The Bee Simile - Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft

136 Wolfgang Polleichtner
The bees visit the lilies as we have said. Because the meadow is introduced
into the picture almost as a third party besides lilies and bees, the smile of the
meadow may be an indicator of the joy that Apollonius expects to create in his
reader with his Lemnian episode. 143 This would be the humorous end to what
had a curious trace of humoristic details. 144
Utterly forgotten is the task for which the Argonauts gathered and undertook
their voyage. This is pointed out by Heracles in a very interesting way: “Let
him (sc. Jason) stay all day in the beds of Hypsipyle until he has populated
Lemnos with male children and earned himself great glory.” Whether Jason,
please excuse my bluntness, could ever achieve by monogamous behavior
what Heracles – certainly by overstating the matter 145 – suspects him to have
in mind only is a valid question. 146 The plural for “beds” is probably telling.
The answer to this question reveals Heracles’ sharp tongue and his rather curious
character, and it also contains a moral rebuke for every one of the Argonauts
who has participated in Jason’s deeds. As a result, the Argonauts feel
ashamed. They would not need to feel ashamed if they did not feel – and were
not – guilty of what they are accused. However, as far as we can infer from
Hypsipyle’s words, she does not accuse him of “adultery” or vice versa. But
does Heracles’ statement have to be an overstatement only – especially in regard
to the Argonauts who feel ashamed? Consider this as well: Would the
number of sailors on one ancient ship be sufficient to provide every woman in
Carthage with a husband? 147 We do not have to blame Apollonius for a simile
that does not describe the reality of the narrative if we bend the truth of that
reality first. 148 Heracles blows a horn whose tune has been heard earlier. This
Apollonius’ work. See e.g. C.R. Beye (1969) esp. 43ff., 47-54 and (1982) 93; T.M. Klein
(1983) 116f.; R. Hunter (1988) 436 n. 4; S. Jackson (1992) 155.
143 The meadow is the viewer of the scene just like various gods in Argonautica 4,953-960; cf.
E. Phinney (1967) 146. Apollonius’ narrative focus starts in the middle and zooms out; cf.
M. Hügi (1952) 28.
144 Cf. e.g. on Heracles’ sarcastic and ironic speech R. Ibscher (1939) 18.
145 Cf. C. Pietsch (1999) 107 n. 40.
146 This is, of course, also true in regard to the Argonauts who do not stay with Heracles.
Their number probably does not match that of the Lemnian women; cf. H. Jacubczick-
Osipov (2000) 95 n. 408.
147 Cf. H. Fränkel (1968) 115 ad 1,853f.
148 There is therefore no need to accept Fränkel’s ([1968] 118) emendation of the text in 1,881.
Cf. also the apparatus criticus in his Oxford edition of the text; cf. G.W. Mooney (1912) 124.
Also cf. Fränkel’s discussion of the pertinent scholia. In contrast to Fränkel, I would say
that it would be tantalizing to see an allusion to a passage from Isocrates (ad Demonicum
52) behind this simile as well. Of course, this would be more amorous ribaldry.