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Various - Myths That Every Child Should Know

V >> Various >> Myths That Every Child Should Know




Then Jason leapt forward warily, and stept across that mighty snake, and
tore the fleece from off the tree trunk; and the four rushed down the
garden, to the bank where the Argo lay.

There was a silence for a moment, while Jason held the golden fleece on
high. Then he cried: "Go now, good Argo, swift and steady, if ever you
would see Pelion more."

And she went, as the heroes drove her, grim and silent all, with muffled
oars, till the pine wood bent like willow in their hands, and stout Argo
groaned beneath their strokes.

On and on, beneath the dewy darkness, they fled swiftly down the
swirling stream; underneath black walls, and temples, and the castles of
the princes of the East; past sluice mouths, and fragrant gardens, and
groves of all strange fruits; past marshes where fat kine lay sleeping,
and long beds of whispering reeds; till they heard the merry music of
the surge upon the bar, as it tumbled in the moonlight all alone.

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the breakers like a horse;
for she knew the time was come to show her mettle, and win honour for
the heroes and herself.

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the breakers like a horse,
till the heroes stopped all panting, each man upon his oar, as she slid
into the still broad sea.

Then Orpheus took his harp and sang a paean, till the heroes' hearts rose
high again; and they rowed on stoutly and steadfastly, away into the
darkness of the West.


PART V

_How the Argonauts Were Driven into the Unknown Sea_

So they fled away in haste to the westward: but Aietes manned his fleet
and followed them. And Lynceus the quick eyed saw him coming, while he
was still many a mile away, and cried: "I see a hundred ships, like a
flock of white swans, far in the east." And at that they rowed hard,
like heroes; but the ships came nearer every hour.

Then Medeia, the dark witch maiden, laid a cruel and a cunning plot; for
she killed Absyrtus her young brother, and cast him into the sea, and
said: "Ere my father can take up his corpse and bury it, he must wait
long, and be left far behind."

And all the heroes shuddered, and looked one at the other for shame; yet
they did not punish that dark witch woman, because she had won for them
the golden fleece.

And when Aietes came to the place, he saw the floating corpse; and he
stopped a long while, and bewailed his son, and took him up, and went
home. But he sent on his sailors toward the westward, and bound them by
a mighty curse: "Bring back to me that dark witch woman, that she may
die a dreadful death. But if you return without her, you shall die by
the same death yourselves."

So the Argonauts escaped for that time; but Father Zeus saw that foul
crime; and out of the heavens he sent a storm, and swept the ship far
from her course. Day after day the storm drove her, amid foam and
blinding mist, till they knew no longer where they were, for the sun was
blotted from the skies. And at last the ship struck on a shoal, amid low
isles of mud and sand, and the waves rolled over her and through her,
and the heroes lost all hope of life.

Then Jason cried to Hera: "Fair queen, who hast befriended us till now,
why hast thou left us in our misery, to die here among unknown seas? It
is hard to lose the honour which we have won with such toil and danger,
and hard never to see Hellas again, and the pleasant bay of Pagasai."

Then out and spoke the magic bough which stood upon the Argo's beak:
"Because Father Zeus is angry, all this has fallen on you; for a cruel
crime has been done on board, and the sacred ship is foul with blood."

At that some of the heroes cried: "Medeia is the murderess. Let the
witch woman bear her sin, and die!"

And they seized Medeia, to hurl her into the sea and atone for the young
boy's death; but the magic bough spoke again: "Let her live till her
crimes are full. Vengeance waits for her, slow and sure; but she must
live, for you need her still. She must show you the way to her sister
Circe, who lives among the islands of the West. To her you must sail, a
weary way, and she shall cleanse you from your guilt."

Then all the heroes wept aloud when they heard the sentence of the oak;
for they knew that a dark journey lay before them, and years of bitter
toil. And some upbraided the dark witch woman, and some said: "Nay, we
are her debtors still; without her we should never have won the fleece."
But most of them bit their lips in silence, for they feared the witch's
spells.

And now the sea grew calmer, and the sun shone out once more, and the
heroes thrust the ship off the sand bank, and rowed forward on their
weary course, under the guiding of the dark witch maiden, into the
wastes of the unknown sea.

Whither they went I cannot tell, nor how they came to Circe's isle. Some
say that they went to the westward, and up the Ister[A] stream, and so
came into the Adriatic, dragging their ship over the snowy Alps. And
others say that they went southward, into the Red Indian Sea, and past
the sunny lands where spices grow, round AEthiopia toward the west; and
that at last they came to Libya, and dragged their ship across the
burning sands, and over the hills into the Syrtes, where the flats and
quicksands spread for many a mile, between rich Cyrene and the
Lotus-eaters' shore. But all these are but dreams and fables, and dim
hints of unknown lands.

