THAT silver
veil was to be splashed with a brother’s blood, and the Argonauts,
because of that calamity, were for a long time to be held back from
a return to their native land.
Now as they
went down the river they saw that dangers were coming swiftly upon
them. The chariots of the Colchians were upon the banks. Jason saw
King Æetes in his chariot, a blazing torch lighting his corselet
and his helmet. Swiftly the Argo went, but there were ships
behind her, and they went swiftly too.
They came into
the Sea of Pontus, and Phrontis, the son of Phrixus, gave counsel
to them. “Do not strive to make the passage
of the Symplegades,” he said. “All
who live around the Sea of Pontus are friendly to King Æetes; they
will be warned by him, and they will be ready to slay us and take
the Argo. Let us journey up the River
Ister, and by that way we can come to the Thrinacian Sea that is
close to your land.”
The Argonauts
thought well of what Phrontis said; into the waters of the Ister
the ship was brought. Many of the Colchian ships passed by the
mouth of the river, and went seeking the Argo
toward the passage of the Symplegades.
But the
Argonauts were on a way that was dangerous for them. For Apsyrtus
had not gone toward the Symplegades [pg 135] seeking the Argo.
He had led his soldiers overland to the River Ister at a place that
was at a distance above its mouth. There were islands in the river
at that place, and the soldiers of Apsyrtus landed on the islands,
while Apsyrtus went to the kings of the people around and claimed
their support.
The Argo
came and the heroes found themselves cut off. They could not make
their way between the islands that were filled with the Colchian
soldiers, nor along the banks that were lined with men friendly to
King Æetes. Argo was stayed. Apsyrtus sent for
the chiefs; he had men enough to overwhelm them, but he shrank from
a fight with the heroes, and he thought that he might gain all he
wanted from them without a struggle.
Theseus and
Peleus went to him. Apsyrtus would have them give up the Golden
Fleece; he would have them give up Medea and the sons of Phrixus
also.
Theseus and
Peleus appealed to the judgment of the kings who supported
Apsyrtus. Æetes, they said, had no more claim on the Golden Fleece.
He had promised it to Jason as a reward for tasks that he had
imposed. The tasks had been accomplished and the Fleece, no matter
in what way it was taken from the grove of Ares, was theirs. So
Theseus and Peleus said, and the kings who supported Apsyrtus gave
judgment for the Argonauts.
But Medea would
have to be given to her brother. If that were done the Argo
would be let go on her course, Apsyrtus said, and the Golden Fleece
would be left with them. Apsyrtus said, [pg 136] too, that he would not take Medea back
to the wrath of her father; if the Argonauts gave her up she would
be let stay on the island of Artemis and under the guardianship of
the goddess.
The chiefs
brought Apsyrtus’s words back. There was a council of the
Argonauts, and they agreed that they should leave Medea on the
island of Artemis.
But grief and
wrath took hold of Medea when she heard of this resolve. Almost she
would burn the Argo. She went to where Jason
stood, and she spoke again of all she had done to save his life and
win the Golden Fleece for the Argonauts. Jason made her look on the
ships and the soldiers that were around them; he showed her how
these could overwhelm the Argonauts and slay them all. With all the
heroes slain, he said, Medea would come into the hands of Apsyrtus,
who then could leave her on the island of Artemis or take her back
to the wrath of her father.
But Medea would
not consent to go nor could Jason’s heart consent to let her go.
Then these two made a plot to deceive Apsyrtus.
“I have not been of the council that agreed to give you
up to him,” Jason said. “After you
have been left there I will take you off the island of Artemis
secretly. The Colchians and the kings who support them, not knowing
that you have been taken off and hidden on the Argo,
will let us pass.” This Medea and Jason planned to do, and
it was an ill thing, for it [pg 137] was breaking the covenant that the chiefs
had entered with Apsyrtus.
Medea then was
left by the Argonauts on the island of Artemis. Now Apsyrtus had
been commanded by his father to bring her back to Aea; he thought
that when she had been left by the Argonauts he could force her to
come with him. So he went over to the island. Jason, secretly
leaving his companions, went to the island from the other side.
Before the
temple of Artemis Jason and Apsyrtus came face to face. Both men,
thinking they had been betrayed to their deaths, drew their swords.
Then, before the vestibule of the temple and under the eyes of
Medea, Jason and Apsyrtus fought. Jason’s sword pierced the son of
Æetes; as he fell Apsyrtus cried out bitter words against Medea,
saying that it was on her account that he had come on his death.
And as he fell the blood of her brother splashed Medea’s silver
veil.
Jason lifted
Medea up and carried her to the Argo.
They hid the maiden under the Fleece of Gold and they sailed past
the ships of the Colchians. When darkness came they were far from
the island of Artemis. It was then that they heard a loud wailing,
and they knew that the Colchians had discovered that their prince
had been slain.
The Colchians
did not pursue them. Fearing the wrath of Æetes they made
settlements in the lands of the kings who had supported Apsyrtus;
they never went back to Aea; they [pg 138] called themselves Apsyrtians
henceforward, naming themselves after the prince they had come
with.
They had
escaped the danger that had hemmed them in, but the Argonauts, as
they sailed on, were not content; covenants had been broken, and
blood had been shed in a bad cause. And as they went on through the
darkness the voice of the ship was heard; at the sound of that
voice fear and sorrow came upon the voyagers, for they felt that it
had a prophecy of doom.
Castor and
Polydeuces went to the front of the ship; holding up their hands,
they prayed. Then they heard the words that the voice uttered: in
the night as they went on the voice proclaimed the wrath of Zeus on
account of the slaying of Apsyrtus.
What was their
doom to be? It was that the Argonauts would have to wander forever
over the gulfs of the sea unless Medea had herself cleansed of her
brother’s blood. There was one who could cleanse Medea—Circe, the
daughter of Helios and Perse. The voice urged the heroes to pray to
the immortal gods that the way to the island of Circe be shown to
them.
