Argonautica - Part II – Heroes’ Deeds, Not Words

When Jason and the Argonauts left Lemnos, they were feeling pretty good.

Who wouldn’t after spending time on a beautiful island making love to women who hadn’t seen in man in years? The young heroes would have been feeling pretty positive as the Argo cut through the sea once more.

But, for men, happiness can be fleeting.

The Argo plies the sea through the Chersonesus and along the Dardanian coast. Again, Apollonius shows his knowledge of geography by detailing the many places and peoples that the Argonauts pass on their way through the Hellespont.

There are so many episodes along the way to Colchis that are ignored by modern productions. Of course, one film or two-part series can’t hope to capture them all. But they are wonderful and, I think, would make for a fantastic HBO series.

Six Arms Are Not Better Than Two

One such episode is when the Argonauts encounter the Doliones and their king, Cyzicus. The Doliones, descendants of Poseidon, are friendly and welcome the Argonauts with feasting and supplies. 

Jason builds an altar to Apollo on the beach, in thanks. The gods must be given their due.

The Earthborn

However, the Doliones’ neighbours, a vicious race of six-armed men, known as the Earthborn, seek to block the Argonauts’ way. Jason and most of the men are not there when the attack comes, but Herakles and a few others hold the Earthborn off with bows and spears until the others arrive. They slaughter the Earthborn on the beach.

When the Argo leaves the Doliones, great winds rise up and take them back to the island of the Doliones without them knowing it. This is where the tragic reality of Greek tales hits.

The Doliones take the returned Argonauts for Macrian enemies and soon a huge battle takes place between the two armies in which Jason kills King Cyzicus, his former host. Many Doliones die.

Both sides realize their error and they mourn and hold games for three days. Cleite, Cyzicus’ new young bride, hangs herself in her grief.

The Argonauts are held there for twelve days because of high winds and it is only after Mopsus, the crew’s seer, tells Jason that he must propitiate the great goddess that they are able to calm the winds.

They set sail, less happy than the last time they left the Doliones. The journey continues, and there are more storms, until they come to the land of the Mysians who welcome them with provisions, sheep and wine.

Dangerous Beauty

At this point we come to an episode that, I admit, I did not know was a part of the Argonautica. I’d known it from famous paintings, even recreations in movies such as Sirens. So, when I read this passage, I was pleasantly surprised, despite the tragedy it entails. Here's what happens.

During the storms, Herakles had broken his mighty oar, and so during the feasting he heads into the forest to look for a tree that will serve as a new oar.

While he is gone, his friend Hylas goes into another part of the wood to fill a pitcher with water so that he can prepare a meal. Hylas comes to the spring of Pegae where the nymphs are beginning their dances in honour of Artemis. The nymphs…

“…who held the mountain peaks or glens, all they were ranged far off guarding the woods; but one, a water-nymph was just rising from the fair-flowing spring; and the boy she perceived close at hand with the rosy flush of his beauty and sweet grace. For the full moon beaming from the sky smote him. And Cypris [Aphrodite] made her heart faint, and in her confusion she could scarcely gather her spirit back to her. But as soon as he dipped the pitcher in the stream, leaning to one side, and the brimming water rang loud as it poured against the sounding bronze, straightway she laid her left arm above upon his neck yearning to kiss his tender mouth; and with her right hand she drew down his elbow, and plunged him into the midst of the eddy.” (Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica)

Hylas and the Nymphs

Hylas cries out, but he is gone. Some of his comrades think a wild beast is attacking him and they go searching for him. While searching, they find Herakles who is overcome with wrath when he hears what has happened to his friend. The hero refuses to continue on the journey with the rest of the Argonauts, opting instead to remain in Mysia and search for Hylas whom he never finds.

Herakles

Amidst much quarrelling, the Argo sails without its greatest hero.

This is certainly an interesting turn of events. In the Hallmark production, Herakles goes all the way to Colchis where he dies in battle, and in the Ray Harryhausen version, he stays to look for Hylas on the island of Thalos, who does not make an appearance in Argonautica until the homeward voyage.

We discover that it is the will of Zeus that Herakles not accompany the Argonauts to Colchis since he has yet to finish his Labours. As soon as the heroes discover this, their quarrelling ends and they press on. The Gods’ will must be respected.

