Jason (Jason, Jason), son of King Iolkos, leader of the Argonauts. The myth of Jason and the Argonauts in fine arts The myth of the voyage of the Argonauts to Colchis

The story of the voyage of the Argonauts is the first Greek myth telling about a long sea voyage beyond the Greek world. It was headed by Jason, a contemporary of Hercules and Theseus. This event can be attributed to approximately the 13th century BC, 20-25 years before the Trojan War.
Jason was the son of Aeson, king of the city of Polk in Thessaly. When his uncle Pelias seized power, little Jason had to go into hiding. Having reached the age of twenty, he came to Pelias and demanded the return of the kingdom that rightfully belonged to him. Pelias promised to do this on the condition that the young man would extract and bring him the golden fleece from Colchis.
The task set by the cunning and cruel Pelius was clearly impossible. In those days, the Greeks usually sailed in the Mediterranean Sea and had little knowledge of what was beyond its borders. And they had to sail to the eastern part of the Black Sea. Colchis occupies the territory of the lowland of the same name in the coastal part of modern Abkhazia and Western Georgia.
There was no need to go on such a long journey for the Golden Fleece. Gold-bearing sand was also found in Greece. They washed it with sheep skins, which were then burned to produce a gold bar.

TO THE EDGE OF THE OICUMENE
Let's return, however, to our myth. Deciding to sail to Colchis, Jason, with the help of the goddess Athena, built a ship the likes of which had never existed before. Gathered the most famous heroes and craftsmen from all over Greece. Among them were the famous shipbuilder carpenter Arg (the ship was named after him), the best helmsman of Hellas Tithis, the fastest runner of that time Euphemus from Tenar, the twins Castor and Pollux, the most skillful riders and fist fighters, the sons of the north wind Boreas, the brothers Kalaid and Zetus. The latter even knew how to fly. The great Greek hero Hercules and the sweet-voiced singer Orpheus also boarded the ship.
The Argonauts made their first stop on the island of Lemnos. It turned out that only women lived there. A year ago they killed all their men for treason and therefore our travelers were quickly sent home. Jason, naturally, went to the queen of the island. The men quickly forgot about the purpose of their journey. And only Hercules, with great difficulty, managed to return the Argonauts to the ship and continue their journey.
They sailed further only at night, since the kings of Troy did not allow foreign ships into their waters. True, the Hellespont (Dardanelles) passed safely and entered the Sea of ​​Marmara. Near the city of Cyzicus in Phrygia, travelers had to fight with six-armed giants who threw fragments of rocks at passing ships. With the help of Hercules, the giants were killed. And then the gods gave Hercules another assignment - and he left the Argonauts.
Ahead was the Bosphorus Strait, the most dangerous section of the journey. The blind soothsayer Phineus told the sailors how to safely navigate it, and most importantly, how to overcome the converging and diverging rocks of Symplegades just before entering the Black Sea (Pont Euxine). On the advice of the elder, Jason sent a dove ahead, and the helmsman Tifis, following the bird, managed to guide the ship between the rocks.

Now the Argonauts, moving along the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey, passed the country of the Amazons and approached the Caucasus Mountains. There they noticed a huge flying eagle and heard loud moans. This eagle, at the behest of Zeus, tormented Prometheus chained to a rock. Later, Hercules will kill this eagle and free Prometheus from his shackles...
IN KOLCHIDA
"Argo" safely entered the mouth of the Fasis (Rioni) River and stopped at the city of Eya, the capital of the Colchis kingdom. The goddesses Athena and Hera, who were disposed towards Jason, asked Aphrodite to send Eros so that he would kindle love for the hero in the heart of Medea, the daughter of the Colchian king. And when Jason and his companions appeared in the palace of the local king Eetus, Medea was already burning with passion for the leader of the Argonauts.
Jason invited the king to give him the Golden Fleece in exchange for help in his war with hostile neighbors. However, the king was not going to part with his treasure. He suggested that Jason harness two fire-breathing bulls to a plow, plow the field and sow it with the dragon's teeth. From these teeth will grow the warriors whom Jason had to defeat. All this had to be accomplished within one day. Only then did the king agree to give up the Golden Fleece.
