Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Argonautica
Ancient Greek with an independent metrical English translation
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
Ancient Greek Page · Branch 221 of 245
Book IV · Lines 1203–1226
Ancient Greek
p. 452The Argonautica: Book IV
p. 453he kept his judgment fixed and firm; no fear could shake him,
nor did Aeetes' heavy wrath draw near his heart,
but he held the Colchians yoked fast in unbreakable oaths.
Thus, when the Colchians learned that all resistance failed
and Alcinous gave command: uphold his royal judgments,
or keep their ships far away from his harbors and land,
then, trembling at the rebukes of their own distant king,
they begged the king to grant them friendly welcome as companions;
there on the island they lived for a long time with the Phaeacians,
until the Bacchiadae, proud, noble, ancient Ephyraean people,
settled there much later; Colchians crossed to an island
opposite; fate led them thence toward Ceraunian hills
the Abantes' heights; next, Nestaean lands and Oricum.
but these events occurred in the ceaseless march of time.
Yearly rites for Fates and Nymphs still are received
there beside the holy shrine of pastoral Apollo,
on altars wise Medea founded. Gifts past counting
Alcinous freely gave as guest-gifts to the departing Minyans,
and Arete gave many, then twelve maids to follow
Medea--Phaeacian servants drawn out of the palace.
On the seventh day they left Drepane; a fair wind came
strong-blowing at dawn from Zeus; urged by the west wind,
they hastened onward; still, constraining fate forbade
the heroes' feet from reaching Achaean land together,
Socrates
Reading The Argonautica · Book IV · Lines 1203–1226
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
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