ho shall be careful for everything, to take upon him our quarrels and
covenants with strangers."

(ll. 341-344) Thus he spake; and the young heroes turned their eyes
towards bold Heracles sitting in their midst, and with one shout they
all enjoined upon him to be their leader; but he, from the place where
he sat, stretched forth his right hand and said:

(ll. 345-347) "Let no one offer this honour to me. For I will not
consent, and I will forbid any other to stand up. Let the hero who
brought us together, himself be the leader of the host."

(ll. 348-350) Thus he spake with high thoughts, and they assented, as
Heracles bade; and warlike Jason himself rose up, glad at heart, and
thus addressed the eager throng:

(ll. 351-362) "If ye entrust your glory to my care, no longer as before
let our path be hindered. Now at last let us propitiate Phoebus with
sacrifice and straightway prepare a feast. And until my thralls come,
the overseers of my steading, whose care it is to choose out oxen from
the herd and drive them hither, we will drag down the ship to the sea,
and do ye place all the tackling within, and draw lots for the benches
for rowing. Meantime let us build upon the beach an altar to Apollo
Embasius [1101] who by an oracle promised to point out and show me the
paths of the sea, if by sacrifice to him I should begin my venture for
King Pelias."

(ll. 363-393) He spake, and was the first to turn to the work, and they
stood up in obedience to him; and they heaped their garments, one upon
the other, on a smooth stone, which the sea did not strike with its
waves, but the stormy surge had cleansed it long before. First of all,
by the command of Argus, they strongly girded the ship with a rope well
twisted within, [1102] stretching it tight on each side, in order that
the planks might be well compacted by the bolts and might withstand the
opposing force of the surge. And they quickly dug a trench as wide as
the space the ship covered, and at the prow as far into the sea as it
would run when drawn down by their hands. And they ever dug deeper in
front of the stem, and in the furrow laid polished rollers; and inclined
the ship down upon the first rollers, that so she might glide and be
borne on by them. And above, on both sides, reversing the oars, they
fastened them round the thole-pins, so as to project a cubit's space.
And the heroes themselves stood on both sides at the oars in a row, and
pushed forward with chest an