¹ The scene appears to differ from other extant accounts of the Argonauts’ interaction with Talos. See Hunter, R.L. (ed.), Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica Book IV (Cambridge, 2015), 298–9Google Scholar.

² Reconciling the two versions of Medea has been the focus of much scholarship. See Barkhuizen, J.H., ‘The psychological characterisation of Medea in Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 3.744–824’, AClass 22 (1979), 33–48Google Scholar; Beye, C.R., Epic and Romance in the Argonautica of Apollonius (Carbondale, IL, 1982)Google Scholar; Hunter, R.L., ‘Medea's flight: the fourth book of the Argonautica’, CQ 37 (1987), 129–39Google Scholar; Dyck, A.R., ‘On the way from Colchis to Corinth. Medea in Book 4 of the Argonautica’, Hermes 117 (1989), 455–70Google Scholar; Clauss, J.J., ‘Conquest of the Mephistophelian Nausicaa. Medea's role in Apollonius’ redefinition of the epic hero’, in Clauss, J.J. and Johnston, S.I. (edd.), Medea. Essays on Medea in Myth, Literature, Philosophy, and Art (Princeton, 1997), 149–77Google Scholar; Holmberg, I.E., ‘Μῆτις and gender in Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica’, TAPhA 128 (1998), 135–59Google Scholar; Fantuzzi, M., ‘Which magic? Which Eros? Apollonius Argonautica and the different narrative roles of Medea as a sorceress in love’, in Papanghelis, T.D. and Rengakos, A. (edd.), Brill's Companion to Apollonius Rhodius (Leiden, 2008 ²), 287–310CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Buxton, R., ‘How Medea moves. Versions of a myth in Apollonius and elsewhere’, in Bartels, H. and Simon, A. (edd.), Unbinding Medea. Interdisciplinary Approaches to a Classical Myth from Antiquity to the 21st Century (London, 2010), 25–38Google Scholar.

³ For a discussion of veiling acts in the Argonautica, see Pavlou, M., ‘Reading Medea through her veil in the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius’, G&R 56 (2009), 183–202Google Scholar; for erotic viewing, see Buxton, R., ‘Les yeux de Médée. Le regard et la magie dans les Argonautiques d'Apollonios de Rhodes’, in Moreau, A. and Turpin, J.-C. (edd.), La magie. Actes du Colloque international de Montpellier 25–27 mars 1999 (Montpellier, 2000), 265–75Google Scholar, at 268–71.

⁴ For Medea's similes, see Clack, J., ‘The Medea similes of Apollonius Rhodius’, CJ 68 (1973), 310–15Google Scholar; and for her flight from Colchis, see Hunter (n. 2), 129–39 and Dyck (n. 2), 455–70.

⁵ I refer to the term ‘wedding imagery’ throughout, by which I mean any practice associated with a part of wedding ritual. Sources are scarce regarding wedding ritual in the Hellenistic period. I mostly rely on Athenian practices. These conform reasonably well to literary accounts of marital ritual, which would certainly be at the Hellenistic poets’ disposal. Many sources appear in poetry (especially tragedy). See Seaford, R., ‘The tragic wedding’, JHS 107 (1987), 106–30CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Contiades-Tsitsoni, E., Hymenaios und Epithalamion: Das Hochzeitslied in der friihgriechischen Lyrik (Stuttgart, 1990), 33–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Oakley, J.H. and Sinos, R.H., The Wedding in Ancient Athens (Madison, WI, 1993)Google Scholar, passim; Wagner-Hasel, B., ‘The veil and other textiles at weddings in ancient Greece’, in Lovén, L. Larsson and Strömberg, A. (edd.), Ancient Marriage in Myth and Reality (Cambridge, 2010), 102–21Google Scholar. For parodies of marriage ritual, see Mitchell, A.G., Greek Vase-Painting and the Origins of Visual Humour (Cambridge, 2009), 268–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For the Spartan wedding, most aspects of which do not seem to have influenced the Argonautic passages, see Goff, B., Citizen Bacchae: Women's Ritual Practice in Ancient Greece (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2004), 116–20Google Scholar.

⁶ The Argonauts exemplify the juxtaposition between love and strife here, as they surround the cave, armed, singing a wedding song to the accompaniment of Orpheus (4.1155–60). This subverts scenes such as Il. 18.490–6, in which men dance as a bride is led through the city. See Fränkel, H., Noten zu den Argonautika des Apollonius (Munich, 1968), 567Google Scholar; Beye (n. 2), 155–6.

