Jason

(mostly from Apollodorus)

Tyro—(grandmother of Jason)

sons: Pelias [with Poseidon] (arrogant) and Aeson (rightful king?)

Aeson imprisoned:

has son, hides him away (claim stillborn)

given to Chiron to be raised—JASON

Pelias learns: a man with one sandal will kill you

Jason returns to Ioclus

helps old woman across stream, and losses sandal

Pelias finds out about the guy with one shoe:

“what would you do if you knew someone was going to kill you”

“send him for the Golden Fleece!”

Adventures—the Hellenistic love this stuff

Apollonius of Rhodes (3^rd BC)

Argonautica

Lemnos and the sex-starved women

They had killed their husbands who refused to sleep with them because of their smell Aphrodite afflicted them with

Argonauts spend a year(?) there

beget a new race

Doliones—well received

blowback into town, and accidentally kill everyone

Heracles—breaks oar he's so strong

looks for new one

his boyfriend Hylas gets lost, and taken by Nymphs

they leave without them

the Boreads say keep going

Heracles will later kill them for this

Amycus—big brutish boxer

Polydeuces kills him with clever swiftness

King Phineas and the Harpies

abused the gift of prophecy given by Zeus

Harpies come and snatch his food away

Zetes and Calais – set trap; smash

Phineas tells them how to avoid the Symplegades

Smashing rocks

Arrive at Colchis

Medea falls in love with Jason

Aeetes: you can have it, if you

· yoke two fire breathing oxen

· plow the land

· sow the dragon teeth

· fight the warriors

·

Jason is depressed (really bad hero)

[does not generally get eaten]

Medea helps him—magic ointment to overcome the bull, if he marries

uses rock to trick the earth warriors

uses potion to put dragon to sleep

Snatch fleece and flee

Flee and are pursued

At some point, they kill Medea's brother Apsyrtus

(in Apollonius, in fight

in Ps-Apollodorus, he she chops him [as a child] up and throws him overboard, bit by bit)

Within sight of Crete, have to kill the robot Talus

(gift to Europa)

See Apollodorus’ comments, p. 29

(end of Apollonius)

Jason as “modern” hero

amorous, indecisive, cowardly, melancholic

huge influence on Vergil

RETURN

Pelias has since killed Jason's father, (mother) her son

no sign of giving up the throne

Medea comes up with a trick

revitalized goat trick

his daughters do it--”Oops, I must have forgotten something!”

Hera has her revenge!

Post Journey

Jason and Medea in Corinth

Jason bores of his foreign wife (and two kids) and

gets engaged to Glauce, daughter of king Creon

Most fully told in Euripides, Medea 431BC

Medea complains of women's lot

domestic problem

shockingly real portrayal of divorce in monogamous society

“but this is your city” (Corinthian women)

—Medea as foreigner as well

She is exiled for rabble rousing

Jason comes into to berate her

“you couldn't just leave, eh? Look what you've done”

Medea: I'm the one who saved you, all those times

Jason: you have far more reward enough

—look, you live in Greece! (lines 545etc)

“oh, that men cold have sons some other way!”

Revenge:

sends his sons and gifts

flesh eating clothes to Princess Glauce

kills her father too

Kills her own sons too

She flees

Medea goes to Athens

(Aegeus, Theseus' father, then Persia—mother of Medus)

(Jason never recovers; dies after being crushed by prow of Argus)

MEDEA:

dangerous, powerful, sexual, beautiful foreign woman

foreignness is just a bonus—all women were foreign to Greek men