Jason and the Argonauts The myth---what you need to know
Setting Thessely, Greece 9 th Century B.C.
Ruling family King Athamas Queen Nephele And their two children Helle (girl) Phryxus (boy)
King s troubles begin He goes through a mid-life crisis, divorces Nephele and marries a young woman named Ino.
New wife, Ino Wanted to get rid of the children
Nephele Feared for the safety of her children, Helle and Phryxus, so she asked the god Mercury for help to rescue her children.
Mercury s help He sent Nephele a ram with fur of gold (the golden fleece) Nephele put her children on the ram s back, and the ram flew to Colchis in Turkey, where they would be safe.
Problems En route, Helle fell off into the sea. The spot where she fell was called Hellspont from that point on.
The rest of the journey Phryxus was okay and got safely to Colchis where the ram was sacrificed to the god Jupiter who then gave the fleece of the ram to Aeetes, the King of Colchis.
In Colchis Aeetes, the king, placed the golden fleece in a sacred grove under the care of a sleeping dragon.
The kingdom of Colchis Ruled by Aeetes and his wife who died when she was giving birth to their daughter, Medea.
Medea Raised by her aunt, Circe, the one who was famous for turning men into pigs in The Odyssey. Circe taught Medea how to call upon the gods to aid her in sorcery/witchcraft.
Meanwhile, in another kingdom Place called Iolcus King Aeson was having a mid-life crises just as Athamas did in Thessaly
Give up throne Aeson decided to turn over his kingdom to his brother, Pelias, on the condition that Pelias would give the kingdom to Aeson s son, Jason, as soon as Jason was old enough to rule.
Problem Jason came of age Pelias pretended to be willing to turn over the throne, but suggested that Jason might want to have an adventure first.
His adventure Go on a quest for the golden fleece Pelias pretended that this fleece was the rightful property of his family because he was a relative of Athamas, the king of Thessaly.
Jason liked the adventure idea He commissioned a boat to be made by Argus, a famous boatbuilder. Boat was named the Argo Jason recruited a band of heroes (including Hercules) to accompany him on this adventure
Jason arrives in Colchis King Aeetes isn t pleased when Jason told him of his quest for the golden fleece, but he consented to five it up IF Jason would yoke two fire-breathing bulls to a plow and plant a field with the teeth of a dragon, from which it was well-known that a crop of armed men would spring up and kill.
Jason s dilemna He knew he couldn t accomplish this He asked Aeetes s daughter, Medea, to help him and promised to marry her if she would give him success.
Medea Excited with the marriage proposal She called on the goddess Hecate to witness the oath. Jason accepted Aeetes s offer and would tame bulls and plant dragon s teeth
Medea Gave Jason a magic charm to keep him safe from bulls, dragons, and weapons of the armed men. Her spell also caused the dragon that guarded the fleece to sleep.
Medea Taught Jason how to manage the bulls and how to handle the men who came out of the dirt. Jason had to follow her instructions to throw a stone in their midst, whereupon, in their anger, they would kill one another.
The plan worked! Jason yoked the bulls, plowed the field, and Aeetes turned over the golden fleece to him as promised. Later that day, Jason married Medea.
The wedding Jason s father did not attend, and this bothered Jason. Medea was asked to use her arts to restore youth to his father and offered take years from my life and add them to my father s
The good wife, Medea Agrees to give youth to Jason s father without taking any years from her husband. Same day Medea warns Jason that her father was planning to murder Jason and the Argonauts so he could get back the valuable fleece.
At night Jason and the Argonauts secretly set sail out of Colchis. Of course, Medea escapes, too, to be with her husband.
Medea is smart She knows her father is going to try to stop Jason from getting away with the fleece, so she takes her young brother, Apsyrtus, aboard the Argo with everyone, and does something horrible. It is all done in the name of LOVE for Jason.
Religious law It is essential to bury the dead or the soul was believed to wander in agony without any peace.
Love Sickness Medea sees her father coming after the Argo. She takes her brother, chops him up, and throws his limbs overboard, knowing her father will always honor his religion and stop to pick up his pieces to give him a burial.
Aeetes stopped chasing Jason And he concentrated on picking up the pieces of his son, giving Medea and Jason time to escape.
Eventually, the Argo arrives in Iolcus The king, Jason s uncle (Pelias), is shocked to see Jason with the fleece, and he refused to keep his promise to turn the throne over to Jason at this time.
Medea comes to the rescue She took the daughters of Pelias aside and demonstrated a magic potion of youth on an elderly ram; she boiled water in a cauldron, added her magic herbs, and then cut up the ram and threw the pieces in the pot, only to have a young ram jump out from behind the pot, fooling the children.
Pelias s daughters Were intrigued! They wanted to help their aged father and asked Medea to repeat the process with him.
That night Medea repeated the procedure on Pelias when he was asleep, of course, killing him.
The people of Iolcus Were enraged! They told Jason, Medea to get out of their city.
Eventually Jason and Medea had two sons, and they eventually made their way to Corinth where they were received by the King Creon.
King Creon had a daughter, Glauce Creon wants Jason to marry his daughter and forsake Medea. Jason wants power, and this marriage would afford him that opportunity. Jason decides to divorce Medea and marry Glauce.