ARGONAUTS

(I.A. Lisovy, K.A. Revyako. The ancient world in terms, names and titles: Dictionary-reference book on the history and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome / Scientific ed. A.I. Nemirovsky. - 3rd ed. - Minsk: Belarus, 2001)

ARGONAUTS

If you need DETAILED statement of this myth, go to the page "Campaign of the Argonauts". There you can get acquainted with the history of the legend of swimming for the Golden Fleece and go to links with detailing its various episodes. Our list of pages dedicated to myths and epic will be constantly updated

The myth of the golden fleece (summary)

According to the Greek myth, in the city of Orchomenus (Boeotia region), the king Afamant once ruled the ancient tribe of the Minians. From the goddess of the clouds, Nephele, he had a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Helle. These children were hated by the second wife of Athamas, Ino. In a lean year, Ino tricked her husband into sacrificing them to the gods to end the famine. However, at the last moment, Frix and Hella were saved from under the priest's knife by a ram with a golden fleece (wool), sent by their mother Nephele. The children sat on a ram, and he carried them through the air far to the north. During the flight, Hella fell into the sea and drowned in the strait, which since then has been called the Hellespont (Dardanelles) by her name. Frix was taken by a ram to Colchis (now Georgia), where he was raised as a son by the local king Eet, the son of the god Helios. Eet sacrificed the flying ram to Zeus, and hung his golden fleece in the grove of the god of war Ares, placing a mighty dragon as a watchman.

Argonauts (Golden Fleece). Soyuzmultfilm

Meanwhile, other descendants of Athamas built the port of Iolcus in Thessaly. Athamas' grandson, Aeson, who reigned in Iolca, was deposed from the throne by his half-brother, Pelius. Fearing the machinations of Pelias, Aeson hid his son, Jason, in the mountains from the wise centaur Chiron. Jason, who soon became a strong and courageous young man, lived with Chiron until he was 20 years old. The centaur taught him the arts of war and the science of medicine.

The leader of the Argonauts, Jason

When Jason was 20 years old, he went to Iolk to demand that Pelius return to him, the heir to the legitimate king, power over the city. With his beauty and strength, Jason immediately attracted the attention of the citizens of Iolk. He visited his father's house, and then went to Pelius and presented him with his demand. Pelias pretended to agree to cede the throne, but made it a condition that Jason go to Colchis and get the golden fleece there: there were rumors that the prosperity of the descendants of Athamas depended on the possession of this shrine. Pelius hoped that his young rival would die on this expedition.

After leaving Corinth, Medea settled in Athens, becoming the wife of King Aegeus, father of the great hero Theseus. According to one version of the myth, the former leader of the Argonauts, Jason, committed suicide following the death of his children. According to another mythical story, he joylessly dragged out the rest of his life in disastrous wanderings, finding no permanent shelter anywhere. Passing once through the Isthmus Isthmus, Jason saw the dilapidated Argo, which had once been pulled out here by the Argonauts on Coast. The weary wanderer lay down to rest in the shade of Argo. While he slept, the stern of the ship collapsed and buried Jason under its debris.

Existing since ancient times, there are four main variants of lists with the names of participants in the campaign to legendary ship"Argo" on the Black Sea coast to the country of the Colchians - Eyu, contradict each other and only 29 names completely coincide.

On the galley built in two months, the number of oars was 50, which should correspond to the number of participants in the campaign. But the combined lists include about a hundred names, from which it is more logical to assume that two ships could participate in the campaign, or some names of the kings and their descendants were artificially drawn over the centuries.

argonauts

It is worth highlighting the names of some Argonauts in a separate explanation:

• Jason (Jason), son of Aeson - former ruler city ​​of Iolka. His half-brother, Pelius, took away his power and destroyed the whole family. At the foot of Mount Pelion, Eson miraculously survived, showed his son the cave of the centaur Chiron and died. Until the age of twenty, Jason studied with the centaur not only military affairs, but also the knowledge of medicinal herbs, for which he received his name from Iyaso - to heal, to heal.

By the way, in the description of the first meeting between Jason and Medea, he is called golden-haired, which indicates his origin from the gods. Having descended from the mountains, he appeared before the eyes of the ruling uncle and received the task to go to Colchis - Eya for the golden - divine fleece. Why were Pelius and his descendants the favorites of the gods, unlike Jason's parents?

