[16]
Aeson, son of Cretheus, had a son Jason by Polymede, daughter of Autolycus. Now Jason
dwelt in Iolcus, of which Pelias was king after Cretheus.1 But when Pelias consulted the oracle
concerning the kingdom, the god warned him to beware of the man with a single sandal. At
first the king understood not the oracle, but afterwards he apprehended it. For when he
was offering a sacrifice at the sea to Poseidon, he sent for Jason, among many others, to
participate in it. Now Jason loved husbandry and therefore abode in the country, but he
hastened to the sacrifice, and in crossing the river Anaurus he lost a sandal in the
stream and landed with only one. When Pelias saw him, he bethought him of the oracle, and
going up to Jason asked him what, supposing he had the power, he would do if he had
received an oracle that he should be murdered by one of the citizens. Jason answered,
whether at haphazard or instigated by the angry Hera in order that Medea should prove a
curse to Pelias, who did not honor Hera, “ I would command him,” said
he, “ to bring the Golden Fleece. ” No sooner did Pelias hear that
than he bade him go in quest of the fleece. Now it was at Colchis in a grove of Ares, hanging on an oak and guarded by a sleepless
dragon.2
Sent to fetch the fleece, Jason called in the help of Argus, son of Phrixus; and Argus,
by Athena's advice, built a ship of fifty oars named
Argo after its builder; and at the prow Athena fitted in a
speaking timber from the oak of Dodona.3 When the ship was
built, and he inquired of the oracle, the god gave him leave to assemble the nobles of
Greece and sail away. And those who assembled
were as follows:4 Tiphys, son of Hagnias, who
steered the ship; Orpheus, son of Oeagrus; Zetes and
Calais, sons of Boreas; Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus; Telamon and Peleus,
sons of Aeacus; Hercules, son of Zeus; Theseus, son of Aegeus; Idas and Lynceus, sons of
Aphareus; Amphiaraus, son of Oicles; Caeneus, son of Coronus; Palaemon, son of Hephaestus
or of Aetolus; Cepheus, son of Aleus; Laertes
son of Arcisius; Autolycus, son of Hermes; Atalanta, daughter of Schoeneus; Menoetius, son
of Actor; Actor, son of Hippasus; Admetus, son of Pheres; Acastus, son of Pelias; Eurytus,
son of Hermes; Meleager, son of Oeneus; Ancaeus, son of Lycurgus; Euphemus, son of
Poseidon; Poeas, son of Thaumacus; Butes, son of Teleon; Phanus and Staphylus, sons of
Dionysus; Erginus, son of Poseidon; Periclymenus, son of Neleus; Augeas, son of the Sun;
Iphiclus, son of Thestius; Argus, son of Phrixus; Euryalus, son of Mecisteus; Peneleos,
son of Hippalmus; Leitus, son of Alector; Iphitus, son of Naubolus; Ascalaphus
and Ialmenus, sons of Ares; Asterius, son of Cometes; Polyphemus, son of Elatus.
1 For the story of Pelias and Jason, see Pind. P. 4.73(129)ff., with the Scholia; Ap. Rhod., Argon. i.5ff.; Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron i.175; Hyginus, Fab. 12, 13; Serv. Verg. Ecl. 4.34; Lactantius Placidus on Statius, Theb. iii.516. The present passage of Apollodorus is copied almost literally, but as usual without acknowledgment, by Zenobius, Cent. iv.92. It was the regular custom of Aetolian warriors to go with the left foot shod and the right foot unshod. See Macrobius, Sat. v.18- 21, quoting Euripides and Aristotle; Scholiast on Pind. P. 4.133. So the two hundred men who broke through the Spartan lines at the siege of Plataea were shod on the left foot only （Thuc. 3.22）. Virgil represents some of the rustic militia of Latium marching to war with their right feet shod and their left feet bare （Verg. A. 7.689ff.）. As to the custom, see Taboo and the Perils of the Soul, pp. 311ff.
2 See Ap. Rhod., Argon. ii.1268-1270, iv.123ff. 163.
3 Compare Ap. Rhod., Argon. i.524ff., iv.580ff.; Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 175. The following narrative of the voyage of the Argo is based mainly on the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius. As to the voyage of the Argonauts, see further Pind. P. 4.156(276)ff.; Diod. 4.40-49; Orphica, Argonautica; Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 175; Hyginus, Fab. 12, 14-23; Ov. Met. 7.1ff.; Valerius Flaccus, Argon.
4 For lists of the Argonauts, see Pind. P. 4.171ff.; Ap. Rhod., Argon. i.20ff.; Orphica, Argonautica 119ff.; Valerius Flaccus, Argon. i.352ff.; Hyginus, Fab. 14.
Apollodorus. Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Includes Frazer's notes.
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