Meeting the Argonauts (Part II)

More On the Allegory in the Orphic Argonautica

In the previous newsletter, we examined the opening of Orpheus’ Argonautica, roughly halfway through the Catalogue of Heroes. What follows is Part II, rounding out the Catalogue of Heroes. Part III will begin examination of the Quest for the Golden Fleece itself.

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Beginning immediately where we left off:

“Abas’ widely known descendants, whom Pero bore” are introduced next, “the impeccable sons Laodokos, Talaos, and Areios”¹. Although they are named here as the sons of Abas, they are more widely known as the sons of a man named Bias. The etymology for our English word “bias” is unrelated, and the ancient Greek name comes from the word for “life” and generally means “force” or “strength”, as in “life force” or “the vitality of life”. By changing the lineage of these brothers, our Orphic poet tries to make it so that they are perhaps assumed into the lineage that eventually produces Theseus. (There is another Abas, from Thrace, but he is mentioned as father of the earlier Kanthos.)

In addition to assuming a lineage sacred to Athenians, the brothers gain, through the name Abas, a further sense of holiness or purity. Abas means “guileless” or “good-hearted”. It may also be linked to the word abaton, made from the prefix ‘a-’ denoting “not” and the word baino, “to step”, essentially meaning “that which is untrodden” or “an inaccessible place”. The word abaton in ancient Greek was used specifically to refer to two types of holy site. Within Greece, an abaton was the part of a temple to Asklepios where patrons suffering an affliction would go to sleep, in the hopes of receiving guidance or healing from the God in their dreams. The word abaton was also used to describe the sites sacred to Osiris in Egypt where it was said that the parts of his dismembered body were buried.

Thus, through changing the lineage of the three brothers, the poet shifts their allegorical descent from one of vitality in the world of generation to one of pure and holy sanctuary. As for the brothers themselves, we shall proceed in order. Laodokos’ name comes from Laos meaning “people”. The usual word for people, though, is demos. Laos implies a shared connection between the people, which is not the same as citizenship (demos) or ethnicity (ethnos). The second half of Laodokos comes from dechomai and means “to recieve” or “to accept”. Talaos comes from a root meaning “to bear” as in “to endure/suffer”. Areios derives either directly from Ares, or perhaps from Areion which means “Martial” or “Warlike” and is the name of a mythical divine horse.

That these three Argonauts are given as brothers, and that they are sons of a man named Abas, tells us that they act as the “temple guardians” within the Soul. Laodokos, as the receiver of people, is that part of the Soul which recognizes and accepts (or internalizes) sacred truths or Mysteries. Talaos, as the one who endures, is the Soul’s capacity to bear the weight of those Mysteries. Talaos may also be suffering in the sense of enduring the Mysteries alone, i.e. observing secrecy among the uninitiated. Areios, because he is Warlike, is the militant defender of the Soul’s abaton, the Mysteries accepted and endured by his brothers.

“Amphidamas, Aleos’ son, came too”². Amphidamas is a compound word. Amphi means “on both sides”, like an amphibean “lives on both sides” (inside and outside) of the water. It can also mean “around”. Damas means “to tame” or “to conquer”. Together, they suggest that Amphidamas is “tamer of both sides”. In contrast to the Dioscuri, who represent the harmony or meeting of opposites, Amphidamas is “tamer of both sides” in that he is a bottleneck. Amphidamas is that part of the Soul which actively regulates or mediates the downward and upward pulls on the Soul.

“Next came Erginos, who left behind Branchos’ corn-rich fields and the bastions of fortified Miletos”³ to come aboard the Argo. His name comes from the word ergon, meaning “work”. Branchos is not a location, but a mythical figure: he was a legendary seer, and a lover of Apollo, who established an Oracle at Didyma (nearby Miletos). Erginos’ work, then, is to plant and cultivate divine gifts, and store them in the fortifications of the city. Miletos is also notable as the eponymous home of Milesian philosophy and the likely origin of the early Orphic cult at Olbia, suggesting that these fortifications are representative of the integration of the fruits of this work into one’s own philosophical and religious lifestyle. Thus, our poet is telling us that Erginos specifically represents the Soul’s capacity for theurgy or “God-work”.

