus (Siculus) (1814)."The Historical Library of Diodorus the Sicilian: In Fifteen Books. To which are Added the Fragments of Diodorus, and Those Published by H. Valesius, I. Rhodomannus, and F. Ursinus".

[6] Apollodorus (1921).The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer.London: Harvard University Press. pp. Chapter 9, Section 1.

[7] Euripides.Medea (Euripides with an English translation by David Kovacs).Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. Lines 1-48.

[8] Catullus, Carmina Valerius (1894).Carmina (translated by Sir Richard Francis Burton.London. pp. Poem on Marriage of Peleus and Thetis.

[9] Warner, Rex (1967).The Stories of the Greeks.USA: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Inc. p. 57.

[:0-10] Curtius, Ernst Robert (2015). "The Ship of the Argonauts".Essays on European Literature.10.1515.97: 465–496.

[:1-11] Jackson, Steven (1997)."Argo: The First Ship?".Rheinisches Museum für Philologie.Neue Folge.140(3/4):249–257.JSTOR 41234283.

[:2-12] P. Ovidius Naso (1813).Commentary on the Heroides of Ovid.London. pp. Hypsipyle Jasoni lines 3–6.

[13] Sextus Propertius (1995).Elegies (translated by Vincent Katz).Los Angeles: Sun and Moon Press. pp. Addressed to Gallus.

[14] "The Argo".Jason and the Argonauts.Retrieved2016-04-10.

[15] Sleeswyk, Andre Wegener; Meijer, Fik (January 1998)."The Water Supply of the Argo and Other Oared Ships".The Mariner's Mirror.84(2):131–138.doi:10.1080/00253359.1998.10656684.

[16] Herodotus; Strassler, Robert B.; Purvis, Andrea L. (2009).The landmark Herodotus: the histories.New York: Anchor Books.ISBN 978-1-4000-3114-6.OCLC 264043716.

[17] How, W. W.; Wells, J. (1991).A commentary on Herodotus with introduction and appendixes.Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-814384-2.OCLC 18558958.

[18] Conington, John (1876).Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid, Volume 1.London: Whittaker and Co. pp. Lines 144.

[19] Euripides; Murray, Gilbert (1912).The Medea. Translated into English rhyming verse with explanatory notes by Gilbert Murray.Robarts - University of Toronto. New York Oxford University Press. pp.77–78, 96.

[E1728-20] This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chambers, Ephraim,ed. (1728)."Argo".Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences(1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. p. 132.

[21] Hist. Nat. 1.c.56

[22] Aristotle (1944).Politics (Aristotle in 23 Volumes translated by H. Rackham).London: Harvard University Press. pp. Book 3, Section 1284a.

[23] Chaffey, Don, director.Jason and the Argonauts.Columbia Pictures, 1963.

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