JASON and MEDEA

In Thessaly, there lived a king named Athamas and his wife, Nephele. They had a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Helle. At some point, Athamas got tired of his wife and put her aside. He then married Ino, a very powerful woman. Ino wanted to get rid of Phrixus to make way for her own son as heir to the throne, so she hatched a wicked plot. She parched all the seed corn, making it impossible for it to grow. When the people grew anxious and wanted to know why their corn wasn’t sprouting, Ino bribed the oracle to tell them that Phrixus must be sacrificed.

Nephele prayed to the gods for help, and Hermes sent a golden ram to snatch both Phrixus and Helle just before the sacrifice and to take them to safety in the air. However, Helle fell off the ram and drowned while crossing the strait separating Europe and Asia. It was later named after her: the Hellespont. Phrixus came safely to the land of Colchis. The king, AEetes, let him marry one of his daughters. Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave the fleece to King AEetes.

There was another kingdom of Thessaly (near that of Athamas) ruled by King AEson. AEson eventually grew tired of governing his land, so he handed over the reins of power to his brother Pelias with the understanding that Pelias would rule only until AEson’s son, Jason, was old enough to take over. However, as is usually the case, Pelias didn’t want to step down as ruler when Jason reached maturity. Instead, he told Jason that while he would be glad to step aside, there was something Jason had to do first. Pelias claimed that the golden fleece really belonged to their country. Phrixus (now dead) wanted it returned, and Jason (because Pelias was too old) needed to lead an expedition of the bravest men to retrieve it. Pelias knew this would be a dangerous journey and he counted on Jason not making it back alive.

Jason was thrilled with the challenge. He agreed to the journey, regarding it as a great adventure. Word spread, and all the noble young men joined him--Hercules, Castor and Pollux, Peleus (father of Achilles), etc. Hera was helping Jason by making all these young heroes want to come along. They named the ship that would carry them on their journey the Argo; thus they were called the Argonauts.

On their journey to Colchis, they had several exciting adventures. (I’ll probably tell you about these in class):

Finally, they reached Colchis. Hera knew they would need some "inside" help in getting the fleece away from AEetes and out of Colchis safely, so she asked Aphrodite to help her. Hera got the Argonauts safely into the city by wrapping them in a thick mist so that they could reach the palace unseen. Once there, the mist lifted, and Aphrodite caused Medea, one of AEetes' daughters, to fall in love with Jason as soon as she saw him. (Medea also happened to be very powerful in the use of magic.)

The king entertained Jason and his men then eventually asked the reason for their visit. Upon learning what Jason wanted, AEetes was very angry, but since Jason was his guest it was considered impolite to kill him right there. So AEetes devised a plan. He told Jason that he would have to perform a trial of courage: he must yoke together two fire-breathing bulls with feet of bronze and make them plow a field. He must sow the field with dragon’s teeth from which would spring armed warriors that Jason must cut down as they attacked. Jason agreed to the task although he knew he was undoubtedly doomed.

That night, the king’s grandson crept into Jason’s room and told him of Medea’s powers. Medea, meanwhile, was almost suicidal because she longed to help Jason but hated to go against her father’s will. Jason sought out Medea and asked for her help, promising to marry her. Before the altar of Hecate (a goddess often associated with Persephone, goddess of the dead), he called to the goddess to witness his oath. Medea capitulated, and she gave him an ointment to rub on his body that would make him safe for one day. She also advised him to throw a stone into the midst of the armed warriors that sprang up from the sown dragon’s teeth and they would turn on each other, not him.

The next day, Jason completed his trial. Since he was protected by the ointment, he was able to yoke the fire-breathing bulls together and plow the field. He sowed the rows with dragon’s teeth, and when armed warriors rose out of the ground, he threw a stone in their midst. They then killed each other rather than Jason.

AEetes was unhappy that Jason had succeeded in this trial and started planning more treachery, but Medea warned Jason he must get the Golden Fleece that night, flee Colchis, and take her with him. She would lull the guardian serpent of the fleece to sleep so they could get the fleece. That night, Jason, Medea, and the rest of the Argonauts succeeded in getting the fleece away from the serpent and started towards the spot where their ship was anchored.

King AEetes quickly learned of the theft of the fleece, and he sent Medea’s brother, Apsyrtus, ahead with a great army to pursue the Argonauts. As the ship was pulling away, Apsyrtus and his men arrived. Apsyrtus managed to jump on board and Medea killed him, then began throwing pieces of his body into the water as the ship pulled away from shore. AEetes, who was pursuing them, kept stopping to pick up the pieces of Apsyrtus, and the Argo was able to get away safely.

On the way back to Thessaly, they had more adventures (which I will tell you in class).

When they reached Thessaly, Jason and Medea took the fleece to Pelias. One version of this story has them returning home to find that Pelias had forced Jason’s father to commit suicide and his mother had died of grief. Another version has Jason’s parents still alive, but whatever the case, Jason and Medea returned home and at some point became very angry with Pelias. Once again, Jason turned to Medea to help him get revenge.

(Medea and Pelias' daughters, funerary relief, 430 B.C.)

Medea told the daughters of Pelias, who loved their father very much, that she could restore Pelias’ youth. She took an old ram, cut it into pieces, and threw the pieces into a pot of boiling water. She tossed in some ingredients and uttered a charm. Out of the pot sprang a new lamb. The daughters were amazed. Medea turned to them and offered to do the same for their father. They excitedly agreed. That night, she put a spell on Pelias and his guard; then the girls chopped up their daddy and threw the pieces into a pot of boiling water. When they turned to Medea to utter the charm, Medea was gone.

Jason and Medea did not get to enjoy their kingdom once Pelias was eliminated. The citizens were so outraged at the fate of Pelias (and appalled at what they regarded as Medea's barbarism) that they sent Medea and Jason into exile. Medea and Jason eventually found refuge in Corinth, which is where the play The Medea begins.