Jason and the Argonauts (21 page)

I beseech you

both in your parents' names and in the names

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of holy Hecate and Zeus Upholder

of Suppliants and Strangers.
I have come,

a suppliant and stranger, to embrace

your knees in desperation, since alone—

that is, without your favor—I shall never

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return successful from this wretched contest.

I am prepared to pay you future honor

for your assistance, all the honor due

between two people living far apart,

by glorifying both your name and virtues.

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After my comrades have returned to Greece,

they, too, will spread your fame, as will their mothers

and wives, who right now possibly are sitting

and wailing on the shore. You, you could scatter

their cruel flock of worries on the winds.

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Minos' maiden daughter Ariadne

once rescued Theseus from a deadly trial—

yes, Helius' daughter Pasiphae,

the sister of your father, was her mother.

Once Minos had recovered from his anger,

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the girl embarked upon the hero's ship

and left her fatherland. Even the gods

adored this girl, and a memento of her,

a garland known as Ariadne's Crown,

revolves among the heavenly constellations

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at night. The gods will give you thanks as well

if you assist so mighty an assembly

of heroes. Judging from your beauty, you

should be supreme in gentle kindnesses.”

So he addressed her, playing to her pride.

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She dropped her gaze but, as she did, a smile

as sweet as nectar spread across her face.

Her heart had thawed beneath his flattery.

When she looked up at him again, she failed

to find words fit to start with, since she was

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so keen to tell him everything at once.

All modesty behind her, she removed

the vial of resin from her fragrant bodice,

and he was quick to wrap his hands around it.

He seemed so very pleased. She would have tugged

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the soul out of her breast and happily

bestowed it on this man who needed her.

Eros had kindled
a miraculous

and winning fire on Jason's golden hair,

and he was ravishing her gaze. Her eyes

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were glinting, and her heart grew warm and melted

like dew on roses in the dawn's first light.

Each of them awkwardly admired the ground

at times and then at times kept firing glances

at one another, shooting forth desire

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from underneath their brows. A good while later,

under extreme duress, the girl brought out:

“Please listen. I shall give you some instructions:

Once my father has bestowed upon you

the serpent's deadly fangs to sow the field,

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wait for the darkest hour of the night,

then wash your body in a rushing river,

don an all-black mantle, and retire

somewhere alone, apart from your companions,

and dig a wide round hole. Once you have slit

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an ewe's throat, drained the blood into the pit,

and laid the carcass, whole, upon a fire

that you have duly built up round the edges,

call upon Hecate, the only child

of Perses, while decanting from a goblet

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the comb-begotten labor of the bees.

Then, after you have dutifully sought

Hecate's favor, turn and leave. Make certain

neither the sound of footsteps nor the baying

of dogs moves you
to turn and look behind you,

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or you will cancel all that you have done

and fail to come back ready to your comrades.

At daybreak steep the drug I have provided

in pure spring water, strip off all your clothes,

and rub your body with it as with oil.

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There will be awesome power and boundless valor

within it. You will find your strength a match

not for mere mortals but the deathless gods.

Sprinkle your shield, sword, and spear with it.

The weapons of the earthborn men will never

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injure you then, nor the unbearable fire

that shoots out of the deadly bulls. Not long

will you be so enhanced, just one day only.

Be sure, then, not to shrink before the challenge.

And I shall grace you with a second favor:

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once you have yoked the mighty bulls and swiftly

with might and main plowed up the stubborn fallows,

then, as the earthborn men are sprouting skyward

out of the snake's fangs planted in the furrows,

cast a stone into their midst, a large one.

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Make certain no one sees you. They will slaughter

each other over it, like wild dogs

contending over scraps of food. Make sure

that you yourself then rush into the fray.

Because of your successes you will carry

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the fleece back into Hellas, to some place

far from Aea. Go, though, all the same,

wherever you desire, wherever you

insist on going once you spread your sail.”

With that, she fixed her eyes before her feet

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in silence and suffused her gleaming cheeks

with sultry tears, bereft because he soon

would sail the sea far, far away from her.

She took his hand and gazed upon his face.

Modesty left her eyes, and yet again

in agony she spoke to him:

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“Remember

the name Medea if, by chance, you live

to come back home. When you are far away

I shall remember yours as well. Please, though,

kindly inform me where your home might be.

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Where will you go when you go sailing off

across the sea? Will you approach luxurious

Orchomenus or skirt Aeaea Island?

And please do tell me more about that girl,

the one you named, you know, the famous daughter

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of Pasiphae, who is my father's sister.”

Such were her inquiries, and devastating

affection crept up over him, because

she was a maiden, crying. So he answered:

“Never, day or night, shall I forget you—

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that is, so long as I escape my death

and do return uninjured to Achaea,

and if Aeëtes doesn't force still worse

trials upon us. If you wish to know

about my homeland, I will tell you of it.