⁷ The limitations of the scope of this paper prevent a full-scale analysis of all the instances of marital imagery that are evoked through Books 3 and 4. I refer to them in discussion of their bearing on this passage, which I hold to be the key passage within a chain of repeated allusions to weddings.

⁸ Carspecken pioneered the argument that Jason was a weak and hopeless leader; Carspecken, J.F., ‘Apollonius Rhodius and the Homeric epic’, YClS 13 (1952), 33–143Google Scholar, at 101–3. A similar condemnation was made by DeForest, M.M., Apollonius’ Argonautica: A Callimachean Epic (Leiden, 1994), 47–69Google Scholar. Others have recognized a steady decline in the moral fibre of Jason in the narrative. See Klein, T.M., ‘Apollonius’ Jason. Hero and scoundrel’, QUCC 42 (1983), 115–26Google Scholar; Rose, A.R., ‘Clothing imagery in Apollonius’ Argonautica’, QUCC 50 (1985), 29–44Google Scholar; Schwinge, E.-R., Künstlichkeit von Kunst. Zur Geschichtlichkeit der alexandrinischen Poesie (München, 1986)Google Scholar. For redemptions of Jason, see Lawall, G.W., ‘Apollonius’ Argonautica. Jason as anti-hero’, YClS 19 (1966), 119–69Google Scholar; Beye, C.R., ‘Jason as love-hero in Apollonius’ Argonautika’, GRBS 10 (1969), 31–55Google Scholar; Levin, D.N., Apollonius’ Argonautica Re-Examined. The Neglected First and Second Books (Leiden, 1971)Google Scholar; Zanker, G., ‘The love theme in Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica’, WS 13 (1979), 52–75Google Scholar; Hunter, R.L., ‘Short on heroics. Jason in the Argonautica’, CQ 38 (1988), 436–53CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Jackson, S.B., ‘Apollonius’ Jason. Human being in an epic scenario’, G&R 39 (1992), 155–62Google Scholar; Clauss, J.J., The Best of the Argonauts. The Redefinition of the Epic Hero in Book One of Apollonius’ Argonautica (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1993)Google Scholar, passim; Williams, M.F., ‘Stoicism and the character of Jason in the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius’, Scholia 5 (1996), 17–41Google Scholar; Mori, A., The Politics of Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica (Cambridge, 2008), 52–90CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also the overview of scholarship by Glei, R.F., ‘Outlines of Apollonian scholarship 1955–1999’, in [n. 9], 103) and to virginity (see Buxton [n. 2], 272–3). Achilles’ Papanghelis, T.D. and Rengakos, A. (edd.), Brill's Companion to Apollonius Rhodius (Leiden, 2008 ²), 1–28Google Scholar.

⁹ Cf. Hes. Op. 143–5 (घεὺς δὲ πατὴρ τρίτον ἄλλο γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων | χάλκειον ποίησ᾽, οὐκ ἀργυρέῳ οὐδὲν ὁμοῖον, | ἐκ μελιᾶν, δεινόν τε καὶ ὄβριμον); see Vian, F. (ed.), Apollonios de Rhodes, Argonautiques: Chant IV (Paris, 1981), 204–5Google Scholar; Clauss, J.J., ‘Cosmos without imperium. The Argonautic journey through time’, in Harder, M.A., Regtuit, R.F. and Wakker, G.C. (edd.), Apollonius Rhodius (Leuven, 2000), 11–32Google Scholar; Buxton, R., ‘The myth of Talos’, in Atherton, C. (ed.), Monsters and Monstrosity in Greek and Roman Culture (Bari, 2002), 83–112Google Scholar; Hunter (n. 1), 300.

¹⁰ This is a key argument in Clauss (n. 9), 11–32. He argues that the epic covers a ‘time of transition from a parochial world near the end of the era of violent creation and monstrous beings’ (29); Talos, despite his sympathetic portrayal, belongs to this bygone era.

¹¹ Both ἀνήρ and ἄνθρωπος, according to LSJ s.v., reflect opposition to gods, on the one hand, and to beasts, on the other. The term is only used twice in the Argonautica; cf. the gods watching the Argonauts as they set off from Pagasae (1.547–8). Buxton (n. 9), 89 places Talos somewhere between humans and giants.

¹² This, in turn, makes Medea comparable to Odysseus, who stands taunting Polyphemus as they depart (Od. 9.473–80).

