Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Argonautica
Ancient Greek with an independent metrical English translation
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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 186 of 245
Book IV · Lines 361–384
Ancient Greek
p. 382The Argonautica: Book IV
p. 383my country, the glory of my halls, and my very parents
I left behind, though dearest; now, far off from home,
alone I drift the wide sea with mournful kingfishers
all for the trials you faced, to keep you safe among oxen
and earthborn men, fulfill all the trials appointed.
Last came the Fleece: once the whole deed had become known,
you took it through my folly; on all women I poured
a deadly shame. So as your maiden, wife, and sister
I say I follow Jason onward into Hellas' country.
Now stand beside me willingly, wherever danger comes,
never leave me alone, far from you, visiting kings.
Simply protect me; let justice stand fixed and firm,
and sacred custom, firmly sworn by both--or else you
must split my throat at once with one sharp, whetted sword-blade,
so I may bear the full fitting reward my madness merits.
Wretched me: this king may judge a sister bound to her brother,
the king you jointly trust to guard the grievous compact.
How shall I come once more before my father's eyes,
with glorious fame indeed? What punishment--or what heavy
ruin shall I not wretchedly endure for such dread deeds?
Yet you would win the welcome homecoming your heart desires?
May the all-ruling queen, the wife of Zeus, never fulfill it,
she in whom you glory. One day, remember me
when bitter ordeals rack you; may the Fleece, a mere dream,
Socrates
Reading The Argonautica · Book IV · Lines 361–384
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Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Apollonius’s Argonautica follows Jason and the Argonauts from their gathering at Pagasae through the voyage to Colchis and the difficult return home. This exact line-for-line edition pairs the Ancient Greek poem with an independent metrical English translation prepared by Diotimos Editions, preserving one English verse for every Greek reading line across all four books.
Historical Text and Translation
The Greek reading text follows the Perseus transcription derived from George W. Mooney’s 1912 edition, pinned to a stable canonical-greekLit commit. Mooney and LSJ provide the principal controls for Books I–III; Peter Hulse’s Dickinson commentary directly supports Book IV. Deleted records and canonical numbering gaps remain documented rather than being silently repaired. The supplied release identifies itself as a complete source-audited working edition and recommends independent classicist review before print publication.
About Diotimos Editions
Diotimos Editions prepared this independent translation directly from the Greek. Its six-beat English house form preserves the poem’s source order, imagery, learned names, narrative delays, shifts of register, and line-by-line correspondence while allowing syntax to move across adjacent verses where the Greek requires it.
Rights
Apollonius’s ancient Greek source work is in the public domain. The 2026 English translation and Diotimos editorial matter are original to this edition and remain © 2026 Diotimos. The pinned Perseus Greek transcription is reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- public-domain-base-witnessPinned Perseus Greek transcription — canonical-greekLit
- print-control-and-commentaryGeorge W. Mooney’s 1912 Argonautica — Internet Archive
- book-four-commentaryApollonius Argonautica, Book IV — Dickinson College Commentaries
- lexical-controlLiddell–Scott–Jones Greek-English Lexicon — Scaife ATLAS
- greek-transcription-licenseCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0