• Asclepius - among the Romans Aesculapius, the famous healer. His name is translated either “opening”, or “opened”, since the mother of Asclepius was killed in anger by his father, the god Apollo, for treason, and the child was taken out of the opened womb. The centaur was a teacher, Apollo was a teacher.

Asclepius not only healed the sick, but even brought the dead back to life. Due to the ensuing disturbance of the world balance, Zeus killed Asclepius with lightning. Apollo, in grief and anger, destroyed the Cyclopes, who were undeservedly accused of making weapons for this murder.

• Avgiy is the king and owner of the legendary stables, cleaning which was one of the exploits of Hercules. He was listed as the sons of the god Helios, and the kings of Colchis were also descendants of the sun god.

• Autolycus - "the most cunning of the Hellenes", an outstanding wrestler and fist fighter, wrestling teacher for Hercules. Presumably, not only the maternal grandfather of Jason, but also another hero - Odysseus, along the line of his other daughter. On this line of kinship, Jason is a descendant of the god of thieves and trade, Hermes.

• Acastus is the cousin of Jason, the son of Uncle Peleus, the ruler on the throne.

• Arg 1 (Argos, Argey) - the builder of the ship, the son of the very Frix, because of which the Golden Fleece appeared among people.

• Arg 2 - Arestides, son of Arestor.

• Askalaf is the son of Ares, the god of war, and Astyoch, brother of Ialmen. The brothers are the rulers of Orchomenus.

• Amiphaon is the uncle (as well as Fered) by father Eson for Jason, the chief Argonaut. Amiphaon laid the foundation for the Olympic Games, and his descendants had the gift of clairvoyance.

• Bellerophon is the half-brother of Arg, a ship builder.

• Zet and Kalaid are the winged sons of Boreas, the north wind.

• Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux) are the twins of Dioscuri.

• Periclemenos is the son of Poseidon who possessed the gift of transfiguration.

• Pug - who understood the language of birds, a soothsayer.

• Hylas is the squire and favorite of Hercules. He was carried away into the abyss of waters during a campaign by naiads, captivated by his beauty, after which Hercules left the Argonauts, hoping to find the young man. The theme of love between men was introduced into the mythology of the Greeks from the east only in the 6th century BC - there is no mention of this before.

• Keney - in our times he would be called a transsexual. He was born a woman and after his death the body was female. Kenida - the beauty was such a good warrior that the Lapiths chose her as their king. She was turned into a man by Poseidon at her request.

• Atalanta Arcadian - "Mowgli" of its time. The parent - the king left the newborn on a mountain in the forest, because he wanted the birth of a boy. According to legend, the mother bear, the nurse, whose image was always associated with Artemis, did not let the baby die.

Two different personalities are associated with the name Atalanta: a) Arcadian - a huntress, famous for archery; b) Boeotian - an athlete who became famous thanks to the speed of her legs.

• Hercules (Hercules) - from Thebes is known to everyone, but a closer look at this person reveals that his original name was Alkid, that he had a twin brother Iphicles and that the hero from childhood was subject to such fits of rage that he killed his music teacher Linna because of punishment, and subsequently her children in a divorce from her wife Megara, in order to marry her to her nephew Iolaus, who liked her.

There is also an assumption that the hero was born in Tiryns, and time and human rumor united him with another hero - a strong man from Thebes - Alkey.

• Iphicles and Iolaus are the uterine brother and nephew of Hercules, father and son. The twin cult in Greece was expressed in the belief that one of the children was conceived by a mortal father and the other child was divine.

Iphicles, although inferior in physical strength to Hercules, was an excellent runner and a devoted friend for his brother. Iolaus, like his father, was an assistant and charioteer for the famous uncle.

• Glaucus is the helmsman of the Argo ship. After the campaign of the Argonauts, he was torn to pieces by his horses during the competition.

One can only wonder how well the Argonauts have preserved their genealogy, where every second is a direct descendant of the gods or a relative of the northern kings, and that representatives of noble families did not consider it shameful to sit on the oars of their ships on which campaigns were made with the intention to appropriate the shrines belonging to other peoples.

And at the same time, there are many discrepancies and inconsistencies introduced by the allegorical and dual nature of the names adopted in the tradition of presentation among the ancient Greeks.

