Hero Cult in Apollonius Rhodius

[[This article was originally published in 2012 in Gods and Religion in Hellenistic Poetry (edited by M. A. Harder, R. F. Regtuit, and G. C. Wakker) 131-162, Peeters Publishers: Leuven. The page-numbers of the printed version are embedded within braces in this electronic version: for example, {131|132} marks where p. 131 ends and p. 132 begins.]]

The divinity of heroes, and the cult honors they received in the Greek world, is a notoriously complicated topic, particularly the presentation of heroes in epic poetry and the relationship between epic and cult practices. [1] Heroes of early epic seem to have been considered, almost automatically, as potential recipients of hero cult from the early Classical period onward. During the Hellenistic era, interest in Bronze Age remains and sites associated with the Homeric epics as places of cult worship flourished, part of a general trend of preserving links with the Greek past in a changing landscape of kings and empires. [2] In this regard, there is no distinction between heroes of epic and heroes of cult for an epic poet in the third century BC, even if such a distinction can be argued for the presentation of heroes in the Homeric poems. For Apollonius, the Argonauts were well-established heroes of both epic and cult, and this paper will explore the multifarious ways in which Apollonius’ distinctive narrative technique in the Argonautica shapes the presentation of hero cult. [3] {131|132}

Heroes of cult, never a heterogeneous group, seem to have possessed an intermediary type of divinity and demonstrate a variety of genesis, powers, and functions that resist modern categorization on the basis of sacrificial rites, fluctuations in religious practice, or mythological origins. Gunnel Ekroth’s impressive study (2002) has created a working classification for hero cults: gods, heroes, and the dead may be said to form three basic but variable groups, with the gods as those who possess a universal and superior power, while the dead are confined to their burial spot with the least power. [4] A figure may occupy the interstices between gods and heroes, such as the Dioskouroi or Herakles, whose divine powers were universal despite their mortal origins, or hero and dead man, as shown in Herodotus’ anecdote about the Delphic oracle’s decision to proclaim Lycurgus as a man rather than a god. [5] Heroes can be distinguished from the less powerful dead by their extraordinary achievements, importance to and worship by an entire community or multiple communities, their powers to help or harm, and their privileged afterlife.

Bruno Currie (2005), expanding Ekroth’s work, emphasizes that the death of the hero is not the essential factor, nor is the burial spot, as some heroes had many graves, and more importantly, heroization could begin during the lifetime of individuals, a process often described as a characteristic of Hellenistic religion, but is already attested in the fifth century. Currie advocates a notion of heroes as “supernatural beings subordinate to gods” and has shown in his excellent study of hero cult in the Archaic and Classical periods that a range of heroic honors for exceptional living people assimilated them to the well-known mythic heroes, a much more accepted part of the Greek experience than previously has been thought. [6] His study illuminates the ways in which Pindar {132|133} projects “inclusive immortality” for his patrons, both the (“metaphorical”) immortal fame bestowed by song and the (“literal”) immortality of cult, through assimilation to mythical heroes. [7] A similar kind of inclusive immortality seems to be a goal for Apollonius, who takes his reader on a literary journey of shared knowledge of the future immortalization awaiting the Argonauts. This alliance between author and reader is created through numerous narratorial intrusions describing the relics or role of the Argonauts in the establishment of hero cults, descriptions of their encounters with previously established hero cults, and an escalating depiction of heroization of the Argonauts as they progress through their quest.

This ongoing heroization of the Argonauts is part of Apollonius’ characteristic engagement with the epic tradition as well as contemporary interests in religion and local histories and his creation of a pervasive chthonic atmosphere throughout the poem. Apollonius’ self-conscious revision of epic traditions is conspicuous from the opening verse: the proem announces the poet’s intention to ‘recall the klea of long-ago men’ (ἀρχόμενος σέο Φοῖβε παλαιγενέων κλέα φωτῶν / μνήσομαι, 1.1-2), identifying this epic as a combination of the immortalization guaranteed through epic song (κλέα) and a contemporary artistic venture controlled by the narrator (μνήσομαι ‘I will recall’), who is distanced from the time of the subject matter (παλαιγενέων φωτῶν ‘long-ago men’). The reference to Apollo (ἀρχόμενος σέο Φοῖβε ‘beginning from you, Phoebus’) signposts the poet’s integration of material from Hymns, recalled again at the end of the poem. [8] {133|134} This triplex relationship between current time, epic time, and the fame created by epic song is perfectly embodied throughout the poem in the descriptions of hero cult, which are repeatedly used by the narrator as a continuous link between the heroes of the ‘long-ago past’ and the poem’s audience.

Heroic immortalization seems to have been the goal of the lost cyclic epics, as well as in Hesiod and Orphic poetry, so, in this sense, Apollonius is not breaking new ground. [9] However, it is characteristic of Apollonius’ complex narrative style that the immortalization of the heroes is contemporaneous with their journey: as the journey progresses, so does the god-like effect the heroes have upon other people, although they themselves remain unhappily unaware. In this way, the immortalization of the heroes is a bond shared only between the readers and the poet, and varying levels of emphasis in the representation of this process of heroization keep the reader in suspense for much of the poem. [10] This narrative distancing allows Apollonius to both heroize his epic heroes and realize the impact of their hero cult as he creates it, while the characters’ ignorance of their future honors keeps the process firmly under the narrator’s control. Similar to the narrator’s aversion to tales told by earlier poets, the explicit immortalization of some of the more prominent cult figures is avoided, and a more tantalizing mixture of explicit and implicit allusions to immortalization through song and cult is created. Many of the more obvious opportunities to emphasize the divinity of Herakles and the Dioskouroi are conspicuously subtle, delayed, or even absent. The Dioskouroi are depicted as having an epiphanic effect on others, but themselves seem unaware of their status, and not even the narrator alludes to their traditional shared afterlife. [11] Only in his absence does Herakles assume a god-like role through {134|135} the inadvertent help he provides for the Argonauts, and the delayed admission of his future apotheosis until his departure suggests that Apollonius is teasing his reader with the possibility of presenting an Iliadic Herakles, who is not immortal. [12] It is no coincidence that the Dioskouroi and Herakles are also the Argonauts with the most conspicuous contemporary relevance to the Ptolemies and their accumulation of divine honors during their lifetimes. [13] As always in Apollonius, these emphatic absences and silences express great meaning: the avoidance of explicit immortalization for the Dioskouroi and other heroes creates the ambiguous landscape of possibilities so carefully manipulated by the poet.

