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Histories

§4.179.1-4.179.3

Jason, Triton, and the Legend of the Tripod

The legend of Jason being blown to Lake Tritonis during the Argo's voyage, where he encountered the god Triton and exchanged a bronze tripod for a safe passage, along with the prophecy of a hundred Greek cities to be built and the subsequent hiding of the tripod by the local Libyans.

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§4.179.1

ἔστι δὲ καὶ ὅδε λόγος λεγόμενος. Ἰήσονα, ἐπείτε οἱ ἐξεργάσθη ὑπὸ τῷ Πηλίῳ ἡ Ἀργώ, ἐσθέμενον ἐς αὐτὴν ἄλλην τε ἑκατόμβην καὶ δὴ καὶ τρίποδα χάλκεον περιπλώειν1 Πελοπόννησον, βουλόμενον ἐς Δελφοὺς ἀπικέσθαι.

​And there is also the following story told. When the Argo had been built for him under Mount Pelion, Jason, having put on board a hecatomb and especially a bronze tripod, sailed around the Peloponnese, wishing to reach Delphi.

§4.179.2

καί μιν, ὡς πλέοντα γενέσθαι2 κατὰ Μαλέην, ὑπολαβεῖν ἄνεμον βορέην καὶ ἀποφέρειν πρὸς τὴν Λιβύην· πρὶν δὲ κατιδέσθαι γῆν, ἐν τοῖσι βράχεσι γενέσθαι λίμνης τῆς Τριτωνίδος. καί οἱ ἀπορέοντι τὴν ἐξαγωγὴν λόγος ἐστὶ φανῆναι Τρίτωνα καὶ κελεύειν τὸν Ἰήσονα ἑωυτῷ δοῦναι τὸν τρίποδα, φάμενόν σφι καὶ τὸν πόρον δέξειν καὶ ἀπήμονας ἀποστελέειν.

​And as he was sailing past Malea, a north wind caught him and carried him away to Libya; and before he could sight land, he found himself in the shallows of Lake Tritonis. As he was at a loss for a way out, the story goes that Triton appeared and ordered Jason to give him the tripod, saying that he would show them the passage and send them away unharmed.

§4.179.3

πειθομένου δὲ τοῦ Ἰήσονος, οὕτω δὴ τόν τε διέκπλοον τῶν βραχέων δεικνύναι τὸν Τρίτωνά σφι καὶ τὸν τρίποδα θεῖναι ἐν τῷ ἑωυτοῦ ἱρῷ, ἐπιθεσπίσαντά τε τῷ τρίποδι καὶ τοῖσι σὺν Ἰήσονι σημήναντα τὸν πάντα λόγον, ὡς ἐπεὰν τὸν τρίποδα κομίσηται τῶν ἐκγόνων τις τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἀργοῖ συμπλεόντων, τότε ἑκατὸν πόλιας οἰκῆσαι περὶ τὴν Τριτωνίδα λίμνην Ἑλληνίδας πᾶσαν εἶναι ἀνάγκην.3 ταῦτα ἀκούσαντας τοὺς ἐπιχωρίους τῶν Λιβύων κρύψαι τὸν τρίποδα.

​When Jason agreed, Triton then showed them the channel through the shallows and placed the tripod in his own temple, having uttered a prophecy over the tripod and declared the whole matter to those with Jason: that whenever one of the descendants of the shipmates on the Argo should recover the tripod, then there would be an absolute necessity for a hundred Greek cities to be settled around Lake Tritonis. Hearing this, the native Libyans hid the tripod.

Syntax notes3 items
  1. 4.179.1Ἰήσονα ... περιπλώειν

    Following the introductory statement "there is also the following story told" (ἔστι δὲ καὶ ὅδε λόγος λεγόμενος), the accusative and infinitive construction of indirect speech (reporting a rumor) begins, with Ἰήσονα as the subject accusative and περιπλώειν as the main infinitive.

  2. 4.179.2ὡς πλέοντα γενέσθαι

    Because the framework of indirect speech (oratio obliqua) is maintained, the infinitive γενέσθαι is used in the temporal clause introduced by ὡς instead of an indicative verb. πλέοντα is a present participle modifying the pronoun μιν (Jason, in the accusative).

  3. 4.179.3τότε ἑκατὸν πόλιας οἰκῆσαι περὶ τὴν Τριτωνίδα λίμνην Ἑλληνίδας πᾶσαν εἶναι ἀνάγκην

    The core structure of the clause introduced by ὡς is the accusative and infinitive expressing necessity πᾶσαν εἶναι ἀνάγκην (it is an absolute necessity), which takes the preceding infinitive phrase ἑκατὸν πόλιας οἰκῆσαι... (that a hundred Greek cities be settled...) as its subject. The verb οἰκῆσαι is used here in an intransitive or passive sense ("to be inhabited" or "to be settled").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:4.179.1-4.179.3