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Formal Conclusion of the Banquet (512–18)

Orpheus's song works like a charm (

and , 515). The bad feelings generated by the vicious argument would appear to have vanished upon the completion of the music, and the unity of the group is now completely restored. The eventful day and the banquet come to an end with the pouring of a libation over the tongues of the victims:

,  mixing libations  in honor of Zeus, as is
          customary,
they stood over the blazing  tongues  and poured their offering;
they then  turned their thoughts to sleep in the darkness of night .

Such a ceremony occurs only once among the Homeric texts, in the same section of Odyssey 3 to which the poet made reference shortly before; and the Odyssean ceremony took place at the conclusion of the day, as it does in the Argonautica . Just prior to her epiphany, Athena had recommended ending the sacrificial banquet with the libation over the tongues:^[51]

[51] Cf. Vian 74 n. 1, who notes all the individual verbal points of contact. As the ceremony of pouring libations over the tongues was offered to Hermes as well as Zeus Teleios (cf. Athenæus 1.16b), Apollonius may also have had the former in mind given the subtextual presence of this divinity in the launch and division of the seats.

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Thus he spoke and the sun set as  darkness  approached.
The goddess then addressed them, owl-eyed Athena:
"Old man, these words of yours were spoken as is right.
But come now, cut the tongues  and mix the wine
so that after we pour libation to Poseidon and the other
gods, we might  turn our thoughts to sleep ; for the hour has come.
Already the light has receded into the darkness, and it is 

        proper
to sit   at the feast of the gods, but to depart."

Accordingly, Apollonius brings the episode to an end with a second reference to the Odyssean scene in which Nestor recognized Telemachus's divine favor through the personal guidance he received from Athena. Jason too has been promised such assistance by Apollo. The preparations for the Argonautic expedition thus come to an auspicious conclusion.

The analysis of Apollonius's narrative of the events on the beach at Pagasae once again reveals a complex contaminatio of several models of diverse provenience. All the significant imitations are of passages that reflect crucial moments of the episode. Apollonius presents vivid contrasts between men of physical power and violence (Argus, Heracles, Idas) and men of poise and vision (Acastus, Jason, Idmon). He refers his reader to similarly opposed pairs celebrated in Greek literature: Apollo and Hermes, Achilles and Odysseus, and Idomeneus and Ajax. The explicit indication in the text that the mission will succeed (Idmon's reading of the sacrifice to Apollo) is corroborated at the subtextual level in several ways: first, through the reference to Telemachus; next, the evocation of Apollo's epiphany at Anaphe in the Ætia ; and then through the argument between Idas and Idmon, which corresponds to that between Achilles and Odysseus and signals the beginning of success. Finally, as Jason implies in his first speech, the success of their mission depends on the recognition of their interdependence (336–37). Discord threatens to undermine their ability to cooperate; the

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dispute between Idas and Idmon could have ended the venture right there at Pagasae. Jason, however, like Achilles in the Iliad , intervenes and puts a stop to the disruptive

.

The importance of harmony, which underlies Jason's view of the best of the Argonauts—and thus the need for reconciliation—finds resonance in the cases of Achilles and Odysseus, of Hermes and Apollo, and in Orpheus's song, which takes up this theme and offers the reconciliation of cosmic and divine

as a backdrop for the restoration of harmony among the Argonauts. As Apollonius indicated at the beginning of the poem, the Argonautic expedition depends not upon one man, but upon a group of individuals, many of whom possess celebrated talents in their own right and have had, have, or will have challenging exploits of their own. As Jason sees quite accurately, the leader must keep so large and diverse a group of talented men together and united in purpose through a careful management of the many details that the journey will require, and above all through the dextrous handling of what will prove to be at times a temperamental crew. Such a leader will prove to be the best among this group.

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