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| The Argonauts with Athena, two-handled bowl, c. 460 BC. Paris, Louvre. | |
The Greek heroes, who, under the command of Jason, sailed to Colchis in the search for Golden Fleece. They were named after their ship, the Argo.
After the death of king Cretheus, his adopted son Pelias seized the throne of Iolcos in Thessaly from his half-brother Aeson, who was the rightful heir. Fearing that he might lose his newborn son Jason as well, Aeson announced that his boy was dead, and then secretly sent him to Mt. Pelion and entrusted him to Centaur Chiron. On Mt. Pelion, Jason was brought up by Chiron's wife Chariclo (1) and his mother Philyra; Chiron himself taught him the art of medicine.
After twenty years, Jason left Mt. Pelion and returned to Iolcos. He arrived there dressed in a tiger-skin with a spear in each hand, and with no sandal on his left foot. When Pelias saw him, he remembered an old oracle that told him to mistrust a man with one sandal. Pelias asked the stranger who he was, and Jason bravely answered that he was the son of Aeson, and that he came back to Iolcos to claim the throne from his uncle. Aeson, who was there as well, recognized and welcomed his son. Jason stayed five days at his father's house, and on the sixth day he went to Pelias and demanded the throne of Iolcos. Pelias pretended he was ready to give up the power, once Jason went to Colchis and brought the Golden Fleece. That was the fleece of a divine ram which had carried Phrixus from Orchomenos to Colchis, a generation before. The fleece was consecrated by Aeetes, king of Colchis, to Ares, and now hung from a tree that was guarded night and day by an unsleeping dragon.
Another version claims that when Jason arrived at Iolcos with one sandal, and when Pelias discovered who that stranger was, he asked him what would he do if an oracle announced that one of his citizens was destined to kill him. Jason replied that he would send him to Colchis in the search for the Golden Fleece. Later, when Pelias revealed his identity and when Jason demanded the throne, Pelias promised he would resign if Jason went to Colchis and fetched the Golden Fleece. Another story says that it was Hera who put the idea about the Golden Fleece in Jason's mind, as she wanted Jason to bring the sorceress Medea from Colchis, to kill Pelias whom she wasn't fond of.
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| The Building of the Argo | |
Jason agreed to bring the Golden Fleece, and immediately started to gather volunteers who would join him in this expedition. He sought the help of Argos (4), who on the advice of Athena, built a fifty-oared ship, the
Argo, that was supposed to take Jason and his companions to Colchis. The ship was built with the wood from Mt. Pelion. Athena herself had cut a beam from her father Zeus' oak at Dodona, gave it a power of speech and prophecy and fitted it into the Argo's prow. With the help of gods, the Argo became the strongest and the fastest ship.
There are different catalogues of names of the Argonauts; the following fifty names are those given by the most trustworthy authorities:
The Argonauts gathered at Pagasae, where they sacrificed to Apollo. The omens were good; they were interpreted by Idmon who said that all of them would return safe from the mission, except one, himself. By drawing lots, they decided the benches. The role of the helmsman was given to Tiphys, Lynceus (2) was chosen to be the look-out man, while Orpheus was given the task to command the rowing rhythm with his song.
On the way to Colchis, they made the first stop at Aphetae, to renew their water supplies. Some sources say that Heracles already there left them, either because he got lost when he went to search for a wellspring, or because the ship could not carry him. Chased by storms, the Argonauts reached the island of Lemnos. The island was ruled by women, who regarded the heroes as enemies in the beginning, but after they had promised to treat them as wives, their hatred turned into passionate love. Jason chose for himself the queen Hypsipyle, the daughter of Thoas (1), and other heroes, except Heracles, indulged themselves in enjoyment with Lemnian women and forgot the journey and their mission. The Argonauts stayed on the island for one or two years, and boarded the ship either on Heracles' intervention or attracted by Orpheus' song. Behind them were left numerous descendants, mostly sons, who were named after their fathers.
On the Orpheus' advice, the Argonauts first sailed from Lemnos to Samothrace, where they were initiated into the mysteries of Persephone. Then, they made their way through the strait of Hellespont, and reached the Propontis. Soon, they approached the land of the Doliones, who were the descendants of Poseidon, and who were reigned by King Cyzicus. When the Argonauts arrived, Cyzicus had just married Clite, the daughter of the soothsayer Merops. Cyzicus welcomed the heroes, and invited them to share his wedding banquet. During the banquet, the Argo's guards were attacked by six-handed Earth-born giants; in a fight, Heracles killed them all. The next day, the Argonauts continued their journey, but the storm during the night threw them back to the land they had just left. Thinking that pirates were landing, Doliones attacked the Argonauts and, in the fierce night battle, Jason killed king Cyzicus. The mistake was revealed at the dawn; the old friendship was re-established, and Jason and his friends took part in magnificent funeral games organized for the dead king. The city over which Cyzicus had reigned then took his name. Clite, the young king's widow, hanged herself overwhelmed by pain.