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My heart as well commands I do as much:

there is a broad plain ringed by lofty mountains,

a sheep land rich in pasture. It was there

Prometheus, the son of Iapetus,

begat the excellent Deucalion

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who was the first to draw up plans for cities

and raise temples to the immortal gods.

He also was the first to serve as king.

My people call this land Haemonia.

My city Iolcus stands in it, and in it

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stand a hundred other cities where

the name Aea never has been heard.

And, yes, a legend states that Minyas,

a son of Aeolus, once left this land

to build the city of Orchomenus

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on the Cadmeians' eastern border. Why, though,

do I keep rambling on about my home

and Minos' most reverend daughter

Ariadne? (That's the famous name

the lovely maiden you have asked about

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once called her own.) I pray that, just as Minos

eventually accepted Theseus,

your father may be joined to us in friendship.”

So he responded, stroking her with soothing

utterances. Most distressing worries, though,

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kept troubling her heart, and she was sad

when she addressed these throbbing words to him:

“Although in Hellas it may be considered

noble to keep one's word, Aeëtes differs

greatly in that regard from Minos, husband

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of Pasiphae—that man you mentioned to me.

Nor do I rank myself with Ariadne.

Say nothing, therefore, of a fond guest-friendship.

But think of me when you return to Iolcus,

and I shall think of you in spite of all

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my parents say. May news or bird of omen

bring us together, when we live apart.

Yet, if I slip your mind, may sudden storm winds

snatch me aloft and carry me to Iolcus,

so that I may confront you face-to-face,

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reproaching you, reminding you that you

escaped this land alive by my assistance.

Yes, may I then appear out of the blue

and haunt you right beside your palace hearth.”

So she proclaimed, with liquid sorrow streaming

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down her cheeks. After a while he answered:

“Sad maiden, let your storm winds rove

in vain and all your birds and rumors, too.

You're talking nonsense. If you come to Greece

and any of those places you have mentioned,

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men and women will esteem and love you,

yes, they will venerate you like a goddess,

some because your counsel helped their sons

come home alive, others because you saved

their brothers, relatives, and valiant husbands

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from such great trouble. In our wedding chamber

you shall enjoy the marriage bed with me,

and nothing shall divide us from our love

until our predetermined end enshrouds us.”

So he explained. The heart within her melted

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to hear it, but she shuddered as it did,

imagining the crime she would commit.

Poor maiden, she would not long shrink from living

in Hellas. Hera had already ruled

Medea of Aea would forsake

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her fatherland and come to holy Iolcus

to ruin Pelias.

Meanwhile the handmaids

watching them in silence from afar

grew agitated: daylight was expiring;

Medea should be home beside her mother.

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The girl herself had not yet thought of leaving,

since she was so bewitched by Jason's beauty

and winning words. It was the son of Aeson

who sensed the hour and said to her at last:

“It's time for us to go, or else the sun

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will set before you reach the court, and someone

will note your absence and discover all.

But we will come back here and meet again.”

They tested one another with endearments

so far, then turned and went their separate ways,

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Jason departing to his crew and ship

in an exultant mood, she to her handmaids.

They all went out to meet her, but she hardly

noticed them gathering around her, no,

her soul was flying through the clouds. Her feet

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all on their own conveyed her to the wagon.

One hand reached out to take the reins, the other

the intricately braided whip, and off

the mules went toward the city and the palace.

When they returned, Chalciope of course

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asked questions, since she hoped to save her sons.

The girl, though, spun by swiftly shifting thoughts,

heard nothing and was not disposed to answer.

She settled on a stool beside her bed,

cheek resting flat upon her clenched left hand,

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and worried, teary-eyed, about the plot

she had devised, how traitorous it was.

When Jason joined his comrades at the spot

where he had left them to approach Medea,

he set out with them toward their shore-side camp,

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recounting what she'd said along the way.

They reached the ship together. When the heroes

caught sight of Aeson's son, they greeted him

with questions, and he told them all about

the maiden's scheme and showed the potent drug.

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Though Idas sat apart from his companions

and gnawed his anger, all the rest were joyful

and, when the lateness of the hour compelled them,

cheerfully went about their chores.

At daybreak

they sent a pair of soldiers to Aeëtes

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to fetch the seed—Telamon, dear to Ares,

and Hermes' famous son Aethalides.

Nor did this embassy set out in vain:

when they arrived haughty Aeëtes gave them

the dire fangs of the Aonian serpent

they needed for the contest.

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While in Hellas

searching for Europa,
Cadmus found

this serpent watching over Ares' spring

in ancient Thebes. He slew it there and founded

a town at the direction of the heifer

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that gave him guidance, as the Lord Apollo

had prophesied. Tritonian Athena

knocked the fangs out of the serpent's jaws

and gave half to Aeëtes, half to Cadmus

the son of Agenor, the monster's slayer,

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who planted them in the Aonian plain

and took as citizens those earthborn men

left over after Ares harvested

the others with his spear.

Aeëtes gave them

the serpent's fangs to carry to the ship