The crew of the Argonauts varies depending on which version of the ancient myth you are reading. That sounds confusing, but the ancient storytellers were always adding to and embellishing the story, much like the modern superhero sagas. It also appears that the myth evolved differently in different parts of ancient Greece.
Many of the crew were heroes of their own myths, Hercules being the most famous.
The Argonauts
Jason: the hero of our story, and leader of the Argonauts.
Argus: builder of the Argo.
Atalanta: the only female crewmember, and the faster human alive.
Autolycus: son of Hermes and a master thief.
Castor and Pollux: (Polydeuces), aka the Gemini Twins along with their sister Helen of Troy.
Euphemus: with the ability to walk on water.
Hercules aka Heracles: the son of Zeus, famous for his Twelve Labors.
Idmon and Mopsus: the seers.
Laertes: father of Odysseus.
Lynceus: with special powers of sight.
Meleager: slayer of the Calydonian boar.
Orpheus: the greatest musician of the ancient world.
Peleus and Telamon: brothers and, respectively, the fathers of Achilles and Ajax.
Polyphemus: the one-eyed giant.
Theseus: slayer of the Minotaur and the hero of a number of other legends.
Tiphys: the helmsman.
Zetes and Calais: the winged Boreads.
And many more Argonauts.
All the Argonauts
The following list is collated from several lists given in ancient sources. In total, there are 92 argonauts but in the ancient versions, there are 46 to 85 argonauts. The modern versions have fewer heroes.
| Crew | Abode | Parentage and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Acastus | Pherae or Iolcus | son of Pelias and Anaxibia or Phylomache; he joined the Argonauts as a volunteer and at his own accord |
| Actor | Pellene, Peloponnesus | son of Hippasus |
| Admetus | Pherae | son of Pheres and Periclymene; his flocks they say were pastured by Apollo |
| Aethalides | Larissa, Thessaly | son of Hermes and Eupolemeia |
| Amphiaraus | Argos | son of Oicles and Hypermnestra; he could fit the description of Hyginus “. . . Thestius’ daughter, an Argive.” which could be interpreted as Amphiaraus, son of Oicles and Hypermnestra, Thestius’ daughter and an Argive. |
| Amphidamas or Iphidamas | Tegea, Arcadia | son of Aleus and Cleobule |
| Amphion | Pellene, Peloponnesus | son of Hyperasius and Hypso or of Hippasus |
| Ancaeus | Parthenia or Samos | son of Poseidon and Astypalaea or Althaea |
| Ancaeus | Tegea, Arcadia | son of Lycurgus and Eurynome or Cleophyle; he went clad in the skin of a Maenalian bear and wielded a huge two-edged battleaxe |
| Areius | Argos | son of Bias and Pero |
| Argus | Argos | son of Arestor or Polybus and Argia or Danaus; builder of Argo |
| Argus | – | son of Phrixus; builder of the Argo (not to be conflated with Argus the builder by late mythographers because Argus, the son of Phrixus appeared in the later part of the story according to earlier accounts on the Argonauts’ voyage). See Argus below. |
| Armenus | Armenium, Thessaly | – |
| Ascalaphus | Orchomenus | son of Ares and Astyoche; later one of the Suitors of Helen and led the Orchomenians in the Trojan War. |
| Asclepius | Tricca | son of Apollo and Coronis or Arsinoe |
| Asterion or Asterius | Peiresiae, Thessaly | son of Cometes and Antigona or of Hyperasius; he was probably conflated by Hyginus with Asterius below when saying Asterion as the son of Hyperasius. |
| Asterius or Asterion or Deucalion | Pellene, Peloponnesus | son of Hyperasius and Hypso or of Hippasus; in the account of Valerius, Deucalion was the name of the brother of Amphion instead of Asterius. |
| Atalanta | Arcadia | daughter of Schoeneus or Iasus; Atalanta is included on the list by Pseudo-Apollodorus, but Apollonius claims that Jason forbade her because she was a woman and could cause strife in the otherwise all-male crew. Other sources state that she was asked, but refused. |
| Augeas | Pisa, Elis | son of Helios and Nausidame, or Eleios, or Poseidon or Phorbas and Hyrmine |
| Autolycus | Thessaly | son of Hermes |
| Azorus | – | the helmsman of Argo according to Hesychius of Alexandria could be the same as the Azorus mentioned by Stephanus as the founder of the city Azorus in Pelagonia. |
| Buphagus | – | – |
| Butes | Athens (Cecropia) | son of Coronus |
| Calaïs | Thrace | son of Boreas and Oreithyia |
| Caeneus | Gyrton | son of Coronus |
| Canthus | Chalcis or Cerinthus, Euboea | son of Canethus or Abas; as his name appeared in some notes of the book |
| Castor | Sparta | son of Tyndareus or Zeus and Leda |
| Cepheus | Tegea, Arcadia | son of Aleus and Cleobule |
| Cius | – | – |
| Clymenus | Phylace, Thessaly | possibly the son of Phylacus and Clymene as the brother of Iphiclus |
| Clytius | Oechalia | son of Eurytus and Antiope |
| Coronus | Thessaly | son of Caeneus |
