They built a ship and called it "Argo", which means "fast." Athena herself looked after this work. A piece of sacred oak from Dodon was inserted into the bow of the ship. This piece of wood spoke in a human voice and pointed the way in the sea. It was necessary to choose a leader. The views of all turned to Hercules. However, he said:
“Let no one dare to put this honor on me or yourself.”
The one whose misfortune has gathered us must lead us.
And Jason became the leader of the Argonauts campaign. He made sacrifices to the sea gods. Orpheus began to play the lyre, and the fast Argo, untied from the pier, swam out into the blue sea. The weather was beautiful. A warm but strong wind blew the sails, so the oars were needed. The heroes ate, drank sweet wine and talked about their adventures. In a very good mood, they arrived in Lemnos and went ashore to relax and have fun.
This island was dominated by strange customs. There were no men at all, only women ruled: this is because a few years ago the Lemni women incurred the wrath of Aphrodite. Because of the spell of the goddess, it began to smell so unpleasant that the men felt disgust towards them and divorced them, deciding to marry women from neighboring Thrace. Then the Lemni women conspired and killed all the men in one night. Probably, over time, that unpleasant smell disappeared from them, because the Argonauts stayed in this female kingdom for two years, and Jason, having fallen in love with the queen, did not even want to hear about further travel. And only Hercules with severe reproaches aroused in him a former belligerent spirit.
From Lemnos, the Argonauts sailed to the island where the city of Kizik was located. But they could not leave from there because of the headwind. Then they went to a nearby mountain, dedicated to the Great Mother of the gods, and there they prayed fervently. The goddess showed them unusual mercy. The trees were covered with fruits, and the ground under the feet of the heroes was decorated with all kinds of flowers. Lions left their caves and stood before them, wagging their tails. From a sacred mountain, a large spring scored, which the locals have since called the Jason Spring. Full of hope, the Argonauts went down to the pier and found Heracles there, who fought with the giants. While the Argonauts were gone, wild people, hefty and very strong, moored to the sea, who began to block the exit from the port with stone blocks in order to catch the ship like an animal in a pit. Hercules dealt with them, and those whom he did not have time to kill were knocked down by heroes who had just arrived. Good weather and a fair wind facilitated the journey of the Argonauts, who sailed along the coast of Thrace until they sailed to the area where the blind king-possessor Thineus lived. Because he arbitrarily predicted the future for people, the gods punished him with blindness and still sent Harpy to him - cruel monsters with a female face and body of a bird. They flew in as soon as Phineus sat down at the table, grabbed food from him, or so polluted it with filth that it was impossible to touch it. The poor king was simply starving. In gratitude for the good predictions, the Argonauts freed him from the control of the Harpies; the sons of the wind god Borea, Kalaid and Zet rushed after them in pursuit and drove far beyond the borders of the country - the Harpies never returned.