The possibility of heroization, both in terms of a blessed afterlife and as cult honors among the living, is made conspicuous for the external audience throughout the journey of the Argo in numerous descriptions of life after death. In the “Catalogue of Heroes,” Caeneus’ living descent under the earth is the subject of epic song (κλείουσιν ἀοιδοί ‘poets tell’, 1.59–64) and Theseus cannot join the crew because he is held under the earth (1.101–104). [14] The apotheosis of Herakles is explicitly explained to the Argonauts, a paradigm for heroization after long struggles for the Argonauts themselves (1.1315–1320). [15] The prominence given to Orpheus in the “Catalogue of Heroes” and throughout the poem as a sort of religious leader, although never explicitly associated with his famous katabasis, is a tantalizing allusion to his widespread cult status and associations with life after death. [16] Further examples of blessed afterlives are demonstrated to the external audience in Hera’s prediction of the marriage of Achilles {135|136} and Medea in the Elysian Fields, the traditional abode of the blessed (4.811–815), and the narrator’s references to Ganymede (3.115–117) and the failed attempt of Thetis to immortalize Achilles (4.869–880). [17]

One of the most striking examples of the narrator’s anticipation of immortality for his heroes is the long digression on the blessed afterlife of Aethalides, the herald for the Argonauts, whose memory is imperishable (ἄφθιτος) and whose soul moves between the living and those under ground (ὑποχθονίοι, 1.640–649). The only other occurrence of ἄφθιτος in the poem describes the depiction on Jason’s cloak of the “imperishable work” of the Cyclopes, who are making Zeus’ thunderbolts (1.730). Aethalides will have a special existence after death: the implications of ἄφθιτος are further clarified by its almost immediate application to the thunderbolts of Zeus, themselves symbols of immortalization which will recur throughout the poem. [18] This digression on Aethalides comes in lieu of his speech to the Lemnian women, in contrast to the dramatic presentation of their debate and the direct speech of their messenger, Iphinoe, to the Argonauts (1.653–717). The narratorial intrusion is further emphasized by the narrator’s rhetorical question, “why do I need to tell long muthoi about Aethalides?”(1.648–649). [19] The “imperishable memory” of Aethalides is linked to the narrator’s ability to inform his audience of the future immortality of his heroes. Similar to the pointed reference to the epic tales about Caeneus’ living descent underground, the narrator fuses a description of blessed afterlife and poetic art.

Just as the prospect of immortalization after death is established early in the poem, so too is the possibility of cult worship for dead heroes. The first overnight stop of the Argo is to the tomb of Dolops, where the Argonauts propitiate the hero with sacrifices: {136|137}

The first adventure of the Argonauts is to perform cult honors (κυδαίνοντες) for a hero, which verb will be used throughout the poem in reference to hero cult, culminating in Hera’s treatment of Jason in Book 4. [21] The audience may have expected something important to happen here, since Herodotus describes the departure of Herakles at this location; this substitution gives added import to the hero cult offerings which have been substituted for at least one well-known version of the myth. [22] The performance of sacrifices for Dolops is extended into the present time of the narrator and reader through the aetiology of the beach’s name (τὴν δ᾽ ἀκτὴν Ἀφέτας Ἀργοῦς ἔτι κικλήσκουσιν ‘that coast men still call “Sailing of the Argo”‘, 1.591). [23] {137|138}

The next relic to be left by the Argo’s voyage, which “can still be seen,” firmly establishes that these tracks of the Argo provide both metaphorical (through renown) and literal immortality (through cult). When the Argonauts reach the island of the Doliones, Tiphys advises them to leave their anchor-stone below a spring; the narrator adds that, on the advice of the Delphic Oracle, the Ionian sons of Neleus consecrated the stone in the Temple of Jasonian Athena (ἀτὰρ κεῖνόν γε θεοπροπίαις Ἑκάτοιο / Νηλεΐδαι μετόπισθεν Ἰάονες ἱδρύσαντο / ἱερόν, ἣ θέμις ἦεν, Ἰησονίης ἐν Ἀθήνης ‘Later, in accordance with an oracle of the Far-Worker, the Ionian sons of Neleus duly set up the abandoned stone as a sacred relic in the temple of Athena, protector of Jason’, 1.959-960). This description of the future use of the anchor-stone is suggestive of heroization in both the association of a hero with a god, often the first step in the process, and the authority of the Delphic oracle, which was frequently sought before the creation of new hero cults. [24] Other authors describe the consecration of the anchor stone in locations farther along the route to Colchis; following the sacrifices to Dolops, this early placement of the anchor stone provides a marked beginning for the process of heroization. [25]