The ambiguity of the history of mankind can be traced in the perception of its descendants, who can be proud and justify not the most noble deeds of their ancestors or turn the best intentions into ugly "feats".

in Greek mythology, fifty participants in the campaign to Colchis on the Black Sea. Their ship, called the Argo, was built with the help of Athena, who inserted a piece of the sacred into its hull. century-old Dodona oak, rustling leaves conveying the will of the gods. Led by Jason A., among whom were Admet, the twins of Dioscuri - Castor and Polydeuces, Hercules, Meleager, Orpheus, Peleus and Telamon, were supposed to return the golden fleece of the magic ram to Greece, took it to Colchis by Frix. On their way, A. visited Gipsipyla on Lemnos, defeated the king of the Bebriks Amik, saved Phineus from harpies, and overcame Symplegades. The sorceress Medea helped Jason to master the Golden Fleece. A.'s way back was long and difficult, but in the end they managed to reach the coast of Greece. Historical the basis of the myth about A. is, in all likelihood, mor. voyages of the Greeks, primarily the Milesians, to the Black Sea shores. The campaign of A. is a frequent plot in the works of ancient and post-antique art (relief in Delphi; a crater with the image of A. in the middle of the 5th century BC; the epics of Apollonius of Rhodes and Valery Flaccus, the dramatic trilogy The Golden Fleece by Grillparzer, the opera Cherubini).

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Incomplete definition ↓

Argonauts

In Greek mythology, the Argonauts are a group of heroes who sailed on the Argo ship for the Golden Fleece to Colchis.

Eson was the legitimate king of Iolk in Thessaly, but his half-brother Pelias took the throne from him. Fearing for the life of their son Jason, Eson and his wife declared him dead and hid him from the centaur Chiron. The oracle predicted to Pelias that he was destined to die at the hands of a descendant of Eol and that he should beware of a man shod on one foot. Having reached the age of twenty, Jason decided to declare his claims to the throne and went to Iolk, choosing for this the time when Pelias was supposed to sacrifice to his father Poseidon. Appearing to Pelius in one sandal (he lost the second in the river mud, carrying the goddess Hera across the river, who took the form of a simple old woman), Jason demanded that the kingdom that belongs to him be returned to him.

Not wanting to overshadow the ritual festivities with the reprisal against his nephew, Pelius invited Jason to the palace and promised to fulfill his demand, provided that he went to Colchis, propitiated the soul of Frix, who had fled on a golden ram, and brought the skin of this ram to Iolk - the golden fleece that hung in a sacred grove Ares is guarded by a fearsome, never-sleeping dragon. Pelius considered the task of stealing the golden fleece to be impossible, since the cruel Colchis king Eet, having received a prophecy that he would lose power if the golden fleece was stolen, and that he himself would die at the hands of a foreigner, ordered to kill everyone who came too close to the grove. However, Jason accepted the condition of Pelias.

For the trip, the famous shipbuilder Arg built a ship named after him. Athena, who patronized Jason, inserted into the body of the Argo a piece of the sacred ancient Dodona oak, which conveys the will of the gods with the rustle of leaves, thanks to which the ship gained the ability to give divination. Jason gathered for participation in the campaign the most glorious heroes from all over Hellas (according to various sources - from fifty people or more), among whom were Admet, the Dioscuri twins, Hercules, Meleager, Orpheus, Peleus and Telamon. The Argonauts asked Hercules to take charge, but he refused in favor of Jason.

Having sailed from the Pagasean Gulf, the Argonauts arrived on the island of Lemnos. About a year before this, Aphrodite had arranged for the women of this island to smell bad, in connection with which their husbands preferred to live with Thracian girls who were taken prisoner during the raids. In retaliation, the Lemnyans killed all the men, sparing neither old nor young. Before the arrival of the Argonauts, Aphrodite, at the request of Hephaestus, cleansed the flechettes from the stench. When the Argo appeared, Queen Hypsipyla gathered a council, at which she proposed to send food and wine to the Argonauts as a gift, but not to let them into the city so that the heroes would not find out about the atrocity that had happened. Polixo, the aged nurse of Hypsipyla, declared that without men the inhabitants of the island would soon die out and that it was wisest to indulge in love with noble wanderers and thereby give birth to a new, strong people. This advice was readily accepted, and the Argonauts were invited to the city, where they fathered many children. Gipsipyla chose Jason for herself and welcomed him truly royally. She invited him, along with his companions, to stay on Lemnos, marry her and become king. Only persistent persuasion and reproaches of Heracles, who remained to guard the ship, forced the Argonauts to move on. On the advice of Orpheus, they were initiated into the mysteries of the Kabiri on the island of Samothrace.

