Quest Of The Golden Fleece
Jason's father was the rightful king of Iolcus, but he was overthrown by his brother Pelias. Jason managed to escape, and the centaur Chiron taught him all the things he should know as a prince. Pelias, although reigning Iolcus, was not very happy, because an oracle once told him to beware of the man with one sandal.
When Jason grew up, he decided to return to Iolcus, to find his father and also to reclaim the throne. On the way he had to cross a river, and lost one of his sandals. When he reached Iolcus and met up with Pelias, the latter was terrified, but welcomed him warmly. He promised to return the throne to Jason, if Jason would prove his wisdom and bravery.
"Return with the Golden Fleece!" Said Pelias.
The Golden Fleece belonged to a magic ram once sent by Pan to save two children from a wicked queen, and when the ram died, the fleece was given to the king of Colchis, Aeetes, son of Helios. Aeetes hung the fleece in a magic grove, with a dragon to guard it.
Jason willingly accept the test, and he sought the help of Argos, who built him a ship of fifty oars named the Argo. Athena presented the ship with a talking prow, named Dodona, who would offer advice at times. Next Jason gathered the bravest of heroes who would join him in his quest, among them Heracles, Hylas, Theseus, Castor, Polydeuces, Idas, Lycaeus, Telamon, Peleus, Zetes, Calais, Admetus, Oileus, Laertes, Meleager, Atalanta, Nestor, and also Orpheus, the son of Apollo. The fifty men who sailed in the Argo were called the Argonauts, and the first place they reached was the land of King Cyzicus, who entertained them kindly. But due to some misunderstanding, a fierce battle took place, in which King Cyzicus was slain with many of his warriors by the Argonauts.
Sorrowing, the Argonauts next reached the the land of King Amycus, an arrogant ruler who challenged them to a boxing match. His challenge was accepted by Polydeuces, who smote him so hard that the king fell dead.
Sailing onwards they reached Thrace, where the prophet Phineus lived. Phineus was cursed with the Harpies, winged women with claws. The Argonauts managed to chase away these creatures, and in return of the favour Phineus said, "You will reach the Clashing Rocks, rocks that spring together and crush any ship that passes. Before you pass, send a heron between the rocks. If she passes safely, so will the Argo."
In time the Argonauts reached the Clashing Rocks, and following Phineus' advice, Jason let loose a heron, which sped between the rocks. The rocks clashed together, but the bird was safe on the other side. The Argo followed, the rocks clashed again, but the Argonauts were safe.
Finally they came to the city of Colchis, and asked the king for the Golden Fleece.
"I will give you the Golden Fleece, if you can yoke my brazenfooted bulls which breathe fire from their nostrils, plough a field with them, and sow it with dragon's teeth!" Said King Aeetes.
That night Jason wondered how to accomplish the task, and Medea, a witch who was also a daughter of Aeetes, came to him and said, "I will tell you how to do what my father said, if you would make me your wife."
Medea had fallen in love with Jason, and Jason was forced to promise her, since he had no other choice. So Medea gave him a magic ointment which would make him invulnerable and unburnable for a single day. The next morning, Jason anointed himself with the ointment, and managed to harness the bulls of King Aeetes without any harm. He ploughed the field, and afterwards sow it with dragon's teeth. But the moment they were sown, the teeth began to grow into men, all eager to slay Jason. Jason quickly threw his helmet into the midst of the men, and at once they fought against each other, and in the end all of them fell dead.
But Aeetes was not happy over this, and he plotted to kill Jason and the Argonauts. Medea came again to Jason and warned him of this, and that night she agreed to lead Jason with the Argonauts to steal the Golden Fleece. As they reached the magic garden, they saw the Golden Fleece, which was guarded by a fierce dragon.Then Orpheus played his lyre, while Medea cast a sleep spell on the dragon. Soon the dragon fell asleep, and Jason took the fleece. They retreated back to the Argo, and set sail immediately. But when the dragon woke, it uttered a cry, which signalled Aeetes of the theft. The king launched a swift ship in pursuit of the Argonauts and managed to catch up with them, but then Medea did a dreadful thing. She took her brother, the boy prince Abystrus, and killed him in front of his father. Then she cut him in pieces and threw them into the sea, knowing that Aeetes would stop to gather them to give his son a proper burial. All happened as she expected, and the Argonauts escaped.
Soon they reached Crete, where Talos the brass giant hurled rocks at passing ships until they sank. Talos was fashioned by Hephaestus himself, and was a present to the first king of Crete. However, in time Talos ran out of control, and now Crete was cut off from the rest of the world. The Argonauts decided to help Crete in destroying Talos, in which Medea said, "Only with the help of magic, can Talos be defeated."
They drew near the shore, as Talos was just about to hurl a rock at them. Orpheus immediately played a song which halted him, while Medea spoke, "Talos, I am Medea the witch. I can make you King of the World, and even Lord over all the Immortals."
"How can you do that?" Asked the giant.
"Is it not true? That you have a but one vein in your body, running from neck to heel, and that instead of blood it contains ichor, the immortal liquid which flows in the veins of the Immortals?" Replied Medea. Talos nodded, and Media continued, "Although ichor flows in your vein, you are not an Immortal. I can make you so, if you will let me land safely with one follower."
Talos agreed, and Medea landed with Poeas, the smallest man among the Argonauts. But Poeas was also a most skilled archer, which Talos did not know. Once on shore, Poeas hid himself among the rocks, while Medea set to mix a magic brew. Talos drew nearer, but still mistrustfully, for in his heel was set a brass nail, which prevented the ichor from escaping. He feared greatly lest anyone should touch it.
As Medea finished her magic brew, she held it out to Talos in a cup, which Talos took and drank immediately. But it brought him only a feeling of drowsiness, not the Immortality that Medea promised. Then Poeas took his bow, and released an arrow which struck the nail in Talos' heel, loosing the ichor. Talos cried out and tried to look for the nail, but he could not find it, as he was in a state of drunkenness. Finally he lay dead on the shore.
The Argonauts returned to Greece without much difficulty afterwards, and Jason went back to Iolcus. But he found his old father dead, and Pelias would not give up the throne. Jason was content to let him remain ruling, but Medea wished to be queen. So she tricked Pelias to a cruel death, and when the people of Iolcus found out, Jason and Medea were banished from the city.They wandered and reached Corinth, whose king agreed to marry his only daughter to Jason. But Medea disagreed, and using her magic, murdered the princess and her father.
Time passed, and Medea had bore Jason with two sons. As Jason grew old, Medea became bored with him, and after killing her two sons, she fled away. Jason continued his wanderings, and in the end came to where the old ship Argo was drawn up on the beach. He slept in the shade of the ship, and the ship, grown rotten with age, fell suddenly on his head and killed him.
This was the end of the man who made one of the very first voyages of discovery, the Quest of the Golden Fleece.