JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

1. Who is Jason? Who are his parents? Relate the story of their family.
 Jason Is the leader of the Argonaunts, he is the leader of the Argonautic Expedition in
the quest of retrieving the Golden Fleece.
 He is the son of the King of Iolcus, Aeson and Alcamide. Jason was supposed to succeed
his father on the throne but the position was unsurped by his his half-uncle Pelias

Vying for the throne of Aeson, Pelias killed all of Aeson’s children and overthrew Aeson from
the throne. But Pelias failed to kill Jason and he was sent by his parents to Chiron where Jason
nurtured into adulthood.

Jason returned to Iolcus , appeared in front of Pelias and introduced himself as the rightful heir.
Fearing for his life on account of an ancient prophecy . Pelias replies that Jason should first
accomplish a difficult task to prove his worth. The task is for Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece,
kept beyond the edge of the known world in a land called Colchis.

2. What is the story of the golden fleece? Why is this the most protected and the most
desired by kings?
 Well before the time of Jason, there lived two children, the boy Phrixos and his sister
Helle, who were born of the union of King Athamas of Orchomenus and the cloud
goddess Nephele. However, the King was seduced by the Queen of Thebes, Ino, and
took her for his second wife. Ino, being jealous of his children, tricked Athamas into
sacrificing them to the gods, as a sign of appeasement to end the long famine that was
ruining their land. All of a sudden, during the sacrifice, a winged creature with a
golden fleece appeared and took the two children away on its back to the far away
land of Colchis. While flying over the sea, tragically Helle fell off the creature's back
and drowned. The sea where Helle fell was named Hellespont after her.
 The creature carried Phrixos safely 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. Sometime later, King Aeetes happened to
hear a prophecy that not only foretold the loss of his kingdom to a stranger wishing to
steal the Golden Fleece but also a betrayal by some member of his family. Aeetes
killed Phrixos because he believed that he was the stranger man of the prophecy and
nailed the Golden Fleece to a tree. He then had the tree and the Golden Fleece

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guarded by two fire breathing, bronze-hoofed bulls, known as the Khalkouri, and a
dragon, to prevent anyone from stealing the fleece.
3. How is this story related to Jason?
 The Golden Fleece is what he needs in order to claim the throne that is rightfully his and
it is just for him to have the golden fleece as the golden fleece to him as it belonged to
his ancestor. Zeus, the King of Gods had given the Golden Ram to Jayson’s ancestor
Phrixus.
4. Who are the argonauts? How did they get their name? Discuss the composition of
the Argonauts and the special skills that helped in their travel.
 Jason asked the strongest Greek men to accompany him in his journey and in fact the
prospect of a great adventure brought many to sail with him. Numbering fifty, the list of
heroes was astounding. There were the most famous and brave men of all over Greece,
all mighty fighters and some of them had also other skills.
 Among the Argonauts, we discern Hercules, who was renowned for his strength and
agility; Castor and Polydeuces, brothers, boxers and horse tamers; Orpheus, skilled in
playing excellent music with his lyre; Argos, the shipwright and lots of others legendary
men. Without much further ado the heroes cast off and set sail for the inevitable, their
death or glory.
5. Relate the challenges that Jason and the Argonauts met on their way to Colchis.

Landing on Lemnos

 For a long time, the island of Lemnos had been inhabited only by women and it was there
that the Argo first weighed anchor. These women had provoked the wrath of Goddess
Aphrodite for not worshipping her and as a sign of vengeance she had cursed them with
horrible body odor.
 There they lived with their queen Hypsipyle until the day Jason and his Argonauts
arrived. The Argonauts were welcomed with open arms and made babies with these
women. Jason himself fathered twin sons born of Queen Hypsipyle.

On the land of the Doliones

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 This was the home of the Doliones and ruled over by King Cyzicus, a kind and noble
man who greeted the Argonauts warmly. While the Argonauts were gathering supplies
they were attacked by Gegenees, earth-born monsters with six arms.

The Stymphalian Birds

 While nearing the deserted island of Ares, the Argonauts were suddenly attacked by the
Stymphalian Birds which had lethal, bronze-tipped feathers. Being the sacred birds of the
God of War, the Birds could only be driven away, not killed. Fortunately, one amongst
the Argonauts recalled how Hercules had once encountered these birds and driven them
away by making loud noises.

6.Who is Phineus? How did he help them? Why was he tormented on the island? What was
his request before he could reveal the information going to Colchis?