[Footnote A: The Danube.]

But all say that they came to a place where they had to drag their ship
across the land nine days with ropes and rollers, till they came into an
unknown sea. And the best of all the old songs tells us, how they went
away toward the north, till they came to the slope of Caucasus, where it
sinks into the sea; and to the narrow Cimmerian Bosphorus,[A] where the
Titan swam across upon the bull; and thence into the lazy waters of the
still Maeotid Lake.[B] And thence they went northward ever, up the
Tanais, which we call Don, past the Geloni and Sauromatai, and many a
wandering shepherd tribe, and the one-eyed Arimaspi, of whom old Greek
poets tell, who steal the gold from the Griffins, in the cold
Rhiphaian[C] hills.

And they passed the Scythian archers, and the Tauri who eat men, and the
wandering Hyperboreai, who feed their flocks beneath the pole star,
until they came into the northern ocean, the dull dead Cronian Sea.[D]
And there Argo would move on no longer; and each man clasped his elbow,
and leaned his head upon his hand, heartbroken with toil and hunger, and
gave himself up to death. But brave Ancaios the helmsman cheered up
their hearts once more, and bade them leap on land, and haul the ship
with ropes and rollers for many a weary day, whether over land, or mud,
or ice, I know not, for the song is mixed and broken like a dream. And
it says next, how they came to the rich nation of the famous long-lived
men; and to the coast of the Cimmerians, who never saw the sun, buried
deep in the glens of the snow mountains; and to the fair land of
Hermione, where dwelt the most righteous of all nations; and to the
gates of the world below, and to the dwelling place of dreams.

[Footnote A: Between the Crimaea and Circassia.]

[Footnote B: The Sea of Azov.]

[Footnote C: The Ural Mountains.]

[Footnote D: The Baltic.]

And at last Ancaios shouted: "Endure a little while, brave friends, the
worst is surely past; for I can see the pure west wind ruffle the water,
and hear the roar of ocean on the sands. So raise up the mast, and set
the sail, and face what comes like men."

Then out spoke the magic bough: "Ah, would that I had perished long ago,
and been whelmed by the dread blue rocks, beneath the fierce swell of
the Euxine! Better so, than to wander forever, disgraced by the guilt of
my princes; for the blood of Absyrtus still tracks me, and woe follows
hard upon woe. And now some dark horror will clutch me, if I come near
the Isle of Ierne.[A] Unless you will cling to the land, and sail
southward and southward forever, I shall wander beyond the Atlantic, to
the ocean which has no shore."

Then they blest the magic bough, and sailed southward along the land.
But ere they could pass Ierne, the land of mists and storms, the wild
wind came down, dark and roaring, and caught the sail, and strained the
ropes. And away they drove twelve nights, on the wide wild western sea,
through the foam, and over the rollers, while they saw neither sun nor
stars. And they cried again: "We shall perish, for we know not where we
are. We are lost in the dreary damp darkness, and cannot tell north from
south."

But Lynceus the long sighted called gayly from the bows: "Take heart
again, brave sailors; for I see a pine-clad isle, and the halls of the
kind Earth mother, with a crown of clouds around them."

[Footnote A: Britain.]

But Orpheus said: "Turn from them, for no living man can land there:
there is no harbour on the coast, but steep-walled cliffs all round."

So Ancaios turned the ship away; and for three days more they sailed on,
till they came to Aiaia, Circe's home, and the fairy island of the West.

And there Jason bid them land, and seek about for any sign of living
man. And as they went inland, Circe met them, coming down toward the
ship; and they trembled when they saw her; for her hair, and face, and
robes, shone like flame.

And she came and looked at Medeia; and Medeia hid her face beneath her
veil.

And Circe cried, "Ah, wretched girl, have you forgotten all your sins,
that you come hither to my island, where the flowers bloom all the year
round? Where is your aged father, and the brother whom you killed?
Little do I expect you to return in safety with these strangers whom you
love. I will send you food and wine: but your ship must not stay here,
for it is foul with sin, and foul with sin its crew."

And the heroes prayed her, but in vain, and cried, "Cleanse us from our
guilt!" But she sent them away and said, "Go on to Malea, and there you
may be cleansed, and return home."

