and gave himself up to death. But brave Ancaios the helmsman
cheered up their hearts once more, and bade them leap on

land, and haul the ship with ropes and rollers for many a
weary day, whether over land, or mud, or ice, I know not, for

the song is mixed and broken like a dream. And it says next,
how they came to the rich nation of the famous long-lived

men; and to the coast of the Cimmerians, who never saw the
sun, buried deep in the glens of the snow mountains; and to

the fair land of Hermione, where dwelt the most righteous of
all nations; and to the gates of the world below, and to the

dwelling-place of dreams.
And at last Ancaios shouted, 'Endure a little while, brave

friends, the worst is surely past; for I can see the pure
west wind ruffle the water, and hear the roar of ocean on the

sands. So raise up the mast, and set the sail, and face what
comes like men.'

Then out spoke the magic bough, 'Ah, would that I had
perished long ago, and been whelmed by the dread blue rocks,

beneath the fierce swell of the Euxine! Better so, than to
wander for ever, disgraced by the guilt of my princes; for

the blood of Absyrtus still tracks me, and woe follows hard
upon woe. And now some dark horror will clutch me, if I come

near the Isle of Ierne. (7) Unless you will cling to the
land, and sail southward and southward for ever, I shall

wander beyond the Atlantic, to the ocean which has no shore.'
Then they blest the magic bough, and sailed southward along

the land. But ere they could pass Ierne, the land of mists
and storms, the wild wind came down, dark and roaring, and

caught the sail, and strained the ropes. And away they drove
twelve nights, on the wide wild western sea, through the

foam, and over the rollers, while they saw neither sun nor
stars. And they cried again, 'We shall perish, for we know

not where we are. We are lost in the dreary damp darkness,
and cannot tell north from south.'

But Lynceus the long-sighted called gaily from the bows,
'Take heart again, brave sailors; for I see a pine-clad isle,

and the halls of the kind Earth-mother, with a crown of
clouds around them.'

But Orpheus said, 'Turn from them, for no living man can land
there: there is no harbour on the coast, but steep-walled

cliffs all round.'
So Ancaios turned the ship away; and for three days more they

sailed on, till they came to Aiaia, Circe's home, and the
fairy island of the West. (8)

And there Jason bid them land, and seek about for any sign of
living man. And as they went inland Circe met them, coming

down toward the ship; and they trembled when they saw her,
for her hair, and face, and robes shone like flame.

And she came and looked at Medeia; and Medeia hid her face
beneath her veil.

And Circe cried, 'Ah, wretched girl, have you forgotten all
your sins, that you come hither to my island, where the

flowers bloom all the year round? Where is your aged father,
and the brother whom you killed? Little do I expect you to

return in safety with these strangers whom you love. I will
send you food and wine: but your ship must not stay here,

for it is foul with sin, and foul with sin its crew.'
And the heroes prayed her, but in vain, and cried, 'Cleanse

us from our guilt!' But she sent them away, and said, 'Go on
to Malea, and there you may be cleansed, and return home.'

Then a fair wind rose, and they sailed eastward by Tartessus
on the Iberian shore, till they came to the Pillars of

Hercules, and the Mediterranean Sea. And thence they sailed
on through the deeps of Sardinia, and past the Ausonian

islands, and the capes of the Tyrrhenian shore, till they
came to a flowery island, upon a still bright summer's eve.

And as they neared it, slowly and wearily, they heard sweet
songs upon the shore. But when Medeia heard it, she started,

and cried, 'Beware, all heroes, for these are the rocks of
the Sirens. You must pass close by them, for there is no

other channel; but those who listen to that song are lost.'
Then Orpheus spoke, the king of all minstrels, 'Let them

match their song against mine. I have charmed stones, and
trees, and dragons, how much more the hearts of men!' So he

caught up his lyre, and stood upon the poop, and began his
magic song.