Having performed sacrifices for a dead hero and having been signaled as the future subject of hero cult, the Argonauts are then described as creating heroes of cult in their slaughter of the Doliones. [26] Cyzicus and several other Doliones are quickly killed before the battle narrative is interrupted at the climactic moment, when the defeated Doliones turn to flight, by the narrator’s description of the continual heroic honors for the dead (οὓς ἔτι πάντας / ἐνναέται τιμαῖς ἡρωίσι κυδαίνουσιν ‘All these are still glorified by the inhabitants with the honors due to heroes’, 1.1047–1048). As with the rites for Dolops, the verb for the heroic honors after death is κυδαίνειν. After the conclusion of the battle, the narrator {138|139} gives a detailed description of the funeral rites for Cyzicus, and further clarifies his heroic status in the report that his sêma is still visible today, while the excessive lamentation of the nymphs for Cleite, his wife who hanged herself from grief, creates a fountain (1.1061-1069): the creation of a sêma and the attention of nymphs are two motifs which will highlight the process of heroization throughout the poem. [27] Finally, we are told that the inhabitants still perform annual libations for Cyzicus and Cleite, xutla, and grind sacrificial cakes at the public mill (1.1075–1077), an emphatic conclusion to the description of heroic honors for the Doliones: acts of mourning performed by communities, rather than families, and repetitive ritual actions are some of the characteristic features which distinguish hero cult from tendence of the dead. This heroization of Cyzicus anticipates the deaths, and heroization, of Idmon and Tiphys among the Mariandynoi, whose funerals recall this initial model.

The passage through the “Crashing Rocks” with the helpful push of Athena is the climactic adventure of the outward journey, the fame of which is already known to Homer. [28] The narrator reports that the Argonauts feel as if they had escaped Hades (δὴ γὰρ φάσαν ἐξ Ἀίδαο / σώεσθαι, 2.609–610): the transference of people by gods to new locations at the point of death is often associated with heroization, and this critical hurdle in the journey seems to mark a transitive stage in the heroization of the Argonauts. [29] After the “Crashing Rocks,” the Argonauts see the ἱερόν ‘shrine’ of Dipsacus (2.658–659), before stopping off at Thunias where they see Apollo (2.669–682), an appearance which will be recalled in his other epiphany during the final adventures in Book 4 (1704–1714). [30] It is in the context of a brush with a hero cult site, which is “seen” by the Argonauts, and a brush with the divinity most often associated with the creation of hero cults, who is ‘seen’ by the heroes, that the Argonauts travel to the Mariandynoi, who provide heroic honors for both living and dead Argonauts. {139|140}

The landscape of the visit with the Mariandynoi continues the chthonic overtones of the Crashing Rocks, as the Argonauts journey around the entrance to the Underworld: the episode begins with a description of the Acherousian headland that suggests a katabasis will follow, which is rather supplanted with the epiphanic reception of the Dioskouroi and the (failed) establishment of Idmon as cult hero. We will return below to the honors promised to the Dioskouroi and focus here on the heroization of Idmon after death. Like Cyzicus, Idmon and Tiphys both have sêma still visible (2.853), and Idmon is lamented for three days by not only the Argonauts but also the Mariandynoi before he is buried with full honors (τάρχυον μεγαλωστί, 2.838). The mass lamentation and participation of the whole community signifies heroization, as does the verb ταρχύειν, which describes the rites for Sarpedon in the Iliad, one of the rare allusions to hero cult in the poem, and has been translated by Pierre Chantraine as ‘treat like a god’. [31] The narrator digresses on the resultant hero cult at the site of Idmon’s tomb:

The funeral rites performed for Idmon at the time of his death in the mythical time of the narrative are graduated into heroic honors in the present day: his tomb is visible for future viewing, with a sêma of a flourishing olive tree. His heroic honors are even given a brief history, punctuated with the verb recurrent throughout the poem in contexts of heroization (κυδαίνειν): Apollo told the inhabitants to honor Idmon (ἱλάεσθαι) as the protector of their city, but they glorify (κυδαίνουσιν) Agamestor instead. Apollo has just been twice addressed after his epiphany on Thunias with ἵληθι (2.693) and ἱλήκοις (2.708), verbs which, like κυδαίνειν, will recur throughout the poem as a marker of the heroization process. [32] The importance of this digression in the overall thematic structure of the poem is made clear in the reference to Apollo’s authority and the description of the olive tree as παλαιγενέος, the only occurrence of this adjective after the narrator’s initial statement that he will recall the epic deeds of long-ago men, starting from Apollo (ἀρχόμενος σέο Φοῖβε παλαιγενέων κλέα φωτῶν, 1.1). Apollo leads the way for the poet’s narration of the story and the heroization of Idmon, as was also the case for the creation of hero cults throughout the Greek world. Just as in the proem, the narrator makes clear his role in informing the external audience of these future honors for his heroes. The surprise disappointment, that Idmon is not in fact worshipped as the foundation hero, does not decrease the significance of this episode in the ongoing heroization of the Argonauts, but rather highlights the role of the narrator in this process, whose superior knowledge is contrasted with the ignorance of the Argonauts, who feel ‘helpless’ (ἀμηχανίῃσιν, 2.860), and even the future inhabitants of the site. [33]

