Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Argus.
The gallery
Argus Building the Ship Argo
Unknown (after Christopher Wordsworth illustration), 1882
Victorian illustration titled for Argus at work on the Argo — Athena's pupil shaping the fifty-oared hull. Not Argus Panoptes, the hundred-eyed guard of Io.
The Building of the Ship Argo
Unknown, 17th–18th century
Rijksmuseum painting of the Argo under construction — the ship Argus son of Arestor builds with Athena's craft.
Building the Argo
Unknown (Roman terracotta), c. 1st century AD
British Museum terracotta: Athena oversees the Argo's building — Argus' yard as Roman relief, the speaking timber still to come.
On screen
Jason and the Argonauts
Don Chaffey
Harryhausen's peplum keeps the Argo as the voyage's star — Argus' hull carrying Jason to Colchis under Athena's eye.
The Giants of Thessaly
Riccardo Freda
Freda's Italian Argonaut film restages the ship's adventure — the vessel Argus built still the engine of the quest.
In play
Argonautica
Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius makes Argus son of Arestor the builder Athena guides — Dodona timber in the prow, distinct from Argus son of Phrixus at Colchis.
Argus (Argonaut)
Builder of the Argo — not Argus Panoptes, not the eponymous king of Argos, not Phrixus' Colchian son.