Chapter EighteenLecture One

Jason and the Myths of Iolchus and Calydon

Myths of Jason and Thessaly

• Thessaly; a large plain north of Thermopylae

• Neolithic and Mycenaean settlements• Port city of Iolchus (modern-day Volos) the

point of debarkation for Jason’s adventure

Thessaly

Prelude to the Argonautica

Phrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece

Phrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece

• Aeolus => – The Aeolids– Athamas

• Athamas + Nephelê– Phrixus (son)– Hellê (daughter)

Phrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece

• Athamas then marries another, Ino, daughter of Cadmus in Thebes– Two sons

• Ino arranges a trap to have Phrixus (her step son) murdered– Parches grain– Intercepts messenger to Delphi– Prophecy says Phrixus must be sacrificed– A golden ram appears just in time – The two – Phrixus and Hellê ride away on it

Phrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece

• Hellê falls off the ram at the “Hellespont”• Ram flies on to Colchis, where Aeëtes is

king– The fleece is given to Aeëtes, who receives

Phrixus

Pelias and Aeson

Pelias and Aeson

• Athamas’s niece (Tyro) • She has two sons by Poseidon

– Pelias, who will become king in Iolchus– Neleus, who will become king in Pylos

• She has two sons by the mortal, Cretheus– Aeson and Pheres

Pelias and Aeson

• Pelias drives out his brother Neleus• Imprisons his half-brother Aeson• But Aeson’s wife bears Jason

– Spirited away and raise by Chiron the Centaur on Mt. Pelion (near Iolcus)

• Aeson warned to beware a man with one sandal

Pelias and Aeson

• Now a young man, Jason comes down from Mt. Pelion to Iolcus

• Helps Hera in disguise to cross a river and he loses a sandal– Hera is out to punish Aeson for not

worshipping her. Her plan is to bring Medea to Iolcus, and that means having Jason go to Aeëtes’s kingdom to get her!

Pelias and Aeson

• Jason is tricked into going to search for the Golden Fleece– “What would you do if you knew someone

was going to kill you?”

The Voyage of the Argo

The Voyage of the Argo

• A ship is built by Argus– The bow is from Dodona– Called the Argo after Argus

• Jason collects the best warriors of the day

Early Adventures

• The women of Lemnos– Had earlier killed their men for refusing their

them (except for Queen Hypsipylê)– The Argonauts service the sex-starved

women– Heracles preserves the company of his

boyfriend (Hylas)• Next they were received by Cyzicus at

Samothrace

Early Adventures

• A storm blows the Argo back to Samothrace at night and, thinking his island was being attacked by strangers, Cyzicus brings out his army– King is killed by Jason

• Heracles lost when Hylas is abducted by water nymphs on Mysia– John Waterhouse, Hylas and the Nymphs

Early Adventures

• Bebryces• Amycus

– Defeated by Polydecues in boxing

Phineus and Harpies

Phineus and Harpies

• Salmydessus• King Phineus and the Harpies

– Freed by Zetes and Calaïs

The Symplegades

The Symplegades

• Phineus gives them advice about their future adventures– Release a dove

Medea and the Golden Fleece

Medea and the Golden Fleece

• Medea, daughter of Aeëtes, first sees Jason– Aphrodite sends Eros to make her fall in love

with him• Aeëtes is expecting a “stranger” to be his

downfall and refuses the fleece– Must first yoke fire-breathing bulls and sow

dragon’s teeth (which would produce murderous warriors)

Medea and the Golden Fleece

• Medea gives him ointments to protect him from the bulls

• When the warriors are grown . . . the rock• Medea helps Jason get the fleece• Aeëtes in pursuit

– Apsyrtus (his two fates)• The geography of the chase

– Eridanus, southern France, the Phaeacians . . .

Libya

Libya

• The Argo is dropped into the middle of desert

• The Nymphs of the Hesperides• The close encounter with Heracles• Triton helps them• Talus of Crete

– Medea’s “evil eye”• Poem stops as they’ve left Crete

The Deflated Hero

The Deflated Hero

• Evidence for Bronze Age travel into the Black Sea?– To this legendary voyage are added details of

folktale (the quest): hero’s troubles at birth, magical animal raised him, magical land and impossible tasks, marriage as a reward . . .

– But he did not get a glorious kingship

The Deflated Hero

• Apollonius writing for a literate audience who would appreciate the twists and variations on the standard hero theme– Focus on individual emotions, precious

descriptions . . . – Greatly influenced subsequent epic and

poetry, especially Vergil and his Aeneid

Next Lecture

After the Argo