Boxing the Bebrycians

The next part of their adventure is another that is often ignored, but I think it is a great part of the story that speaks to the power of youth and the Argonauts’ sense of adventure and optimism.

Ancient Boxers

When the winds die down, the Argo is forced to beach itself in the lands of Amycus, king of the Bebrycians. Amycus is a violent, arrogant man, and where the Argonauts have been well-received before, they now get anything but a warm welcome.

Amycus, a monster of a man according to Apollonius, tells the heroes that they will never be allowed to leave until one of them faces him in a boxing match.

Amycus is no slouch when it comes to fighting – he has killed many men with his challenge.

Polydeuces, the twin brother of Castor, and son of Zeus, steps forward to accept the challenge. He is young and powerful and known for his skill in boxing.

Amycus stands by, still and confident, watching the young Polydeuces step forward. Polydeuces carefully removes an ornate cloak that was given to him by one of the Lemnian maidens. He folds it, and begins warming up his body before tying the rawhide gauntlets to his fists.

“The one seemed to be a monstrous son of baleful Typhoeus or of Earth herself, such as she brought forth aforetime, in her wrath against Zeus; but the other, the son of Tyndareus, was like a star of heaven, whose beams are fairest as it shines through the nightly sky at eventide. Such was the son of Zeus, the bloom of the first down still on his cheeks, still with the look of gladness in his eyes. But his might and fury waxed like a wild beast’s; and he poised his hands to see if they were pliant as before and were not altogether numbed by toil and rowing.” (Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica)

The two men begin to circle each other, Amycus taunting Polydeuces. But the latter does not give in to the taunts. Rather, he observes Amycus’ style, testing him, trading blow for blow.

Castor and Polydeuces

The youth is fast and gives as good as he gets before a break is called and the two step back. When they return to the ring, the fight is much more ferocious, and Polydeuces takes his chance to land a punishing blow on the side of Amycus’ head, crushing the side of the king’s skull and killing him instantly.

The Bebrycians rush to attack Polydeuces, but the Argonauts come to his aid, his brother Castor first, and they beat and kill many of the Bebrycians.

Another thing I noticed in this episode is that even though Argonautica is about Jason’s journey as a hero, to this point, he has not yet performed any great deeds. Though he has fought in battles and killed enemies, the king he did kill was his one-time friend and host, Cyzicus. It was a mistake. The glorious set pieces such as this fight with Amycus, are the deeds of others in his company.

Apollonius is building to something I think, by leaving Jason on the side. Perhaps the listener, or reader, is meant to begin doubting the youth as others do, the expectation built up?

But Jason’s time is coming.

Obeying the Gods

Another set piece that has received much attention in film and television is the Argonauts’ visit to Phineus, the blind prophet tormented by the Harpies. After leaving the land of the Bebrycians with spoils, the Argonauts come to the place where Phineus lives by the sea.

Jason and Phineus

Phineus was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo himself, but after he slighted Zeus by revealing too much to people, he was cursed with permanent old age and the loss of his eyes. He was also cursed with Harpies who would not let him eat anything.

When Jason arrives, we discover that Phineus is expecting him and knows of their mission for the Fleece. When they hear his tale, the young pity the old man and want to help him. In exchange, Phineus shares his wisdom.

When the Harpies come to attack, it is not Jason who attacks them, as in the Hallmark production, but rather fascinatingly, the sons of Boreas, Zetes and Calais, who take to the air to attack the Harpies. They come close to killing them, but Iris, a goddess of the sky and a messenger, as well as the Harpies’ sister, stops Boreas’ sons from carrying out the killings.

Iris swears on the waters of the Styx (the ‘water-tight’ oath feared even by the gods) that the Harpies will no longer bother Phineus. In the films, the Harpies are killed or caged.

The Boreads and the Harpies

The Argonauts make sacrifices to the gods and prepare a feast for the old man who devours enough food to sate his incredible hunger. Then it is time for him to tell Jason and his men what they can expect.

But he cannot tell them everything, having learned his lesson in revealing too much. To get to Colchis, he tells them that they must pass through the Cyanean Rocks, and how they can use a dove to help them get through. When they pass into Pontus, they are to keep Bythinia on their right. They must stop in the land of the Mariandyni.