The encounters with established hero cults continue to increase with two further ritual offerings to dead heroes, which keep the possibility of heroic honors after death at the forefront of the narrative movement towards Jason’s contest in Colchis, a climactic point in the transition {141|142} towards metaphorical and literal immortality. The Argonauts visit the tomb of Sthenelus, a former comrade of Herakles, now buried near the Mariandynoi. The narrator tells us that the Argonauts paused there because Persephone sent up the psyche of Sthenelus, “who had begged her to be allowed to see his compatriots even for a short while” (λισσομένην τυτθόν περ ὁμήθεας ἄνδρας ἰδέσθαι, 2.917): the appearance of the eidôlon is apparently an Apollonian innovation upon his source for this episode. [34] A hero with life after death wishes to see others like himself: this rare adjective ὁμήθεες, not found before the Hellenistic period, also describes the relationship of Eros and Ganymede (κοῦροι ὁμήθεες, 3.118). Sthenelus appears in full panoply and looks at the Argonauts before disappearing into the gloom, a sight at which they marvel (οἱ δ’ ἐσιδόντες θάμβησαν, 2.921-922). The verb θαμβεῖν and the noun θάμβος, although not restricted to reactions to divine presence, frequently characterize such responses in the poem: the Argonauts also ‘wonder’ at the epiphany of Apollo (2.681), the fleece (4.184), the goddess Circe (4.682), and the epiphany of the Libyan heroines (4.1430). [35] At Mopsus’ suggestion, the Argonauts perform propitiatory sacrifices for Sthenelus, just as for Dolops (ἔντομα μήλων, 1.587, 2.926), build an altar to Apollo, and dedicate Orpheus’ lyre, for which the place is named (2.922–929). This encounter with hero cult recalls their propitiation of Dolops at the start of the journey but is heightened by Sthenelus’ vivid epiphany and their assimilation to the hero, who is ὁμήθεες, an adjective elsewhere used to describe the relationship between young gods living together in the same house. Finally, the power of dead heroes is reiterated upon arrival at Colchis: the outward journey is concluded with Jason’s propitiation of Gaia, local gods and the souls of dead heroes (ψυχαῖς τε καμόντων / ἡρώων, 2.1273-1274).

The descriptions of heroic honors for dead heroes detailed above are blended with a depiction of the Argonauts themselves undergoing a process of immortalization, represented in the recurrent motif of the {142|143} admiring crowd and the associated star imagery, building up to Jason’s conquest of the fleece and marriage to Medea. The reactions of crowds to the appearance of the Argonauts is often described in terms suggestive of heroic epiphany: there are no less than six adoring crowds in the first Book, which build up to the mass reception of Polydeuces “like a god” in Book 2. The reaction of the crowd may be either admiration, shouting, or lament. Shouting crowds are a recurrent feature of the reception of living people accorded heroic status during their lifetimes. For example, Diodorus reports that Gelon met with a shouting crowd of Syracusans before they accorded him the titles “Saviour,” “Benefactor,” and “Basileus”; Plutarch describes the shouting crowd upon Alcibiades’ return to Athens. [36] Lamentation performed by a community, rather than confined within the kinship group, is also a recurrent feature of hero cult. [37] In Book 1, Jason provokes both of these reactions among crowds in Iolcus. After the proem (1.1–22), the catalogue of heroes is quickly inserted (1.23–233), so that the first action in the narrative time of the poem comes with the heroes’ passage through the city to the ship. As they walk, a crowd of people gather, and the heroes shine like stars (ἀμφὶ δὲ λαῶν / πληθὺς σπερχομένων ἄμυδις θέον, οἱ δὲ φαεινοί / ἀστέρες ὣς νεφέεσσι μετέπρεπον ‘As they hastened on their way a great crowd of citizens ran with them, but the heroes stood out among them like bright stars among clouds’, 1.238–240). Apollonius’ similes typically draw on Homeric models but are much more integrated into the narrative and act to bring to the fore deeper, allusive meanings and, through repetitive images, even create thematic patterns. [38] In the Iliad, star and fire similes and imagery mark the martial excellence of the warriors, usually through the help of a divinity: for example, Athena makes Diomedes’ armor shine like a star, and a flame shines from Achilles’ head like blazing fire. [39] In contrast, the Argonauts possess {143|144} this star-like quality without divine attribution, nor is it linked to their military prowess in these contexts but rather the way in which they are distinct from the crowds of people receiving them.

The impact of the Argonauts’ movement through Iolcus is extended into the thoughts and reactions of anonymous members of the crowd (1.242–259), including the lamentation of women, who react as if Jason were already dead (ἄλλη δ’ εἰς ἑτέρην ὀλοφύρετο δακρυχέουσα ‘As she wept one would say to another in lamentation’, 1.250). This lamentation recalls the Trojan reactions to Hector’s death in the Iliad but also plays upon this idea of living heroization in the context of the emotional crowd, since group lamentation is one of the hallmarks of heroization. [40] The optimistic adoration of the crowd is resumed when Jason, having bid goodbye to his family, leaves the house. At the appearance of Jason, who is likened by the narrator to Apollo, the assembled crowd shout, but no reaction on the part of Jason is described (1.307–311). [41]

Just as the Argo sets sail, an admiring crowd of Olympian gods, nymphs, and Cheiron gaze upon the heroes, forming a three-tiered arrangement of divinities, spanning from the heavens down to the seashore (1.547–558). Similar to the perceived appearance of Jason to the community in Iolcus, the arms of the heroes shine like a flame (στράπτε δ’ ὑπ’ ἠελίῳ φλογὶ εἴκελα νηὸς ἰούσης / τεύχεα ‘As the ship advanced, their armor shone in the sun like flame’, 1.544-545), which glorious effect is not caused by divine help, as is often the case in Homer, but rather becomes the object of the gods’ admiration. The Homeric presentation of assembled gods looking upon the deeds of men has been extended in Apollonius to their silent appreciation of these heroes, whose extraordinary status is further emphasized in their description as herôes, aristoi, and hêmitheoi:

