previous next


Aphetae is generally placed just inside the Gulf of Pagasae near Cape Aeantium and opposite Cape Posidium, but Munro (J. H. S. xxii. 310) and Wace (J. H. S. xxvi. 145) would put it outside near Olizon. Pagasae was near the inmost recess of the gulf.

The commoner tradition was that Heracles was left behind in Mysia on the Propontis, seeking for his darling Hylas, who had been carried off by the Naiads.

ἀφήσειν. The name Aphetae probably gave rise to the legend that the Argonauts put off from there. But since tradition was strong that the expedition started from Pagasae, a reason (ὑδρευσάμενοι) must be found for putting in at Aphetae. H. regards the putting out into the high sea as the true ἄφεσις, not the voyage down the Pagasaean gulf; Hellanicus (St. Byz.) naïvely assumed a double ἄφεσις, Strabo (436) loosely calls Aphetae near Pagasae.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: