Myth 18
Jason
Backwater
good horses
birthplace of Achilles
From Iolcus set
forth the Argonauts
a generation before
Homer's heroes to Troy
Referred to in Homer
Best sources:
Apollonius
of Rhodes (3rd BC)
Hellenistic taste
for obscure and baroque
Summarized in Ps-Apollodorus,
G1-G5
Jason's
later life: Euripides: Medea:
The
Golden Fleece
(see Hyginus, 1-3)
Jason descended from Aeolus
(grandson of
Deucalion and Pyrrha)
Aeolus’ son: Athamas
+ Nephele:
two kids: Phrixus and Helle
Gets
new wife: Ino (daughter of Cadmus; nurse to Dionysus)
jealous of stepkids—plots to have
them killed
Destroys
the seeds, crops fail
pretends to go to oracle--”kill your son”
kids climb onboard and are flown away
Helle falls off into the Hellespont
Lands
in Colchis,
ruled by King Aeetes
Phrixus sacrifices ram to
Zeus
gives fleece to King,
who hangs it up on a tree
guarded by a dragon
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!”
Jason and the Argonauts
Largest
ship thus far—built by Argus
its prow has a magic talking beam,
cut from Zeus' oracular oak
The
Argonauts (best of the best, pre-Troy):
o
Heracles
o
Theseus
o
Orpheus
o
Castor and Polyduces*
(imm) (Pollux)
§ sons
of Zeus
§ “Dioscuri”
§ brothers
of Helen of Troy
o
Boreads (Zetes and Calais)--winged
o
Telamon
(father of Ajax)
o
Peleus (father of Achilles)
o
Meleager
(brother of Deianira; hero of Boar hunt)
o
Admetus
(husband of Aclestis—helped by Heracles)
o
Augeas (stabler)
o
Tiphys—helmsman
o
Idmon
(seer)
o
Argus
To
the Black Sea!
Adventures—the Hellenistic love this stuff
Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd BC) Argonautica
Apollodorus sums it up for us:
Lemnos and sex-starved
women
Doliones: fight hosts
Heracles and boyfriend Hylas
(see Apollodorus on sources)
Zetes
and Calias, smash! Boreads
How to avoid Symplegades
Arrive at Colchis
Medea,
daughter of King Aeetes falls in love
· Fire breathing bull
· Plow
· Sow dragon teeth
· Fight the warriors
Not generally eaten
Snatch and flee
Kill Medea’s brother
Have to kill robot Talos
See Apollodorus,
p. 29
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 could have sons some other way!”
Revenge:
sends his sons and gifts
flesh eating clothes to Princess Glauce
kills
her father too
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