Sailing through the Hellespont to the Propontis, the Argonauts were warmly received by the dolions. Their king Cyzicus had just married and cordially invited everyone to take part in the wedding feast. In the midst of the holiday, the guards of the Argo, led by Hercules, had to repulse the attack of the six-armed giants who came from the depths of the peninsula. At the end of a multi-day feast, the Argonauts heartily said goodbye to the owner and headed for the open sea, heading for the Bosphorus, but due to the northeast wind that had blown in, they went off course and, landing in pitch darkness to the shore, were attacked. Only after killing a few attackers and putting the rest to flight did the Argonauts discover that they were fighting with the Dolions, who mistook the Argonauts for pirates in the dark. The noble king Cyzicus lay dead at the feet of Jason. The Argonauts arranged funeral games in honor of Cyzicus, but for a long time because of bad weather they could not go to sea. Finally, a kingfisher sat on the nose of the Argo, chirping, and Pug, who understood the language of birds, explained that it was necessary to propitiate the goddess Cybele: it was she who arranged the death of Cyzicus, being angry at the Argonauts for having killed her six-armed brothers. The Argonauts erected a statue of the goddess and danced in her honor on the top of the mountain, after which Cybele changed her anger to mercy.

Having gone further, the Argonauts began to compete in rowing, but Hercules, who turned out to be the most tireless, broke the oar. At the site of the next camp in Mysia near the island of Keos, he went into the forest to make himself a new one. Having pulled out a huge spruce from the ground and about to hew it, Hercules suddenly found out that his squire Hylas had gone for water to the nearest source an hour or two ago and still had not returned. All night Hercules continued to search, but in vain. It turned out that the nymphs of the spring, captivated by the beauty of Hylas, carried him into the depths. Meanwhile, the Argonauts set sail with a fair wind. At dawn, they noticed the absence of Hercules. A dispute began as to what to do; the sea god Glaucus, who appeared from the depths (according to another version, the Dodona oak on the ship) revealed to the Argonauts that Hercules, by the will of Zeus, was not destined to participate in the campaign.

Then the Argo landed on the shore near the land of the Bebriks, where Amik ruled. Thinking of himself as a fist fighter, he challenged strangers to a duel, which always ended badly for them; if they refused, he threw them off the cliff into the sea without much discussion. When the Argonauts sailed into his country, Amik refused them water and food until the most worthy of them met him in a fighting circle. The challenge was taken up by Polydeuces, one of the Dioscuri, who was victorious in a fist fight at the Olympic Games, and, despite the terrible strength of Amikos, killed him. Seeing that their king was lying dead, the bebriks grabbed their weapons, but Pollux, calling on his companions, easily defeated them and plundered the royal palace. To appease Poseidon, who was the father of Amikos, Jason sacrificed twenty red bulls to him, which were among the rest of the booty.

Entering the Bosporus, the Argonauts sailed to the dwelling of the blind old man, the soothsayer Phineus, who was annoyed by the harpies: as soon as Phineus sat down to eat, they hurried to the palace, grabbed anything from the table, and the remaining food was contaminated with such a stench that it was impossible to eat. The argonauts Kalaid and Zet, the winged sons of Boreas, drove away the harpies forever, and the grateful Phineus told about the path that the Argonauts had to go, and gave them advice on how to avoid dangers.

The entrance to Pontus Euxinus was blocked by the floating rocks of the Symplegades, which, when a ship tried to pass between them, closed, crushing its hull. The Argonauts, taught by Phineus, first released a dove. As soon as the closed rocks, having pulled out a few feathers from the bird's tail, began to disperse, the helmsman Typhius directed the Argo between the rocks, and the rowers leaned on the oars so that they bent like bows. The ship managed to overcome the strongest current, and the approaching Symplegades only slightly damaged the stern of the Argo, after which they froze forever so that a narrow passage remained between them.