| Deucalion | Crete | son of Minos and Pasiphae |
| Echion | Alope | son of Hermes and Antianeira or Laothoe |
| Eneus | son of Caeneus | |
| Erginus | Miletus, Caria | son of Poseidon |
| Eribotes | Opus | son of Teleon |
| Erytus or Eurytus | Alope | son of Hermes and Antianeira or Laothoe |
| Euphemus | Taenarus, Peloponesse | son of Poseidon and Europe |
| Euryalus | Argos | son of Mecisteus |
| Eurydamas | Ctimene, Dolopia | son of Ctimenus or of and Demonassa |
| Eurymedon | Phlius | son of Dionysus and Ariadne |
| Eurytion | Opus | son of Irus and Demonassa or Actor |
| Glaucus | – | – |
| Heracles | Thebes | son of Zeus and Alcmena |
| Hippalcimus | Pisa, Elis | son of Pelops and Hippodamia |
| Hylas | Oechalia or Argos | son of Theiodamas and Menodice |
| Ialmenus | Orchomenus | son of Ares and Astyoche |
| Idas | Messenia | son of Aphareus and Arene |
| Idmon | Argos | son of Apollo or Abas or by Cyrene or Antianeira or of Asteria or of Ampycus |
| Iolaus | Argos | son of Iphicles and Automedusa |
| Iphiclus | Phylace, Thessaly | son of Phylacus and Clymene |
| Iphiclus | Aetolia | son of Thestius and Leucippe |
| Iphis or Iphitos | Mycenae | son of Sthenelus |
| Iphis | Argos | son of Alector |
| Iphitos | Oechalia | son of Eurytus and Antiope |
| Iphitos | Phocis or Peloponnesse | son of Naubolus or Hippasus |
| Jason | Iolcus | son of Aeson |
| Laërtes | son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa | father of Odysseus |
| Laocoon | Calydon | son of Porthaon and half-brother of Oeneus; tutor of Meleager |
| Leitus | Boeotia | son of Alector (Alectryon) and Polybule or of Lacritus and Cleobule or an earthborn, thus a son of Gaea |
| Leodocus or Laodocus | Argos | son of Bias and Pero |
| Lynceus | Messenia | son of Aphareus and Arene |
| Meleager | Calydon | son of Oeneus and Althaea |
| Menoetius | Opus | son of Actor |
| Mopsus | Tiraresia | son of Ampyx and Chloris or Aregonis |
| Nauplius | Nauplia | son of Clytoneus or of Poseidon and Amymone |
| Neleus | Pylos | son of Poseidon or Hippocoon |
| Nestor | Pylos | son of Neleus and Chloris |
| Oileus | Narycea, Opus | son of Hodoedocus (Leodocus) and Agrianome |
| Orpheus | Bistonian Pieria, Thrace | son of Calliope and Oeagrus |
| Palaemon or Palaimonius | Olenus, Aulis or Calydon | son of Hephaestus or Lernus or Aetolus |
| Peleus | Phthia | son of Aeacus and Endeis. Father of Achilles |
| Peneleos | Boeotia | son of Hippalmus and Asterope |
| Periclymenus | Pylos | son of Chloris and Neleus, son of Poseidon |
| Phalerus | Athens, Attica | son of Alcon |
| Phanus | – | son of Dionysus and Ariadne |
| Philoctetes | Meliboea | son of Poeas and Methone or Demonassa |
| Phlias | Araethyrea, Phlius | son of Dionysus and Ariadne |
| Phocus | Magnesia | son of Caeneus and brother of Priasus |
| Pirithous | Larissa | son of Ixion or Zeus by Dia |
| Poeas | Meliboea | son of Thaumacus and father of Philoctetes |
| Pollux | Sparta | son of Zeus and Leda |
| Polyphemus | Larisa | son of Elatus and Hippea; one of the Lapiths |
| Priasus | Magnesia | son of Caeneus and brother of Phocus |
| Staphylus | Phlius | son of Dionysus and Ariadne |
| Talaus | Argos | son of Bias and Pero |
| Telamon | Salamis | son of Aeacus and Endeis. Father of Ajax the Great and Teucer |
| Theseus | Troezen | son of Poseidon or Aegeus by Aethra; slayer of the Minotaur; Apollonius claims that Theseus and Pirithous were trapped in the underworld by Hades at the time and could not join. Theseus being on the list is inconsistent with accounts of his life usually including him encountering Medea at an early stage of his adventures, yet many years after the Argonauts completed their adventure (Medea, by that time, was not only abandoned by Jason but also bore a child from Aegeus). |
| Tiphys | Thespia, Boeotia or Elis | son of Hagnias or of Phorbas and Hyrmine |
| Tydeus | Calydon | son of Oeneus and father of Diomedes |
| Zetes | Thrace | son of Boreas and Oreithyia |
| TOTAL | 92 |
Argonauts that joined the ship during or after the journey.
| Crew | Abode | Parentage and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Argus, Cytissorus, Melas, Phrontis | Colchis | sons of Phrixus and Chalciope; They joined the crew only after being rescued by the Argonauts: the four had been stranded on a desert island not far from Colchis, from where they initially sailed with an intent to reach their father’s homeland. However, Argus is not to be confused with the other Argus, son of Arestor or Polybus, constructor and eponym of the ship Argo and member of the crew from the beginning. |
| Autolycus, Demoleon or Deileon, Phlogius, Phronius | Thessaly | sons of Deimachus |
| Medea | Colchis | daughter of Aeetes; joined when the Fleece was recovered |
Footnotes
Wikipedia. The crew of the Argo.
