Chapter 19 Tales of the Argonauts-19

They passed many more coasts and islands, and now the coast of their native Peloponnese was faintly visible.Suddenly, the ship was attacked by a violent north wind and drifted at sea for nine days and nine nights, drifted across the Libyan Sea, and finally came to the Gulf of Sirtis in Africa.Here is dense eelgrass, floating with a thick layer of foam, like a calm swamp.All around was a stretch of sandy beach, on which neither beast nor bird lived.The Argonaut was washed up on the beach by the tide, and the hull was firmly aground on the sand.They were taken aback and jumped out of the boat one after another.In front of him was the boundless mud, as empty and desolate as the sky.

No springs, no roads, no pastures, just deathly silence. "Alas, alas, what is this place? Where has the wind and wave sent us?" Complained the companions. "We would rather be smashed in the pumice, or die in a heroic cause!" "Yes!" said the helmsman Ankeos. "The tide has stranded us here, and will not pick us up. Now, all hope of sailing on or getting home as soon as possible is lost." They were helpless as if they encountered infected people in a city where the plague was prevalent, so they had to watch the disease raging and wait for the arrival of death.At night, they lay hungry and clothed on the sand, silently waiting to die.The girls that King Alcinous gave to Medea as a gift also surrounded the mistress in horror, sighing again and again.How tragically these people would have died had it not been for the mercy of the three demigods, the protectors of Libya!

The three fairies, all dressed in goatskin, came to Jason's side in the hot noon and gently lifted the cloak that covered his head.Jason jumped up in horror, watching them devoutly and respectfully. "Unfortunate people," they said, "we know your sufferings. But you need not worry any more. When the sea goddess drives Poseidon's chariot, thank your mother who has conceived you for a long time. From now on, you can Back to Greece without a hitch." The nymphs suddenly disappeared, and Jason told his companions the dark and exciting oracle.Just as they were thinking hard, another miraculous sign appeared: a huge seahorse jumped ashore from the sea, with golden mane scattered on the horse's back, shaking off the water droplets on its body and galloping away.Peleus exclaimed joyfully: "Half the riddle of the oracle has been explained. The sea-goddess has unloaded her chariot, which is the horse's. The mother who has conceived us for a long time is Al. The boat. For that we should thank her. Let us carry the boat on our shoulders and walk across this mud, following the track of the seahorse on the ground, and it will surely lead us to the mooring."

Say it and do it.The heroes really picked up the big boat and walked in the mud for twelve days.There are deserted sandy beaches everywhere, and if God had not given them confidence and strength, they might have died as early as the first day.At last they came to the bay of Teritone, and wearily the boats were lowered from their shoulders.Due to their unbearable thirst, they searched everywhere for water.The singer Orpheus met the four daughters of the night god Hesperus on his way to find water. They are all fairies who are good at singing and live in the holy garden where the dragon Radon guards the golden apples.Orpheus begged them to show the thirsty people where there were springs.They suddenly feel sympathy.Egle, the kindest of them all, told her a strange thing.

"Yesterday, a brave robber appeared here," she said. "He slew the dragon and took the golden apples. He will help you. He is a very barbaric man. He has an angry expression on his face, eyes Shiny, with a rough lion skin on his body, holding an olive stick and a bow and arrow to kill a dragon in his hand. He also came out of the desert, and because he was thirsty and could not find water anywhere, he pointed his foot at a rock. The wall kicked. Strange to say, the rock wall seemed to be possessed by a demon, and cool spring water flowed out of the cracks. The giant fell on the ground, holding the water with both hands to drink, and lay down on the ground to rest after drinking. "

Egle said and pointed out Iwaizumi to him.The heroes all rushed to hear the sound.The cool mountain spring saved their dry lives, and everyone became very happy again. "Really," said a hero, moistening his hot lips with spring water, "that man is Hercules, who saved us all, and we may find him again!" And they parted to look for .When they came back dejectedly, they all said they hadn't seen him, only Lyncus the Sharp-Eyed said that he had seen him once.But he was far away, and it was impossible to chase him back. Unfortunately, another accident happened to them, and they lost two companions, and everyone was very sad.Later, they embarked on a voyage again.They sailed out of the bay of Theritoni, and entered the endless sea, and the wind blew up on the sea, and the ship was blocked and held in the harbor.Following the advice of the singer Orpheus, they went ashore to sacrifice the largest tripod on the ship to the local gods.On their way back, they met the god of the sea, Tritons.Dressed up as a boy, he picked up a piece of soil from the ground and handed it to the Argonaut Oyuphomos as a token of his friendship as a landlord.Aoyuformos took the clod and hid it in his chest.