Then a fair wind rose, and they sailed eastward, by Tartessus on the
Iberian shore, till they came to the Pillars of Hercules, and the
Mediterranean Sea. And thence they sailed on through the deeps of
Sardinia, and past the Ausonian Islands, and the capes of the Tyrrhenian
shore, till they came to a flowery island, upon a still, bright summer's
eve. And as they neared it, slowly and wearily, they heard sweet songs
upon the shore. But when Medeia heard it, she started, and cried:
"Beware, all heroes, for these are the rocks of the Sirens. You must
pass close by them, for there is no other channel; but those who listen
to that song are lost."

Then Orpheus spoke, the king of all minstrels: "Let them match their
song against mine. I have charmed stones, and trees, and dragons, how
much more the hearts of man!" So he caught up his lyre, and stood upon
the poop, and began his magic song.

And now they could see the Sirens, on Anthemousa, the flowery isle;
three fair maidens sitting on the beach, beneath a red rock in the
setting sun, among beds of crimson poppies and golden asphodel. Slowly
they sung and sleepily, with silver voices, mild and clear, which stole
over the golden waters, and into the hearts of all the heroes, in spite
of Orpheus's song.

And all things stayed around and listened; the gulls sat in white lines
along the rocks; on the beach great seals lay basking, and kept time
with lazy heads; while silver shoals of fish came up to hearken, and
whispered as they broke the shining calm. The Wind overhead hushed his
whistling, as he shepherded his clouds toward the west; and the clouds
stood in mid blue, and listened dreaming, like a flock of golden sheep.

And as the heroes listened, the oars fell from their hands, and their
heads drooped on their breasts, and they closed their heavy eyes; and
they dreamed of bright still gardens, and of slumbers under murmuring
pines, till all their toil seemed foolishness, and they thought of their
renown no more.

Then one lifted his head suddenly, and cried, "What use in wandering
forever? Let us stay here and rest awhile." And another, "Let us row to
the shore, and hear the words they sing." And another, "I care not for
the words, but for the music. They shall sing me to sleep, that I may
rest."

And Butes, the son of Pandion, the fairest of all mortal men, leapt out
and swam toward the shore, crying, "I come, I come, fair maidens, to
live and die here, listening to your song."

Then Medeia clapped her hands together, and cried, "Sing louder,
Orpheus, sing a bolder strain; wake up these hapless sluggards, or none
of them will see the land of Hellas more."

Then Orpheus lifted his harp, and crashed his cunning hand across the
strings; and his music and his voice rose like a trumpet through the
still evening air; into the air it rushed like thunder, till the rocks
rang and the sea; and into their souls it rushed like wine, till all
hearts beat fast within their breasts.

And he sung the song of Perseus, how the Gods led him over land and sea,
and how he slew the loathly Gorgon, and won himself a peerless bride;
and how he sits now with the Gods upon Olympus, a shining star in the
sky, immortal with his immortal bride, and honoured by all men below.

So Orpheus sang, and the Sirens, answering each other across the golden
sea, till Orpheus's voice drowned the Sirens, and the heroes caught
their oars again.

And they cried: "We will be men like Perseus, and we will dare and
suffer to the last. Sing us his song again, brave Orpheus, that we may
forget the Sirens and their spell."

And as Orpheus sang, they dashed their oars into the sea, and kept time
to his music, as they fled fast away; and the Sirens' voices died behind
them, in the hissing of the foam along their wake.

But Butes swam to the shore, and knelt down before the Sirens, and
cried, "Sing on! sing on!" But he could say no more; for a charmed sleep
came over him, and a pleasant humming in his ears; and he sank all along
upon the pebbles, and forgot all heaven and earth, and never looked at
that sad beach around him, all strewn with the bones of men.

Then slowly rose up those three fair sisters, with a cruel smile upon
their lips; and slowly they crept down toward him, like leopards who
creep upon their prey; and their hands were like the talons of eagles,
as they stept across the bones of their victims to enjoy their cruel
feast.

But fairest Aphrodite saw him from the highest Idalian peak, and she
pitied his youth and his beauty, and leapt up from her golden throne;
and like a falling star she cleft the sky, and left a trail of
glittering light, till she stooped to the Isle of the Sirens, and
snatched their prey from their claws. And she lifted Butes as he lay
sleeping, and wrapt him in a golden mist; and she bore him to the peak
of Lilybaeum; and he slept there many a pleasant year.

But when the Sirens saw that they were conquered, they shrieked for envy
and rage, and leapt from the beach into the sea, and were changed into
rocks until this day.

