Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece

1. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece By TanayK

2. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece Myths, legends and folktales have been passed on for many generations. They have been passed on verbally and have been retold in different ways each time. This is what makes storytelling special. The story of Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece highlights the dangers of selfishness and jealousy.

3. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece Jason was the son of the lawful king of Iolcus, but his uncle Pelias had taken the throne. Jason and his uncle had never met before. Unknowingly, Jason was to play his part in a plan hatched on Mount Olympus. Hera developed a rage against King Pelias because he worshipped all gods except for her. Hera had made a plan to get rid of Pelias, but it would take a true hero to accomplish this task.  

4. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece Hera needed to know if Jason was the right person for the difficult and complex task. To test him she disguised herself as an old woman and stood at the shore of the stream where Jason was supposed to be. She wanted to see if he would help her or if he would just walk along and cross the stream himself. Without a second thought, he took Hera on his back and started swimming across the stream. When he was halfway across the stream he staggered under her unexpected weight. He finally made it across the shore, but he lost a sandal when he was crossing the stream. His uncle Pelias had been warned by an oracle “Beware of the one having just one sandal”

5. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece Many people disagree on whether Hera revealed herself to him or not once they got to shore. When Jason arrived in Iolcus, he demanded his claim to the throne. But his uncle Pelias had no intention of giving it up, especially to a one-shoed stranger.  He invited Jason to a banquet. While they were eating their meals, he engaged him in conversation. “ You say you've got what it takes to rule a kingdom," said Pelias. "May I take it that you're fit to deal with any serious problems that arise? For example, how would you get rid of someone who was giving you difficulties?" Jason thought for a moment, eager to show his talent for problem solving. "Send him after the Golden Fleece?" he suggested. "Not a bad idea," responded Pelias. "It's the sort of quest that any hero would attempt. If he succeeded he'd be remembered down through the ages. Why don’t you do it yourself Jason?” said Pelias

6. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece A huge amount of heroes wanted to accompany Jason in his task to retrieve the Golden Fleece. This included Heracles and Atlanta. His crew was called the Argonauts. They were named after their ship, the Argo. Jason warned his crew that this was a difficult task and that there are many dangerous things that are awaiting them. All of them still stayed. It wasn't long before they ran into trouble after they set sail. They stopped at an island to rest. The king of the area welcomed them, but was not in a festive mood because he’d been sent Harpies by the gods. Harpies are birds that have the head of a woman. They made the king thinner by the hour. Luckily, two of the Argonauts were descendents of the North Wind which gave them the power to fly. They kindly chased the Harpies away. In return, the king informed the Argonauts of a danger that was just ahead on the route of the Golden Fleece.

7. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece The danger that the king was talking about were the two rocks called the Symplegades. These rocks clashed together when a ship went in between them. The king told them how to get past them. They sent a bird in between the clashing rocks and once they clashed the Argo passed through the rocks safely before they were ready to clash again. After that they stopped at another place which was ruled by King Aeetes. Jason had to face many challenges given to him by King Aeetes. He was the ruler of the barbaric kingdom of Colchis. A man that came into the kingdom on a golden fleeced ram sacrificed the ram and placed the golden fleece upon a grove in the garden The people in Colchis were not very friendly and didn’t like strangers. King Aeetes didn’t like Jason from the start. Hera asked Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to make Medea fall in love with Jason. Once Aeetes calmed down he claimed that he didn’t know why he was so uncooperative before. All he required of Jason was some simple farm work.

8. Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece The farm work was actually very difficult. He had to force two fire-breathing bulls into a harness, and plow the field. Medea helped him by making a potion which made him invincible to fire and the bulls brass hooves. For every seed that he plowed a man appeared out of nowhere. Now his task was to defeat the whole army. Medea told him to simply throw a stone at the army. The men thought that a different man did it and killed each other. The whole army was dead after a while. Aeetes still didn’t want to give Jason the Fleece. Medea was still entranced by Aphrodite, so at night she helped him retrieve the Golden Fleece. She gave a sleeping potion to the dragon and took the Fleece. They escaped to the Argo and made their way back to Greece. Once they got to Greece Jason abandoned Medea for another princess. In fury, she killed his new bride and her own children that were being taken care of by Jason.

9. Jason, The Argonauts and the Golden Fleece The story of Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece highlights the dangers of selfishness and jealousy. The myth gives us a reason not to be overwhelmed by selfishness and jealousy. It also gives us a reason not to make false promises. This myth is similar to what causes war. In most cases, war has been driven by selfishness and jealousy. This story makes us aware of the dangers of selfishness and jealousy, but also tells us that lying can save your life. This myth is very interesting and has many twists, which many people would say is the key to making a good story.