Argonauts

Glaucous

by Ignazio Caloggero

Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths

The Argonauts were a group of Greek heroes (whose number varies, depending on the sources, from fifty or fifty-three), including Heracles , who, under the guidance of Jason, faced a very long journey towards Colchis (region of western Georgia) aboard the ship Argo to conquer the Golden Fleece , the golden cloak, endowed with magical powers, which covered the winged ram Chrysomallos sacrificed by Phrixus [1]

Heracles and the other Argonauts. Attic red-figure krater 460-450 BC (Louvre)

The Myth in Sicily

During the return journey the Argonauts reached the coasts where the Sirens resided (Messina Strait), here they managed to escape the song of the Sirens thanks to the melodious sound of Orpheus' lyre. Only one of them, Bute did not resist the call of the sirens, jumped into the water and reached the rocks of the witches, but Aphrodite saved him, taking him away and depositing him in Lillibeo (Marsala). Subsequently the Argo ship also passed unscathed the area inhabited by the monsters Scylla and Cariddi.

Sailing along the coast of Sicily, the Argonauts saw Helios grazing his fabulous flock but managed to restrain their desire to raid them and continued their journey [2].

The Myth in the IWB Register of the Sicily Region

The Sicily Region has entered the Myth of the Argonauts in the LIM register (Places of identity and memory) – Places of heroes and heroic legends.

Places indicated on the IWB:

Scilla and Cariddi (Messina Strait)
Rocks of the Strait of Messina

[1] Pausanias, Book I, verse 44.

[2] It is said that Helios owned seven herds of oxen, representing the seven days of a week, and seven flocks of sheep, representing the seven nights of a week. Each herd and each flock consisted of fifty heads.

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