Argo
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the Argo (in greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Ἀργώ) was the ship on which Jason
Jason
Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
and the Argonauts
Argonauts
The Argonauts ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...
sailed from Iolcos
Iolcos
Iolcos is an ancient city, a modern village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in central Magnesia, north of the Pagasitic Gulf. Its land area is only...
to retrieve the Golden Fleece
Golden Fleece
In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the gold-haired winged ram, which can be procured in Colchis. It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest by order of King Pelias for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus...
. It was named after its builder, Argus.
Legend
The Argo was built by the shipwright Argus, and its crew were specially protected by the goddess HeraHera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
. The best source for the myth is the Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius. According to a variety of sources of the legend, the Argo was said to have been planned or constructed with the help of Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
. According to other legends it contained in its prow
Prow
thumb|right|295pxThe prow is the forward most part of a ship's bow that cuts through the water. The prow is the part of the bow above the waterline. The terms prow and bow are often used interchangeably to describe the most forward part of a ship and its surrounding parts...
a magical piece of timber from the sacred forest of Dodona
Dodona
Dodona in Epirus in northwestern Greece, was an oracle devoted to a Mother Goddess identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia, but here called Dione, who was joined and partly supplanted in historical times by the Greek god Zeus.The shrine of Dodona was regarded as the oldest Hellenic oracle,...
, which could speak and render prophecies. After the successful journey, the Argo was consecrated to Poseidon
Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
in the Isthmus of Corinth
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. The Isthmus was known in the ancient...
. It was then translated into the sky and turned into the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
of Argo Navis
Argo Navis
Argo Navis was a large constellation in the southern sky that has since been divided into three constellations. It represented the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology...
.
Several authors of antiquity (Apollonius Rhodius, Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, Philostephanus
Philostephanus
Philostephanus of Cyrene was a Hellenistic writer from North Africa, who was a pupil of the poet Callimachus in Alexandria and doubtless worked there during the 3rd century BC....
) discussed the hypothetical shape of the ship. Generally it was imagined like a Greek warship, a galley, and authors hypothesized that it was the first ship of this type that had gone out on a high-sea voyage.
Argo in current culture
The name Argo has carried into current culture in many ways.- Toronto's Canadian Football League (CFLCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
) team is called the Argonauts - there is an all-terrain vehicle model named ARGOARGOARGO is a manufacturer of amphibious all-terrain vehicles. It was founded in 1962 as Ontario Drive and Gear Limited, in Kitchener, Ontario and was later moved to New Hamburg, Ontario. ARGO offers 6x6 & 8x8 amphibious vehicles.-History:...
- The titular Space Battleship YamatoSpace Battleship Yamatois a Japanese science fiction anime series featuring an eponymous spacecraft. It is also known to English-speaking audiences as Space Cruiser Yamato; an English-dubbed and heavily edited version of the series was broadcast on North American and Australian television as Star Blazers...
was renamed ARGOARGOARGO is a manufacturer of amphibious all-terrain vehicles. It was founded in 1962 as Ontario Drive and Gear Limited, in Kitchener, Ontario and was later moved to New Hamburg, Ontario. ARGO offers 6x6 & 8x8 amphibious vehicles.-History:...
in Starblazers - the American version of the show. - there is a web browser called ArgoArgo (web browser)Argo was part of a project to make the Internet accessible to scholars in the Humanities at the University of Groningen. The Argo web browser was created in August 1994 by Bert Bos....
- there is a ship called S/Y Argo
- Argo ProjectArgo (oceanography)Argo is an observation system for the Earth's oceans that provides real-time data for use in climate, weather, oceanographic and fisheries research. Argo consists of a large collection of small, drifting oceanic robotic probes deployed worldwide. The probes float as deep as 2 km. Once every...
- there is a software program called ARGO Content
- Argo the AlmightyArgo the AlmightyArgo the Almighty, is a fictional character who appeared in the Marvel Comics' MC2 series A-Next, and son of Hercules.-Fictional character biography:The team of A-Next is attacked by a youth who identifies himself as "Argo the Almighty"...
is a fictional character who appeared in the Marvel Comics' MC2 series A-Next, and son of Hercules. - Ground-based all-terrain vehicle in Star Trek Nemesis
- There is in DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
a city called ArgoArgo CityArgo City is a fictional Kryptonian city in the DC Comics Universe, and the birthplace of Supergirl. Argo City was first seen in Action Comics #252 .-Earth-One:...
, Supergirl'sSupergirlSupergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
home on the now destroyed planetPlanetA planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
KryptonKrypton (comics)Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of... - On the television series Xena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior PrincessXena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
, Xena's horse is named Argo. - The Argo Bookshop, founded in 1966 and located in Montreal, is the oldest retail anglo bookstore in eastern Canada.
- There is a television production company called Argoworks based in Los Angeles, California.
- In Rick Riordan's "The Heroes of Olympus" they travel on a flying ship called the Argo 2.
Replica
A replica of a Greek penteconterPenteconter (ship)
The penteconter, alt. spelling pentekonter, also transliterated as pentecontor or pentekontor was an ancient Greek galley in use since the archaic period....
was completed in 2008, which was named Argo. This vessel, with a 50-oar crew made up from all 27 European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
member countries, sailed from Jason's hometown of Volos
Volos
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki...
to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, stopping at 23 cities en route.
External links
- Voyage of the Argo - slideshow by The First PostThe First PostThe First Post is a British daily online news magazine based in London. It was launched in August 2005. It publishes news, current affairs, lifestyle, opinion, arts and sports pages, and it features an online games arcade and a cinema featuring short films, virals, trailers and eyewitness news...