Then they came to the straits by Lilybaeum, and saw Sicily, the
three-cornered island, under which Enceladus the giant lies groaning day
and night, and when he turns the earth quakes, and his breath bursts out
in roaring flames from the highest cone of AEtna, above the chestnut
woods. And there Charybdis caught them in its fearful coils of wave, and
rolled mast-high about them, and spun them round and round; and they
could go neither back nor forward, while the whirlpool sucked them in.

And while they struggled they saw near them, on the other side of the
strait, a rock stand in the water, with a peak wrapt round in clouds; a
rock which no man could climb, though he had twenty hands and feet, for
the stone was smooth and slippery, as if polished by man's hand; and
half way up a misty cave looked out toward the west.

And when Orpheus saw it, he groaned, and struck his hands together. And
"Little will it help to us," he cried, "to escape the jaws of the
whirlpool; for in that cave lives Scylla, the sea-hag with a young
whelp's voice; my mother warned me of her ere we sailed away from
Hellas; she has six heads, and six long necks, and hides in that dark
cleft. And from her cave she fishes for all things which pass by, for
sharks, and seals, and dolphins, and all the herds of Amphitrite. And
never ship's crew boasted that they came safe by her rock; for she bends
her long necks down to them, and every mouth takes up a man And who will
help us now? For Hera and Zeus hate us, and our ship is foul with guilt;
so we must die, whatever befalls."

Then out of the depths came Thetis, Peleus's silver-footed bride, for
love of her gallant husband, and all her nymphs around her; and they
played like snow-white dolphins, diving on from wave to wave, before the
ship, and in her wake, and beside her, as dolphins play. And they caught
the ship, and guided her, and passed her on from hand to hand, and
tossed her through the billows, as maidens toss the ball. And when
Scylla stooped to seize her, they struck back her ravening heads, and
foul Scylla whined, as a whelp whines, at the touch of their gentle
hands. But she shrank into her cave affrighted; for all bad things
shrink from good; and Argo leapt safe past her, while a fair breeze rose
behind. Then Thetis and her nymphs sank down to their gardens of green
and purple, where live flowers of bloom all the year round; while the
heroes went on rejoicing, yet dreading what might come next.

After that they rowed on steadily for many a weary day, till they saw a
long high island, and beyond it a mountain land. And they searched till
they found a harbour, and there rowed boldly in. But after awhile they
stopped, and wondered; for there stood a great city on the shore, and
temples and walls and gardens, and castles high in air upon the cliffs.
And on either side they saw a harbour, with a narrow mouth, but wide
within; and black ships without number, high and dry upon the shore.

Then Ancaius, the wise helmsman, spoke: "What new wonder is this? I know
all isles, and harbours, and the windings of all the seas; and this
should be Corcyra, where a few wild goatherds dwell. But whence come
these new harbours, and vast works of polished stone?"

But Jason said: "They can be no savage people. We will go in and take
our chance."

So they rowed into the harbour, among a thousand black-beaked ships,
each larger far than Argo, toward a quay of polished stone. And they
wondered at that mighty city, with its roofs of burnished brass, and
long and lofty walls of marble, with strong palisades above. And the
quays were full of people, merchants, and mariners, and slaves, going to
and fro with merchandise among the crowd of ships. And the heroes'
hearts were humbled, and they looked at each other and said: "We thought
ourselves a gallant crew when we sailed from Iolcos by the sea; but how
small we look before this city, like an ant before a hive of bees."

Then the sailors hailed them roughly from the quay:

"What men are you?--we want no strangers here, nor pirates. We keep our
business to ourselves."

But Jason answered gently, with many a flattering word, and praised
their city and their harbour, and their fleet of gallant ships. "Surely
you are the children of Poseidon, and the masters of the sea; and we are
but poor wandering mariners, worn out with thirst and toil. Give us but
food and water, and we will go on our voyage in peace."

Then the sailors laughed and answered: "Stranger, you are no fool; you
talk like an honest man, and you shall find us honest too. We are the
children of Poseidon, and the masters of the sea; but come ashore to us,
and you shall have the best that we can give."

So they limped ashore, all stiff and weary, with long ragged beards and
sunburnt cheeks, and garments torn and weather-stained, and weapons
rusted with the spray, while the sailors laughed at them (for they were
rough-tongued, though their hearts were frank and kind). And one said;
"These fellows are but raw sailors; they look as if they had been
sea-sick all the day." And another: "Their legs have grown crooked with
much rowing, till they waddle in their walk like ducks."