¹³ See Dyck (n. 2), 468–9. The Cyclopes are called ἄνδρες at Od. 6.5, while Odysseus’ companions conjecture who might live in such a large cave at Od. 9.187, assuming some πελώριος ἀνήρ. One of Odysseus’ comrades calls Polyphemus a savage man at Od. 9.494 (ἄγριον ἄνδρα). Talos is given no such brutish modifier. The sense that Talos is a comparable but more humanized figure coincides with Polyphemus’ sympathetic portrayal in Theoc. Id. 11. Moreover, Talos’ adherence to Zeus's orders contrasts with the Odyssean Cyclopes, who notably shun his laws (Od. 9.275–8). See Brown, C.G., ‘In the Cyclops’ cave: revenge and justice in Odyssey 9’, Mnemosyne 49 (1996), 1–29CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Segal, C.P., ‘Divine justice in the Odyssey: Poseidon, Cyclops, and Helios’, AJPh 113 (1992), 489–518Google Scholar.

¹⁴ Buxton discusses the connection both to Achilles (see Buxton [n. 9], 103) and to virginity (see Buxton [n. 2], 272–3). Achilles’ vulnerable heel is not attested before Statius (Achil. 1.133–4, 1.268–70, 1.480–1), although it is thought to go back to the Archaic period; see Burgess, J., ‘Achilles’ heel: the death of Achilles in ancient myth’, ClAnt 14 (1995), 217–44Google Scholar. Cf. the account of Achilles’ vulnerability at Argon. 4.866–79. Buxton (n. 9), 100–3 also discusses connections between lower-leg injuries and ideas of youthful males, suggesting that Talos’ weakness could suggest that he is an ἐρώμενος or someone who has issues with procreation. There may also be a medical undertone to the description of Talos’ heel, since ὑμήν is frequently used of various biological membranes (see LSJ s.v.) and the σῦριγξ which the membrane covers (1647) is occasionally used of ducts or channels in the body (LSJ s.v. II.4). The medical tone is noted by Vian (n. 9), 205.

¹⁵ The Theocritean scholia to Id. 18 also explain the bridal song (ᾄδουσι δὲ τὸν ἐπιθαλάμιον αἱ παρθένοι πρὸ τοῦ θαλάμου, ἵνα τῆς παρθένου βιαζομένης ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἡ φωνὴ μὴ ἐξακούηται, λανθάνῃ δὲ κρυπτομένη διὰ τῆς τῶν παρθένων φωνῆς ‘Maidens sing the wedding hymn in front of the bed chamber, so that the sound of the man forcing himself on the girl may not be heard, that it might go unheard and hidden by the sound of the maidens’). See Oakley and Sinos (n. 5), 37. Contra, Sissa, G., ‘The hymen is a problem, still. Virginity, imperforation, and contraception, from Greece to Rome’, EuGeStA 3 (2013), 67–123Google Scholar. She claims (76) that for the ancient Greeks ‘what we call the “hymen” did not exist’; she bases this on the lack of medical texts which discuss the hymen. The connection between ὑμήν and wedding ritual, however, at least linguistically (ὑμήν and ὑμέναιος), is clearly within the interpretative capabilities of the Argonautic reader.

¹⁶ Her opposition to the common decision is also Iliadic and suggests a refusal to work as part of the team. The Argonautica has been shown to be as much about the great deeds of the Argonauts as a whole (cf. κλέα φωτῶν, 1.1), as much as it is about Jason and Medea. See Mori (n. 8), 63. This instance shows Medea's discordant place among the Argonauts as she goes against the ὁμόνοια of the group. Both Dyck and Hunter note other occasions where Medea is contrasted with the Argonauts as a group. See Hunter (n. 2), 132; Dyck (n. 2), 459.

¹⁷ κέκλυτέ μευ is most often seen in this form when addressing Trojans and Achaeans on a grand scale (Il. 3.86, 3.304, 3.456, 7.67, 7.348, 7.368, 8.497). DeForest (n. 8), 136–7 goes so far as to say that Medea is being named outright as being superior to Achilles in this statement, since Talos’ weak ankle recalls Achilles’ same fatal flaw. See also Livrea, E. (ed.), Apollonii Rhodii Argonautikon Liber IV. Introduzione, Testo Critico, Traduzione e Commento (Florence, 1973), 455Google Scholar; Mori (n. 8), 125–7. Mori's claim also recalls Medea's character in Pindar's Pythian 4, in which she encourages the Argonauts to hear her prophecy about Euphemus and the creation of Thera (‘κέκλυτε, παῖδες ὑπερθύμων τε φωτῶν καὶ θεῶν’, 21). Her role there is prophetic and knowledgeable, a role removed and given to Jason in the Argonautica. See Jackson, S.B., ‘Apollonius’ Argonautica. Euphemus, a clod and a tripod’, ICS 12 (1987), 23–30Google Scholar, at 28–9.

