ARGO (ship of Jason and the Argonauts)

The goddess also installed a speaking piece of wood from Dodona at the prow, which some accounts say gave the ship a human voice.^3,10,11 Jason, serving as the commander, assembled the Greek nobles and a crew of fifty-four prominent chieftains, with Tiphys selected to steer the vessel.^3,7,4,12,13 After entering the water at the beach of Pagasae, the ship was equipped with a mast, sails, and stores, having previously been loaded with a bronze tripod and a hecatomb.^14,10,15,6

The journey began when Pelias sent Jason and the Argo from Iolcus, though the ship first put to land at a beach called Aphetae of Argo where the Argonauts prepared to depart.^7,16,17 As they sped onward, the ship passed the rugged sides of Pelion and rowed near an island, causing local women to mistake it for Thracian invaders.^17,18 The heroes furled their sails and rowed vigorously through night and day, cleaving a great sea-gulf as they pressed on toward their destination.^19,20,21,22

The expedition’s purpose was to sail to Aea in Colchis and the river Phasis to retrieve the golden fleece for Pelias.^9,23 Upon reaching the river Phasis, the vessel was brought into port, where Medea saved the ship and its crew from danger.^24,25,26,27 The return journey was fraught with peril, as Zeus sent a furious storm to drive the ship off its course, and a god enabled the vessel to escape safely between the rocks.^28,29,30 Thetis steered the ship through the Wandering rocks and other dangerous obstacles, making the Argo the only ship to successfully navigate past them.^31,21,32 After Tiphys died, Ancaeus took over steering the vessel, and a dove was sent from the ship to test the safety of a narrow strait.^24,33

The ship was eventually transported overland to reach the Mediterranean Sea and carried by its crew through the Ocean to Libya.^34,35 Colchian pursuers located the Argo docked at the Phaeacian island, where Alcinous and his people welcomed the ship's arrival with a kindly sacrifice.^31,36,37,38 A god seized the ship's keel to guide it into the sea, and Jason dedicated the vessel to Poseidon while sailing with chieftains to the Isthmus.^19,39 The ship anchored near the city after returning from Colchis, and a broken blade from the vessel was later placed on Mopsus's tomb as a possession for the dead.^13,40 In the sky, the Argo appears as a constellation composed of many stars, rising cleft at the mast, with the ship partially obscured by mist while its hull is completely surrounded by light.^41,1