Apollonius' Jason: Human Being in an Epic Scenario

Author(s): Steven Jackson

Source: Greece & Rome, Second Series, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Oct., 1992), pp. 155-162
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/643264 .
Accessed: 23/02/2015 16:31
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Cambridge University Press and The Classical Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve
and extend access to Greece &Rome.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Greece& Rome,Vol.xxxix,No. 2, October

1992

APOLLONIUS' JASON: HUMAN BEING IN AN

EPIC SCENARIO*
By

STEVEN JACKSON

Apollonius'Jason has been variously describedby scholars as a 'weak and

insignificant hero',1 a 'tame and insipid' character compared with that of
Medea,2 'discreet, proper, quite weak, and somewhat colourless',3'never
quite equal to the emergency, and can never rise above his immediate
troubles',4'cold and selfish',' 'uninterestingwhen he is not repellent',6an
anti-hero,7and a love-hero.8But, with the exception of R. Hunter's view' of
Jason as a human being forced by necessity to carry out tasks which no
Homeric hero was ever called upon to do, most scholars have erred in
comparing the Hellenistic hero Jason with the archetypal hero of epic
tradition.
As a Hellenistic hero Jason is, in fact, not a hero of non-human
proportions at all, but a man, with all man's qualities and faults. He not
only meets physical dangers;he must face moral dilemmastoo. Apollonius'
Argonautica is a work of Hellenistic sensibility composed within the
traditional framework of epic convention, motif, and idiom. The poem is
concerned with man's inter-relationshipwith both his fellow-man and with
the gods. Regarding man's attitude to the gods, the poet advocates themis
(respect for divine law), avoidance of hubris (insolence to the gods), and
speaks of the futility of man's actions without divine blessing and help.
These tenets are reflected throughoutthe poem in the poet's descriptionof
Jason's character and its role in the tale. Jason makes full use of heaven's
assistance, especially in the shapes of Hera, Aphrodite,and Athena;he has,
it seems, learned well the lessons gleaned from the fate of Phineus (2.178499) and from the death of Idmon (2.815 ff.). But, in truly human fashion,
he also is prepared to seek help from less exalted regions in the form of
Hecate. Like most men, too, Jason has his purpureuspannus, in his case the
so called aristeia (bravery)of Book 3, but this is accomplishedsuccessfully
only with the help of heaven workingthrough Medea.Jason certainlyis not
afraid to be seen using female advice and help."'
Lack of decision has always been scholars'main criticism of Jason, with
much scholastic emphasis on the epithet amechanos (helpless), which
Apollonius uses passim." But this is part of most scholars' a priori error in

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

156

APOLLONIUS' JASON

thinking of Jason as an archetypalepic hero. If we consider the epithet as

applying to a man rather than to a hero, a man who by his own kind's
nature has thoughts and doubts, a man who realizes he is not selfsufficient, a man who has qualities and faults, then, we soon realize that
Apollonius' descriptionof Jason as amechanosdoes not detract from Jason
the man any more than Homer's descriptionof Achillesweeping in his tent
detracts from Achilles the hero. The epithet amechanos is not only an
Apollonian variation of the Homeric polymetis (very cunning) used of
Odysseus but is also redolent of Apollonian irony when one remembers
Odysseus weeping beside the sea, giving up all hope of returning home,
winning his final victory over his enemies only with the aid of Athena, and
this despite Odysseus' constant disbelief in repeated heavenly assurances
that all would be well. At least Apollonius'Jason only once flies in the face
of heaven, namely in his murder of Apsyrtus (4.395 ff.). Both before and
after this episode Jason fully respects the power of heaven. Unlike
Odysseus, too, Jason never shows a callous indifferenceto the violent death
or loss of any of his men. When Heracles, Polyphemus, and Hylas are left
behind in Mysia (1.1207 ff.),Jason is emotionally crushedby this disaster,12
so much so that he almost loses control to Telamon, but is rescued by
heaven in the guise of the sea-god Nereus' spokesman Glaucus who
proclaims it is fated that these three should be abandonedhere.13 At this
point more than at any other in the entire poemJason is indecisive,yet it is
the traditionalepic hero Telamon who comes badly out of the episode. He
has been made to look hot-headed and fatuous. He immediatelyapologises
to Jason who, despite this insult, gracefully accepts his apology saying that
he would not nurse a grudge and that Telamon's outburstwas understandable.After all,Jason continues, Telamon was not rantingand raving over a
flock of sheep or some sort of worldly goods but over human lives. Surely
we see here an oblique allusion by Apollonius to the fate of Telamon's son
Aias.14 The point is that the crude Telamon has been discreditedby Apollonius and the genteel Jason is indisputablyin charge.Apollonius,cleverly,
has turned the situation on its head.FinallyJason says that he would like to
think that if ever the occasion arose Telamon would speak up for him in
the same way as he had for Heracles. Yet, ironically,Jason must have just
finished thinking that he did not have time to send out search parties, for,
after all, had he himself not received the harshestof rebukesby Heracles at
Lemnos for delaying the quest?
And it is no good praying for a miracle.Fleeces do not come of their own accord.
(1.870-1)