¹⁸ As Hunter (n. 1), 301 notes, μούνη specifically means that she can do it alone, rather than alone of them all. The pointed claim of her superiority still stands, however, since the rest choose instead to flee.

¹⁹ In the Iliad, confidence in superiority is much lessened and warriors instead look to δαίμονες to decide superiority (cf. Hector challenging Ajax at Il. 7.291–2: ὕστερον αὖτε μαχησόμεθ᾽ εἰς ὅ κε δαίμων | ἄμμε διακρίνῃ, δώῃ δ᾽ ἑτέροισί γε νίκην). Often their attack is accompanied by a plea that they hit their target (Il. 5.275), but they do not exhibit the same level of confidence as Medea.

²⁰ See LSJ s.v. δαμάζειν II, which attributes this meaning to the three passages mentioned above.

²¹ See also Hymn. Hom. Ven. 82. See Parry, H., ‘The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite: erotic ANANKE’, Phoenix 40 (1986), 253–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at 255; Bergren, A.L.T., ‘The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite: tradition and rhetoric, praise and blame’, ClAnt 8 (1989), 1–41Google Scholar, at 4; Turkeltaub, D., ‘The three virgin goddesses in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite’, AJPh 126 (2003), 101–16Google Scholar, at 103.

²² See Detienne, M. and Vernant, J.P., Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society (Hassocks, Sussex, 1978), 44Google Scholar; Zeitlin, F.I., Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature (Chicago, 1996), 195Google Scholar; Holmberg (n. 2), 144; Clayton, B., A Penelopean Poetics: Reweaving the Feminine in Homer's Odyssey (Lanham, MD, 2004), 11–12Google Scholar; Bergren, A., Weaving Truth: Essays on Language and the Female in Greek Thought (Washington, DC, 2008), 15–19Google Scholar.

²³ See Holmberg (n. 2), esp. 146–59, in which she discusses Medea's associations with δόλος, μῆτις and τέχνη. This expectation from the Argonauts suggests that she will carry out another underhand deed; this is further enforced by the fact that her μῆτις has so far seen her destroy her own brother and betray her people (cf. 4.404, 4.412, 4.421). As such, its use here recalls those instances and suggests that she will carry out something similarly sinister.

²⁴ See Holmberg (n. 2), 146.

²⁵ Cf. Od. 9.414 and 9.422. The connection between the two figures’ μῆτις is noted by Hunter (n. 1), 301.

²⁶ See Pavlock, B., Eros, Imitation, and the Epic Tradition (Ithaca, NY, 1990), 57Google Scholar.

²⁷ See Pavlou (n. 3), 191–3. Krevans, N., ‘Virgins and brides in the land of brotherly love’, in Cusset, C., Le Meur-Weissman, N. and Levin, F. (edd.), Mythe et Pouvoir à l’Εpoque Hellénistique (Leuven, 2012), 303–18Google Scholar.

²⁸ Hunter (n. 1), 89; Dyck (n. 2), 458. Goff (n. 5), 30 also notes that girls would loosen their belts in preparation for marriage. Cf. Paus. 2.33.1. Medea does a similar thing at Argon. 3.1013–14, when she first meets Jason and gives him the drug, Prometheon (προπρὸ δ᾽ ἀφειδήσασα θυώδεος ἔξελε μίτρης | φάρμακον). She later implores Arete for safety, claiming that her girdle (i.e. virginity) is intact (ἔτι μοι μίτρη μένει, 4.1024). See Hunter (n. 1), 224.

