A book jot from June 2021:

I just finished reading the Argonautica (3rd century BC) by Apollonius Rhodius, translated by Peter Green. It is an epic poem that relates the story of the Argonauts and the quest for the Golden Fleece. This edition includes a glossary that, at 67 pages, is full of helpful information.

I was only tangentially familiar with the tale of Jason and the Argonauts, and enjoyed reading a thorough version of it. There are a lot of familiar names in the ranks of the Argonauts, including Heracles, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, and Peleus. Medea ends up being one of the most significant and interesting characters in the story. An infant Achilles even makes a brief appearance watching from the shore as his father sails away in the Argo.

One fun part for me of reading this was when Hylas, Heracles’ squire, encounters Naiads while out getting water for the crew. Many years ago, I bought a book about the paintings of John William Waterhouse, and it included his painting Hylas and the Nymphs. It was satisfying to read the passage describing the scene of the painting some twenty or more years after first seeing it. Hylas’ posture in the painting is even as described in the poem.

The writing, as one might suppose, is often epic and beautiful. Style, settings, and plot are frequently intentionally reminiscent of Homer. It is an exciting story, with much adventure encountered, including a dire trial in the Libyan desert, as the crew makes its way to Colchis and attempts the voyage home.

So spoke Aietes, and on that same day the Kolchians

launched their ships from the slipways and loaded the tackle aboard

and that same day put to sea: nor would you credit

that such a force was a fleet; no, rather it seemed an endless

cloud of birds, flight after flight, came screaming over the deep.