30. AN ISLAND CAME TO LIGHT

…As (the Argonauts*) were hastening over the wide Cretan sea the kind of night men call “the scroud”, held them in terror, the Pall of Darkness. No stars penetrate that deadly night, nor beams of the moonbut from the sky descended black chaos arising from the deepest depths. They had no idea whether they were drifting, in Hades or on the watersso they entrusted their return to the sea helplesslessy unwaware as to where it was taking them. But Jason raised his hands to Phoebus and in a loud voice cried out calling on him to save them. Tears poured down in his distressand many gifts he promised to bring to Pytho, to Amyclae, and Ortygia. And you, son of Leto, a ready listener came swiftly down from the sky to the Melanteian rocks which lie in the sea. Darting upon one of the twin peaks, you raised aloft in your right hand your golden bow.And the bow sent out a dazzling gleam all round.Then, among the islands planted in the sea, a small one appeared to them to see near the tiny isle of Hippuris and there they cast anchors and stayed as soon dawn rose and was shining its light. They built for Apollo a glorious precinct and a shaded altar in a shady wood calling on Phoebus the "Gleamer" because of his far-seen gleam. They called the barren island “Anaphe” (the Revealed One) since in their distress Phoebus revealed it to them.They sacrificed such things as men on a deserted strand could provide. And when Medea's Phaeacian handmaids saw them pouring water for libations on the burning brands they could no longer restrain laughter in their breasts for they had always seen lavish sacrifices of oxen in Alcinoos’ palace.The heroes enjoyed their jesting and attacked them with obscene words.Pleasant insults and scurrilous taunts were kindled among them. And from that jesting of the heroes the women of the island hurl similar taunts at the men whenever in their sacrifices they propitiatethe gleaming god Apollo, Anaphe’s master.
But when the Argonauts with fair weather had loosed their cables from there to,then Euphemos remembered the night’s dreamwith reverence for Maia’s famous son, (Hermes, the dream courier*).He dreamed that the god-given clod of earth he held in his palm close to his breast, was being drenched by white streams of milk, and that from the small clod came a woman resembling a virgin and that he, overcome by strong desire,made love to her but then lamented as though she were a maiden he was feeding with his own milk.She however consoled him with gentle words: "I am of the race of Triton, my dear, I am your children nurse, not your daughter, for my parents are Triton and Libya. Entrust me to the daughters of Nereus to live in the sea, near Anaphe,and I shall later emerge into the sunrise, ready for your descendants. "So Euphemos held these words in his heart and told to Aeson's son (Jason*) ; and Jason pondered a prophecy of the Far-Darter (Apollo*) and cried out: "My friend, glorious is the fate whitch awaits you. for if you throw this clod into the sea, the gods will turn it into an island, where later your children's children shall dwell. Because it was Triton and no other of the immortals who met us then and gave to you this piece of the Libyan mainland as a guest- gift ". Thus he spoke; and Euphemos did not render vain Jason’s response but, cheered by the prophecy, he threw the clod into the depths. From it arose an island , Kalliste, the Lovely, divine nurse of Euphemos descendants who in former times lived in Sintian Lemnos, but driven from Lemnos by Tyrrhenians, came to Sparta as residents. When they left Sparta, Theras, the handsome son of Autesion, led them to the island of Kalliste, and changed the name to Thera, after his own name. But this things happened long after the days of Euphemos. From there they swiftly left behind a great expanse of sea and stopped on the shores of Aegina island….At once they contended in a friendly competition over fetching water,to see who first should draw it and return first to the ship since both, need and a steady breeze hurried them on……

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* words not in the ancient text, translator’s explanation.

Yiannis Tritsibidas