Jason and the Argonauts and the Quest for the Golden Fleece

Origin of the Fleece

Athamas and Nephele

• Athamas was the king of Orchomenus

• His first wife was Nephele

• They had two children together – a boy, Phrixus, and a girl, Helle

Athamas decides to divorce Nephele and marry Ino, daughter of Cadmus.

• Ino wants to get rid of Phrixus and Helle.

• She comes up with an intricate plan involving the parching of grain, the fear of famine, and bribery of servants who claim to have visited an oracle.

• The result: Phrixus and Helle are to be sacrificed.

Nephele is a cloud goddess with special powers.

• She saves Phrixus and Helle by sending a golden Ram to save them.

• Oh. Also, the ram can fly.

• Helle falls off the Golden Ram and into the sea which is now called the Hellespont.

Phrixus survives.

• He ends up in Aea in the land of Colchis.

• Colchis is ruled by King Aeetes.

Thank You, Golden Ram!!!

• Phrixus sacrifices the ram to the Gods upon arrival in Colchis in order to thank them for his rescue.

• He skins the ram and gives the fleece to King Aeetes as a gesture of good will.

No, thank YOU,

Phrixus!!!

King Aeetes comes from an ‘interesting’ family.

• Brother of – Circe – Pasiphae

• Father of– Medea– Chalciope – Apsyrtus

Chalciope hears wedding bells.

• Aeetes marries Phrixus to his daughter, Calciope.

• Phrixus and Calciope have four sons.

• Then, worried by a prophecy about a Thracian stealing the fleece, Aeetes kills Phrixus.

That Phrixus is

so dreamy!!!

Jason’s Background (from the front)

Jason’s father, Aeson• King of Iolcus• Alcimede (or Polymede) was his

wife• They had several children,

including a baby, Jason• He is overthrown by his brother,

Pelias, as Jason is born

Pelias

• Son of Poseidon and Tyro (wife of Cretheus). Has a brother named Neleus

• Adopted by Cretheus, assumed the throne upon Cretheus’ death.

That Creepy Pelias

• Pelias, the half brother of Aeson, kills off Aeson’s family but either lets Aeson live as a private citizen, or puts him in prison.

Chiron• Jason was smuggled

out of Iolcus and sent to be raised by Chiron, a centaur that also trained:

Asclepius, Ajax, Aeneas, Actaeon, Theseus, Achilles, Peleus, Telamon, Heracles, Oileus, and Phoenix

Chiron teaches Jason the ways of heroes

Jason grows up and decides to return to Iolcus to claim the throne which is

rightfully his.

Hera

• Queen of the Gods• Angry at Pelias for not

honoring her• Jason carries her,

disguised as an old woman, across a river. He loses a sandal in the crossing, but gains Hera’s support.

When Jason arrived, Pelias was sacrificing to his father, Neptune.

Beware of a man wearing only one sandal.

Pelias tells Jason he will give him the throne if he brings back the Golden Fleece. Jason accepts.

Jason seeks out Argos, the greatest ship builder in Greece, to

build a ship for his adventure.

The Argonauts

(notice the branch from Zeus’

oak tree in Dodona, which could talk and

gave the Argonauts advice!)

Argos

• Jason assembles all the greatest heroes in Greece to accompany him on his quest. Argos is the first to volunteer.

Orpheus• Orpheus could charm all of nature with his

music. The Argonauts rowed to his playing.

Zetes and Calais, the sons of Boreas, the North Wind.

Peleus, father of Achilles.

Peleus shown carrying off Thetis

Telamon, father of Ajax

Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux), brothers of Helen of Troy.

• Castor was a famous horseman, Polydeuces a boxer.

• Lynceus (superhuman eyesight) and his brother Idas

• Tiphys (the helmsman)• Euphemus (son of Poseidon who could run

across water without even wetting his feet)• Mopsus (prophetic powers)• Idmon (prophetic powers – saw that he would

die on the journey but went anyway)• Periclymenus – could change into various

animals

Acastus, son of Pelias, joins the quest at the last minute.

Heracles

Heracles is offered command of the expedition, but defers to Jason.

