CYZICUS EPISODE (1–461)

The Argonauts’ stay on Cyzicus is a traditional element of the myth and narrated also in AR (1.936–1152) and other sources (e.g. AO 490–628). In VF only the king is referred to by the name Cyzicus (2.629–36); other ancient authors confirm that the whole country bore the name Cyzicus (e.g. AR 1.1076, Ov. Tr. 1.10.29–30) and was (formerly) called Arctonnesus (Plin. HN 5.142). In historical times Cyzicus was a peninsula (perhaps originally an island), located in the Propontis in Asia Minor (on its geography see Marquardt 1836, Hasluck 1910, Delage 1930: 92–113), modern Kapu Dagh. Cyzicus (like other places in the vicinity) was an important centre for the cult of Cybele (on this goddess see e.g. Schwenn 1922; on differences between Greek and Roman versions of the cult see Summer 1996; on the Cybele cult in Augustan Rome see Becher 1991), as attested by literary, archaeological and numismatic sources (see e.g. Hdt. 4.76, Strab. 12.8.11; see Graillot 1912: 372–7, Schwenn 1922: 2287, Ruge 1924: 232–3, Vermaseren 1987: 91–7). The Argonautic voyage must have been traditionally associated with the cult, since the Argonauts were said to have founded the local temple (Strab. 12.8.11).

VF's Cyzicus episode (sometimes seen as a kind of epyllion: see Runchina 1982: 29–30) covers the end of the second and just over the first half of the third book (2.627–64, 3.1–461; see Intro. 2.3, 3.1, 3.2). At the end of the second book the Argonauts arrive at Cyzicus, and the eponymous king receives them hospitably (2.627–64). At the beginning of book 3 the Argonauts take leave of their hosts (3.1–13). After an address to the Muse (14–18), a flashback reveals that the goddess Cybele, looking for a convenient occasion for revenge on Cyzicus, who has killed one of her lions and displayed the spoils at his front door, identifies a good opportunity (19–31). Divine intervention causes the Argo to return to Cyzicus during the night (32–42). A battle between the former hosts and their guests ensues, during which many of the inhabitants of Cyzicus die and Jason kills king Cyzicus (43–248). Then Jupiter ends the fighting; in the morning the Argonauts realize with horror what has happened (249–72). They bury the dead; Jason and Cyzicus’ wife Clite deliver ‘funeral speeches’ (274–361).