3.247
The Argonautica 3.247 · Medea comes into the story3.247Medea comes into the story
Book 3, lines 247–249. The Argonauts have reached the palace of Aeetes, king of Colchis.
· · ·
τοὺς1
toùs
The other roomsthose
δʼ2
d’
and
ἔχον3
échon
were home toheld
ἀμφίπολοί4
amphípoloí
the handmaidsattendants
τε5
te
—
καὶ6
kaì
and
ἄμφω7
ámphō
twoboth
θύγατρες8
thýgatres
the daughters
Αἰήταο9
Aiḗtao
of Aeetes
, Χαλκιόπη10
Chalkiópē
Chalciope
Μήδειά11
Mḗdeiá
Medea
τε12
te
and
. οἵγε13
hoíge
They
came upon
τὴν14
tḕn
her
μὲν15
mèn
—
ἄρʼ16
ár’
then
μετιοῦσαν17
metioûsan
going aftergoing to seek
ἐκ18
ek
from
θαλάμου19
thalámou
roomchamber
θάλαμόνδε20
thálamónde
to roomto a chamber
κασιγνήτην21
kasignḗtēn
her sister
And the other rooms were home to the handmaids and to the two daughters of Aeetes, Chalciope and Medea. And they came upon her going from room to room after her sister…
And the other rooms were home to the handmaids and to the two daughters of Aeetes, Chalciope and Medea. And they came upon her going from room to room after her sister…
Interpretation
The other rooms were home to the handmaids and to Aeetes' two daughters, Chalciope and Medea. They came upon Medea going from room to room in search of her sister…
Medea enters the poem in passing, named second after her older sister Chalciope, on her way from one room to another. A few lines later Eros will shoot her, and the rest of Book 3 follows her mind more closely than any earlier Greek epic follows a young woman's.
The sentence breaks off with a dash: Apollonius stops to explain why she was at home at all.
3.250
The Argonautica 3.250 · Hecate's priestess3.250Hecate's priestess
Book 3, lines 250–252. Why the Argonauts find Medea at home that day.
· · ·
For Hera was keeping her at home; before this she hardly ever came into the halls, but all day long she tended Hecate's temple, since she herself, you see, was the goddess's priestess.