Discover The Jason Myth And The Argaunauts

(EN) The myth says that in the country of Iolcus, the modern city of Volos, lived Pelius.  His half-brother Aeson, born of the same mother Tyro, but of different fathers, Pelias of the god Poseidon and Aeson of Crètheus, who was the king of Iolcus. After the death of Cretheus, Pelias usurped the throne of Aeson, the legitimate heir, and had him imprisoned. His plan was to kill all of Aeson’s parents and even banish his twin brother Neleus. Desperate for Aeson’s situation, his wife Alcimedes died, but before she had secretly given birth to Aeson’s son, Jason.Discover The Jason Myth And The Argaunauts.

Angry hera

Fearing that Pelias would also kill the boy, Jason was sent to Mount Pelion to live with the Centaur Cheiron, a strange creature half-man half-horse. Centaur Cheiron became his tutor and Jason grew up to be a good young man. Meanwhile, at Iolcus, Pelias, still afraid of losing his kingdom, approached the oracle of Delphi and was told to be wary of a man with a sandal. Unbeknownst to Pelias, it would be the revenge of the goddess Hera. Many years ago, he had angered Hera by committing the despicable act of killing his stepmother Sidero at the altar of the goddess and forbidding people to worship the goddess. Hera had sworn to take revenge for such shame and she chose to do so through Jason.

The Throne and the kingdom

When he was twenty, Jason set out to reclaim the throne and the kingdom of Iolcus from his uncle. As he walked towards Iolcus, on the other side of the Anauros River, Jason encountered an old woman who was trying to cross the other side. Being a cheerful young man, Jason helped the woman to cross, but the water washed away one of his sandals. The old woman thanked him and Jason continued his journey without knowing that he had helped Hera, Queen of the Gods, who had disguised herself as an old woman as part of his plan to punish Pelias, this arrogant mortal. Hera was aware of his quest, but Jason knew nothing about the participation of the gods in this quest.

King of Iocus

In Iolcus, a celebration was organized in honor of the god of the sea Poseidon, the father of Pelias. The arrival of Jason and his claim to the throne shocked Pelias who began to see the old prophecy come true: here is the man with a sandal. To get rid of this dangerous stranger, Pelias agreed to abdicate the throne only if Jason brought him the Golden Fleece from the distant land of Colchis, a task that was thought impossible. He was sure that Jason would never return and that he would remain king of Iolcus forever.

The history of the Golden Fleece

Long before Jason’s time lived two children, the boy Phrixos and his sister Helle. Born from the union of King Athamas of Orchomenus and the cloud goddess Nephelia. However, the king was seduced by the queen of Thebes, Ino, and took her for his second wife. Ino, jealous of his children, pushed Athamas to sacrifice them to the gods. As a sign of appeasement to put an end to the long famine that was ruining their lands.

Suddenly, during the sacrifice, a winged creature with a golden fleece appeared and took the two children on its back to the distant land of Colchis. Flying over the sea, Helle tragically fell from the creature’s back and drowned. The sea where Helle fell was named after Hellespont. The creature transported Phrixos unharmed to Colchis. Where he later married the daughter of King Aeetes, sacrificed the creature to the gods, and offered the king the golden fleece to give thanks for his hospitality.

Some time later, King Aeetes heard a prophecy. That announced not only the loss of his kingdom to a stranger wishing to steal the Golden Fleece. But also betrayal by a member of his family. Aeetes killed Phrixos because he believed himself to be the stranger of prophecy. He nailed the Golden Fleece to a tree. He then had the tree and the Golden Fleece guarded by two bronze bulls. Known as the Khalkouri, and a dragon, to prevent anyone from stealing the fleece.

Discover The Jason Myth And The Argaunauts

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