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

APOLLONIUS'JASON

157

One by one the archetypal heroes who appear in Apollonius' poem are
discredited.Telamon once again suffers (3.382ff.) when, about to fly into a
rage with Aeetes who has insulted the Argonauts, he is checked by Jason,
who proceeds to give a more politic reply to the king. Idas, the archetypal
miles gloriosus (braggart soldier), learns nothing from Idmon's death and
his actions are quite clearly futile in the circumstances surrounding it
(2.815 ff.). Idas' answer to every situation is one of aggression, and the
proposal to enlist female support to acquire the fleece is complete
anathema to him (3.555-63). Heracles' brute force and ignorance is of no
avail to him in his search for Hylas (1.1261-72), and Apolloniusmakes the
seriouspoint that great physical strength does not achieve everythingwhen
he portrays Heracles as an almost comical figure breaking his oar in a
choppy sea and falling sideways off the rowing bench (1.1161-71). In
discreditingthe traditonalheroes of epic in this way, Apolloniusis not just
reflecting an Alexandrian literary bent," but he is throwing into relief
Jason's character,thoughts, and potential.Jason may be seen to think and
doubt, but he does make decisions:and, far from being weak and feeble, his
potential to succeed is much greaterthan that of any of the archetypalepic
heroes.
At Colchis, Jason's initial decision fails: namely, to persuade Aeetes by
politic speech to give up the fleece which rightly belongs to the Colchian
king (3.171ff.). However, Jason succeeds in avoiding war and in reconnoitring the opposition camp, which were two of his originalintentions.But
Aeetes decides to test the leader of the Argonauts(3.401 ff.) by getting him
to yoke the fire-breathingbulls, sow the dragon'steeth, and kill the crop of
earth-bornmen. WhenJason first hears this declarationof the king's:
he listened to this with his eyes fixed on the floor; and when the king had finished, he sat
there just as he was, without a word, resourcelessin the face of his dilemma.For a long time
he turned the matter over in his mind, unable boldly to accept a task so clearly fraughtwith
peril.
(3.422-5)

These are not the actions and thoughts of a traditionalepic hero, certainly,
but they are not the reactions of a coward either.They are the normal and
sensible reactions of a brave man faced with a dangeroussituation.16Jason
replies not with the traditionallybombasticwords of the epic hero but with
the reasoned logic of the thinking man:
Your Majesty, right is on your side and you leave me no escape whatever.Therefore I will
take up your challenge, in spite of its preposterous terms, and though I may be courting
death. Men serve no harsher mistress than Necessity, who drives me now and forced me to
come here at another king's behest.
(3.427-31)

