Gilla, I've read the Iliad, but I would not say that I'm a true Homer fan. I am a John Stienbeck fan however.
ths history of Argo is as follows (as you "gilla" already know)...
"Jason sought the help of Argos, who on the advice of Athena, built a fifty-oared ship, the Argo, that was supposed to take Jason and his companions to Colchis. The ship was built with the wood from Mt. Pelion. Athena herself had cut a beam from her father Zeus' oak at Dodona, gave it a power of speech and prophecy and fitted it into the Argo's prow. With the help of gods, the Argo became the strongest and the fastest ship."