 An old blind man who had sat down to his meal was attacked by two winged creatures
that appeared from nowhere and started tormenting him and desecrating his food. Unable
to bear this vagary of fate, Jason and his friends ran to help the man and chased away the
creatures.
 To thank Jason, the old man told him that his name was Phineus and that he had once
been a seer. However, he had divulged too many of Zeus' secrets and the God had cursed
him, taking his vision. To further torment him, Zeus had sent the Harpies, the two winged
creatures that the Argonauts had earlier seen, to despoil his food every time he tried to
eat.
 Hearing of Jason's quest, Phineus agreed to tell the Argonauts what lie ahead but on one
condition: Jason and his friends should help him to get rid of the Harpies. Zetes and
Calais, who were amongst the Argonauts, were children of Boreas, the god of the north
wind and they could fly. It fell upon them to rid Phineus of the Harpies. They lay in wait
to kill the Harpies but Iris, sister to the two creatures, intervened, vowing that the
creatures would never bother the old man again. Phineus thanked the Argonauts for their
help and told them that the next task of their voyage would be very dangerous. In order to
cross the Symplegades which lay ahead, they must release a dove to see if she has safe
passage between these two gigantic rocks.

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7. How were they able to pass through the gigantic rocks of Symplegades?
 The Symplegades were two gigantic rocks which constantly clashed against each other,
seldom letting anything pass between them. Heeding Phineus' words, Jason let loose a
white dove. With bated breath, the Argonauts waited to see if she would have a safe
passage through the rocks. Luck favored them as the dove flew through without
mishap.The Argonauts, ecstatic that they too could be allowed to pass through safely, set
forth towards the clashing rocks.

8.How did Hera and Aphrodite help Jason?

 Seeing that Jason was about to approach Colchis, Goddess Hera realized he would need
help. For this, she chose Medea, the daughter of King Aeetes, a skilled sorceress and
high-priestess of the temple of Hecate, Goddess of magic and witchcraft. Hera knew that
Jason would need Medea to weave her magic not only here, but in Iolcus as well. She
told Aphrodite to send her son Eros to make Jason and Medea fall in love

9. Who is Medea? How did she fall for Jason?

 Medea is a sorceress and a princess, in his homeland Colchis

 Hera knew that Jason would need Medea to weave her magic not only here, but in Iolcus
as well. She told Aphrodite to send her son Eros to make Jason and Medea fall in love. It
was a simple task for Eros to ensure that the first person Jason would meet in Colchis
would be Medea.

10. How did Medea help Jason through the given tasks of his father?

 Medea prepared an ointment for Jason which would make him impervious to fire, so he
could face the bulls. She also told him how to defeat the warriors of the earth. Armed
with sorcery and courage, Jason set out to accomplish his tasks. Medea’s ointment
allowed Jason to approach the bulls without being burnt alive. He defeated them and
sowed the fields with dragon's teeth.

11. Describe the three tasks which Jason have to undergo.

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 There was much gaiety in the palace of King Aeetes for the arrival of the strangers, but
the King became furious when Jason announced he had come to Colchis only to take the
Golden Fleece. King Aeetes consented, only if Jason beat the fire-breathing bronze-
hoofed bulls guarding the Golden Fleece and make them plough a field in which he was
to sow the dragon's teeth. These seeds would turn into warriors that he would have to
defeat afterwards.

How did Jason get the golden fleece?

 Medea agreed to help Jason to steal the Golden Fleece, only if he took her away with
him. Jason consented to take her away from her father and also to marry her.
 The Golden Fleece was nailed to a tree in a small garden and guarded by the Sleepless
Dragon. Orpheus, the great music player who was one of the Argonauts, and Medea, in a
concerted effort of music and sorcery, put the beast to sleep while Jason quietly took the
Golden Fleece.

13. What were two proofs of the ultimate love of Medea to Jason?

 Medea used her powers and influence to help Jason secure the Golden Fleece; then,
having fallen in love with him, she fled her country and family to live with Jason. She
killed her brother and dumped him overboard, so that her pursuers would have to slow
down and bury him. While in Iolcus, she again used her devilish cleverness to manipulate
the daughters of the local king and rival, Pelias, into murdering their own father.

14.How did Jason get his kingdom back?

 Jason asked Medea to help him. Pelias' death was a result of Medea's trickery. She had
convinced Pelias' daughters that she had the power to restore their father's youth.

 Being a sorceress, she had demonstrated the procedure by killing a ram, cutting it into
pieces, throwing it into a cauldron of boiling water and then bringing it back to life as a
young sheep again. Believing it to be true, the daughters murdered him. Jason seized the
throne thereafter

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