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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 698–721

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Facing Pages · Branch 30 of 245

Book I · Lines 698–721

Ancient Greek

p. 64
Line I.698: μῦθος. ἀτὰρ μετὰ τήνγε παρασχεδὸν αὖτις ἀνῶρτοLine I.699: Ὑψιπύλη, καὶ τοῖον ὑποβλήδην ἔπος ηὔδα·Line I.700: εἰ μὲν δὴ πάσῃσιν ἐφανδάνει ἥδε μενοινή,Line I.701: ἤδη κεν μετὰ νῆα καὶ ἄγγελον ὀτρύναιμι.Line I.702: ἦ ῥα, καὶ Ἰφινόην μετεφώνεεν ἆσσον ἐοῦσαν·Line I.703: ὄρσο μοι, Ἰφινόη, τοῦδʼ ἀνέρος ἀντιόωσα,Line I.704: ἡμέτερόνδε μολεῖν, ὅστις στόλου ἡγεμονεύει,Line I.705: ὄφρα τί οἱ δήμοιο ἔπος θυμῆρες ἐνίσπω·Line I.706: καὶ δʼ αὐτοὺς γαίης τε καὶ ἄστεος, αἴ κʼ ἐθέλωσιν,Line I.707: κέκλεο θαρσαλέως ἐπιβαινέμεν εὐμενέοντας.Line I.708: ἦ, καὶ ἔλυσʼ ἀγορήν, μετὰ δʼ εἰς ἑὸν ὦρτο νέεσθαι.Line I.709: ὧς δὲ καὶ Ἰφινόη Μινύας ἵκεθʼ· οἱ δʼ ἐρέεινον,Line I.710: χρεῖος ὅ τι φρονέουσα μετήλυθεν. ὦκα δὲ τούσγεLine I.711: πασσυδίῃ μύθοισι προσέννεπεν ἐξερέοντας·Line I.712: κούρη τοί μʼ ἐφέηκε Θοαντιὰς ἐνθάδʼ ἰοῦσαν,Line I.713: Ὑψιπύλη, καλέειν νηὸς πρόμον, ὅστις ὄρωρεν,Line I.714: ὄφρα τί οἱ δήμοιο ἔπος θυμῆρες ἐνίσπῃ·Line I.715: καὶ δʼ αὐτοὺς γαίης τε καὶ ἄστεος, αἴ κʼ ἐθέλητε,Line I.716: κέκλεται αὐτίκα νῦν ἐπιβαινέμεν εὐμενέοντας.Line I.717: ὧς ἄρʼ ἔφη· πάντεσσι δʼ ἐναίσιμος ἥνδανε μῦθος.Line I.718: Ὑψιπύλην δʼ εἴσαντο καταφθιμένοιο ΘόαντοςLine I.719: τηλυγέτην γεγαυῖαν ἀνασσέμεν· ὦκα δὲ τόνγεLine I.720: πέμπον ἴμεν, καὶ δʼ αὐτοὶ ἐπεντύνοντο νέεσθαι.Line I.721: αὐτὰρ ὅγʼ ἀμφʼ ὤμοισι θεᾶς Τριτωνίδος ἔργον,
64

The Argonautica: Book I

p. 65

Her speech pleased all; close after her Hypsipyle rose

again, and swiftly in answer addressed them with words like these:

If this intention pleases every gathered woman,

I shall dispatch one swift messenger now to the ship.

She spoke, and called Iphinoe, who stood close by:

Go now, Iphinoe, and ask that man to come here,

whoever leads their company, into our own land,

so I may tell their captain one message pleasing the people;

and bid the men themselves, if willing hearts should move them,

enter our land and city boldly, bearing goodwill.

She spoke, dismissed the assembly, and rose to go home.

Iphinoe reached the Minyae; every hero asked

what need or purpose brought the maiden there; at once

she answered all the questioning heroes with these words:

Hypsipyle, Thoas' young daughter, sent me here

here to summon whichever man commands your ship,

so she may tell their captain one message pleasing the people;

and she invites all men, if willing hearts should move them,

to enter land and city now with friendly hearts.

So she spoke; and all were pleased with the word of good omen.

They thought that, Thoas having died, Hypsipyle now

was reigning, his own cherished child; and swiftly they sent

Jason ahead, while all the heroes readied themselves to follow.

But round his shoulders he fastened the Tritonian goddess' handiwork,

65

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.