²⁹ This scene is frequently found on vase-paintings. See Blundell, S., Women in Classical Athens (London, 1998), 48Google Scholar. Stears discusses the importance of ritual purity throughout the wedding process; the transition from maiden to bride (as in the case of other ritualistic acts) must be carefully carried out to avoid pollution; see Stears, K., ‘Death becomes her: gender and Athenian death ritual’, in Blundell, S. and Williamson, M., The Sacred and the Feminine in Ancient Greece (London, 1998), 113–27Google Scholar, at 119–20. See also Blundell, S., Women in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, MA, 1995), 120–3Google Scholar; Kousser, R., ‘The world of Aphrodite in the late fifth century b.c.’, in Marconi, C., Greek Vases: Images, Contexts and Controversies (Leiden, 2004), 97–112Google Scholar, at 106–7.

³⁰ The verb is also used with this meaning at Eur. IA 431 and 906; these examples are not cited by LSJ. For the accompaniment by husband or father, see Oakley and Sinos (n. 5), 26–34.

³¹ See Seaford (n. 5), 109 n. 34.

³² The term is used frequently of ship-benches in the Odyssey (2.419, 4.579, 9.103, 9.179, 9.471, 9.563, 11.638, 12.146, 13.76, 15.221, 15.549); see also LSJ s.v. κλεῖς IV. For bolts in the Homeric epics, see Od. 1.442, 4.802, 4.838, 21.45–52, 21.240–1; Il. 12.456, 14.168, 24.318, 24.455; see also LSJ s.v. κλεῖς I.1. The scene may also recall the wedding scene depicted on the shield of Achilles (Il. 18.491–6), in which the men take part in the procession while the women watch from their doorways (αἳ δὲ γυναῖκες | ἱστάμεναι θαύμαζον ἐπὶ προθύροισιν ἑκάστη, 18.495–6). In contrast, it is the Argonauts who sit watching Medea (4.1660–1), while the narrator is astonished at her actions (4.1674–7).

³³ This procession comes full circle if the reader approaches Euripides’ Medea with Apollonius’ version in mind, since Jason asks at the end of the play that the doors be unbolted so he can see his murdered sons (4.1314–22); Medea, in turn, replies that Jason's hand can never touch her again (χειρὶ δ᾽ οὐ ψαύσεις ποτέ, 4.1320). The final event of their relationship is marked by the doors and what lies behind them, just as the Argonautic scene suggests the transition into marriage.

³⁴ Talos’ feminine portrayal may allude to the episode of Achilles dressing as a woman on Scyros. See Heslin, P.J., The Transvestite Achilles: Gender and Genre in Statius’ Achilleid (Cambridge, 2005), 201–3CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

³⁵ See Pavlou (n. 3), 184–91. As Cairns notes, the veiling gesture is, broadly speaking, always one of separation. See Cairns, D.L., ‘The meaning of the veil in ancient Greek culture’, in Llewellyn-Jones, L. (ed.), Women's Dress in the Ancient Greek World (Swansea, 2002), 73–93Google Scholar, at 92–4.

³⁶ Some scholars have argued that Medea veils in order to focus her magic on Talos; see Fränkel (n. 6), 614; Livrea (n. 17), 456; Albis, R.V., Poet and Audience in the Argonautica of Apollonius (Lanham, MD, 1996), 88Google Scholar. Others argue that she is protecting the Argonauts from her magic; see Dickie, M.W., ‘Talos bewitched. Magic, atomic theory and paradoxography in Apollonius Argonautica 4.1638–1688’, in Cairns, F. and Heath, M. (edd.), Papers of the Leeds Latin Seminar 6. Roman Poetry and Drama, Greek Epic, Comedy, Rhetoric (Leeds, 1990), 267–96Google Scholar; Green, P. (ed.), The Argonautika of Apollonios Rhodios (Berkeley, CA, 1997), 255Google Scholar. Paduano claims that Medea creates a ‘closed ritual space’, encompassing both inclusion and exclusion; see Paduano, G., ‘L'episodio di Talos. Osservazioni sull'experienza magica nelle Argonautiche di Apollonio Rodio’, SCO 19–20 (1970–1), 46–67Google Scholar, at 58; see also Graf, F., ‘Orpheus: a poet among men’, in Bremer, J.M. (ed.), Homer, Beyond Oral Poetry. Recent Trends in Homeric Interpretation (Amsterdam, 1987), 80–119Google Scholar, at 42–3; Hunter (n. 1), 302.

³⁷ One early source for this is Pherecydes, who claims that the wedding of Zeus (Zas) and Cthonie (2 DK) saw the very first ἀνακαλυπτήρια. Medea's act may also evoke Creusa's veiling at Eur. Med. 1147–8 (προυκαλύψατ᾽ ὄμματα | λευκήν τ᾽ ἀπέστρεψ᾽ ἔμπαλιν παρηίδα), as she refuses to look at Medea and Jason's sons. Agamemnon also hides his eyes with his robe before his daughter Iphigenia is sacrificed (IA 1547–50). For anakalypsis, see Oakley and Sinos (n. 5), 30; Goff (n. 5), 116.