And now they could see the Sirens on Anthemousa, the flowery
isle; three fair maidens sitting on the beach, beneath a red

rock in the setting sun, among beds of crimson poppies and
golden asphodel. Slowly they sung and sleepily, with silver

voices, mild and clear, which stole over the golden waters,
and into the hearts of all the heroes, in spite of Orpheus'

song.
And all things stayed around and listened; the gulls sat in

white lines along the rocks; on the beach great seals lay
basking, and kept time with lazy heads; while silver shoals

of fish came up to hearken, and whispered as they broke the
shining calm. The Wind overhead hushed his whistling, as he

shepherded his clouds toward the west; and the clouds stood
in mid blue, and listened dreaming, like a flock of golden

sheep.
And as the heroes listened, the oars fell from their hands,

and their heads drooped on their breasts, and they closed
their heavy eyes; and they dreamed of bright still gardens,

and of slumbers under murmuring pines, till all their toil
seemed foolishness, and they thought of their renown no more.

Then one lifted his head suddenly, and cried, 'What use in
wandering for ever? Let us stay here and rest awhile.' And

another, 'Let us row to the shore, and hear the words they
sing.' And another, 'I care not for the words, but for the

music. They shall sing me to sleep, that I may rest.'
And Butes, the son of Pandion, the fairest of all mortal men,

leapt out and swam toward the shore, crying, 'I come, I come,
fair maidens, to live and die here, listening to your song.'

Then Medeia clapped her hands together, and cried, 'Sing
louder, Orpheus, sing a bolder strain; wake up these hapless

sluggards, or none of them will see the land of Hellas more.'
Then Orpheus lifted his harp, and crashed his cunning hand

across the strings; and his music and his voice rose like a
trumpet through the still evening air; into the air it rushed

like thunder, till the rocks rang and the sea; and into their
souls it rushed like wine, till all hearts beat fast within

their breasts.
And he sung the song of Perseus, how the Gods led him over

land and sea, and how he slew the loathly Gorgon, and won
himself a peerless bride; and how he sits now with the Gods

upon Olympus, a shining star in the sky, immortal with his
immortal bride, and honoured by all men below.

So Orpheus sang, and the Sirens, answering each other across
the golden sea, till Orpheus' voice drowned the Sirens', and

the heroes caught their oars again.
And they cried, 'We will be men like Perseus, and we will

dare and suffer to the last. Sing us his song again, brave
Orpheus, that we may forget the Sirens and their spell.'

And as Orpheus sang, they dashed their oars into the sea, and
kept time to his music, as they fled fast away; and the

Sirens' voices died behind them, in the hissing of the foam
along their wake.

But Butes swam to the shore, and knelt down before the
Sirens, and cried, 'Sing on! sing on!' But he could say no

more, for a charmed sleep came over him, and a pleasant
humming in his ears; and he sank all along upon the pebbles,

and forgot all heaven and earth, and never looked at that sad
beach around him, all strewn with the bones of men.

Then slowly rose up those three fair sisters, with a cruel
smile upon their lips; and slowly they crept down towards

him, like leopards who creep upon their prey; and their hands
were like the talons of eagles as they stept across the bones

of their victims to enjoy their cruel feast.
But fairest Aphrodite saw him from the highest Idalian peak,

and she pitied his youth and his beauty, and leapt up from
her golden throne; and like a falling star she cleft the sky,

and left a trail of glittering light, till she stooped to the
Isle of the Sirens, and snatched their prey from their claws.

And she lifted Butes as he lay sleeping, and wrapt him in
golden mist; and she bore him to the peak of Lilybaeum, and

he slept there many a pleasant year.
But when the Sirens saw that they were conquered, they

shrieked for envy and rage, and leapt from the beach into the
sea, and were changed into rocks until this day.