This is where Apollonius continues to show off his geographical knowledge. Phineus goes through all the peoples and places they will see on their way – the land of the iron-working people, Amazons along the River Thermodon etc.

The Cyanean Rocks

They are to travel until they come to the River Phasis which will lead them to Aeetes’ capital in Colchis, and the Grove of Ares where a terrible dragon watches over the Golden Fleece where it hangs on an oak tree.

This impending danger strikes fear into the Argonauts’ hearts.

Jason asks if they will see Hellas again, and Phineus replies that they will, but with the help of many guides.

He does give one striking piece of advice. Phineus tells Jason that he must heed Aphrodite’s aid most of all, since the success of their entire quest depends on her!

This is where the Argonautica stands apart from all other stories, indeed it breaks new ground.

The theme of Love, and the romantic treatment of Love, was new to epics when Apollonius of Rhodes composed the Argonautica.

As we shall see in Part III of this series, Love will play a major role in the development of Jason as a hero.

Thank you for reading.

Argonautica - Part I - Epic Storytelling in the Age of Heroes

Beginning with thee, O Phoebus, I will recount the famous deeds of men of old, who, at the behest of King Pelias, down through the mouth of Pontus and between the Cyanean rocks, sped well-benched Argo in quest of the golden fleece. (Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica)

Thus begins one of the most famous and influential stories to come out of ancient Greece. The story of Jason and the Argonauts has captured peoples’ imaginations for ages, and to this day it is held up as the supreme example of ancient epic.

Today, the story has been retold in cartoons, comics, movies, and television adaptations. Its grip on the popular psyche is firm, and its archetypes reverberate throughout western culture.

The Argonautica isn’t just another fanciful story, it’s a well thought-out tale, carefully crafted, enriched with geographic, ethnographic, and religious details that other ancient stories lack.

And to the ancient world, this WAS history! The lines of this tale are a who’s who of gods, goddesses and heroes whom the reader (or listener) meets in unusually candid moments.

Before I go any further, I have a confession to make.

Until just a few weeks ago, I had never read the text of the Argonautica.

Like most people, I suspect, my knowledge of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts came from popular movies, mainly the Ray Harryhausen and Hallmark productions of Jason and the Argonauts. Those two film and television movies were fantastically entertaining and I highly recommend them both.

However, they differ from the original text in many ways.

In this series of blog posts, I’m going to talk a bit about my experience reading the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes, what elements stand out for me, and how it differs from the popular image of the story.

Before we get started, who was Apollonius of Rhodes?

A Hellenistic Bestseller

Apollonius was actually born in Ptolemaic Alexandria sometime between 296 and 260 B.C. He was a student of Callimachus, a famed poet and scholar at the Library of Alexandria.

Alexandria, during the Hellenistic age, was the centre of the world as far as education, research and the scholarly pursuits. Anyone who was anyone wanted to be there.

Apollonius composed and recited the Argonautica when he was a youth in Alexandria. Unfortunately, the poem was condemned on the Alexandrian scene, and some say that Callimachus was one of its slanderers, for he and his student, Apollonius, had a massive falling out.

Alexandria's Canopic Way

In Alexandria, it seemed that poetics was much more highly regarded than epics, which is what the Argonautica is. Kind of like the battle today between literary and genre fiction. Apollonius probably couldn’t stand his academic critics any longer, and so he moved to Rhodes where the Argonautica received much acclamation.

From then on, Apollonius considered himself a Rhodian.

Some other sources say that later in life, he returned to Alexandria where the poem received the credit it deserved, and that he even became head of the Alexandrian Library.

Like many writers, Apollonius had his own sources, oral and written, for his story. It seems that he may have drawn mainly on Pindar’s fourth Pythian Ode. But that is a much shorter work than the Argonautica.

Being from a more academic school, Apollonius did a lot of research and indeed he had access to a lot of sources in Alexandria.

When I set out to read the Argonautica, my main question was this: How does it differ from the modern film and television interpretations that had captivated me so?

I had my answer almost right away. It’s quite different.