Such a test was beyond the power of even the famous Greek heroes. Using her magical abilities, Medea helped the stranger accomplish this feat. And then Jason and Medea put to sleep the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, and, seizing the precious burden, fled from the capital.

Russian researcher I.V. Mashnikov, the author of the book “Deciphered Secrets of Ancient Myths,” put forward the idea that the Argonauts sailed to Colchis not for gold, but... for linen fabric. Rich Greek women were very fond of linen garments. There was flax in Greece, but in the local climate it was stunted and had short fibers. Long-fiber flax was brought to Hellas from Egypt and somewhere else from the East.
Such fabrics were very expensive. It was calculated that one gram of flax cost the same as 13 grams of gold. And thin linen fabric was even more expensive. One could go on such a long journey for such a treasure.
Some details of the Argonaut myth would seem to support this hypothesis. For some reason, the Golden Fleece had to be soaked in a mountain stream for two days. If the myth is about mutton skin, this period is incomprehensible. The longer you keep the skin in running water, the more particles of gold will get there. But for soaking flax this period is exactly what is needed.
Another interesting detail. Jason grabbed the golden fleece and hid it under his shirt. It is unlikely that a large heavy skin full of golden sand could be shoved there. A roll of thin linen fabric could be hidden like this.
I.V. Mashnikov believes that the Argonauts sought not so much to bring linen fabric from Colchis. They needed to find out how such flax is grown, how this extraordinary material is obtained from it. In ancient times, such production secrets were usually kept by priests. The royal daughter Medea was a priestess of the temple of the goddess Hecate and, perhaps, knew these secrets. That’s why Jason took Medea away secretly from her father.
The Colchis king immediately blocked the passage to the Black Sea straits with his ships. However, the Argonauts moved in a different direction. They climbed up the Ister (Danube) and along its tributaries reached the Adriatic Sea.
The myth of the Argonauts was extremely popular in ancient times. A lot of ceramic products with images of individual episodes of this legendary journey have reached us. Apollonius of Rhodes in the 3rd century BC. e., working in the famous Library of Alexandria, he collected a lot of materials on this myth and wrote the poem “Argonautica,” which, fortunately, has come down to us.

THE ROUTE OF THE ARGONAUTS
In the summer of 1984, the Irishman Tim Severin, guided by the content of the poem “Argonautica,” repeated the path from Greece to Abkhazia. For this purpose, he built a copy of a Greek Bronze Age ship, albeit somewhat smaller than the Argo.
Tim Severin's expedition covered a distance of 1,500 nautical miles, although few experts believed in the possibility of successful sailing on such a primitive vessel. Severin did not seek to confirm the veracity of the myth, the very fact of the existence of Jason and the voyage of the Argonauts. It was important for him to prove something else: thirty-three centuries ago, the ancient Greeks on a small ship could, in principle, travel this route.
It is known that the Greeks began colonizing the Black Sea region in the 7th century BC. e. The Irishman's daring experiment showed that five centuries earlier the Greeks had penetrated the Black Sea, as a result of which a fascinating heroic epic was born, which has been living for the fourth millennium.