³⁸ Pavlou (n. 3), 199 treats the πέπλος as a warped substitute for the veil, noting the absence of καλύπτρα. The πέπλος is also worn by both men and women in the Argonautica. See Pavlou (n. 3), 192; also Rose (n. 8), 29–30. At 4.43–6, Medea flees home, covering her brow and cheeks with her πέπλος.

³⁹ Goff (n. 5), 116. She claims that the girl carries out anakalypsis and the wedding procession in order to symbolize her acquiescence to her new husband. Medea does no such thing when she carries out these gestures.

⁴⁰ For discussions of the magic Medea performs here, see Buxton (n. 3), 267; Paduano (n. 36), 46–67; Dickie (n. 36), 267–96; Powers, N., ‘Magic, wonder and scientific explanation in Apollonius, Argonautica 4.1638–1693’, PCPhS 48 (2002), 87–101Google Scholar. Most scholars call this the evil eye, despite her actions not clearly conforming to extant accounts of the evil eye. The emission of particles is, admittedly, comparable with Plutarch's account (εἴδωλα | ἀίδηλα); cf. Hunter (n. 1), 302–3. Walcot notes a connection between envy and sex, which may go some way to explaining Medea's eye contact as comprising both the evil eye and ideas of eroticism. See Walcot, P., Envy and the Greeks: A Study of Human Behaviour (Warminster, 1978), 3–7Google Scholar.

⁴¹ For lust and μίασμα, see Cairns, D.L., ‘Anger and the veil in ancient Greek culture’, G&R 48 (2001), 18–32Google Scholar; Llewellyn-Jones, L., Aphrodite's Tortoise. The Veiled Woman of Ancient Greece (Swansea, 2003), 259–82Google Scholar. For the role of veiling in this development of eye contact, see Pavlou (n. 3), 183–202.

⁴² See Buxton (n. 3), 265–75.

⁴³ See Cairns (n. 41), 18–32; Cairns (n. 35), 73; Llewellyn-Jones (n. 41), 155–88 and 259–82. For sex and μίασμα in Greek culture, see Parker, R., Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion (Oxford, 1983), 74–103Google Scholar.

⁴⁴ Notably, the narrator states that αἰδώς leaves Medea's eyes when she first talks with Jason (δὴ γάρ οἱ ἀπ ̓ ὀφθαλμοὺς λίπεν αἰδώς, 3.1068). See Buxton (n. 3), 271.

⁴⁵ For the gender boundaries in ancient vision, see Lovatt, H., The Epic Gaze: Vision, Gender and Narrative in Ancient Epic (Cambridge, 2013), 205–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar. There is no scope here for a full discussion, but it is at least clear that Medea's eye contact subverts gender expectations and sets up a power hierarchy between the two figures, since she goes so far as to exact physical control over Talos by means of eye contact.

⁴⁶ It is also occasionally described of death in the Iliad and the Odyssey (Il. 5.83, 16.334, 21.326); and frequently of fabrics (Il. 3.126, 8.221, 9.200, 22.441, 24.645; Od. 4.115, 4.298, 7.337, 8.84, 10.353, 19.225, 19.242, 20.151). The Homeric scholia occasionally gloss it as μέλαν (cf. ad Od. 2.428, 4.135c; Il. 5.83a2, 14.16c). It is also used by Aeschylus to describe the blood-stained beard of a dying Persian warrior (Χρυσεὺς Μάταλλος μυριόνταρχος θανὼν | πυρσὴν ζαπληθῆ δάσκιον γενειάδα | ἔτεγγ’ ἀμείβων χρῶτα πορφυρᾶι βαφῆι ‘Chrysian Matallus, ruler of ten thousand, dying, moistened his full red bushy beard and altering his skin with the crimson dye’, Pers. 314–16). The other occurrences of πορφύρεος in the Argonautica are: 1.438, 1.1328, 2.204, 2.546, 3.1406, 4.915.