Atalanta

• Atalanta would have gone, but Jason didn’t let her.

The Adventures on the Quest

1. The Argonauts depart from Iolcus.

2. Arrival in Lemnos

Lemnos

• Island nation• Women were not thankful

to Aphrodite• She made them smell so

bad their husbands cheated on them

• The women then killed all the men

• Jason and Argonauts repopulate Lemnos

• Only Heracles does not participate in the repopulation efforts

Hypsipyle

• Queen of Lemnos• Has an affair with and

sons by Jason• Jason vows to marry her• Leaves Lemnos for

Colchis and forgets her• She gives birth to twins,

Euneus and Thoas• She is later driven from

Lemnos for having spared her father

3. The Argonauts land at Arctonessus (Bear Island) near the home of King Cyzicus, who

warmly welcomes them.

The six armed giants of Bear Mountain

• Also called the Gegenees, they are sons of Gaia and live on Bear Mountain, Mysia.

Heracles slays the giants with his bow and club.

Cyzicus and the Doliones

• King Cyzicus sends them off with gifts.

• They sail away, but are blown back at night by a storm

• The Doliones, thinking they are being invaded by pirates, attack the Argonauts and Cyzicus is killed

4. The Loss of Hylas at Cios• The Argonauts land

in Bithynia so Heracles can make a new oar

• Heracles’ young friend Hylas goes to fetch some water

• He is abducted by water nymphs

• Heracles leaves the quest to search for Hylas and does not rejoin it

5. King Amycus and the Bebryces

King Amycus

• Son of Poseidon and Melia.

• Married Theona and had a son named Mimas

• Refused the Argonauts any food or water unless one of them fought with him.

• King Amycus was a skilled boxer. He would stop all visitors and force them to box with them. They usually died.

• Polydeuces kills Amycus

• Argonauts are driven from Bebryces

6. Phineus in Salmydessus

The Argonauts arrive in Salmydessus

Here they find that the blind prophet Phineus is plagued by Harpies – part bird and part woman. The harpies were punishment from Helios.

Phineus had angered Helios by choosing a long life, though without sight (thus never being able to see Helios’ sun), over a short life with sight.

Phineus promises to

help the Argonauts if

they will rid him of the curse of the Harpies.

The Harpies

• Sisters of Iris and daughters of Thaumas and Electra.

• Aello "storm swift", Celaeno "the dark", and Ocypete “swift wing”

• Lived in the Strophades, a cave in Crete.

Zetes and Calais, the sons of the North wind,

Boreas, drive away the Harpies.

The Symplegades

In exchange for their help, Phineus tells the Argonauts how to pass the

Symplegades• Two rocks that crush

ships• Phineus tells Jason

to send a dove in first, and if the dove makes it through, so can the Argo

• Euphemus, Poseidon’s son who could walk on water, releases the dove

The dove passes through with only its tail feathers being clipped.

• Some say that Poseidon or Athena helped the Argo pass, with only the stern (rear) getting clipped.

• The Symplegades remained fixed thereafter.

8. The Island of Ares, etc.

• The Argonauts visit a couple little places not worth mentioning, but a few things happen:

• Tiphys the helmsman and Idmon the seer die. Idmon had seen that he would die on the voyage.

• They avoid the Amazons at Themiscyra• On the Island of Ares, they meet Phrixus’ sons,

who tell them about Colchis and drive off a flock of birds who could shoot their feathers like arrows

Birds with arrow-like Feathers

• Also called the “Ornithes Areos,” these birds guarded the Amazonian shrine of Ares

• One feather hits Oileus and the crew decided to split duties – half rowing and the other half holding up shields.

The Argonauts arrive in Colchis

Kings Aeetes

introduces Medea to

Jason.

• Medea is a priestess of Hecate, Goddess of witchcraft. She knows how to perform magic and whatnot.

Jason reveals to Aeetes his quest.

• Aeetes tell Jason he may claim the Fleece if he passes several challenges:– He must yoke fire-

breathing oxen and plow a field

– He must plant dragon teeth in the ground

– He must defeat the soldiers which spring from the ground

– Oh yeah, then defeat the serpent that guards it

Medea falls in love with Jason and resolves to help him.

