computations, about 1230 years before the birth .of Chi®.
Orpheus only names the iilands Apfirtides, and conduéls his Argonauts,
as we have already feen, through the Palus Meotis, and
up the rivers into the northern ocean.. But Apollonius, according
to whofe account the ihip Argos made a lefs wonderful, and
a ihorter voyage, expreflly fays, there were two iilands, ©n one of
which there was atemple- dedicated to Diana, and on the point
o f the other, near the fea, the -Colchciians built a fort. I
think it neceffîrÿ to give a brief narration o f this expedition,,
which is very circumftantially defcribed by Apollonius, as, from
thence, the hiilory of Cberjb and OJera takes its beginning.
The Argonauts, knights errants o f their age, or, irr other
terms, ufurpers o f what belongs to others, either by force or
fraud,, formed the heroick projeél of getting, by conqueft, the
precious veil, or whatever manufacture it was, which they called
the golden fleece, the fame o f which had reached Theffaly, f rom
Cholchos, where:it was jealoufly kept. Jafon being made ‘captain
o f this adventure, embarked on board a fhip, wbidh could
not be very large, accompanied by the moil couragious
young men of Greece, and, without meeting with any difailer
call.anchor in Phafls. Medea, the king’s daughter,, faw and loved
him, and that circumilance facilitated the copqueil. The royal
maid fled with him in the ihip Argos. Péta, the king o f Col-
cbos, her father, difpatched warriours in purfuit o f them every
whefe, threatening his fubjeits, and,making imprecations againit
them i f they returned without his daughter. The Colchefians
had before that many ihips, or Bark's, which proves, that Jafon’i
ihip, though it might be the firil that dared to pais from Theffaly
to the black fea, yet was by no means the firil that failed:
the fea. A'pflrtus, the brother o f Medea, and fon o f Eeta, was
one o f the captains o f thofe little fleets..
T h e
’The -Argonauts {felting Tail \wiih -.fhe rgdlflen (BeeceranS twifh
PMvdea from ihe fiver Phafls, :arrived in Paphla.gonia th e ithird
rday after. .Not thinking themfelves fecure in thefe waters, .they
'held a ferious confultation about what courfethey were-to take,
in order to efcape .the danger o f being ¡taken by their purfuers.:
Hitherto there is nothing in the itory that can be called extravagant,
or incredible. One o f them, named Argo, who had fuc-
ceeded Pifes as pilot, faid he had often heard o f a very ancient
voyage made up the Danube, and a branch o f that river which
Jed into the Adriatick fea. This information came from 1 he-
!bes in Egypt, and the prieils o f that country had communicated
it to a Greek. In the way thither there was a city called
Ea, where the intinerary tables o f thofe firil navigators were
preferved;* The Argonouts therefore determined to return into
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