Then “Neleus’ child Periklymenos arrived”⁴. Periklymenos is the grandson of Poseidon, and his divine grandfather gave him the ability to shapeshift. Periklymenos comes from root words meaning “Encompassing Fame”. His name, his abilities, and from whom he received those abilities all serve as hints to tell us that Periklymenos in Orpheus’ Argonautica represents the fluid capacity of the Soul to adapt, and like water, it’s ability to expand to fill any given container.

We meet next “Quick Meleager, whom Oineus and rosy-armed Althaia bore”⁵. To understand Meleager, like many of the Argonauts, we must understand his parents. Oineus comes from the word for “wine”, and Althaia comes from a word meaning “to heal”. Meleager is from Kalydon, where the mythical boar lived, and it was his fate to kill the boar with Atalanta’s help. However, others took issue with this and fought Meleager, and he killed his own uncles. In order to stop him, Althaia placed a piece of wood on the fire that she was told by the Fates would kill Meleager if ever it burned. Meleager, then, is quick because he represents that part of the Soul which tends toward passion.

Then comes our third Iphiklos: “he was Althaia’s brother, who was exceptionally devoted to pretty Meleager, and who taught him splendid deeds”⁶. Immediately it is obvious that this Iphiklos is paired with Meleager. By saying that Iphiklos is devoted to “pretty” Meleager, the poet is trying to draw an association in our minds between Beauty and “the Good”: in Platonic thought, “the Good” is “the One”, and the nature of each thing’s “Good-ness” manifests itself in that thing’s beauty. By being devoted to pretty Meleager, and by teaching him splendid deeds, Iphiklos must then represent the Soul’s faculty to recognize and cultivate divine potential. That he is Althaia’s brother, perhaps killed by Meleager later, serves as a warning not to be consumed by passion: one must not lose sight of the Good, and of the potential to realize it.

Next is Asterion, “the child of famous Kometes who lived in Peiresia”⁷ where two rivers join and continue to the sea as one. His name comes from the root aster, which means “star”, and his father’s name shares its root with that of our word “comet”. Peiresia comes from a root meaning “limit”. Asterion, thus, is that fragment of Starry Sky within us all, who lives at the “limit” of one’s consciousness, where the two rivers must meet before continuing.

We are then told that “Eurydamas had travelled from Lake Boibeis, near the Peneios and milk-rich Meliboia”⁸. His name comes from roots meaning “wide” or “broad” and “tamer”. If the earlier Amphidamas is “tamer of both sides” and a bottleneck, then Eurydamas as the “wide tamer” acts as a fence: rather than a strict leash that chokes when you pull, Eurydamas is that part of the Soul which provides a framework, or a safe area within which to wander. Also, Lake Boibeis and the Peneios are each sacred waters, with Boibeis being associated with Athena and wisdom, and Peneios being the river where Apollo purified himself after slaying the Python. “Milk-rich Meliboia” is also notable, as Meliboia comes from words meaning “honey” and “cattle/ox”. Milk and honey is a common libation in ancient Greece, and it may have played a special role in Orphic initiations. Eurydamas then, as a whole, represents the pastoral faculty of the Soul.

“The next to arrive was Elatos’ child Polyphemos, who had previously distinguished himself among the heroes for his manly deeds”⁹, not to be confused with the same-named Cyclops in Homer’s Odyssey. His name comes from root words meaning “many” and “speech” or “word”, suggesting that he is “many-voiced”. His father’s name could come from a word meaning “to drive/strike”, or perhaps from another meaning “pine tree”. These things, taken together with his own distinguishment by his own manly deeds, tells us that our Polyphemus is representative of that part of the Soul which is driven to seek out (or stand tall in) the praises of the Many.