The nymphs marvel (ἐθάμβεον) at the divinely wrought Argo and at the heroes, a verb consistently used in epiphanic contexts throughout the poem. In the Iliad, the Olympian gods assemble to speak about the affairs of mortals or enjoy looking down upon the Trojan War; here, this kind of interaction is supplanted with an emphasis on the heroic status of the Argonauts and the wonder of the nymphs. [42] At other points in the poem, the Argonauts and the people they encounter describe their divine parentage, but here the narrator has focalized this perception of them from the viewpoint of the Olympians themselves. [43] This semi-divine origin of the Argonauts, a marked break from the relative absence of children of the gods in Homer, is emphatically described here in three different ways: as herôes, aristoi and a ‘race of demigods’ ἡμιθέων ἀνδρῶν γένος. The only reference to Homeric heroes as hêmitheoi ‘demigods’ describes their destruction, an emphatic marker of the distance between the time of the heroes and that of the narrator. [44] Apollonius combines Homeric and Hesiodic epic diction to demonstrate that the Argonauts are both Homeric heroes (herôes, aristoi) and members of Hesiod’s fourth race (hêmitheoi) in anticipation of their future blessed afterlife. [45] In the Works and Days, Hesiod describes the fourth race of men, who fought and died in the Trojan and Theban {145|146} wars, as ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων θεῖον γένος, οἳ καλέονται ἡμίθεοι, ‘a god-like race of heroes, who are called hêmitheoi’. [46] Hesiod’s heroes are ‘demigods’ because they are born of the union of morals and immortals, and after death some are sent by Zeus to the ‘Isles of the Blessed’ (ἐν μακάρων νήσοισι) a mythical form of immortalization. [47] At the start and end of the Argonautica, there are markers to indicate the Argonauts’ location in Hesiod’s race of demigods: after this description of the heroes embarking upon the voyage, hêmitheos is used once again when the Argonauts confront Talos, their final obstacle to a homecoming. Talos is described as τὸν μέν, χαλκείης μελιηγενέων ἀνθρώπων / ῥίζης λοιπὸν ἐόντα μετ’ ἀνδράσιν ἡμιθέοισιν ‘Among the demi-gods he was the last survivor of the bronze race of men born from ash-trees’ (4.1641–1642). The identification of the Argonauts as living during the generation of hêmitheoi implies that immortality is a possibility, since only some of Hesiod’s hêmitheoi are chosen by Zeus for immortality: the narrator progressively depicts his heroes as transforming from a ‘race of demi-gods’ (ἡμιθέων ἀνδρῶν γένος, 1.549) to a ‘race of blessed ones’ (μακάρων γένος, 4.1773) at the end of the poem.

The gods admire the Argonauts as hêmitheoi, and also as aristoi and herôes. Unlike hêmitheoi, seemingly avoided by Homer because of its intrinsic association with gods and therefore cult, aristoi and herôes are used frequently in early epic poetry with the unmarked, generic meanings of ‘epic hero’, as are the terms ἀντίθεος and ἰσόθεος ‘godlike’. Even outside of epic, ἥρως never has a consistent identification with hero cult: recipients of cult worship can be called theos, herôes, or both. [48] Apollonius uses aristoi and herôes with the unmarked meaning of ‘epic warrior’, but some contexts endow these terms with a more nuanced, marked meaning of ‘cult {146|147} hero’. [49] Significantly, the Argonauts are described as ἣρωες when admired by crowds (1.552, 4.998, 1182, 1192), as is Jason when admired by the Argonauts before undertaking Aietes’ contest (3.921), and are called ἀριστῆες by the narrator in his final address to them as gods (ἵλατ’, ἀριστήων μακάρων γένος ‘be gracious, race of blessed heroes’, 4.1773).

Crowds continue to admire the Argonauts, especially Jason, throughout Book 1, often with star imagery. At Lemnos, an extended simile compares Jason’s movements to a star which has an erotic impact upon maidens (1.774–781), while a rejoicing crowd of women follow him and the Lemnian messanger, Iphinoe (δημότεραι μὲν ὄπισθεν ἐπεκλονέοντο γυναῖκες / γηθόσυναι ξείνῳ ‘The women of the city thronged behind them, delighted by the stranger’, 1.783–784). [50] Jason, on the other hand, keeps his eyes fixed to the ground (1.784–785). Just as in his meeting with his parents in Iolcus, crowds frame his interaction with Hypsipyle, and myriads of maidens “whirl around him” as he returns to the ship (1.843–845). The Argonauts will, of course, perform a saviour service by helping to repopulate the island, a “heroic” feat mocked by Herakles (1.865–874). Finally, when the Argonauts leave Lemnos, there is similar lamentation and crowd gathering as in Iolcus (ὧς ἄρα ταίγε / ἐνδυκὲς ἀνέρας ἀμφὶ κινυρόμεναι προχέοντο ‘so the women press around the men, weeping and embracing them’, 1.882–883). [51]

After the transitional passage through the Crashing Rocks, the epiphanic effect of the Argonauts is intensified. In Book 2, crowds of Mariandynoi welcome Polydeuces as a god (αὐτὸν δ’ ὥστε θεὸν Πολυδεύκεα δεξιόωντο, / πάντοθεν ἀγρόμενοι ‘Polydeuces himself they welcomed as a god, flocking from all around’, 2.756–757). δεξιόωντο ‘they welcomed’ is also found of the gods’ reception of Aphrodite in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (16), and often means ‘to receive a god’, a meaning which is made explicit here (ὥστε {147|148} θεόν). [52] Further, the narrator explains that the Mariandynoi provide this reception upon seeing the heroes because of the kleos of the duel with Amycus (2.754). Similar to the other examples we have seen of the thematic connection between epic and cult immortality (the “inclusive” model of immortality), the epic fame of Polydeuces is complimented by his living heroization and god-like honors among the Mariandynoi. [53] After this ecstatic reception, King Lycus announces that he will build a temple for the Dioskouroi on a lofty height:

