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.
· · ·
δʼ1
d’
And
μετόπισθεν2
metópisthen
afterwardhereafter
σοὶ3
soì
you
ἂν4
àn
—
ἐγὼ5
egṑ
I
τίσαιμι6
tísaimi
would repaywould pay
χάριν7
chárin
with thanksfavor
ἀρωγῆς8
arōgês
for your helpaid
, ἣ9
hḕ
aswhich
θέμις10
thémis
is right
ὡς11
hōs
as
ἐπέοικε12
epéoike
befitsis fitting
διάνδιχα13
diándicha
far apartin two ways
ναιετάοντας14
naietáontas
those who livedwelling
, τεύχων15
teúchōn
making you
οὔνομα16
oúnoma
a name
καὶ17
kaì
and
καλὸν18
kalòn
a fairnoble
κλέος19
kléos
fameglory
. ὧς20
hôs
So
δὲ21
dè
and
καὶ22
kaì
tooalso
ὧλλοι23
hôlloi
the otherthe others
ἥρωες24
hḗrōes
heroes
κλῄσουσιν25
klḗisousin
will make you famouswill celebrate
νοστήσαντες26
nostḗsantes
when they come homehaving returned
ἐς27
es
to
Ἑλλάδα28
Helláda
GreeceHellas
, ἡρώων29
hērṓōn
the heroes'of the heroes
τʼ30
t’
and
ἄλοχοι31
álochoi
wives
καὶ32
kaì
and
μητέρες33
mētéres
mothers
, αἵ34
haí
who
νύ35
ný
—now
που36
pou
perhapssomewhere
ἤδη37
ḗdē
by nowalready
, ἐφεζόμεναι38
ephezómenai
sitsitting upon
ἠιόνεσσιν39
ēiónessin
on the shoresbeaches
γοάουσιν40
goáousin
mourninglament
ἡμέας41
hēméas
us
. κεν42
ken
—
ἀποσκεδάσειας43
aposkedáseias
You could scattercould disperse
τάων44
táōn
theirof them
ἀργαλέας45
argaléas
bittergrievous
ἀνίας46
anías
griefssorrows
. 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.
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.
Interpretation
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. So too the other heroes will make you famous when they come home to Greece, and so will the heroes' wives and mothers, who by now, perhaps, sit on the shores mourning us. You could scatter their bitter griefs.
Jason offers what he has, which is fame. Mooney points back to the same kind of offer made to Aeetes earlier in the book (3.391), and glosses διάνδιχα as "in widely parted lands": once he sails, he can repay her only with her name, carried home to Greece.
Then he brings in the women on the Greek shore, wives and mothers sitting by the sea, mourning men who may already be dead. ἀποσκεδάσειας, "you could scatter," echoes Homer's phrase for scattering grief from the heart (Odyssey 8.149, cited by Mooney).
3.997
The Argonautica 3.997 · Ariadne3.997Ariadne
Lines 997–1004. Jason holds up an example from the old stories.
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Once, too, the maiden Ariadne, daughter of Minos, kindly freed Theseus from cruel trials, she whom Pasiphae bore, the daughter of the Sun. And when Minos had laid his anger to rest, she even boarded his ship and left her country with him; and the immortals themselves loved her, and in the middle of the sky her sign, a starry crown which they call Ariadne's, wheels all night among the heavenly figures.