Symplegades
Clashing rocks of Greek myth, defeated by the Argonauts.
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The Symplegades, also called the Clashing Rocks or Cyanean Rocks, were a pair of rocks in the Bosphorus that, according to Greek mythology, would clash together when a vessel passed through. They are notable for being overcome by Jason and the Argonauts, who followed Phineus's advice by sending a dove ahead to gauge the speed needed, then rowing through with only minor damage. After their passage, the rocks stopped moving permanently.
Quick Facts
- Also known as
- Clashing Rocks, Cyanean Rocks
- Location
- Bosphorus
- Asian rock identification
- A reef off Yum Burnu, north of Anadolu Feneri
Facts from the source article.
In literature
Lord Byron references the Symplegades in the concluding stanzas of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. I. A. Richards, in Practical Criticism, uses 'Symplegades' as a metaphor for the twin dangers of careless and over-literal reading that wreck ventures into poetry. Henry Treece's 1961 novel Jason depicts the Symplegades as icebergs that drifted downriver into the Black Sea.
The Wandering Rocks
The Symplegades are sometimes identified with or confused with the Planctae, or Wandering Rocks, mentioned in the Odyssey and Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica. In Apollonius's telling, the Symplegades were encountered on the way to the Golden Fleece and the Planctae on the return voyage. The similarities and differences between the two, as well as potential locations, have been much debated by scholars.
More in Mythological Islands
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Symplegades (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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