THE QUEST OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE

ORIGIN:+ Athamas, a king, got tired of his first wife,

Nephele, and marries a second, Ino. Ino wants Nephele’s son, Phrixus, out of the way so her own son can inherit the throne.

+ Ino, determined to bring about the little boy's death, and she made an elaborate plan how this was to be done.

+ Nephele was afraid for her two children.+ The people, threatened with starvation, forced

the King to yield and permit the boy's death.+ All of a sudden, the boy and girl were bore

away by a wondrous ram with a fleece of pure gold.

+ While crossing the strait …+ Sea of Helle+ Country of Colchis

+ Phrixus killed the ram and gifted the golden fleece to the King.

+ Phrixus had an uncle who was by rights a king in Greece, but had had his kindom taken away from him by his nephew, a man named Pelias.

+ Oracle’s prediction…

+ In due time such a man came to the town.+ Jason asked Pelias to return his throne to him.+ Pelias agreed as long as Jason could get the

golden fleece back.

+ The idea of the great adventure was delightful to Jason and he let it be known everywhere.

+ Jason, intrigued by the challenge, assembles a remarkable group of heroes to help him, including Hercules, Theseus, Peleus, and Orpheus. Their ship is named the Argo, so the group is called the Argonauts.

+ Jason finally arrived to claim the fleece as his own. Aeëtes promised to give it to him only if he could perform certain tasks.

+ First, Jason had to plow a field with fire-breathing oxen that he had to yoke himself.

+ Then, Jason sowed the teeth of a dragon into a field.

ADVENTURE:

+ The teeth sprouted into an army of warriors.+ Jason was quick-thinking, however, and before

they attacked him, he threw a rock into the crowd.

+ Unable to determine whence the rock had come, the soldiers attacked and killed each other.

+ Finally, Aeëtes made Jason fight and kill the sleepless dragon that guarded the fleece. Jason then took the fleece and sailed away with Aeëtes's daughter Medea.

THE ESCAPE+ Aeetes chased them as they fled.+ Medea distracted him by by killing her

brother Apsyrtus, and throwing pieces of his body into the sea.

+ The other version of the slaughter

THE RETURN JOURNEY

+ On the way back to Iolcus, Medea prophesied to Euphemus, the Argo's helmsman, that one day he would rule Libia.

+ Zeus sent a series of storms at the Argo and blew it off course as the punishment for the slaughter .

+ The Argo then sought purification with Circe, a nymph. After being cleansed, they continued their journey home.

CIRCE

+ A minor goddess of magic.+ The daughter of Helios, the god

of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid and the sister of Aeetes.

+ She was known for her vast knowledge of drugs and herbs. And she purified the Argonauts for the death of Absyrtus, may reflect early tradition.

THE RETURN JOURNEY- THE SIRENS

+ The Sirens lived on three small, rocky islands called Sirenum scopuli.

+ They sang beautiful songs that enticed sailors to come to them, which resulted in the crashing of their ship into the islands.

+ With the aid of Orpheus, the Argonauts were able to pass the Sirens.

THE RETURN JOURNEY- TALOS

+ The island of Crete was guarded by the bronze man, Talos.

+ Talos hurled huge stones at the ship, keeping it at bay.

+ Weakness: Talos had one blood vessel which went from his neck to his ankle, bound shut by only one bronze nail (as in metal casting by the lost wax method).

+ Medea removed the bronze nail and Talos bled to death

JASON RETURNS

+ Iolcus was ruled by Jason's uncle Pelias, who had gained the throne by killing Jason's father.

+ Medea tricked Pelias's daughters into thinking that they could restore their father to youth by cutting him up and boiling him in a pot.

+ Pelias died a gruesome death, and Pelias' son, Acastus, drove Jason and Medea into exile for the murder.

MEDEA’S REVENGE

+ The couple married and settled in Corinth, where they raised several children.

+ The king of Corinth, offered Jason his daughter in marriage.

+ Knowing that Jason was going to abandon her, Medea took her revenge by sending the bride a poisoned wedding gown that burned her alive .

+ By some accounts, before fleeing to Athens, she also killed the children she had borne to Jason.

+ Later Jason and Peleus (father of Achilles), attacked and defeated Acastus, reclaiming the throne of Iolcus for himself once more. Jason's son then became king.

+ As a result of breaking his vow, Jason lost his favor with Hera and died lonely and unhappy.