rom him that Fleece
of Gold."

So Alcimide spoke, sorrowfully telling to the women the story of the
Golden Fleece that her son Jason was going in quest of. So she spoke,
and the night waned, and the morning of the sailing of the Argo came on.

And when the Argonauts beheld the dawn upon the high peaks of Pelion
they arose and poured out wine in offering to Zeus, the highest of the
gods. Then Argo herself gave forth a strange cry, for the beam from
Dodona that had been formed into her prow had endued her with life. She
uttered a strange cry, and as she did the heroes took their places at
the benches, one after the other, as had been arranged by lot, and
Tiphys, the helmsman, went to the steering place. To the sound of
Orpheus's lyre they smote with oars the rushing sea water, and the
surge broke over the oar blades. The sails were let out and the breeze
came into them, piping shrilly, and the fishes came darting through the
green sea, great and small, and followed them, gamboling along the
watery paths. And Chiron, the king-centaur, came down from the Mountain
Pelion, and standing with his feet in the foam cried out, "Good speed,
O Argonauts, good speed, and a sorrowless return."

THE BEGINNING OF THINGS

Orpheus sang to his lyre, Orpheus the minstrel, who knew the ways and
the stories of the gods; out in the open sea on the first morning of
the voyage Orpheus sang to them of the beginning of things.

He sang how at first Earth and Heaven and Sea were all mixed and
mingled together. There was neither Light nor Darkness then, but only a
Dimness. This was Chaos. And from Chaos came forth Night and Erebus.
From Night was born Aether, the Upper Air, and from Night and Erebus
wedded there was born Day.

And out of Chaos came Earth, and out of Earth came the starry Heaven.
And from Heaven and Earth wedded there were born the Titan gods and
goddesses--Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus; Theia, Rhea,
Themis, Mnemosyne, gold-crowned Phoebe, and lovely Tethys. And then
Heaven and Earth had for their child Cronos, the most cunning of all.

Cronos wedded Rhea, and from Cronos and Rhea were born the gods who
were different from the Titan gods.

But Heaven and Earth had other children--Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes.
These were giants, each with fifty heads and a hundred arms. And Heaven
grew fearful when he looked on these giant children, and he hid them
away in the deep places of the Earth.

Cronos hated Heaven, his