Early in the morning the Argonauts woke up. At the council they decided that Jason should go with the sons of Phrixus to King Eetus and ask him to give the fleece to the Argonauts, but if the proud king refuses, then only then resort to force. Jason went with the staff of peace to the palace of Eet. The goddess Hera covered Jason and his companions with a thick cloud so that the inhabitants of Colchis would not offend the heroes. When the heroes approached Eeta's palace, the cloud parted and they saw Eeta's palace. This palace was majestic. Its walls were high with many towers reaching into the sky. Wide gates decorated with marble led to the palace. Rows of white columns sparkled in the sun, forming a portico. Everything that was in the palace of Eeta, all the rich decoration, was made to him by Hephaestus in gratitude for the fact that Eeta’s father, the sun god Helios, rushed away Hephaestus, exhausted in the battle with the giants, from the Phlegrean fields in his golden chariot. Many palaces surrounded the courtyard. In the most luxurious one lived King Eet with his wife, in the other - his son Absyrtus; For its beauty, the Colchians called Absyrtus Phaeton (shining). In the remaining palaces lived the daughter of Eeta Halkiope, the wife of the deceased Phrixus, and the youngest daughter of Eeta Medea, the great sorceress, servant of the goddess Hecate. When Jason and his companions entered the courtyard of the palace of Eeta, Medea came out of her palace. She went to visit Chalciope. Medea screamed in amazement when she saw the strangers. Chalkiope came out to her cry and saw her sons. Rejoicing at their return, Chalkiope ran up to them. She hugs and kisses her sons, whom she never thought of seeing again. Eet also came out to hear the noise. He invites strangers to his palace and orders a sumptuous feast to be prepared for his servants. While Jason was exchanging greetings with Eet, Eros descended from high Olympus on his golden wings. Hiding behind a column, he pulled the string of his bow and took out a golden arrow. Then, invisible to everyone, Eros stood behind Jason and shot his arrow straight into Medea’s heart. An arrow pierced her heart, and she immediately felt love for Jason. Jason went with his companions to the palace of Eeta. There the king of Colchis invited them to recline at the banquet table. During the feast, Argos told Eetus about how he and his brothers were shipwrecked, how stormy waves threw them onto the island of Aretiada, and how the Argonauts found them there, dying of hunger. Argos also said why Jason and the heroes came to Colchis. As soon as Zet heard that Jason wanted to get the Golden Fleece, his eyes flashed with anger and he knitted his eyebrows menacingly. Eet does not believe that heroes have sailed for the Golden Fleece; he thinks: perhaps the sons of Phrixus planned to seize power over all of Colchis and for that purpose brought Greek heroes with them? Eet showers Jason with reproaches, he wants to drive him out of the palace and threatens him with execution. Angry speeches were ready to fly from Telamon’s lips in response to the king’s threats, but Jason stopped him. He tries to calm Eetus, assures him that they sailed to Colchis only for the fleece, and promises the king to perform any service, to fulfill any assignment, if the king gives him the golden fleece as a reward. Eet thought. Finally, deciding to destroy Jason, he told him: “Okay, you will receive the fleece, but first fulfill my next order: plow the field dedicated to Ares with my iron plow, and harness the copper-legged, fire-breathing bulls to the plow; sow this field with the teeth of the dragon, and when warriors clad in armor grow from the teeth of the dragon, fight with them and kill them. If you do this, you will receive a fleece. Jason did not immediately answer Eet, but finally said: “I agree, Eet, but you also fulfill this promise, because you know that I cannot refuse to fulfill my order, since by the will of fate I have already arrived here, in Colchis.” Having said this, Jason left with his companions. THE ARGONAUTS SEEK MEDEA FOR HELP When Jason returned to the Argo, he told his comrades what had happened in the palace of Eeta and what order the king had given him. The Argonauts thought. What should they do, how to fulfill Eet’s instructions? Finally, Argos said: “Friends, his daughter, Medea, lives in the palace of Eeta.” She is a great sorceress and she is the only one who can help us. I'll go ask my mother to convince Medea to help us. If Medea helps, then we will not be afraid of any danger. As soon as Argos said this, a white dove flew over the Argo, pursued by a kite. The dove flew up to Jason and hid in the folds of his cloak, and the kite fell on the Argo. “This is a happy sign of the gods,” exclaimed the soothsayer Mops, “the gods