Because of unfavourable winds, the Argonauts extended their stay in the land of Doliones for another twelve days. Hera then sent a bird with a message to prophet Mopsus (1), that the Argonauts should erect the statue of Cybele on Mount Dindymus, as they had killed the children of Mother Earth, the six-handed giants. As soon as they did that, the sea calmed down and they continued their journey.
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| Hylas and the Nymphs, John William Waterhouse, 1896. | |
After some time, the Argo landed in the country of Bebryces in Bithynia, on the coast of Propontis. The country was ruled by the savage King Amycus, the son of Poseidon. Amycus approached the Argonauts and refused them any food or water, until one of them fought with him in the ring. Polydeuces, who was the champion in boxing, accepted the challenge. Although stronger and younger, Amycus was soon defeated by the skill of Polydeuces. In some versions, Polydeuces killed Amycus, while in others he just knocked him out and made him promise he would stop harming strangers in future.
On their way through the strait of Bosphorus, the Argonauts reached the Symplegades rocks, also known as the 'Clashing Rocks', as when any ship attempted to pass between them, the rocks drove together and crushed the ship. As Phineus (1) had advised them, Euphemus let a dove fly in front of Argo. The dove managed to get through the channel before the moving rocks closed the passage, loosing just couple of her tail feathers. When the rocks separated again, the Argonauts rowed through in full speed, with the help of Hera and Athena, and lost only their stern ornament. From then on, the rocks remained motionless, as the prophecy said that once a ship passed between them safely, they could move no more.
Having made their way into the Black Sea, the Argonauts sailed along the southern shore, and first reached the island of Thynias. From there, they sailed to the land of the Mariandyni, where they were warmly welcomed by king Lycus (4). Lycus had already heard that his bitter enemy king Amycus was killed by the Argonauts, and grateful, he offered them his son Dascylus to guide them on their voyage along the coast. During their stay with Mariandyni, the seer Idmon was attacked by a boar and died. While the funeral rites organized in his honour were still on, the steersman Tiphys got sick and died as well; his place as navigator was then given to Ancaeus (2). Soon, the Argonauts continued to sail east, until they reached the city of Sinope in Paphalogonia, where Autolycus with his brothers joined Jason. Argo then sailed past the land of the Amazons and the land of the Chalybians, the people known for their famous forges. Near the small island of Ares called Aria, the Argonauts were attacked by a flock of bronze birds who showered them with their sharp metal feathers. Following the Phineus (1)'s instructions, half of the crew rowed, while the other half protected them with shields, and drove the birds away with the sound produced by clashing the swords against the shields. On the same island, they met Argos (3), Cytissorus, Melas (2) and Phrontis, the sons of Phrixus, who were shipwrecked there. The Argonauts gave them shelter, so they all together continued the journey, and soon reached the goal of their voyage; through the mouth of the river Phasis they arrived at Colchis, the land of the Helios' son, king Aeetes.
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| The dragon guarding the Golden Fleece disgorges Jason, in the presence of Athena, c. 480 BC. | |
As soon as he disembarked, Jason presented himself to king Aeetes, told him the reason of his mission to Colchis, and demanded the Golden Fleece. Remembering an old prophecy saying that he would rule as long as he possessed the Golden Fleece, king Aeetes got scared for his life and crown, and decided to destroy Jason. He promised him the Golden Fleece, on condition that he should yoke two fire-breathing bulls with brazen hoofs, the creations of Hephaestus. After that, he would have to plough the Field of Ares and sow it with the dragon's teeth (these were the rest of the teeth of the Ares' dragon at Thebes, which Athena had given to Aeetes). Jason would have never performed this difficult task without the help of Aeetes' daughter Medea, the famous sorceress. Namely, Athena and Hera were very keen on helping Jason win the Golden Fleece, and they approached Aphrodite who sent her son Eros to wound Medea's heart with an arrow and made her madly in love with Jason. Medea offered help to Jason, if he married her and took her to Greece. After Jason had promised her eternal love, Medea gave him a magic lotion made from saffron that grew out of Prometheus' blood, with which Jason was to cover his body, spear and shield before he attacked the bulls. The lotion protected Jason from the bulls' fiery breath, and he managed to yoke the bulls and plough the field. From the sowed dragon's teeth, an army of armed men immediately sprouted, but Jason, as Medea had told him, threw a stone among them, and men started to attack and kill each other; as they were paying no attention to Jason, he slew them easily.
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| Jason taking the Golden Fleece from a tree. Detail from a red-figured vase, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. | |
Jason then went to Aeetes and demanded the Golden Fleece again, but Aeetes had no intention to give it to Jason. Instead, he threatened to burn the Argo and kill its crew. But before he had time to do that, Medea took Jason to the precinct of Ares where the fleece hung on the oak-tree, guarded by a huge dragon. Medea put a spell on the dragon, and Jason easily unfastened the fleece from the tree (according to some versions, Jason fought with dragon and killed him). Then, they together hurried down to the beach where the Argonauts were waiting on the ship, ready for escape. Aeetes raised an alarm and gave chase, but Medea, knowing that this would happen, killed her half-brother Apsyrtus, brought him aboard and cut him into pieces, and then started to throw one by one piece into the sea. While the Colchians were searching the sea for the body pieces of Apsyrtus, the Argo ran away. Another version of the story says that Aeetes sent Apsyrtus in pursuit of Jason and Medea, and that he trapped their ship at themouth of the river Danube. There, Medea tricked Apsytrus; she pretended she had been forcibly abducted, and sent him a message to come and rescue her. When Apsyrtus came, Jason killed him. Without their leader, the Colchians were easily defeated, and Argo with the Argonauts escaped.