Pelias in the Wings

Pelias

The movies (film and TV) make much of the murder of Jason’s father, his fostering with Chiron the centaur, and of his return to Thessalian Iolclus to reclaim his birthright from his treacherous uncle, Pelias. He shows up at Pelias’ court wearing one sandal, fulfilling the prophecy Pelias so fears.

Argonautica makes very little of these things. There is only passing reference. The same is true of Pelias’ obsession with the Golden Fleece; in the Argonautica the search for the Fleece is more of an impossible task that Pelias hopes will end in Jason’s death, so that he never comes back to Iolclus.

Pelias’ real motive is to destroy Jason, not to obtain the Golden Fleece.

A Ship Full of Heroes

As with most ancient and medieval heroic epics, there is a list of the men involved at the beginning of the Argonautica. But this is no ordinary list of heroes, and Apollonius gives not just the names of the men, but also their lineage and deeds.

Some of the Argonauts

I won’t go through all fifty-odd names but there are some you might recognize…

First mentioned is Orpheus, the son of the Muse, Calliope. There is Polyphemus who had fought bravely in the war between the Lapiths and Centaurs, and Erytus and Echion the sons of Hermes. Mopsus is there to play a role, as he learned augury from Apollo himself.

Peleus, the father of Achilles, is a part of the crew, as well as Telamon and Argus, the ship builder whom the Argo is named after and who received help from the goddess Athena in building it.

Phlias the son of Dionysus is there, and Nauplius, Erginus, and Ancaeus, all three the sons of Poseidon.

Brian Thompson as Hercules
Hallmark production

Most famously of all perhaps, is that Herakles is a part of the crew. He is accompanied by his good friend and bow-carrier, Hylas. Other sons of Zeus that are there include Polydeuces and Castor from Sparta; they are the Dioscouri, or the Gemini, who were later remembered in the stars. Their mother is Leda.

Augeias, the son of Helios, Lernus, the son of Hephaestus, and Zetes and Calais, the sons of the wind Boreas, are all a part of the crew too. Jason is also joined by Acastus, the son of Pelias. Much is made of the latter in the movies, but in the Argonautica he is one of the lesser characters.

These are just a few of the heroes who make up the crew of the Argo. You can see that their lineage is nothing to spit at, and it’s no wonder the people of Iolclus (modern-day Volos) are in awe of them as they assemble on the strand beside Argo where they “shone like gleaming stars among the clouds”.

Iolclus - modern Volos, Greece

This is a story of the glory of youth, and of valour. When these heroes are setting out, there is a sense of excitement, anticipation, and of danger. The men are keen, but the women of Iolclus are weeping and praying to the gods, foreshadowing the potential doom.

The thing that really strikes me, and perhaps this is the genius of it, is that among all these heroes who are proven in battle and skill, divine descendants or not, Jason seems to be the only one (apart from Acastus) with no deeds to his name.

Jason is youth. Though he is surrounded by proven men, Argonautica, to my mind, is mainly about his own personal hero’s journey.

When all the supplies are loaded and the expedition is ready to sail, Jason turns to the men and says that all that remains is to choose a leader:

…and the young heroes turned their eyes towards bold Herakles sitting in their midst, and with one shout they all enjoined upon him to be their leader; but he, from the place where he sat, stretched forth his right hand and said: “Let no one offer this honour to me. For I will not consent, and I will forbid any other to stand up. Let the hero who brought us together, himself be the leader of the host.” Thus he spake with high thoughts, and they assented, as Herakles bade; and warlike Jason himself rose up, glad at heart… (Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica)

As is common throughout the tale, the heroes pay their respects to the gods, in this case Apollo, by sacrificing and building an altar before finally leaving the land of Hellas behind.

Lemnian Women are Lovely

Hypsipyle

Apollonius displays his knowledge of geography, detailing the sights that the crew sees as they sail east, past the peninsula of Athos and the Thracian coast on the way to their first port – Lemnos. 

The episode on Lemnos is one that popular retellings often include. It is the island of Queen Hypsipyle who, along with all her female subjects, has killed all the men. But that is where the commonalities between the Argonautica and Hollywood end.

In popular culture, Hypsipyle and her women are demonized, portrayed as savage man-haters who seek to trick and kill the Argonauts.