themselves tell us to ask Medea for help.” Look, the bird dedicated to Aphrodite was saved on Jason’s chest! Remember what Phineus said. Didn't he advise us to pray to Aphrodite for help? Pray to the goddess, she will help us. Let Argos quickly go to his mother, she will convince Medea to help us. The Argonauts listened to the prophetic Pug: they made a sacrifice to Aphrodite, and Argos quickly went to the palace of Eetus to his mother. Meanwhile, Zet gathered all the Colchians to the square. He told the people about the arrival of strangers and ordered them to guard the Argo so that none of the Argonauts could escape. Eet decided to burn the Argo with all the heroes after Jason died on the field dedicated to Ares; He decided to subject the sons of Frixus to painful execution. Night has come. The capital of Eeta fell asleep. Peace reigned everywhere. Only he is not in the palace of Medea. A string of dreams fly over her head, one more disturbing than the other. Then Medea dreams that Jason is fighting with bulls, and Medea herself should serve as a reward for the hero. Then she dreams that she herself enters into a fight with bulls breathing fire and easily defeats them. Then he sees how her parents refuse to give her as a wife to Jason, because it was not he who defeated the bulls. A dispute flares up between Jason and Eet, Medea herself must resolve this dispute. When she decided the dispute in favor of Jason, she angered her father and he shouted at her menacingly. Medea woke up in tears, wants to run to Chalkiope, but is ashamed to go to her. She had already grabbed the door handle three times, but each time she came back. Medea fell on her bed and began to sob. One of Medea’s slaves heard her sobs and told Chalkiope about this. Chalciope hurries to her sister and sees Medea lying, sobbing, on her bed. “Oh, my sister,” says Chalkiope, “what are you crying about?” Are you shedding tears over the fate of my sons? Have you found out that our father wants to destroy them? Medea did not say a word in response to Chalkiope, because she was not crying about her sons, but finally she said: “I had ominous dreams, sister.” Death threatens your sons and the stranger with whom they returned. Oh, that the gods would give me strength to help them! Chalkiope shuddered in horror when she heard Medea’s words; hugging her, she begs for help. Chalciope knows that Medea can help Jason with her charms. And Medea said to Chalciope: “Listen, sister, I will help the stranger.” Let him come to the temple of Hecate in the morning, I will give him a talisman that will help him accomplish the feat. Just promise me to keep everything secret, otherwise my father will destroy us all. Chalkiope left. Medea was left alone. Opposite feelings fought in her chest. Either she was afraid to go against her father’s will, or again she decided to help Jason, whom she loved so much. She even wanted to commit suicide by taking poison. Medea had already taken out the casket with poison and opened it, but the goddess Hera instilled in her an uncontrollable thirst for life. Medea pushed away the casket with poison, forgot all her doubts, she only thought about Jason and decided to help him. As soon as dawn broke and the distant snowy peaks of the Caucasus began to be painted with pink light, Argos came to the Argonauts and informed them that Medea had agreed to help Jason and was asking Jason to come to the temple of Hecate. When the sun rose, Jason went with Argos and the soothsayer Pug to the temple of Hecate. The goddess Hera made Jason so beautiful that even the Argonauts fell in love looking at him. Medea, meanwhile, got up early in the morning, took out a casket with magic ointments and took out an ointment from it, which was called “Prometheus oil”. It was prepared from the juice of the roots of a plant that grew from the blood of Prometheus. Anyone who rubbed himself with this ointment became invulnerable to iron, copper, or fire; He acquired irresistible strength and became invincible for a day. It was this ointment that Medea decided to give to Jason. Medea called the slaves and went to the temple of Hecate. Medea was joyful in her heart, she forgot all her worries and thought only about a date with Jason. Here is the temple of Hecate. Medea entered it. Jason wasn't there yet. Jason soon arrived. Medea looked at him, and her heart began to beat strongly in her chest. Medea cannot say the words. Jason and Medea stood silently for a long time; Finally, the hero broke the silence. He took Medea by the hand and said: “Beautiful maiden, why did you lower your eyes to the ground?” Why are you afraid of me? Do you really think that I harbor evil intentions? No, I didn’t come here with evil intentions. I have come to pray for your protection. Just, I pray you, tell me the truth; remember that Hecate will not