by this means to
rid himself for ever of the unwelcome intruder.

Jason accordingly began to arrange his plans without delay, and invited the
young heroes whose friendship he {216} had formed whilst under the care of
Chiron, to join him in the perilous expedition. None refused the
invitation, all feeling honoured at being allowed the privilege of taking
part in so noble and heroic an undertaking.

Jason now applied to Argos, one of the cleverest ship-builders of his time,
who, under the guidance of Pallas-Athene, built for him a splendid
fifty-oared galley, which was called the Argo, after the builder. In the
upper deck of the vessel the goddess had imbedded a board from the speaking
oak of the oracle of Zeus at Dodona, which ever retained its powers of
prophecy. The exterior of the ship was ornamented with magnificent
carvings, and the whole vessel was so strongly built that it defied the
power of the winds and waves, and was, nevertheless, so light that the
heroes, when necessary, were able to carry it on their shoulders. When the
vessel was completed, the Argonauts (so called after their ship) assembled,
and their places were distributed by lot.

Jason was appointed commander-in-chief of the expedition, Tiphys acted as
steersman, Lynceus as pilot. In the bow of the vessel sat the renowned hero
Heracles; in the stern, Peleus (father of Achilles) and Telamon (the father
of Ajax the Great). In the inner space were Castor and Pollux, Neleus (the
father of Nestor), Admetus (the husband of Alcestes), Meleager (the slayer
of the Calydonian boar), Orpheus (the renowned singer), Menoctius (the
father of Patroclus), Theseus (afterwards king of Athens) and his friend
Pirithoeus (the son of Ixion), Hylas (the adopted son of Heracles), Euphemus
(the son of Poseidon), Oileus (father of Ajax the Lesser), Zetes and Calais
(the winged sons of Boreas), Idmon the Seer (the son of Apollo), Mopsus
(the Thessalian prophet), &c. &c.

Before their departure Jason offered a solemn sacrifice to Poseidon and all
the other sea-deities; he also invoked the protection of Zeus and the
Fates, and then, Mopsus having taken the auguries, and found them
auspicious, the heroes stepped on board. And now a favourable breeze having
sprung up, they take their allotted places, {217} the anchor is weighed,
and the ship glides like a bird out of the harbour into the waters of the
great sea.

ARRIVAL AT LEMNOS.--The Argo, with her brave crew of fifty heroe