+ 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 firebreathing oxen that he had to yoke himself.
+ Then, Jason sowed the teeth of a dragon into
a field.
+ 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.
+ 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
+ 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.
+ 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 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 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
+ 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.
+ 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.