But he could hardly believe either his ears or his eyes . The truth was , however , that the oaken lips had moved , and , to all appearance , the voice had proceeded from the statue 's mouth . Recovering a little from his surprise , Jason bethought himself that the image had been carved out of the wood of the Talking Oak , and that , therefore , it was really no great wonder , but on the contrary , the most natural thing in the world , that it should possess the faculty of speech . It would have been very odd , indeed , if it had not . But certainly it was a great piece of good fortune that he should be able to carry so wise a block of wood along with him in his perilous voyage . `` Tell me , wondrous image , '' exclaimed Jason , -- `` since you inherit the wisdom of the Speaking Oak of Dodona , whose daughter you are , -- tell me , where shall I find fifty bold youths , who will take each of them an oar of my galley ? They must have sturdy arms to row , and brave hearts to encounter perils , or we shall never win the Golden Fleece . '' `` Go , '' replied the oaken image , `` go , summon all the heroes of Greece . '' And , in fact , considering what a great deed was to be done , could any advice be wiser than this which Jason received from the figure-head of his vessel ? He lost no time in sending messengers to all the cities , and making known to the whole people of Greece , that Prince Jason , the son of King Jason , was going in quest of the Fleece of Gold , and that he desired the help of forty-nine of the bravest and strongest young men alive , to row his vessel and share his dangers . And Jason himself would be the fiftieth . At this news , the adventurous youths , all over the country , began to bestir themselves . Some of them had already fought with giants , and slain dragons ; and the younger ones , who had not yet met with such good fortune , thought it a shame to have lived so long without getting astride of a flying serpent , or sticking their spears into a Chimaera , or , at least , thrusting their right arms down a monstrous lion 's throat . There was a fair prospect that they would meet with plenty of such adventures before finding the Golden Fleece . As soon as they could furbish up their helmets and shields , therefore , and gird on their trusty swords , they came thronging to Iolchos , and clambered on board the new galley . Shaking hands with Jason , they assured him that they did not care a pin for their lives , but would help row the vessel to the remotest edge of the world , and as much farther as he might think it best to go . Many of these brave fellows had been educated by Chiron , the four-footed pedagogue , and were therefore old schoolmates of Jason , and knew him to be a lad of spirit . The mighty Hercules , whose shoulders afterwards upheld the sky , was one of them . And there were Castor and Pollux , the twin brothers , who were never accused of being chicken-hearted , although they had been hatched out of an egg ; and Theseus , who was so renowned for killing the Minotaur , and Lynceus , with his wonderfully sharp eyes , which could see through a millstone , or look right down into the depths of the earth , and discover the treasures that were there ; and Orpheus , the very best of harpers , who sang and played upon his lyre so sweetly , that the brute beasts stood upon their hind legs , and capered merrily to the music . Yes , and at some of his more moving tunes , the rocks bestirred their moss-grown bulk out of the ground , and a grove of forest trees uprooted themselves , and , nodding their tops to one another , performed a country dance .
One of the rowers was a beautiful young woman , named Atalanta , who had been nursed among the mountains XXXXX a bear .
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