While camping near the city of Mariandina, a boar attacked the soothsayer Idmon and inflicted a deep wound on his thigh with fangs. Despite all the cares, Idmon died of blood loss, and the Argonauts mourned him for three days. Then Typhius fell ill and died; in deep sorrow, his comrades poured a hill next to the hill under which Idmon was buried. Instead of Tifius, Ankey was chosen as helmsman (according to another version - Ergin).

The Argonauts headed east along the southern coast of Pontus Euxinus (according to another version, first to the north, to the land of the Taurians, where Pers, brother of Eeta, reigned). Near the island of Aretia, a large flock of monstrous birds flew over the Argo, dropping down bronze feathers, one of which wounded Oileus in the shoulder. The Argonauts, remembering the advice of Phineus, put on their helmets and began shouting to drive away the birds. Half of the people continued to row, and half protected them with shields and drove away the birds with the noise of swords striking the shields. Phineus also advised the Argonauts to land on this islet, which they did, expelling every one of the birds. At night, a strong storm broke out, which washed ashore near their camp the sons of Phrixus and Halkiope - Kitissor, Arg, Frontis and Melas. They joined the Argonauts and helped them with advice (according to another version, the sons of Frixus returned to Hellas even before the Argonauts' campaign). Approaching the Caucasus, the Argonauts saw an eagle flying towards Prometheus to torment him, and heard the groans of a titan. "Argo" entered the mouth of the river Phasis (Rioni). Having made libations of wine mixed with honey in honor of the gods of this land, Jason hid the Argo in a shallow pool and convened a council of war, at which it was decided to ask Eet for a fleece as a gift, and in case of refusal, resort to cunning or force.

Athena and Hera, seeking to help their favorite Jason, asked Aphrodite to let her capricious baby Eros awaken an unexpected passion for Jason in the heart of Eet's daughter, the sorceress Medea. When Jason with six companions appeared at the palace of Eeta, Princess Medea immediately fell head over heels in love with him. Upon learning that the Argonauts had come for the Golden Fleece, Eet was furious. Wanting to destroy Jason, he suggested that he plow the field on the copper-footed fire-breathing bulls of Ares and sow it with dragon teeth, from which warriors grow (according to another version, Eet first demanded that the Argonauts help him in the war against his brother Perse). Another daughter of Eeta - the widow of Phrix Halkiop, who feared for the fate of her children who arrived with the Argonauts - came to Medea to enlist her help, and offered herself as an intermediary between Medea and Jason. Medea readily promised her help to Jason both in harnessing fire-breathing bulls and in getting the golden fleece, on one single condition - Jason must marry her and take her with him to the Argo. Jason swore by all the gods of Olympus to remain faithful to Medea until the end of his days. She handed him a magic potion - the juice of the roots of a plant that grew from the blood of Prometheus. Having washed his body, spear and shield with this potion, Jason became invulnerable for one day. So he managed to subdue the bulls to his will and harness them to the plow. All day he plowed, and at night he sowed dragon teeth, from which mighty warriors immediately grew. Jason arranged a fight between them, throwing a stone into the thick of the warriors, and then finished off those who remained alive with his sword.

King Eet did not want to part with the Golden Fleece and shamelessly violated his obligation. He began to threaten that he would burn the Argo, now standing in the sea opposite the city, and kill everyone who arrived on it. But Medea, on whom he foolishly relied, took Jason and several Argonauts to the sacred grove of Ares, where there was a fleece guarded by an immortal dragon coiled into a thousand rings. He was larger than Argo himself and was born from the blood of the monster Typhon, killed by Zeus. Medea put the dragon to sleep with a sweet chant and a magic potion, after which Jason carefully removed the golden fleece that emitted radiance from the oak and together they hurried to the Argo (according to another version, Jason killed the dragon).