Jason, with the protection of an

ointment provided by

Medea, yokes the fire-breathing bulls and plows

the field.

The Dragon-teeth Men (Spartoi)

• The teeth originated from the Colchian Dragon. They would turn into men called “Spartoi” once sown in the ground

• Jason threw a stone in their midst. They fought amongst themselves, and he kills the rest.

Jason battles the Colchian Dragon

The Colchian Dragon

• A child of Typhon and Echidna, the giant serpent that guarded the Golden Fleece was said to have never slept or rested.

• The monster was said to have a crest and 3 tongues, according to the Metamorphoses

Defeating the Dragon• Jason defeated the Colchian Dragon

with the help of Medea and Orpheus.

• Medea put the dragon to sleep with potions.

• Orpheus lulled it to sleep with his new hit track, “Draco Dormiens”

Medea and Orpheus Charm the Serpent

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Medea chops up her brother, Apsyrtus. The Colchians must stop to gather the

pieces, and the Argo escapes.

10. Aeaea, the Island of Circe

Here Circe, Medea’s aunt, purifies Medea and Jason for the slaughter

of Apsyrtus

11. The Argonauts pass the sirens – Orpheus plays music and drowns out

their song.

The Sirens

• Daughters of the river god Achelous and Terpsichore.

• Peisinoe, Aglaope, Thelxiepeia.

• Caused shipwreck by seducing sailors with irresistible songs.

12. The Argonauts pass Scylla and Charybdis unscathed with the help

of Thetis

Scylla

• Daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, a nymph.

• Glaucus fell in love with her and he asked Circe for a love potion.

• Instead, Circe fell in love with him and gave Scylla a poison which turned her into a monster.

Charybdis

• Adjacent to Scylla• Daughter of Poseidon

and Gaia • Once a beautiful

naiad but turned into a whirlpool/monster by Zeus for flooding lands so her father could have more territory.

13. Scheria, land of the Phaeacians

• Jason, Medea and the Argonauts find a fleet of Colchians waiting for them in Phaeacia

• Arete, the queen, persuades her husband, King Alcinous, not to hand over Medea to the Colchians

• The Colchians settle in Corcyra rather than return to the wrath of Aeetes in Colchis

14. Libya and Lake Tritonis

A huge wave flings the Argo into the middle of Libya near lake Tritonis. The sea god Triton returns them to sea via a river. The seer Mopsus dies here, bitten by a snake which was an offspring of Medusa.

15. Talos on the island of Crete

Talos, the last of the

bronze giants

Talos

• Encircled the Island of Crete to protect Europa

• A gift from Zeus to Europa

• Some stories say he was forged by Hephaestus and others by Daedalus.

Medea tells Jason that the only way to defeat Talos was to remove the plug in his heel.

Jason returns to Iolcus and shows Pelias the treasure.

When it is clear Pelias will not return the kingdom to Jason,

Medea hatches a plan.

Pelias and his daughters watch as Medea chops up an old ram, puts it in her magic

pot, and brings it forth young again.

Medea convinces Pelias’ daughters to make him young.

• In the middle of the night the daughters, accompanied by Medea, chop up Pelias. When they turn to put the pieces in the pot, they find that Medea has vanished.

Jason and Medea are driven from Iolcus. They go to Corinth.

• They have two children, but Jason later receives an offer to marry Glauce, daughter of King Creon.

• He tells Medea to get lost.

• Medea, despondent and vengeful, plots a dreadful act.

Medea’s Revenge

• Medea sends Glauce a golden dress and coronet, which she poisons.

• Both King Creon and Glauce die as a result.

Revenge (cont’d)

• Medea also kills two sons she had with Jason, Mermeros and Pheres (or else three sons – Thessalus, Alcimenes, and Tisander).

Medea then flees to Athens and marries Aegeus. Medea and Aegeus

have a son, Medus.

In Corinth Jason dies alone, without family or friends, when a piece of the rotting Argo falls on him.

The Argonautica

• The Argonautica was a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius. It is the main source for Jason’s adventures and the Argonauts.

• Another Argonautica was also written by Valerius Flaccus, but is lesser known