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Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition

Apollonius of Rhodes

The Argonautica

Ancient Greek with an independent metrical English translation

The ArgonauticaBook I · Lines 49–72

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Book I · Lines 49–72

Ancient Greek

p. 10
Line I.49: οὐδὲ Φεραῖς Ἄδμητος ἐυρρήνεσσιν ἀνάσσωνLine I.50: μίμνεν ὑπὸ σκοπιὴν ὄρεος Χαλκωδονίοιο.Line I.51: οὐδʼ Ἀλόπῃ μίμνον πολυλήιοι ἙρμείαοLine I.52: υἱέες εὖ δεδαῶτε δόλους, Ἔρυτος καὶ Ἐχίων,Line I.53: τοῖσι δʼ ἐπὶ τρίτατος γνωτὸς κίε νισσομένοισινLine I.54: Αἰθαλίδης· καὶ τὸν μὲν ἐπʼ Ἀμφρυσσοῖο ῥοῇσινLine I.55: Μυρμιδόνος κούρη Φθιὰς τέκεν Εὐπολέμεια·Line I.56: τὼ δʼ αὖτʼ ἐκγεγάτην Μενετηίδος Ἀντιανείρης.Line I.57: ἤλυθε δʼ ἀφνειὴν προλιπὼν Γυρτῶνα ΚόρωνοςLine I.58: Καινεΐδης, ἐσθλὸς μέν, ἑοῦ δʼ οὐ πατρὸς ἀμείνων.Line I.59: Καινέα γὰρ ζῶόν περ ἔτι κλείουσιν ἀοιδοὶLine I.60: Κενταύροισιν ὀλέσθαι, ὅτε σφέας οἶος ἀπʼ ἄλλωνLine I.61: ἤλασʼ ἀριστήων· οἱ δʼ ἔμπαλιν ὁρμηθέντεςLine I.62: οὔτε μιν ἐγκλῖναι προτέρω σθένον, οὔτε δαΐξαι·Line I.63: ἀλλʼ ἄρρηκτος ἄκαμπτος ἐδύσετο νειόθι γαίης,Line I.64: θεινόμενος στιβαρῇσι καταΐγδην ἐλάτῃσιν.Line I.65: ἤλυθε δʼ αὖ Μόψος Τιταρήσιος, ὃν περὶ πάντωνLine I.66: Λητοΐδης ἐδίδαξε θεοπροπίας οἰωνῶν·Line I.67: ἠδὲ καὶ Εὐρυδάμας Κτιμένου πάις· ἄγχι δὲ λίμνηςLine I.68: Ξυνιάδος Κτιμένην Δολοπηίδα ναιετάασκεν.Line I.69: καὶ μὴν Ἄκτωρ υἷα Μενοίτιον ἐξ ὈπόεντοςLine I.70: ὦρσεν, ἀριστήεσσι σὺν ἀνδράσιν ὄφρα νέοιτο.Line I.71: εἵπετο δʼ Εὐρυτίων τε καὶ ἀλκήεις Ἐρυβώτης,Line I.72: υἷες ὁ μὲν Τελέοντος, ὁ δʼ Ἴρου Ἀκτορίδαο·
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The Argonautica: Book I

p. 11

Nor did Admetus, ruling Pherae rich in sheep,

remain beneath the lookout-height of Chalcodon's mountain.

Nor did the sons of Hermes, rich in cropland, stay in Alope,

both well versed in cunning, Erytus and Echion.

After those two, their own kinsman came as third.

Aethalides; there, by Amphrysus' broad river currents,

Myrmidon's daughter, Phthian Eupolemeia, gave him birth.

the other two were born of Antianeira, Menetes' daughter.

And Coronus came, leaving wealthy Gyrton behind him,

Caeneus' son; a noble man, yet no better than his father.

For singers proclaim that Caeneus, even while still alive,

fell to the Centaurs when alone he drove them far from the other

heroes. Then wheeling about, the Centaurs charged him anew,

they could not force him backward, nor could they hew him in pieces;

unbroken and unbending, he sank down under the earth,

struck by the massive fir trees crashing downward upon him.

Then Titaresian Mopsus came, whom Leto's son

taught unmatched skill in reading signs from birds.

And Eurydamas too, Ctimenus' son, who near the lake

of Xynias there made his dwelling in Dolopian Ctimene.

Actor moreover sent his son Menoetius out from Opus,

to journey with the noblest men and win safe return.

Then Eurytion followed, with battle-strong Erybotes,

Teleon fathered one; Irus, Actor's son, the other;

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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.

Discussion Questions

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.