Greek
Aegis
Aegis (Αἰγίς)
Shaken, it raises storms and sends enemy armies fleeing in terror.
ArmorFirst recorded c. 750 BCE
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Photograph: A wooden boat model from Middle Kingdom Egypt, about 1981–1975 BCE. Figures of rowers are packed on a green boat, their oars lowered into the water.
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3,000 × 1,891 PX3000×1891
ArchiveGreek · Mount
The Argo
Argo (Ἀργώ)
Its prow, made of the sacred oak of Dodona, speaks like a person and tells the future.
- Owner
- Jason and the Argonauts
- Maker
- The shipwright Argus, helped by Athena
- First record
- Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCE
- Gallery
- Greek
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
The Odyssey says the only ship to pass safely between the clashing rocks was "the Argo known to all." The story of the Argo was already widely known in Homer's day.
The shipwright Argus built the vessel with Athena's help. Athena set in the prow a piece of the sacred oak of Dodona, where Zeus gave oracles, and the wood foretold the future in a human voice.
Jason sailed for Colchis with fifty heroes, including Heracles, Orpheus and the twins Castor and Polydeuces. When the voyage ended the ship was dedicated to the sea god Poseidon and is said to have become a constellation.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Model Paddling Boat(Middle Kingdom, ca. 1981–1975 B.C.), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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