The Argonauts went to sea, but Eet sent several ships in pursuit under the command of his son Apsyrtus. On the way back, the Argonauts went along a different route: not through the Propontis, but along the Istra (Danube). The Colchians were ahead of them and blocked their way from Istria to the Adriatic Sea. The Argonauts landed on an island dedicated to Artemis, and Jason entered into negotiations with Apsyrtus, who agreed to leave the Golden Fleece to the Argonauts and allow them to continue their journey to Greece, but insisted on the return of Medea to him. Then Medea sent a secret message to her brother, in which she claimed that she had been forcibly kidnapped and begged to be saved. At night, when Apsyrtus appeared at an arranged meeting with his sister, Jason hit him with a sword in the back. After that, the Argonauts attacked the Colchians who were left without a leader, scattered their ships and fled. According to another version, Apsyrtus was still a child at that time, and Medea took him with her as a hostage, and Eet himself pursued the Argonauts. When Medea saw that they were being overtaken, she killed her brother, chopped his body into pieces and began to throw them into the sea, knowing that her father would be forced to interrupt the chase in order to collect her son's body and bury him.

Zeus was angry with the Argonauts for their treacherous murder; and the ship announced to the Argonauts that they would not return home until they were cleansed of filth by the daughter of Helios, the sorceress Kirk, Medea's aunt. Having risen along the Eridanus River, they entered through the Rodan (Rhone) into the lands of the Celts. In the Mediterranean, the Argonauts found the island of Eya, where Kirka lived. She reluctantly cleared Jason and Medea, who came to her as petitioners, from the crime they had committed - the murder of Apsyrtus.

Further, the Argonauts safely sailed past the island of the Sirens, where the delightful singing of outlandish female birds drowned out the even more beautiful playing of the lyre by Orpheus. Thetis and other Nereids, at the request of Hera, helped the Argonauts sail past Skilla and Charybdis and the fire-breathing wandering rocks of Plankt.

On the island of Scheria, the Argonauts were warmly welcomed by Alkinos and Aretes, who reigned over the Phaeacians. At this time, they were overtaken by the second half of the Colchian fleet, sent after them by Eet. On the advice of Areta, Jason and Medea immediately entered into marriage, as a result of which Alcinous received a reason not to send Medea to her father.

When the Argonauts were already near the Peloponnese, the storm carried the Argo to the shallows of Libya. Obeying the prophetic words of the Libyan heroines who appeared to the Argonauts, they carried the ship in their arms for twelve days to Tritonian Lake. Here the Hesperides helped them get drinking water. In the desert, the soothsayer Pug died from a snake bite, and the Argonauts could not find a way out of Tritonian Lake for a long time until they dedicated a tripod to the local deity Triton. Triton helped the Argonauts swim out to sea.

When the Argonauts sailed to the shores of Crete, the bronze giant Talos, created by Hephaestus, according to his custom, began to throw pieces of rock at them, preventing them from landing on the shore. Medea, affectionately addressing the monster, promised to make him immortal if he sipped her magical drink. But the drink was sedative, and while the giant slept, she pulled out the bronze nail that plugged the only vein that ran from Talos's neck to his ankle. Divine ichor, a colorless liquid that served as blood to Talos, poured out of the hole, and he died. Some say that the giant, enchanted by the gaze of Medea, staggered, touched the rock with his heel and died from loss of blood. There are those who claim that Talos died because the Argonaut Peant wounded him in the ankle with a poisoned arrow. After that, the Argonauts returned to Iolk. Here they learned that Pelius, the king of Iolk, forced Jason's parents to commit suicide, and killed their little son, who was born after the departure of the Argonauts, ruthlessly breaking his head on the floor of the palace. Having dedicated "Argo" to Poseidon, Jason, with the help of Medea, took revenge on Pelias (the daughters of Pelias, at the instigation of Medea, wanting to restore their father's youth, cut him to pieces). The son of Pelius Akast, who reigned in Iolka, expelled Jason and Medea from the city.

(Kondrashov A.P. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece and Rome: Encyclopedic Dictionary)

(from Greek Argo - name ships, nautai - sailors)

Greek heroes who, a generation before the Trojan War, made a trip on the Argo ship led by Jason. According to the myth, Pelias, the son of Creteus, took power over Iolcus from his half-brother Aeson. He, in order to save his son Jason from persecution, sent him secretly to be raised by the wise centaur Chiron, who lived on Pelion. When Jason was in his twentieth year, he returned to Iolk, appearing before Pelius in one sandal (he lost the other while fording the Anaurus River). Since Pelius was predicted to be wary of a man with one sandal, he instructed Jason to go after the golden fleece (a golden-fleece ram, which Frix had sacrificed in his time). Summoning 50 Greek heroes, Jason went to distant Colchis on the Argo ship (named from Greek —

Incomplete definition ↓

A magical ram taken to Colchis.

