3.985
The Argonautica 3.985 · By Hecate, and by Zeus of strangers3.985By Hecate, and by Zeus of strangers
Lines 985–989. He makes himself her suppliant, by Hecate and by Zeus of strangers.
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σʼ1
s’
You
μειλίσσομαι2
meilíssomai
I entreatI soothe
πρός3
prós
byin the name of
αὐτῆς4
autês
herself
Ἑκάτης5
Hekátēs
Hecate
, ἠδὲ6
ēdè
and
τοκήων7
tokḗōn
your parents
καὶ8
kaì
and
Διός9
Diós
Zeus
, ὃς10
hòs
who
ὑπερίσχει11
hyperíschei
holds overholds above
χεῖρʼ12
cheîr’
his hand
ξείνοις13
xeínois
strangers
ἱκέτῃσί14
hikétēisí
suppliants
τε15
te
and
; ἐνθάδʼ16
enthád’
here
ἱκάνω17
hikánō
I come
τοι18
toi
to you
ἀμφότερον19
amphóteron
as both
δʼ20
d’
and
, ἱκέτης21
hikétēs
a suppliant
ξεῖνός22
xeînós
a stranger
τέ23
té
and
, γουνούμενος24
gounoúmenos
clasping your kneesimploring
χρειοῖ25
chreioî
needwant
ἀναγκαίῃ26
anankaíēi
in hardcompelling
. γὰρ27
gàr
For
ἄνευθεν28
áneuthen
without
ὑμείων29
hymeíōn
you all
οὐ30
ou
not
ἔσσομʼ31
éssom’
will I beshall be
ὑπέρτερος32
hypérteros
the victorhigher, superior
στονόεντος33
stonóentos
grievouscausing groans
ἀέθλου34
aéthlou
in the contestof the trial
. I entreat you by Hecate herself, and by your parents and by Zeus, who holds his hand over strangers and suppliants; I come here to you as both, a suppliant and a stranger, clasping your knees in hard need. For without you all I will not be the victor in the grievous contest.
I entreat you by Hecate herself, and by your parents and by Zeus, who holds his hand over strangers and suppliants; I come here to you as both, a suppliant and a stranger, clasping your knees in hard need. For without you all I will not be the victor in the grievous contest.
Interpretation
I entreat you by Hecate herself, by your parents, and by Zeus, who holds his hand over strangers and suppliants. I come here to you as both, a suppliant and a stranger, clasping your knees in hard need; for without you all I will not win through the grievous contest.
Jason supplicates her by the three powers a Colchian girl would honor: Hecate, whose priestess she is; her parents; and Zeus, who protects strangers and suppliants. He claims both titles for himself. LSJ quotes this line for ὑπερίσχω, "hold above": Zeus holds his hand over them.
Mooney notes the order πρός σ᾽ αὐτῆς, "by Hecate herself, I beg you," with the pronoun set straight after the preposition, as in other pleas (Euripides, Alcestis 275, "do not, by the gods"). ὑμείων, "you" plural, he takes as Medea and the gods together.
3.990
The Argonautica 3.990 · Fame in Greece3.990Fame in Greece
Lines 990–996. He tells her what he can give her in return, which is fame in Greece.
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And afterward I would repay you with thanks for your help, as is right and fitting for those who live far apart, by making you a name and a fair fame. And so too the other heroes will make you famous when they come home to Greece, and the heroes' wives and mothers, who by now, perhaps, sit on the shores mourning us. You could scatter their bitter griefs.