However, Apollonius portrays the Lemnian women as more sympathetic. Turns out they killed their war-mongering husbands who shunned them all in favour of the slaves they had taken on raids. The Lemnian women live in fear of retribution if word should get out as to what happened to their men – they do all the work required to live, including ploughing the fields.

When the Argonauts arrive, Hypsipyle welcomes them, offering food and supplies so that they can leave the island. They have no wish to kill the Argonauts. Hypsipyle falls in love with Jason and wonders if she could get him and his crew to stay so that they could have children again, and be protected against the Thracians.

The Argonauts linger for a time until Herakles chides them for hanging about with women instead of pursuing their quest. Jason decides they should leave and tells Hypsipyle that should she have a son by him, she should send him to Iolclus to be raised by his own parents, both of whom are still alive.

It’s actually a touching parting, without animosity, and the Argonauts set sail once more.

Stay tuned for the next post as we continue our epic journey through the Argonautica.

Thank you for reading. 

The Hero's Journey

'The Path'

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been re-reading a book that all writers and lovers of history and mythology should have on their shelf: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.

Every time I pick up this book, I’m struck by the truth of what Campbell says. I think of all of the stories that have struck a chord with me over the years, and the things they have in common. Campbell says:

“The archetypes to be discovered and assimilated are precisely those that have inspired, throughout the annals of human culture, the basic images of ritual, mythology, and vision… The hero... has died as a modern man – he has been reborn. His second solemn task and deed therefore… is to return then to us, transfigured, and teach the lessons he has learned of life renewed.”

(The Hero with a Thousand Faces; Third Edition, 1973)

Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed
in the Enchanted Forest

If you stop to look at storytelling, past and present, you can indeed see the recurring themes and archetypes of myth. They are everywhere. And this applies not only to western literature but to storytelling across time, across cultures.

In studying Greek, Roman and Celtic literature and mythology, medieval and Arthurian romance, I have noticed that I am drawn to certain elements. It’s not just because of the way these stories are told, or the language the writers or poets used. Let’s remember that the beauty of language is often lost in translation.

No. What draws me in to these stories are common elements that appeal to something deep within my psyche, the blood in my veins, the fibre of my muscles, the dreams at the back of my mind. My inner youth, adventurer, lover, warrior and wise man all yearn for the stories that are food for the soul.

Without that food I begin to starve.

Such is the power of storytelling.

Sir Galahad upon his Quest

The Hero with a Thousand Faces takes you into a world of great depth, of ideas and examples. There is too much to be able to do it justice in one blog post. However, in the book there is a chart of the Hero’s Journey that I believe can be infinitely useful to a writer.

Oftentimes, writers can get stuck, feel as though they have written themselves into a corner and are not sure how to get out of it. Perhaps they are not sure where to turn next, which path their protagonist should take. Other times, a writer will wonder whether a certain path in the story will appeal to the reader, or else put them off so much that they go off in search of another adventure.

Campbell’s chart of the Hero’s Journey is an excellent point of reference, a tool or weapon to help a writer to get out of the traps that can halt the creative process.

I think it prudent here to quote Campbell on what the journey entails:

“The mythological hero, setting forth from his commonday hut or castle, is lured, carried away, or else voluntarily proceeds, to the threshold of adventure. There he encounters a shadow presence that guards the passage. The hero may defeat or conciliate this power and go alive into the kingdom of the dark (brother-battle, dragon-battle; offering, charm), or be slain by the opponent and descend in death (dismemberment, crucifixion). Beyond the threshold, then, the hero journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which severely threaten him (tests), some of which give magical aid (helpers). When he arrives at the nadir of the mythological round, he undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward. The triumph may be represented as the hero’s sexual union with the goddess-mother of the world (sacred marriage), his recognition by the father-creator (father atonement), his own divinization (apotheosis), or again – if the powers have remained unfriendly to him – his theft of the boon he came to gain (bride-theft, fire-theft); intrinsically it is an expansion of consciousness and therewith of being (illumination, transfiguration, freedom). The final work is that of the return. If the powers have blessed the hero, he now sets forth under their protection (emissary); if not, he flees and is pursued (transformation flight, obstacle flight). At the return threshold the transcendental powers must remain behind; the hero re-emerges from the kingdom of dread (return, resurrection). The boon that he brings restores the world (elixir).”

