Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition
The Argonautica
Ancient Greek with an independent metrical English translation
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Facing Pages · Branch 55 of 245
Book I · Lines 1298–1321
Ancient Greek
p. 114The Argonautica: Book I
p. 115Swiftly the ship would have sailed back to Mysian land,
forcing through deep sea and the wind's unceasing roar,
but Zetes and Calais, Thracian Boreas' sons, opposed them,
restraining Aeacus' son with harsh rebuking words;
poor fools; grim vengeance waited for them later
at Heracles' hands, for blocking every search for him.
As they returned again from funeral games for fallen Pelias,
he slew them both on sea-girt Tenos, then heaped earth
round both their bodies; then raised twin pillars overhead;
of these, one is a marvel past all measure to behold,
still moves, stirred by the sounding breath of father Boreas.
Thus fate would bring all these deeds to later fulfillment.
Then Glaucus rose in sight from deep beneath the sea,
Nereus the god's wise interpreter, rich in counsel;
he lifted high his shaggy head and mighty breast,
and from his lower flanks thrust one strong hand forward
to grasp the ship's stern-post, crying to the eager crew:
Why rage, defying mighty Zeus's settled purpose,
to carry onward bold Heracles toward Aeetes' city?
At Argos fate has bound him in reckless Eurystheus' service,
to labor and fulfill all twelve appointed trials,
then share the gods' own hearth, if he completes those few
still unfinished; therefore banish longing for Heracles.
Likewise fate appoints Polyphemus at the mouth of Cius
Socrates
Reading The Argonautica · Book I · Lines 1298–1321
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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