⁴⁷ He describes the dyeing process of πορφύρεος (τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ὅταν βάπτοντες τὴν πορφύραν καθιῶσι τὰς αἱματίτιδας ὄρφνιαι γίνονται καὶ μέλαιναι καὶ ἀεροειδεῖς ‘For, at the start, whenever they are dyeing crimson and put in the blood-red colour, they become dark and black and grey’, [Col.] 797a5–7).

⁴⁸ See Goheen, R.F., ‘Aspects of dramatic symbolism: three studies in the Oresteia’, AJPh 76 (1955), 113–37Google Scholar; Lebeck, A., The Oresteia: A Study in Language and Structure (Cambridge, MA, 1971), 80–91Google Scholar; Jenkins, I., ‘The ambiguity of Greek textiles’, Arethusa 18 (1985), 109–32Google Scholar, at 117; Crane, G., ‘Politics of consumption and generosity in the carpet scene of the “Agamemnon”’, CPh 88 (1993), 117–36Google Scholar; Morrell, K.S., ‘The fabric of persuasion: Clytaemnestra, Agamemnon, and the sea of garments’, CJ 92 (1997), 141–65Google Scholar, at 162 nn. 31 and 32; McNeil, L., ‘Bridal cloths, cover-ups, and kharis: the “carpet scene” in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon’, G&R 52 (2005), 1–17Google Scholar, esp. 1 n. 2; Raeburn, D. and Thomas, O. (edd.), The Agamemnon of Aeschylus: A Commentary for Students (Oxford, 2011), 162–3Google Scholar and 170.

⁴⁹ See Krevans (n. 27), 303–18. When Medea seeks expiation for the crime from Circe, she covers her eyes with her πέπλος (τὴν δ´ ἀμέγαρτον ἄχος λάβεν, ἀμφὶ δὲ πέπλον | ὀφθαλμοῖσι βαλοῦσα γόον χέεν, 4.749–50). This may reflect Medea's inability to maintain her αἰδώς through veiling, or to demonstrate her innocence in this context. See Pavlou (n. 3), 196.

⁵⁰ Armstrong and Ratchford argue that Iphigenia's saffron-coloured veil at Aesch. Ag. 239 suggests that wedding veils were coloured; see Armstrong, D. and Ratchford, E.A., ‘Iphigenia's veil: Aeschylus, Agamemnon 228–48’, BICS 32 (1985), 1–12Google Scholar, at 5–10. See also Goff (n. 5), 110–11. Oakley and Sinos (n. 5), 133 n. 20 disagree, pointing to the lack of evidence elsewhere for coloured wedding-veils. For the colour of saffron dye, see Edgeworth, R.J., ‘Saffron-coloured terms in Aeschylos’, Glotta 66 (1988), 179–82Google Scholar.

⁵¹ Medea will use a πέπλος again, smeared with φάρμακα and given as a wedding gift, to kill Creusa (and Creon) and destroy Jason's new marriage (πέμψω … λεπτόν τε πέπλον καὶ πλόκον χρυσήλατον· | κἄνπερ λαβοῦσα κόσμον ἀμφιθῇ χροΐ, | κακῶς ὀλεῖται πᾶς θ᾽ ὃς ἂν θίγῃ κόρης· | τοιοῖσδε χρίσω φαρμάκοις δωρήματα, Eur. Med. 784–9).

⁵² Hunter (n. 1), 302. The scholia say very little about the passage; their gloss of δείκηλα as εἴδωλα or φαντάσματα (on line 4.1672), however, suggests an awareness of atomism and Stoicism. See n. 36.

⁵³ Pavlock calls the attack ‘a misfortune rather than a blessing’ (n. 26), 67, while Holmberg (n. 2), 156 calls it ‘unnecessary’.

⁵⁴ See Hague, R., ‘Ancient Greek wedding-songs: the tradition of praise’, Journal of Folklore Research 20 (1983), 131–43Google Scholar; Contiades-Tsitsoni (n. 5), 30–2; Oakley and Sinos (n. 5), 37.

⁵⁵ See Clark, I., ‘The gamos of Hera: myth and ritual’, in Blundell, S. and Williamson, M., The Sacred and the Feminine in Ancient Greece (London, 1998), 17–18Google Scholar. While the Moirai are associated with the boundaries between life and death, the Keres have more negative connotations, bringing violent death (cf. μέλας Κήρ at Il. 2.859, 3.454; καὶ Μοίρας καὶ Κῆρας ἐγείνατο νηλεοποίνους, Theog. 217). See Dietrich, B.C., ‘The judgement of Zeus’, RhM 107 (1964), 97–125Google Scholar, at 103–10.

