When the Argonauts landed on the isle of Lemnos, they were confronted by a bunch of angry people in armor shouting threats.
The sailors needed to rest and refill the ship’s water casks, so they begged to land. As the sailors haggled, they noticed that the warriors shaking spears were all women.
Where were the men of Lemnos?
The Argonauts were told various stories, none of which was true. The men of Lemnos had told their wives they were tired of them and could find slave girls by raiding the coast of Thrace. The women of Lemnos had considered the matter and killed all the men.
I’ve been thinking about the word “transformation,” about the difference between trying to make incremental changes and transforming something — a person, a society, a culture. I grew up among people who believed in religious conversions, that a sinner could be transformed into a saint. Is it possible for a community to change that quickly, that completely, that dramatically?
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