After Apsyrtus had been killed, angered Zeus sent a storm that drove the Argo off course. The ship itself then started to speak, saying that Zeus wouldn't calm down unless Jason and Medea went to Circe, Medea's aunt, to be purified of the Apsyrtus' murder. The Argonauts then sailed up the rivers Danube and Save, and then down the Po, into the Adriatic Sea. They were pursued by storms and driven around the coast of Italy, until finally they reached the island of Aeaea, where the sorceress Circe lived. Circe purified both Jason and Medea of the murder, but she refused to offer them any hospitality.
The other adventures of the Argonauts on their way to Iolcos, are similar to those of Odysseus. They passed the island of the Sirens where they would have all died if the Orpheus' song wasn't louder from the singing of the Sirens. Only Butes (2) responded to the voices of these bird-women and jumped into the sea, but he was rescued by Aphrodite who took him to Lilybaeum in Sicily and made him her lover. Then, the Argonauts passed through the straits of Scylla (1) and Charybdis, they passed the island of Thrinacia where the cattle of Helios grazed, and then they arrived at Corcyra, in the land of the Phaeacians. At the court of the Phaeacian king Alcinous, they met a group of Colchians who demanded Medea and the Golden Fleece from the king. Alcinous consulted his wife Arete and then told the Colchians that they could bring Medea to Colchis only if she was still a virgin, otherwise she could stay with Jason. In the meantime, Arete secretly prepared everything for Jason's and Medea's wedding, and they got married the same night. The following day everyone knew that Medea was Jason's wife, and the Colchians were not allowed to take Medea back to Colchis. As they feared Aeetes' wrath, they decided not to go there, as well; some of them stayed at Corcyra, while the others occupied the islands not far from Circe's Aeaea.
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| Jason and Medea, Gustave Moreau, 1865. | |
The Argonauts hardly set sail again, when a strong storm drove them to the shores of Libya. They had to carry the Argo on their shoulders for twelve days, until they reached the Lake Tritonis. There, the god Triton appeared, and showed them the way to Mediterranean Sea. The Argonauts continued their journey, and soon reached Crete. When they tried to disembark, they were attacked by Talos (1) who hurled big stones at Argo. Talos was the bronze giant created by Hephaestus, whose task was to protect the island from strangers. He was invulnerable except in the lower part of his leg, where there was a vein closed at the top by a bronze nail. Medea sweetly approached Talos and promised him immortality. She gave him a magic potion that put him into sleep; while he slept, she removed the nail, opened up the vein, and Talos died. The Argonauts then disembarked, they built a shrine to Minoan Athena and continued their journey towards Greece. On the Cretan Sea, the Argo was caught again in a terrible storm. Jason prayed to Apollo, who sent a flesh of light which showed them that they were very close to the small island of Anaphe. The Argonauts landed on the island and raised a shrine to Apollo, but instead of wine, they offered water. When they saw this unusual sacrifice, the female servants given to Medea by queen Arete, started to laugh and make the jokes about the Argonauts. Since then, this custom was repeated on the island; every sacrifice in the honour of Apollo was accompanied with jokes and celebrations.
When they set sail again, the Argonauts had a simple voyage. They sailed first to the island of Aegina, and then to Iolcos. But, when they arrived there, they found no one to greet them; Jason soon learned that Pelias had killed his parents, as well as their newborn son, Promachus (1). When Medea heard the story, she decided to take the matter into her own hands and punish Pelias for his crimes. She went to the court of Pelias, claiming that the goddess Artemis had sent her to rejuvenate him. In front of Pelias and his daughters, she demonstrated her magic. She took an old ram, cut him into pieces, boiled him in a cauldron, and then took a lamb out of the cauldron. Fully convinced that he would be rejuvenated, Pelias lied on a couch. Medea put him to sleep; then she instructed his daughters to cut him into pieces, the same way she had just done with the ram, and to boil the pieces in the same cauldron. Pelias' daughters did what they were told, but Pelias however didn't come back. After this terrible murder, Jason gave up the throne of Iolcos and he didn't question the sentence of banishment passed on him by the Iolcan Council. First, he went to Orchomenos in Boeotia, where he hung up the golden fleece in the temple of Laphystian Zeus. After that, he sailed the Argo to Corinth where he dedicated it to Poseidon (for subsequent events about Jason and Medea, see Medea).
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| Medea demonstrating to Pelias how she can rejuvenate a ram. Vase in the British Museum. | |
The legend of the Argonauts is best known through the epic Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius, written around 270 BC. The scenes from the myth were very popular in the art of the ancient world.