⁵⁶ See Seaford (n. 5), 106.

⁵⁷ There is a sense of erotic θέλξις here, drawing on the opening invocation to Erato in Book 3 (σὺ γὰρ καὶ Κύπριδος αἶσαν | ἔμμορες, ἀδμῆτας δὲ τεοῖς μελεδήμασι θέλγεις | παρθενικάς, 3.1–3), when Hera implores Aphrodite (ἀλλ᾽ αὔτως ἀκέουσα τεῷ ἐπικέκλεο παιδὶ | παρθένον Αἰήτεω θέλξαι πόθῳ Αἰσονίδαο, 3.85–6) and when Aphrodite subsequently implores Eros (σὺ δὲ παρθένον Αἰήταο | θέλξον ὀιστεύσας ἐπ᾽ Ἰήσονι, 3.142–3) to enchant Medea with love for Jason. In Book 4, the term becomes more clearly associated with magic, as Medea enchants the dragon (θέλξαι τέρας, 4.147; αὐτὰρ ὅγ᾽ ἤδη | οἴμῃ θελγόμενος δολιχὴν ἀνελύετ᾽ ἄκανθαν | γηγενέος σπείρης, 4.149–51). Magical drugs are repeatedly called θελκτήρια φάρμακα (3.739, 3.766, 3.820–1, 4.442, 4.1080). For a full discussion of θέλγειν and θελκτήριον in the Argonautica, see Pavlock (n. 26), 32; Holmberg (n. 2), 142–3. For Medea and θέλξις, see Parry, H., Thelxis: Magic and Imagination in Greek Myth and Poetry (Lanham, MD, 1992), 43–62Google Scholar; see also the use of βέλος earlier in the passage (καὶ τοὶ μὲν ὑπὲκ βελέων ἐρύσαντο | νῆ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐρετμοῖσιν, 4.1659–60). Talos’ missiles may recall the missile Eros uses to shoot Medea (mentioned at 3.27, 3.153, 3.286). Just as she responds to Talos by using power from her eyes, in the earlier passage Medea's eyes fix on Jason (cf. ἀντία δ᾽ αἰεὶ | βάλλεν ὑπ᾽ Αἰσονίδην ἀμαρύγματα, 3.287–8). See Hunter, R.L. (ed.), Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica Book III (Cambridge, 1989), 129–30Google Scholar.

⁵⁸ In Homeric epic, ἰχώρ refers to divine blood (cf. Il. 5.340, 5.416), whereas it is later used to describe general bodily fluids (for example Pl. Ti. 82e–83c; Hippoc. Morb. 3.16; Epid. 5.1.65, 5.1.74, 5.1.101, 7.1.35, 7.1.36, 7.1.52, 7.1.61, 7.1.116). See LSJ s.v. ἰχώρ.

⁵⁹ Some examples of the verb denoting an emotional reaction include: Od. 19.264; Pl. Phdr. 251b; Mel. (Anth. Pal.) 4.1.10; Anac. fr. 459 PMGF; Anth. Pal. 7.568. It is translated as ‘dissolve, cause to waste or pine away’ at LSJ s.v. II.2.

⁶⁰ For a discussion of this simile, see Hunter, R.L., The Argonautica of Apollonius: Literary Studies (Cambridge, 1993), 130–1CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Hunter (n. 1), 305.

⁶¹ See Burgess, J.S., The Death and Afterlife of Achilles (Baltimore, 2009), 27–42Google Scholar. In this comparison, Medea may be paralleled with Paris, a similarly unconventional warrior-figure and one who is, on occasion, reprimanded for his unmanly behaviour (Il. 3.391–4; Aen. 4.215; Stat. Achil. 3.363).

⁶² This passage thus fits in with the pessimistic tone of Book 4. See Clauss (n. 9), 11–32.

⁶³ It is not clear whether Jason is enamoured of Medea or of the aid she offers him (for Jason rejoicing at Medea's help: 3.1147–9, 4.83–98, 4.167–74; for his love for Medea: 3.1077–8; for his potential abandonment of Medea: 4.355–409, 4.1031–57). See Dyck (n. 2), 459–60; Hunter (n. 60), 62–3; Mori, A., ‘Acts of persuasion in Hellenistic epic: honey-sweet words in Apollonius’, in Worthington, I. (ed.), A Companion to Greek Rhetoric (Malden, MA, 2007), 458–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at 465–6.