tolerate lies in her sanctuary, and neither will Zeus, the protector of all those who pray for help. Tell me, will you help me? If you help, your name will be glorified throughout Greece by the great heroes who came with me here to Colchis. Remember how great the glory of the daughter of Minos, Ariadne, who helped the great Theseus. Medea was silent and only looked at Jason with eyes full of love. She was beautiful in her confusion. With a trembling hand, she took out the prepared magic ointment from her belt and gave it to Jason. In a barely audible voice, Medea said to him: “Listen, Jason, this is what my help will consist of: at night, wash yourself in the river; Having put on black clothes, dig a deep hole on the shore and over it sacrifice a black sheep to Hecate, dousing it with honey. Then go to your ship, but be careful not to turn around. You will hear voices and the furious barking of dogs, but go straight and do not be afraid. When morning comes, anoint your body, spear, shield and sword with this ointment. The ointment will give you irresistible strength, and you will fulfill Eet’s instructions. Just remember: when warriors emerge from the ground, throw a stone at them, and they will begin to fight each other, then attack them. Take the ointment, with its help you will get fleece. Then take the fleece wherever you want. Medea fell silent. Her eyes became sadly clouded at the mere thought of separation from Jason. With her head down, Medea stood, full of sadness, and finally said: “You will go, Jason, to your homeland, but do not forget me, at least occasionally remember Medea, - after all, I saved you.” Medea asked where Jason was from. Jason told her about Iolka, about the flowering valley where he stood. He called Medea to go with him to Greece. He promised her great honor, promised that they would honor her like a goddess in Iolka. - Oh, if Eet agreed to conclude an alliance of friendship with me! - Jason exclaimed, - oh, if only he would let you go with me to my homeland! “No, this will not happen,” Medea said with a sigh full of sorrow, “my father is harsh and unforgiving.” Return to your homeland alone, just don’t forget me. Oh, how glad I would be if a wild wind carried me on its wings to Iolcus, so that I could remind you of myself when you forget me, when you forget that I saved you. Tears welled up in Medea's eyes. Jason looks at her and is overcome by love for Medea. He begs her to secretly leave her father’s house and flee with him to Iolcus. Medea is ready to leave Colchis; separation from Jason frightens her, she is afraid that she will not be able to bear this separation. Medea cries at the mere thought of separation from Jason. Hera inspired her with the desire to follow Jason everywhere. The goddess wants Medea to go to Iolcus; there, with her help, Hera decided to destroy Pelias, whom she hated. Medea said goodbye to Jason; he promised her to come again to the temple of Hecate to meet with her again and decide what to do. Medea rode home happily in her chariot - she knew that Jason loved her. JASON FULFILLS EET'S ORDER Night has come. Dressed in black clothes, Jason went to the shore of Phasis and there, in the dead of midnight, he washed himself in its fast waves. Then he dug a deep hole and offered over it, as Medea had ordered him, a sacrifice to Hecate. As soon as the sacrifice was made, the earth shook and the great Hecate appeared with smoking torches in her hands. Terrible monsters and fire-breathing dragons surrounded Hecate, and terrible hellish dogs barked and howled around her. The surrounding nymphs ran with a loud cry when they saw Hecate. Horror seized Jason, but, remembering Medea’s words, without turning around, he walked to the Argo, where his friends were waiting. As soon as morning came, the Argonauts sent Telamon and Meleager to Eetus for the dragon's teeth. Eet gave them the teeth of the dragon killed by Cadmus and began to prepare to go to the field of Ares to see how Jason would fulfill his order. Eet put on his armor, covered his head with a helmet that shone like the sun, took in his hands a spear and a shield, which in their weight were only suitable for Hercules, and mounted the chariot; it was ruled by his son Absyrtus. The Argonauts also gathered to go to the field of Ares. Jason rubbed his spear, sword and shield with magic ointment, and then rubbed it himself. He then felt a terrible power throughout his whole body. It was as if his muscles had become steel, his body became as if it had been forged from iron. When the Argonauts sailed to the field of Ares on their fast Argo, Eet was already waiting for them, and around the field on the mountain slopes the Colchians were crowding. Jason went ashore, his armor sparkling like a radiant star. Jason walked across the field, found an iron plow and a copper yoke