Then they came to the straits by Lilybaeum, and saw Sicily,
the three-cornered island, under which Enceladus the giant

lies groaning day and night, and when he turns the earth
quakes, and his breath bursts out in roaring flames from the

highest cone of AEtna, above the chestnut woods. And there
Charybdis caught them in its fearful coils of wave, and

rolled mast-high about them, and spun them round and round;
and they could go neither back nor forward, while the

whirlpool sucked them in.
And while they struggled they saw near them, on the other

side the strait, a rock stand in the water, with its peak
wrapt round in clouds - a rock which no man could climb,

though he had twenty hands and feet, for the stone was smooth
and slippery, as if polished by man's hand; and halfway up a

misty cave looked out toward the west.
And when Orpheus saw it he groaned, and struck his hands

together. And 'Little will it help us,' he cried, 'to escape
the jaws of the whirlpool; for in that cave lives Scylla, the

sea-hag with a young whelp's voice; my mother warned me of
her ere we sailed away from Hellas; she has six heads, and

six long necks, and hides in that dark cleft. And from her
cave she fishes for all things which pass by - for sharks,

and seals, and dolphins, and all the herds of Amphitrite.
And never ship's crew boasted that they came safe by her

rock, for she bends her long necks down to them, and every
mouth takes up a man. And who will help us now? For Hera

and Zeus hate us, and our ship is foul with guilt; so we must
die, whatever befalls.'

Then out of the depths came Thetis, Peleus' silver-footed
bride, for love of her gallant husband, and all her nymphs

around her; and they played like snow-white dolphins, diving
on from wave to wave, before the ship, and in her wake, and

beside her, as dolphins play. And they caught the ship, and
guided her, and passed her on from hand to hand, and tossed

her through the billows, as maidens toss the ball. And when
Scylla stooped to seize her, they struck back her ravening

heads, and foul Scylla whined, as a whelp whines, at the
touch of their gentle hands. But she shrink的过去式">shrank into her cave

affrighted - for all bad things shrink from good - and ARGO
leapt safe past her, while a fair breeze rose behind. Then

Thetis and her nymphs sank down to their coral caves beneath
the sea, and their gardens of green and purple, where live

flowers bloom all the year round; while the heroes went on
rejoicing, yet dreading what might come next.

After that they rowed on steadily for many a weary day, till
they saw a long high island, and beyond it a mountain land.

And they searched till they found a harbour, and there rowed
boldly in. But after awhile they stopped, and wondered, for

there stood a great city on the shore, and temples and walls
and gardens, and castles high in air upon the cliffs. And on

either side they saw a harbour, with a narrow mouth, but wide
within; and black ships without number, high and dry upon the

shore.
Then Ancaios, the wise helmsman, spoke, 'What new wonder is

this? I know all isles, and harbours, and the windings of
all seas; and this should be Corcyra, where a few wild goat-

herds dwell. But whence come these new harbours and vast
works of polished stone?'

But Jason said, 'They can be no savage people. We will go in
and take our chance.'

So they rowed into the harbour, among a thousand black-beaked
ships, each larger far than ARGO, toward a quay of polished

stone. And they wondered at that mighty city, with its roofs
of burnished brass, and long and lofty walls of marble, with

strong palisades above. And the quays were full of people,
merchants, and mariners, and slaves, going to and fro with

merchandise among the crowd of ships. And the heroes' hearts
were humbled, and they looked at each other and said, 'We

thought ourselves a gallant crew when we sailed from Iolcos
by the sea; but how small we look before this city, like an

ant before a hive of bees.'
Then the sailors hailed them roughly from the quay, 'What men

are you? - we want no strangers here, nor pirates. We keep
our business to ourselves.'

But Jason answered gently, with many a flattering word, and
praised their city and their harbour, and their fleet of

gallant ships. 'Surely you are the children of Poseidon, and
the masters of the sea; and we are but poor wandering

mariners, worn out with thirst and toil. Give us but food
and water, and we will go on our voyage in peace.'

Then the sailors laughed, and answered, 'Stranger, you are no