At that Idas the rash would have struck them; but Jason held him back,
till one of the merchant kings spoke to them, a tall and stately man.

"Do not be angry, strangers; the sailor boys must have their jest. But
we will treat you justly and kindly, for strangers and poor men come
from God; and you seem no common sailors by your strength, and height,
and weapons. Come up with me to the palace of Alcinous, the rich
sea-going king, and we will feast you well and heartily; and after that
you shall tell us your name."

But Medeia hung back, and trembled, and whispered in Jason's ear, "We
are betrayed, and are going to our ruin; for I see my countrymen among
the crowd; dark-eyed Colchi in steel mail shirts, such as they wear in
my father's land."

"It is too late to turn," said Jason. And he spoke to the merchant king:
"What country is this, good sir; and what is this new-built town?"

"This is the land of the Phaeaces, beloved by all the Immortals; for they
come hither and feast like friends with us, and sit by our side in the
hall. Hither we came from Liburnia to escape the unrighteous Cyclopes;
for they robbed us, peaceful merchants, of our hard-earned wares and
wealth. So Nausithous, the son of Poseidon, brought us hither, and died
in peace; and now his son Alcinous rules us, and Arete the wisest of
queens."

So they went up across the square, and wondered still more as they went;
for along the quays lay in order great cables, and yards, and masts,
before the fair temple of Poseidon, the blue-haired king of the seas.
And round the square worked the shipwrights, as many in number as ants,
twining ropes, and hewing timber, and smoothing long yards and oars. And
the Minuai went on in silence through clean white marble streets, till
they came to the hall of Alcinous, and they wondered then still more.
For the lofty palace shone aloft in the sun, with walls of plated brass,
from the threshold to the innermost chamber, and the doors were of
silver and gold. And on each side of the doorway sat living dogs of
gold, who never grew old or died, so well Hephaistus had made them in
his forges in smoking Lemnos, and gave them to Alcinous to guard his
gates by night. And within, against the walls, stood thrones on either
side, down the whole length of the hall, strewn with rich glossy
shawls; and on them the merchant kings of those crafty sea-roving
Phaeaces sat eating and drinking in pride, and feasting there all the
year round. And boys of molten gold stood each on a polished altar, and
held torches in their hands, to give light all night to the guests. And
round the house sat fifty maid servants, some grinding the meal in the
mill, some turning the spindle, some weaving at the loom, while their
hands twinkled as they passed the shuttle, like quivering aspen leaves.

And outside before the palace a great garden was walled round, filled
full of stately fruit trees, with olives and sweet figs, and
pomegranates, pears, and apples, which bore the whole year round. For
the rich southwest wind fed them, till pear grew ripe on pear, fig on
fig, and grape on grape, all the winter and the spring. And at the
further end gay flower beds bloomed through all seasons of the year; and
two fair fountains rose, and ran, one through the garden grounds, and
one beneath the palace gate, to water all the town. Such noble gifts the
heavens had given to Alcinous the wise.

So they went in, and saw him sitting, like Poseidon, on his throne, with
his golden sceptre by him, in garments stiff with gold, and in his hand
a sculptured goblet, as he pledged the merchant kings; and beside him
stood Arete, his wise and lovely queen, and leaned against a pillar, as
she spun her golden threads.

Then Alcinous rose, and welcomed them, and bade them sit and eat; and
the servants brought them tables, and bread, and meat, and wine.

But Medeia went on trembling toward Arete, the fair queen, and fell at
her knees, and clasped them, and cried weeping as she knelt:

"I am your guest, fair queen, and I entreat you be Zeus from whom
prayers come. Do not send me back to my father, to die some dreadful
death; but let me go my way, and bear my burden. Have I not had enough
of punishment and shame?"

"Who are you, strange maiden? and what is the meaning of your prayer?"

"I am Medeia, daughter of Aietes, and I saw my countrymen here to-day;
and I know that they are come to find me, and take me home to die some
dreadful death."

Then Arete frowned, and said: "Lead this girl in, my maidens; and let
the kings decide, not I."

And Alcinous leapt up from his throne, and cried, "Speak, strangers, who
are you? And who is this maiden?"

"We are the heroes of the Minuai," said Jason; "and this maiden has
spoken truth. We are the men who took the golden fleece, the men whose
fame has run round every shore. We came hither out of the ocean, after
sorrows such as man never saw before. We went out many, and come back
few, for many a noble comrade have we lost. So let us go, as you should
let your guests go, in peace; that the world may say, 'Alcinous is a
just king.'"

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