Homeric heroes are not infrequently described as receiving treatment “like a god.” For example, Sarpedon describes honors, similar to those outlined by Lycus, given to himself and Glaucus by the Lycians: they are awarded a temenos, given timê, are not without kleos, and looked upon ‘as gods’ (πάντες δὲ θεοὺς ὣς εἰσορόωσι, Iliad XII 312). This speech demonstrates the Iliadic model of honors for living heroes by their own communities, which does not extend beyond the grave in the Homeric context. The description of treatment “like a god” or references to heroes as “godlike” in the Iliad are contextualized against a firm backdrop of the finality of death and therefore do not carry the same extended meaning as the honors described by Lycus for the Dioskouroi, since the Argonautica has clearly established the possibility of hero cult. Lycus imagines that sailors will look at the monument and propitiate (ἱλάξονται) the Dioskouroi: this verb is only used of gods in Homer and Hesiod and occurs frequently in other contexts to describe hero cult, such as the heroic honors performed at the tomb of {148|149} Philippos of Croton in Segesta (θυσίῃσι αὐτὸν ἱλάσκονται, ‘they propitiate him with sacrifices’). [54] That Lycus is describing heroization for the living Dioskouroi is made clear with the specification that their honors are equivalent to those given to gods, οἷα θεοῖσιν, as well as the description of people propitiating them in the future: significantly, unlike Sarpedon and Glaucus, all sailors will honor Polydeuces like a god, not just those resident in his community. This is explicit divinization of the Dioskouroi, anticipated by the treatment of Polydeuces by an adoring crowd.

Although the Argonauts do not seem aware of this heroization, since the only response given to either the crowd or King Lycus’ pledge is a general description of the good time enjoyed by all (2.759–760, 811), the reader of the Argonautica has been given prior hints of this immortalization. Polydeuces was compared to a star at the beginning of the duel with Amycus, one of the symbols of heroization throughout the poem (2.40–42). [55] After his victory, he is hymned by Orpheus as the ‘Therapnaean son of Zeus’ (2.163), a reference to the cult site of the Dioskouroi outside of Sparta in which, according to Pindar, they spent their alternate day of life when not with Zeus on Olympus. [56] After this happy reception by Lycus on the outbound journey, there is an equivalent signpost of their immortalization on the return. In Book 4, the narrator describes their altars, sacrifices, and protection of future sailors as allotted by Zeus (4.650–653). The Argonauts, who earlier expressed such dismay after the Dioskouroi performed their prayer, do not know about these honors and altars, which knowledge is shared only by the narrator and reader as part of the timeless presentation of hero cult (ὃ δὴ βωμοί τε καὶ ἱερὰ τοῖσι τέτυκται / ἔμπεδον ‘For this reason, permanent altars and rites are established in their honor’, 4.651–652). That this aetiology marks the completion of their process of heroization is further emphasized by the description of them here, in the last specific reference to the twins in the poem, as κούρων Ζηνός ‘sons of Zeus’ (4.650–651), instead of Τυνδαρίδαι, a title more evocative of their humanity as sons of the {149|150} mortal Tyndareus. This is the only allusion in the poem to their frequent cult title Διόσκουροι, which is nonetheless still avoided in a typically Apollonian fashion. [57]

The climactic heroization scene in the poem is Jason’s performance of Aietes’ challenge. The contest with the bulls is repeatedly designated as an aethlos ‘challenge’, the programmatic term for the labors of heroes which lead to their immortalization, adding further emphasis to the depiction of Jason undergoing a process of heroization in this Book. [58] Aethlos is used to describe Aietes’ challenge 17 times in Book 3, and is the final word of the book (ἦμαρ ἔδυ, καὶ τῷ τετελεσμένος ἦεν ἄεθλος ‘Nightfall came, and Jason’s task was at an end’, 3.1407), recalled again in the closing address to the heroes by the narrator (ἤδη γὰρ ἐπὶ κλυτὰ πείραθ’ ἱκάνω / ὑμετέρων καμάτων, ἐπεὶ οὔ νύ τις ὔμμιν ἄεθλος ‘For now I have reached the glorious conclusion of your struggles, since no other challenge (confronted) you’, 4.1775–1776). [59] The first stage in the accomplishment of Aietes’ contest is Jason’s meeting with Medea to obtain her magic drugs, at which point Jason is already described as having a god-like effect upon the other Argonauts themselves: {150|151}

This light imagery is further extended in the simile comparing Jason to the star Sirius as he approaches Medea (3.956–961), and the flame which shines from his head (3.1017–1018). Lars Nyberg, following Charles Rowan Beye, has observed the increasingly dangerous symbolism of light and stars, which climaxes in Jason’s destruction of the earthborn men when the rock he throws is compared to a shooting star (3.1377–1379). [62] Equally, the star imagery signifies Jason’s divine power and {151|152} epiphanic effect upon others, which power may influence people in positive or negative ways. This imagery is not only linked to his erotic impact upon Medea and performance in this challenge but is also an overall atmospheric quality indicative of an ongoing process of heroization.