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

158

APOLLONIUS' JASON

Necessity, then, forced Jason to carry out this task, just as it compelled
him to set out on the voyage in the first place. But once having made his
decisionJason is determinedto see things through.
It is most important to rememberthat Apolloniusthroughout his poem
wishes to lay the stress on Jason's character, actions, and thoughts in any
given situation.Even during the events at Colchis leading eventuallyto the
murder of Apsyrtus Apollonius places more emphasis on Jason's thoughts
and decisions than he does on the very importantcharacterof Medea. It is
Medea who is affected by schetliosEros (cruel Love - 4.445);Jason never
loves Medea but simply uses her love for him to his own advantage.He did
not wish to take her with him from Colchis, and he certainly never wanted
to marry her.
However, to engage Medea's help he is quite willing to use the formidable attraction which he discovered in Lemnos he holds for the opposite
sex. Jason is always the pragmatist;for him the one true god is Anagke
(Necessity). He tries at first to gain Medea's aid by promising always to
remember her (3.1080) but, when this fails, he says he will take her with
him and they will marry once they reach his home (3.1128). Nevertheless,
he is prepared to take a formal oath on this only when he realizes that,
without it, he will not carry off the golden fleece (4.95-98). Necessity, then,
forces Jason to undertakethe tasks set him by Aeetes, to swear on oath to
marry Medea, and, as we will see, to murder Apsyrtus (4.395 ff.) and to
marry Medea before he intended (4.1161-4).17
When initially trying to persuade her to help him (3.997 ff.), Jason
recounts to Medea the story of Theseus and Ariadne. Here, Apollonius'
predilection for both irony and literary games comes into play. For Jason
omits to tell Medea that Theseus abandonedAriadne on Naxos once her
usefulness to him had ended. That Apollonius knew the desertion story of
Ariadne becomes clear when he later speaks of a robe as the main lure to
entrap Apsyrtus(4.423-34)."1 This robe, the poet explains, still exuded the
perfume it received when Dionysus lay on it with Ariadnewhom Theseus
had carried off from Cnossus and abandoned on the island of Dia. The
Graces had made the robe on Dia for Dionysus who later gave it to his son
Thoas. He left it to his daughter Hypsipyle who gave it to Jason as a
memento of their love-making. Thus Apollonius has cleverly used a
circular structure for this literary game; and as Theseus used Ariadne so
Jason would use Medea. But we must remember that just as Theseus'
action did not affect his status as a hero so Jason's stature remains
unaffected by his attitude to Medea.
Jason, then after due consideration,has decided that necessity compels

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

APOLLONIUS'JASON

159

him to undertake the task of yoking the fire-breathingbulls and of slaying

the earth-born men. He has also decided to accept any help forthcoming
from Medea, who, he knows, is in love with him. Apollonius places the
whole emphasis on Jason and on his decision-making.WhenJason tells the
Argonautsof the task before him (3.492 ff.), Peleus, Telamon, Idas, Castor
and Polydeuces, and Meleager each in turn volunteer to do the deed for
him. Apollonius' point here is once again to decry the attitude of the traditional epic hero; Peleus' own words closely reflect this attitude:
I, for one, am willing. The worst that I shall suffer will be death.
(3.513-4)

Contrast these thoughts with Jason's long consideration before he

answered Aeetes and his decision to undertake the task only because he
was forced to do so. Peleus and the other archetypal heroes, too, would
charge into the fray unaided, but Jason was willing to accept possibly
insidious help, even from a woman.
Once Medea has reached Argo safely after the completion of the task,
and warned the Argonauts to fetch the golden fleece and to flee straight
away (4.66ff.), she forces Jason, in return for her help in acquiring the
fleece, to vow before the gods and his men to fulfil his promises he had
made her. Necessity once again compels Jason to promise her, with the
gods as his witnesses, to marry her as soon as they are home. Apollonius
certainlyportraysa very insecure Medea, and carefully avoids the depressing and rather monstrous picture of her as painted by Euripides.Indeed,
now it is Medea who is amechanos.As Argo sailed for the sacred wood to
fetch the fleece,
It was then that Medea had a wild moment of regret. She started to go back, stretching her
hands out to the shore.
(4.106-7)

But Jason is alert to Medea's vacillation;without her help, all is lost. For a
crucial moment Jason could see survival, through success, slipping away
from him. Necessity urges him to act with alacrity.This he does by using
his best 'weapon', his power over women. He quicklyhalts her desperation
with reassuring words. This is one of the most decisive and poignant
episodes of the entire drama, and, by transferringthe epithet amechanos
fromJason to Medea, Apolloniuscleverly throws into relief the motivation
behind Jason's actions.Jason is determined to get what he needs, and to
survive, no matter what it entails. For the first time in the poem we realize
that Jason will disregard the instructions of Phineus and the lessons of
Idmon's death if necessity demands.

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

160

APOLLONIUS'JASON

As soon as Jason and Medea reach the sacred wood and approach the
guardianof the fleece, Medea comes into her own. She first hypnotizes the
serpent with an enchanting song, and then, with a junipersprig, sprinklesa
sleep-inducingdrug on its eyes, while Jason looks on from behind pephobemenos(terrified - 4.149). Only when Medea gives him the word does
Jason snatch the fleece. Medea remains smearing the serpent's head with
the drug untilJason has to urge her to returnto the ship.He does this for no
altruistic reasons, but he knows he still may need her to make good his
escape. Jason is always the man, never the archetypal epic hero. At one
moment Jason was triumphant after his ordeal with the bulls and earthborn men, and was in complete control over his own, and Medea's
emotions. Medea, conversely, was amechanos.But, on facing the serpent,
Jason is once again amechanosin the sense that he is thoroughly terrified
(pephobemenos),and Medea is in control;he only snatches the fleece on her
instruction: koures keklomenes (on the maiden's call - 4.163). Once,
however, the serpent closes its eyes, Jason again assumes control.
When Apsyrtus in pursuit of the Argonauts eventually blockades them
on the Illyrianbranchof the Ister and succeeds in persuadingthe natives to
support the Colchianfleet, Jason realizes that if the Argonauts,completely
out-numbered,join battle they will be utterly destroyed:
If the Minyae, outnumberedas they were, had fought it out at this point they would have
met with disaster.
(4.338-9)

