ry from her sister, who was within.

For now Phrontis and Melas had come up, and Chalciope who was spinning
by the door saw them and cried out. All the servants rushed out. Seeing
Chalciope's sons there they, too, uttered loud cries, and made such
commotion that Apsyrtus and then King AEetes came out of the palace.

Jason saw King AEetes. He was old and white, but he had great green
eyes, and the strength of a leopard was in all he did. And Jason looked
upon Apsyrtus too; the son of AEetes looked like a Phoenician merchant,
black of beard and with rings in his ears, with a hooked nose and a
gleam of copper in his face.

Phrontis and Melas went from their mother's embrace and made reverence
to King AEetes. Then they spoke of the heroes who were with them, of
Jason and his two comrades. AEetes bade all enter the palace; baths were
made ready for them, and a banquet was prepared.

After the banquet, when they all sat together, AEetes addressing the
eldest of Chalciope's sons, said:

"Sons of Phrixus, of that man whom I honored above all men who came to
my halls, speak now and tell me how it is that you have come back to
Aea so soon, and who they are, these men who come with you?"

AEetes, as he spoke, looked sharply upon Phrontis and Melas, for he
suspected them of having returned to Aea, bringing these armed men with
them, with an evil intent. Phrontis looked at the King, and said:

"AEetes, our ship was driven upon the Island of Ares, where it was
almost broken upon the rocks. That was on a murky night, and in the
morning the birds of Ares shot their sharp feathers upon us. We pulled
away from that place, and thereafter we were driven by the winds back
to the mouth of the Phasis. There we met with these heroes who were
friendly to us. Who they are, what they have come to your city for, I
shall now tell you.

"A certain king, longing to drive one of these heroes from his land,
and hoping that the race of Cretheus might perish utterly, led him to
enter a most perilous adventure. He came here upon a ship that was made
by the command of Hera, the wife of Zeus, a ship more wonderful than
mortals ever sailed in before. With him there came the mightiest of the
heroes of Greece. He is Jason, the grandson of Cretheus, and he has
come to beg that you will grant him freely the famous Fleece of Gold
that Phrixus brought to Aea.

"But not without recompense to you would he take the Fleece. Already he
has heard of your bitte