Apollodorus gives a list of 45 Argonauts. According to Diodorus, who does not give a list, there were 54 in all. According to Theocritus, there were 60 of them, according to a number of other authors, only 50. Since the lists contradict each other, more than ninety names of heroes are found in various lists.

Having experienced many adventures, the Argonauts completed the assignment and returned the fleece to Greece from Colchis, while the sorceress Medea, the daughter of the Colchis king Eeta, whom Jason later took as his wife, helped Jason take possession of the golden fleece. According to Hesiod, they sailed down Phasis to the ocean, then arrived in Libya.

"Evidence" of the campaign

Libya had the Argoic Gulf (later called the Hesperides). According to some authors, they founded the temple of Hera in Samos, bringing her statue from Argos. According to Neanthus of Cyzicus, the Argonauts founded a shrine to the Mother of Ideas near Cyzicus.

The choir of the Argonauts acted in the tragedies of Aeschylus "Argo or Rowers" (fr. 20 Radt), "Lemnian", "Gypsipyla" and the satyr drama "Kabira" (fr. 95-97 Radt).

In particular, the historical basis of the myth of the Argonauts is made up of predatory raids. Greek sailors on the ancient states of the Black Sea coast.

Strabo reports the following:

In their country, it is said, the mountain streams bring gold, and the barbarians catch it with sieves and shaggy skins. From here, they say, the myth of the Golden Fleece arose.

Strabo. Geography. Book XI, II, 19

List of Argonauts

Total 99 names.

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An excerpt characterizing the Argonauts

When Anna Mikhailovna went with her son to Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhy, Countess Rostova sat alone for a long time, putting a handkerchief to her eyes. Finally, she called.
“What are you, dear,” she said angrily to the girl, who kept herself waiting for several minutes. You don't want to serve, do you? So I will find a place for you.
The countess was upset by the grief and humiliating poverty of her friend and therefore was not in a good mood, which was always expressed in her by the name of the maid "dear" and "you".
“Guilty with,” said the maid.
“Ask the Count for me.
The count, waddling, approached his wife with a somewhat guilty look, as always.
- Well, Countess! What a saute au madere [saute in Madeira] of grouse will be, ma chere! I tried; I gave a thousand rubles for Taraska not for nothing. Costs!
He sat down beside his wife, valiantly leaning his hands on his knees and ruffling his gray hair.
- What do you want, countess?
- Here's what, my friend - what do you have dirty here? she said, pointing to the vest. "That's sauté, right," she added, smiling. - Here's the thing, Count: I need money.
Her face became sad.
- Oh, Countess! ...
And the count began to fuss, taking out his wallet.
- I need a lot, count, I need five hundred rubles.
And she, taking out a cambric handkerchief, rubbed her husband's waistcoat with it.
- Now. Hey, who's there? he shouted in a voice that only people shout, confident that those whom they call will rush headlong to their call. - Send Mitenka to me!
Mitenka, that noble son, brought up by the count, who was now in charge of all his affairs, entered the room with quiet steps.
“That’s what, my dear,” said the count to the respectful young man who entered. “Bring me…” he thought. - Yes, 700 rubles, yes. Yes, look, don’t bring such torn and dirty ones as that time, but good ones, for the countess.
“Yes, Mitenka, please, clean ones,” said the countess, sighing sadly.
“Your Excellency, when would you like me to deliver it?” Mitenka said. “If you please, don’t worry, don’t worry,” he added, noticing that the count had already begun to breathe heavily and quickly, which was always a sign of anger. - I was and forgot ... Will you order to deliver this minute?
- Yes, yes, then bring it. Give it to the Countess.
“What gold I have this Mitenka,” added the count, smiling, when the young man left. - There is no such thing as impossible. I can't stand it. Everything is possible.
“Ah, money, count, money, how much grief they cause in the world!” said the Countess. “I really need this money.
“You, countess, are a well-known winder,” said the count, and, kissing his wife’s hand, went back into the study.
When Anna Mikhailovna returned from Bezukhoy again, the countess already had money, all in brand new paper, under a handkerchief on the table, and Anna Mikhailovna noticed that the countess was somehow disturbed.
- Well, my friend? the countess asked.
Oh, what a terrible state he is in! You can't recognize him, he's so bad, so bad; I stayed for a minute and did not say two words ...
“Annette, for God’s sake, don’t refuse me,” the countess suddenly said, blushing, which was so strange with her middle-aged, thin and important face, taking out money from under her handkerchief.
Anna Mikhaylovna instantly understood what was the matter, and already bent down to deftly embrace the countess at the right time.
- Here's Boris from me, for sewing a uniform ...
Anna Mikhaylovna was already embracing her and crying. The Countess was crying too. They wept that they were friendly; and that they are kind; and that they, girlfriends of youth, are occupied with such a low subject - money; and that their youth had passed ... But the tears of both were pleasant ...