So,Jason negotiates with Apsyrtusand persuadesthe Colchiancommander

to allow the Argonautsto keep the fleece, which Aeetes had promisedthem
if Jason successfully completed the tasks the king had set him. As for
Medea, they would leave her in the protection of Artemis until one of the
kings entitled to mete out justice should decide whether she should go
home to Colchis or follow Jason to Greece.Jason must have felt satisfied at
these terms, for he had achieved what he wanted - success in the acquisition of the fleece, and survival for himself and his crew. There was a very
good chance, too, of Medea being eventually returned to her father. It
would seem that breakingan oath to a lover does not worryJason,19 but that
his original oath to bring back the fleece was of the utmost importance to
him.20

However, when Medea finds out all of this, she becomes almost hysterical and utters all types of threats. Here Apollonius shows us just a glimpse
of the Euripideancharacterizationof Medea.Jason, of course, has already
benefited from her seemingly superhumanpowers, and he has no wish to
feel them against him and his men. So, his initial plan has failed and he is

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

APOLLONIUS' JASON

161

left with the dilemma of Medea's hostility on the one hand and that of the
Colchians on the other. His second strategy is, as one would expect, not so
satisfactory and much more desperate, but, once again, necessity impels
him. Jason replies to Medea's outburst by telling her that, after all, this
truce he had made with the Colchians was only to buy time to plan a trap
for Apsyrtus;for, with Apsyrtusremoved, the natives would no longer give
their support:
However, this truce will leave us free to plan a pitfall for Apsyrtus;and I cannot think that
the natives would attack us for your sake to oblige the Colchians, if the Colchian commander, who is your brother and protector, were removed.
(4.404-7)

Then, with Medea's help and the aid of presents, including the infamous
robe of Dionysus, Apsyrtusis lured to a secret meeting, andJason murders
him before the temple of Artemis, while Medea turns aside and covers her
eyes with her veil - a reversal by Apollonius of the roles played by his two
main charactersin the serpent-guardianepisode. The strategy works, and
the Argonauts escape.
So, Jason is yet again decisive when it is necessary, and it is he who
proposed the sacrilegious murder, not Medea.2"But, as was indicated
during the episode of the actual acquisition of the fleece (4.106 ff.), Jason
has now transgressedthe advice given to him by Phineus and has ignored
the lessons of Idmon's death. He has proved himself to be a man, with all
man's faults - a human being in an epic scenario. But, as such, Jason is
preparedto go, and is capable of going, much further than any archetypal
epic hero. This portrayal of his protagonist by Apollonius would have
delighted his Hellenistic audience.

NOTES
* MythanksareduetoProfessor
DublinandtoProfessor
Frederick
JohnDillonof Trinity
College
Williams
of the Queen'sUniversity
of Belfastfortheirinterestandusefulcomments
whileI was
thisarticle.
Thetranslations
whichappear
it arebyE.V.Rieu(Penguin,
preparing
throughout
1959).

1. F. A. Wright, A Historyof Later GreekLiterature(London, 1932), p. 100.

2. G. W. Mooney, TheArgonauticaofApollonius Rhodius (Dublin, 1912), p. 37.
3. A. Korte, HellenisticPoetry (New York, 1929), p. 183.
4. M. M. Gillies, TheArgonauticaofApollonius Rhodius:Book 3 (Cambridge,1928), p. 40.
5. J. W. Mackail, Lectureson GreekPoetry (London, 1911), p. 263.
6. C. M. Bowra, Ancient GreekLiterature(London, 1933), p. 221.
7. G. Lawall, 'Apollonius'Argonautica:Jasonas Anti-Hero', YCS 19 (1966), 121-69.
8. C. R. Beye, 'Jasonas Love-hero in Apollonios'Argonautika',GRBS 10 (1969), 31-55. For further
comment on Jason's 'heroism' in Apollonius' poem see F. Vian, Apolloniosde Rhodes-Argonautiques,
vol. 2 (Paris, 1980), pp. 32-38; also T. Klein, 'Apollonius'Jason, Hero and Scoundrel', QUCC 42
(1983), 115-26.

