Lemnos, Island of Women

All day the Argonauts under Jason's command had sailed with fresh breeze. At sunset the wind died down and the men began to row toward the nearest harbor. As they rowed closer to port they saw crowding out of the town gates and pouring down to the beach a bronze armored mob. The port was on an Aegean island close to the Hellespont. The crowd streaming out like “ravening Thyiades” were women from the capital city Myrine, on Lemnos, island of women.

Queen Hypsipyle herself led her female band. She had donned her father's armor when Iphinoe, guard in the tower, first saw the ship being rowed in, and gave the alarm, sure that the Thracians had come at last. At once the Argonauts sent in to the beach their herald Aethalides, Herme's son. He convinced Hypsipyle of the men's peaceful intentions and persuaded her to let the ship anchor in port, since it was fast growing dark.

Next morning the wind had still not risen. Hypsipyle then called a town meeting of all the women. From her father's high seat of? stone she urged her subjects to outfit the men with generous rations of food and wine, but keep them outside the city and send them on as soon as possible, so that the men could not get to know the towns-women too well and hear “any evil report.” For, Hypsipyle reminded them, they had committed a deed which the men would in no way like, should they hear of it. If any woman had a better plan, however, she was to speak up, for that was the purpose of the meeting.

The woman to rise was Polyxo, Hypsipyle's nurse, her back and neck bent with age. Feebly she raised her head. She favored giving presents, the richest possible; but, in opposition to Hypsipyle, she urged the women to invite the men into their homes. Risk or no risk of evil report, their lives were in danger and they needed men to help them fight the Thracians, who would surely attack sooner or later. Second, and even more important than defense, the women needed MEN, or else when those now young reached “hateful old age”