Countess Rostova with her daughters and already with a large number guests sat in the living room. The count ushered the male guests into his study, offering them his hunter's collection of Turkish pipes. Occasionally he would come out and ask: has she come? They were waiting for Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova, nicknamed in society le terrible dragon, [a terrible dragon,] a lady famous not for wealth, not for honors, but for her directness of mind and frank simplicity of address. Marya Dmitrievna was known by the royal family, all of Moscow and all of St. Petersburg knew, and both cities, surprised at her, secretly laughed at her rudeness, told jokes about her; yet everyone, without exception, respected and feared her.
In an office full of smoke, there was a conversation about the war, which was declared by the manifesto, about recruitment. No one has yet read the Manifesto, but everyone knew about its appearance. The count was sitting on an ottoman between two smoking and talking neighbors. The count himself did not smoke or speak, but tilting his head, now to one side, then to the other, he looked with evident pleasure at the smokers and listened to the conversation of his two neighbors, whom he pitted against each other.
One of the speakers was a civilian, with a wrinkled, bilious, and shaven, thin face, a man already approaching old age, although he was dressed like the most fashionable young man; he sat with his feet on the ottoman overlooking home person and, sideways, thrusting the amber far into his mouth, impulsively drew in the smoke and screwed up his eyes. It was the old bachelor Shinshin, the cousin of the countess, an evil tongue, as they said about him in Moscow drawing rooms. He seemed to condescend to his interlocutor. Another, fresh, pink, officer of the Guards, impeccably washed, buttoned and combed, held amber near the middle of his mouth and with pink lips slightly pulled out the smoke, releasing it in ringlets from his beautiful mouth. It was that lieutenant Berg, an officer of the Semyonovsky regiment, with whom Boris went to the regiment together and with which Natasha teased Vera, the senior countess, calling Berg her fiancé. The Count sat between them and listened attentively. The most pleasant occupation for the count, with the exception of the game of boston, which he was very fond of, was the position of the listener, especially when he managed to play off two talkative interlocutors.
“Well, how about it, father, mon tres honorable [most respected] Alfons Karlych,” said Shinshin, chuckling and combining (which was the peculiarity of his speech) the most popular Russian expressions with exquisite French phrases. - Vous comptez vous faire des rentes sur l "etat, [Do you expect to have income from the treasury,] do you want to receive income from the company?
- No, Pyotr Nikolaevich, I only want to show that in the cavalry there are much fewer advantages against the infantry. Now consider, Pyotr Nikolaitch, my position...
Berg always spoke very precisely, calmly and courteously. His conversation always concerned only him alone; he was always calmly silent while talking about something that had no direct relation to him. And he could remain silent in this way for several hours, without experiencing or producing in others the slightest confusion. But as soon as the conversation concerned him personally, he began to speak at length and with visible pleasure.
“Consider my situation, Pyotr Nikolaevich: if I were in the cavalry, I would receive no more than two hundred rubles a third, even with the rank of lieutenant; and now I get two hundred and thirty,” he said with a joyful, pleasant smile, looking at Shinshin and the count, as if it were obvious to him that his success would always be the main goal of the desires of all other people.
“Besides, Pyotr Nikolaevich, having transferred to the guards, I am in the public eye,” Berg continued, “and vacancies in the guards infantry are much more frequent. Then, think for yourself how I could get a job out of two hundred and thirty rubles. And I’m saving and sending more to my father,” he continued, blowing the ring.
- La balance at est ... [The balance is established ...] The German threshes a loaf on the butt, comme dit le roverbe, [as the proverb says,] - shifting amber to the other side of his mouth, said Shinshin and winked at the count.