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

APOLLONIUS'JASON
9. R. L. Hunter, "'Short on heroics":Jason in the Argonautica', CQ 38 (1988), 436-53; see also
Hunter's 'Medea's flight:the fourth book of the Argonautica', CQ 37 (1987), 129-39.
10. Gained by his handsomenessand charm over women.
11. M. Hadas ('The Traditionof a FeebleJason', CP 31 [1936], 166-8) catalogues the instances on
p. 167 n. 3. Hadas argues that there was a tradition of a feeble and effeminateJason dating from the
fifth century. But this has very little to do with the ApollonianJason.
12. In this light, surely, we cannot say that Jason was 'cold and selfish'; see Mackail's view above
n. 5.
13. Cf. the fated deaths of Idmon and Tiphys (2.815 ff.).
14. It will be remembered that in Sophocles' Aias Telamon's son became so demented after
Agamemnon and Menelaus had presented Odysseus rather than himself with the arms of Achilles that
he slaughtereda whole flock of sheep supposing them to be the sons of Atreus.
15. Cf Callimachus'treatmentof Theseus in his Hecale and Theocritus' portrayalof Heracles in Id.
13.
16. So often have scholarsmaligned and misunderstoodJason's common sense. When, for example,
Phineus has finished his catalogue of the rest of the outward voyage, Jason is again described as
amechaneonkakoteti(helpless in his distress), and says to Phineus:'You have given us the clue for our
passage through the hateful Rocks into the Black Sea. But what I also wish to learn from you is
whether, after escaping them, we shall get safely back to Hellas. How shall I manage?How am I to find
my way once more across that vast expanse of water? My comrades are as inexperienced as I am'
(2.412-7). That Jason should be sufficiently far-seeing to consider the safety of his crew on the return
journeyas well as on the outwardand that he should recognize his own limitationsin the situation(how
different from the egotistical views of the archetypalepic hero!) are both signs of a true leader, not of
the opposite. Not many men would have cried with joy when they had heard Phineus' predictions.
Amechaneonkakoteti is a fair enough description;while not detractingfrom Jason's manliness it adds
depth to his character in that clearly this particularleader thinks.
17. 'It was Necessity that made them marry now' (4.1164): King Alcinous of Phaeacia had decided
to surrenderMedea to the Colchians if she was still a virgin, but if she was a marriedwoman he would
supportJason (4.1098 ff.).
18. Cf. G. Zanker ('The Love Theme in Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica', WienerStudien 13
[1979], 52-75), 67-68 n. 44; also A. Rose, 'Clothing Imagery in Apollonius'Argonautica', QUCC 50
(1985), 29-44.
19. For further information on the motif of the horkosAphrodisios,see G. Pasquali, Orazio Lirico
(Florence, 1920), pp. 477 ff.
20. Possibly Pindar (Pyth. 4.159) was right in his unique idea that giving rest to the spirit of Phrixus
was the reason for Jason's feeling compelled to undertake the quest. What other reason would have
been so strong as to force a man away from his own country where a usurper had taken charge,
especially as he had been asked to go in the first place by the aforesaidusurper?We know that Pindar
was basing his thesis on a traditional rite as recorded in early epic, viz. Hom. Od. 9.64 anaklesis tes
psyches (invocation of the soul), and, particularly,Sch. Pind. 2. Pyth. 4.281, pp. 135-6 Drachmann.
For Pindar, both the relieving of Phrixus' soul and the recovery of the fleece are one and the same.
Jason must recover the fleece and bring it home, and by so doing lay to rest the soul of Phrixus; he
cannot do one without the other. It stands to reason that Jason would never have agreed to undertake
such a voyage (i.e. for the fleece alone) unless he were obliged to do so by the restless soul of a member
of his family.
Apolloniusdoes not give any reason as to whyJason should simplyleave his homelandand undertake
the quest, but he does make it abundantly clear that it is of the utmost importance that he should
succeed.
21. J. F. Carspecken ('Apollonius Rhodius and the Homeric Epic', YCS 13 [1952], 35-143) is
incorrectwhen he states (p. 103) that Medea proposes the murderof Apsyrtus.

This content downloaded from 129.194.8.73 on Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:31:33 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions