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The Argo was built with a branch from the Dodona oak which, according to numerous sources, could speak.

I’m wondering about the nature of this ability: did this “speech” make the Argo a fully developed character with opinions and desires of its own, or was it more like the magical equivalent of Siri, a voice-interface only capable of limited statements, answers to specific questions, and occasional prophecies?

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  • It was mostly prophecy, The USS Enterprise had a computer capable of much more than the Dodona plank/branch. Interesting question though!
    – Tom Sol
    Mar 26, 2021 at 10:08

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I would say Argo was not self aware. Instead, Zeus “... spoke through the wood taken from one of his Dodonian oaks, as stated in the first book of the Argonautica (Apollonius of Rhodes, 2009), when a talking beam that Athena had made from a Dodonian oak and fitted in the middle of Argo’s keel, spoke with a terrible voice that frightened the Argonauts.” - Oracle Trees in the Ancient Hellenic World

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    Your link goes to nothing but a couple of "access denied" tags.
    – Spencer
    Jun 24, 2021 at 1:08
  • Unfortunately, it’s now only available behind a paywall. I’ve supplied a link to that… Jul 11, 2021 at 15:44

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