Ancient maritime history were an early Mediterranean seagoing people that travelled far. Early writers do not give a good idea about the progress of navigation nor that of the man's seamanship. One of the early stories of seafaring was that of Odysseus. In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo which in turn was named after its builder Argus. Thus, "Argonauts" literally means "Argo sailors". The voyage of the Greek navigator Pytheas of
Golden Fleece (clipper) with an average time of 117 days. She made 12 passages from New York to San Francisco, with an average time of 125 days. Other ports of call included Manila, Cebu, Honolulu, Yokohama, Callao, Liverpool, and Queenstown. In 1868, "Golden Fleece" made a 44-day passage from San Francisco to Hong Kong, arriving three days before "White Swallow", a clipper known for her speed. "White Swallow" had left the Golden Gate with a two-day head start. In 1860, the two clippers "Golden State" and "Golden Fleece" left New York on the same day. Despite taking different routes in the Atlantic section