(The Hero with a Thousand Faces; p.245-246, Third Edition, 1973)

Luke Skywalker
with his father's sword

As I read this, all the stories that I ever loved flash through my mind. I see heroes such as Arthur, Frodo and even Luke Skywalker, taken from their quiet worlds and cast into the unknown with the aid of such legendary characters as Merlin, Gandalf, Obi-Wan Kenobi and others.

Often, a hero experiences an event that thrusts him into the adventure. I think of Odysseus being ordered to go to war at Troy and leave his wife and baby behind, or in the Mabinogi when Pwyll Prince of Dyfed goes into the otherworld of Annwn. Jason confronts Pelias and ends up on an expedition to find the Golden Fleece, the proposed price for getting back his father’s throne. There are so many examples. And often times, there is a sword: Arthur’s Excalibur, Luke’s father’s lightsaber or Bilbo’s sword, Sting, which goes to Frodo.

The tests are often what make up the bulk of the story which takes place in

Odysseus and Calypso

unknown realms. There are helpers in the form of other people, gods or animals along the way. In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo has the help of Aragorn (a hero on his own journey – a journey within a journey) and the rest of the Fellowship, elves, dwarves and others. Arthur has his knights who each have their own adventures. Theseus has Ariadne whose aid provides him with the key to the labyrinth. Jason gets aid from the blind prophet Phineas who tells him how to reach the Golden Fleece.

When the hero reaches what Campbell calls the ‘nadir of the mythological round’ there is an ordeal and reward. Odysseus passes through death in the form of Scylla and Charybdis to be washed up on the shore of the goddess Calypso’s island. He spends time there, loved by the goddess, and regains his strength before embarking on the final stages of his journey.

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Other themes at the nadir are the attainment, by theft of gift, of the elixir that is sought by the hero. This could be the Golden Fleece, the Holy Grail, or the promise of a return home in the case of Odysseus. The promise of a healing of the land, of body, of spirit is in the hero’s sights. But the journey is not yet over.

More challenges emerge before the hero can cross that threshold once more to get back into the known realms. Arthur must face Mordred, Odysseus must still reach Ithaca before destroying the suitors and taking back his home. Luke must escape the Death Star to destroy it in a final battle.

Arthur receives Excalibur

Once the final confrontations are achieved, the hero achieves peace for himself and his realm, an overall healing of wounds and righting of wrongs that gives way to a golden time. If the hero dies in the attempt, he goes on to a better place and his example will be one that inspires future generations (e.g. Arthur going to Avalon).

You can take almost any story from any culture and apply the elements Campbell mentions.

The elements of the hero’s journey are universal.

Because these archetypes, these themes, are a part of our storytelling tradition, we often include them automatically in our writing without thinking about it.

Frodo and Gandalf

But a writer often is the hero on a journey and does not always know where the road will lead. We need helpers, a sword (or pen!) and certainly divine help and inspiration should not be shunned. 

Sometimes writers need a guide like Joseph Campbell to put one back on track. And that’s ok!

Odysseus and Arthur, Luke and Frodo, all had help. So did Pwyll and Yvain, Herakles and Jason. It’s not cowardly to receive aid. The true test comes when one decides what to do with the aid provided.

Whether I’m writing the first words, or flipping the first pages, of a new story I relish the adventure to come, the trials and tribulations, learning from the unknown and gathering the courage to slay my own dragons.

I like to think that that is what being human is all about. If you look at it a certain way, you’ll see that our stories are more a part of us than most people think. They are not whimsical flights of fancy that have no real relation to us as human beings, they are a deep part of us and if we ignore or forget those stories, we lose a bit of ourselves. 

The 'Elixir' of Life
Sir Percival at the Chapel of the Grail

Thanks for reading! 

If you would like to find out more, here are a few places to start:

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

ThePower of Myth – A conversation between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers (filmed at Skywalker Ranch). This is also available as an audio book. 

StarWars: The Magic of Myth - This is a fantastic book, not only for Star Wars fans but everyone with an interest in mythology. George Lucas was friends with Joseph Campbell and adhered closely to the ideas of the hero's journey in the creation of his brilliant story 'A long time ago... In a galaxy far, far away...'