The star imagery in Book 3 leads up to his performance of the aethlos set by Aietes, at which point he is granted temporary immortality. Jason anoints himself with the drugs, which Medea promised would give him “boundless strength” equal to that of the immortals (ἐν δέ τοι ἀλκή / ἔσσετ’ ἀπειρεσίη μέγα τε σθένος, οὐδέ κε φαίης / ἀνδράσιν ἀλλὰ θεοῖσιν ἰσαζέμεν ἀθανάτοισιν ‘Your body will possess boundless might and great strength, and you will think yourself the equal not of men, but of the immortal gods’, 3.1043–1045). Rejoicing in these godlike powers, he throws his weapons around, which flash like winter lightning (3.1263–1267). In myth, wearing immortal clothing, of which Medea’s drug is a rather sinister version, and being struck by lightning are both indicative of heroization and apotheosis. [63] The lightning imagery culminates in Jason’s invulnerability from the fiery blasts of Aietes’ bulls, the noise of which has just been compared to the enhancement of fire by a blacksmith’s bellows:

Consumption by flames and lightning are both mythic symbols for immortalization, combined here in Jason’s achievement of the first part of his aethlos. [64] That this kind of fire and lightning imagery indicates {152|153} heroization is made clear in Book 4, when the heroes pass by Phaethon’s body still smoldering from the lightning bolt of Zeus (4.597–600), and by the narrator’s description of Thetis’ attempt to make Achilles immortal by dipping him in flames (4.869–872). Phaethon’s death by lightning, the sight of which immediately precedes the description of the immortal honors for the Dioskouroi, is linked to yet another immortalization through lightning in the allusions to Asclepius in the alternate aetiology given by narrator (4.611–618). [65] Additionally, the fleece has an effect “like Zeus’ lightning” on the admiring Argonauts (θάμβησαν δὲ νέοι μέγα κῶας ἰδόντες λαμπόμενον στεροπῇ ἴκελον Διός ‘The young men stared in wonder at the great fleece which shone like Zeus’ lightning’, 4.184–185). This admiration for the divine fleece reiterates a pattern of wonder (θάμβησαν) and lightning imagery when in the presence of the divine, echoing the previous descriptions of the embarkation of the Argonauts in Book 1 and Jason in Book 3 as he undergoes a symbolic divinization through fire.

After the narrator’s description of Jason’s symbolic immortalization in his aethlos with the fire breathing bulls, the return journey is also punctuated by adoring crowds, but the motif becomes even more marked as a representation of the living heroization of the Argonauts as a group. The final two descriptions of adoring crowds come in the visit to the island of the Phaeacians. When the Argonauts arrive, the Phaeacians welcome them with sacrifices, and the Argonauts rejoice in their reception:

Both Richard Hunter and Francis Vian translate ἀγανῇσιν θυηπολίῃσιν as ‘sacrifices to gods’, but this masks the narrator’s description of the reception of the arriving heroes with sacrifices, an interpretation supported by the dative noun for sacrifice qualifying the marked verb δειδέχατο ‘received’: δέχεσθαι is a verb often used in the context of receiving a god or heroized individual. For example, in Plutarch’s life, Theseus’ bones are received into Athens “with sacrifices” as if it were the arrival of the hero himself, ἡσθέντες οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι πομπαῖς τε λαμπραῖς ἐδέξαντο καὶ θυσίαις ὥσπερ αὐτὸν ἐπανερχόμενον εἰς τὸ ἄστυ ‘Delighted, the Athenians received the bones with splendid processions and sacrifices as if Theseus himself were returning to the city’. [66] In contrast to the other adoring crowds, the Argonauts here rejoice in this reception as if they had returned home, which goal will be the end of their journey and of the poem. Their divine honors here increase the anticipation of the end of the process of heroization, simultaneous with the end of the narrative journey, signified in the narrator’s address to them as gods at the end of the poem.

The extraordinary status of the Argonauts among the Phaeacians culminates in the marriage of Jason and Medea, which attracts mortal and divine crowds of admirers, the final adoring crowds of the poem. Hera sends nymphs to attend the wedding, giving honor to Jason (ὦρσε γὰρ αὐτή Ἥρη Ζηνὸς ἄκοιτις, Ἰήσονα κυδαίνουσα ‘Hera herself had roused them to come, to bring honor to Jason’, 4.1151–1152). Hera’s honor for Jason is described with a verb used elsewhere in the poem for the honor given to heroes (κυδαίνουσα). Then, the Phaeacian women gather to look at the heroes, as do the countryfolk, who bring gifts (4.1182–1185). All admire the heroes, again with the marked verb in the poem for marvelling at divine presence (θάμβευν δ’ εἰσορόωσαι ἀριπρεπέων ἡρώων / εἴδεα καὶ μορφάς ‘They were struck with wonder at the sight of the handsome form of the glorious heroes’, 4.1192–1193). These crowds have gathered to honor the marriage of Jason and Medea, which has been consecrated on the divine fleece so that the marriage “would be honored and the subject of song” (ὄφρα πέλοιτο τιμήεις τε γάμος καὶ ἀοίδιμος, 4.1142–1143). τιμήεις ‘honored’ is a term evocative of hero cult and frequently used throughout Greek literature to refer to honors given to divinities. The concurrence here of cult honor (τιμήεις) and the honor conferred by epic song (ἀοίδιμος) precisely encapsulates {154|155} Apollonius’ presentation of these two themes as conjoined through his poem. The marriage takes places in the sacred cave of the Phaeacians, which was previously occupied by Macris, nurse of Dionysus, an earlier heroine whose status is denoted by the narrator’s description of the boundless wealth she gave to the inhabitants (πόρεν ὄλβον ἀθέσφατον ἐνναέτῃσιν, 4.1140). The narrator explains that, “even now,” the cave is known as “the sacred cave of Medea” (4.1143–1144), replacing an earlier heroine with this heroized couple.