"My father gave me this area of ​​the sea," said the sea god, "and I became the patron saint of the place. You see, where the black water rises there is a narrow passage from the bay to the sea. Row there, I will give you another favorable wind, and you will soon reach the Peloponnese." They boarded the boat full of joy.Teritony lifted the tripod and disappeared into the waves. After sailing for a few days, the Argonauts arrived safely in the island of Carbatus.From here they want to turn to Crete. But the island's guardian is the fearsome giant Talos, a remnant of Bronze Age humans.Zeus let him guard Europa and told him to walk around the island three times a day with his copper legs.Talos' body was made of bronze, so he could not be injured, except for the ankle, which was flesh, with tendons and blood vessels.Anyone who knows this and hits it can kill him.Because he is mortal after all, not immortal.The Argonauts sailed towards the island.Talos was standing on a rock by the sea, and when he saw the stranger coming, he grabbed a stone and threw it at the boat.The heroes were taken aback, and hurriedly swung their oars to escape.In order to escape danger, despite their unbearable thirst, they were ready to give up the landing plan.Then Medea stood up and said, "Listen, men: I know how to subdue this monster. Put the boat close to where the stones cannot be thrown." Then she took up her purple and gold robe, On the deck, Jason followed her.Medea chanted a spell in a low voice, and summoned the goddess of fate three times, and the hounds of hell chasing life everywhere.She used magic again to make Talos close his eyelids.Nightmares invaded his soul. In the dream, he raised his fleshy feet and stepped on sharp stones, bleeding profusely from the wound.He woke up from the pain and struggled to stand up, but he swayed like a pine tree that was blown down by a strong wind after being cut in half, and suddenly roared and fell into the sea.

The Argonauts landed safely, and they rested comfortably on the island until the next morning.However, when they had just left Crete, they encountered new and terrible dangers.The sky suddenly became pitch black, without a moon or stars.The darkness seemed to rise from hell and connect to the sky.They did not know whether they were now at sea, or whether they were riding the waves to Tartarus.Jason raised his hands and begged Apollo, the sun god, to save them from the terrible darkness. The sun god heard his prayer, descended from the holy mountain of Olympus, jumped onto a rock in the sea, held a golden bow, and shot a shiny silver arrow.In the flash, they saw a small island ahead.There they dropped anchor and waited for daybreak.When they were sailing on the sea in the bright sunshine again, Oyuphomos told about the strange dream he had at night: the clod of earth that Tritonus gave him seemed to be full of milk in his chest, and it had life and grew up. A lovely maiden, she said to him: "I am the daughter of Tritons and Lybia. Give me to the daughter of Nereus, the sea god, and let me live on the sea near Anaphrase. Then I will renew Live in the sunshine and support your children and grandchildren." Because the island they anchored just now was called Anafer, Jason immediately understood the meaning of the dream.He persuaded his friends and threw the mud in his arms into the sea.Oyuformos did as he was told.Ah, behold!Before the eyes of the heroes, a lush island grew out of the sea.They called it Calliste, which means the most beautiful island.Later, Aoyuphomos lived on the island with his descendants.

This was the last adventure of the Argonauts.Soon they reached the Isle of Echina, and from there safely entered the Gulf of Aiolkas.Jason put the Argo ship on the Strait of Corinth as a sacrifice to Poseidon, the god of the sea.After a long period of time, after the big ship was broken into ashes, the gods placed it in the sky, and it shone in the southern sky, becoming a shining star.