The immortalization of the Argonauts is part of a large-scale preoccupation with the nature of divinity, a response to contemporary poetic engagement with the processes of deification. Their heroization takes place in a landscape largely devoid of gods: Zeus himself never makes a direct appearance in the poem. The poem’s interest in divinity can be appreciated through the epiphanies of the numerous minor gods who seem to supplant the role of the Olympian involvement with Homeric heroes, and Apollonius gives great attention to the aesthetics of divine presence for the poetic audience. It is in this intersection between human and divine that the nature of Apollonius’ divinities is most called into question, and it is this same intersection that is represented in the ongoing heroization of the Argonauts. [67] This discussion will conclude with a brief glance towards the collapsing of boundaries between gods, demigods, and heroes in the encounter with Triton in Libya. The multiple attempts to identify his divinity neatly encapsulate the poem’s experimentation with the divide between mortals and immortals.

When Triton first appears, as in Pindar, he assumes the form of the man Eurypylus, but the narrator has already made clear that he is, in fact, Triton (4.1552). He is then addressed as ἥρως by Euphemus (4.1564). After his miraculous disappearance, the heroes rejoice that they have been met by one of the blessed, μακάρων τις ἐναίσιμος (4.1592). At this realization, they exhort Jason to offer him a sacrifice of sheep and {155|156} prayer: Jason, who offers several possible identifications for the sea-god, addresses him as δαῖμον when he offers the sheep (4.1597). [68] In response to Jason’s prayer for this god to be gracious (ἵλαθι), the narrator describes the epiphany of Triton “as he really was to look upon” (τοῖος ἐὼν οἷός περ ἐτήτυμος ἦεν ἰδέσθαι, 4.1603). This appearance is prefaced by a simile comparing him to a man, followed by a description of the upper half of his body, which is exactly like the immortals (ἀντικρὺ μακάρεσσι, 4.1612), while his bottom half is monstrous (4.1613–1616). Dennis Feeney, on the basis of the parallels to Homeric comparisons of men and gods, observes the “remarkable confusion of categories” created here in this detailed qualification of Triton’s immortal appearance. [69] Makares is used only of divinities in the Argonautica, here at precisely the moment when the narrator emphasizes Triton’s divinity in a detailed exposition of the nebulous boundaries between man and gods. [70] Makares are described again in the final address to the heroes:

The clear evocations of the language of Hymns in this ending recall the beginning of the poem, creating a sort of pious frame around the whole poem. The implication in the address to the heroes as ἀριστήων μακάρων γένος ‘race of blessed heroes’ (4.1773) is that the Argonauts have completed their aethloi and become divinities. The admiration of the gods towards the ἡμιθέων ἀνδρῶν γένος ‘generation of demigods’ as the Argo set sail is recalled here (1.548), but the reference to the heroes as μακάρων {156|157} γένος affirms their movement from the demigods described at the start of Hesiod’s fourth race to those chosen by Zeus for immortality ἐν μακάρων νήσοισι ‘in the isles of the blessed’. [71] The narrator propitiates the heroes with a verb (ἵλατε) used throughout the poem in contexts of heroization, anticipated by the propitiation of Apollo on Thunias and Anaphe, the honors for the Dioskouroi, and more recently, the addresses to the Hesperides, Libyan heroines and Triton. [72] Further, this mythic and cult immortality is concluded with a hope that their epic fame will continually increase, completing the narrator’s fusion of cult and epic immortality signaled at the beginning of the poem. Their aethloi concluded, the Argonauts have achieved their immortalization, at which point the narrator ends his tale.

A notable feature of traditional epic adventure conspicuously missing from the Argonautica is a katabasis, although there are so many allusions to passage through Hades and chthonic imagery that the journey of the Argo itself seems to be a kind of katabasis symbolized by the passage through crashing rocks in Books 2 and 4. [73] The numerous references to hero cult increase the thematic association of the voyage with a trip through death, and the poem concludes with a kind of poetic immortalization in which the heroes are addressed as gods. This process of heroization is yet another aspect of the poem’s preoccupation with the nature of divinity, which is conspicuous as much through the notable absence of the Olympians as it is through the divine presence assumed by the heroes: the entire poem seems to question the ways in which divinities interact with mortals. [74] In the {157|158} Hellenistic period, a greater interest in divinization and the creation of gods and heroes seems to have accompanied a relaxing of these categories: the much greater frequency of heroic honors for the recently deceased, or in some cases, living individuals, and the mixture of local and foreign cults provoked by migration and the Hellenistic city centers, widened the possibilities of immortalization. The Egyptian traditions of divine rulers, who were traditionally seen as intermediaries between gods and men, seem to have been fully adopted by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, and cult worship was instituted for himself and Arsinoe as the adelphoi theoi in 271, before her death in 270. [75] The desire to promote the divinity of Ptolemaic rulers played a large role in Callimachus’ lost Ektheosis of Arsinoe (fr.228) and has been proposed as a primary theme in his Hymn to Zeus and the Hymn to Delos, as well as Theocritus’ Idylls 15, 16, and 17 (‘Encomium of Ptolemy Philadelphus’) and the lost Berenice (fr.3 Gow). [76] The role of epic in creating eternal renown for its heroes, the cult status of these heroes for the Greeks, and the contemporary interest in deification of living people is combined in Apollonius’ presentation of the movement of his heroes from the poetic immortality established in the opening of the poem towards the cult immortality signaled in the final address to the heroes (4.1773). The elaborate creation of this process of heroization, of which the Argonauts are unaware, amidst a back drop of recessed Olympian gods and more fluid encounters with divinities of intermediary status, would have resonated quite sharply with the ongoing deification of the Ptolemies. As Hunter has observed of the depiction of Arete and Alkinoos in the poem, the poet creates an image which, by updating Homeric epic for his contemporary audience, transfers a “trans-historical authority” to the Ptolemies themselves. [77] {158|159}