on the field and, covering himself with a shield, went to look for the bulls spewing fire. Suddenly both bulls jumped out of the cave and rushed at the hero with a furious roar. Clouds of fire flew out of their mouths. Covered with a shield, the hero is waiting for them. Then the bulls flew at him and hit the hero’s shield with terrible force with their horns. Not a single person could have withstood this blow, but Jason stood unshakably, like a rock. More and more bulls come roaring at him, raising clouds of dust. One by one, Jason grabbed the bulls by the horns with his mighty hands and drew them to the plow. The bulls are torn, they scorch Jason with fire, but he is unharmed, and the furious bulls cannot escape from his hands. Jason harnessed them to the plow with the help of Castor and Polydeuces. Driving the bulls with a spear, Jason plowed the entire field of Ares and sowed it with the teeth of the dragon. Having finished sowing, Jason unharnessed the bulls, shouted menacingly and hit them with his spear. The bulls rushed like crazy and disappeared into a deep cave. The first half of the work was completed, now we need to wait for the warriors to grow on the field. Jason went to the shore of Phasis, scooped up water with his helmet and quenched his thirst. But Jason's rest was short-lived. Then the tip of a spear appeared from the ground on the field, followed by another, and another, and another, and the whole field was covered, as it were, with copper bristles. It was as if the earth began to stir, and the helmets and heads of warriors appeared from it. The entire field was already covered with warriors in shining armor. Remembering Medea’s words, Jason grabbed a huge stone; The four strongest heroes would not have been able to move it, but Jason lifted it with one hand and threw it far into the crowd of warriors born from the teeth of the dragon. The warriors grabbed their weapons and a bloody battle began between them. Jason rushed with a sword at the soldiers, one after another he struck them down, and soon the entire field was covered with dead soldiers, not a single one of them remained alive, they all fell from the mighty hand of Jason. They covered the entire field, like ears of corn cut with a sharp sickle covering fertile ground. The feat was over. Eet looked at Jason in amazement, marveling at his superhuman strength. The king frowned menacingly, anger sparkled in his eyes. Without saying a word, he rushed on his chariot to the city, thinking about only one thing - how to destroy the wondrous stranger. Jason, having returned to the Argo, rested in the circle of his friends, who glorified his great feat. MEDEA HELPES JASON STEAL THE GOLDEN FLEECE Returning to the palace, Eet convened the noblest inhabitants of Colchis for a council. Long after midnight, the king consulted with them about how to destroy the Argonauts. Eet guessed that only with the help of Medea could Jason accomplish the feat. Medea felt that both she and Jason were in great danger. She could not find peace in her magnificent palaces. Sleep fled from her eyes. She rose from her bed at night and quietly left the palace of Eet. Along paths known only to her alone, she goes to the shore of Phasis, to where the bright fire lit by the Argonauts is burning. Approaching the fire, she called Jason and the youngest son of Frixus, Frontis. Medea told Jason what evil forebodings were troubling her, and convinced him to immediately go with her for the fleece. Jason put on his armor and went to the sacred grove of Ares. Everything around was shrouded in darkness, only in the grove the fleece hanging on the sacred tree sparkled with a golden sheen. When Medea and Jason entered the grove, a terrible dragon rose up, spewing flames. Medea called upon the mighty god of sleep, Hypnos. She whispers terrible spells and pours magic potions on the ground. The dragon fell to the ground, he still raised his weakened head, but Medea sprinkled him with a sleeping potion, his mouth closed, his eyes sparkling with fire closed, and, engulfed in sleep, he stretched out near the tree on which the golden fleece hung. Jason took off his fleece, he was in a hurry to return to the Argo as soon as possible. The heroes crowded around Jason and Medea in surprise, examining the Golden Fleece. But there was no time to hesitate; it was necessary to leave Colchis before Eet found out about the theft of the rune. Jason cut off the ropes that tied the Argo to the shore, the heroes grabbed the oars, and like an arrow, the Argo rushed downstream of the Phasis, to the sea. Here comes the sea. The heroes lean on the oars, the Argo flies like a bird across the waves, Colchis is moving further and further. Early in the morning, Eet learned about the theft of the Golden Fleece and that Medea had fled with the Argonauts. Eet became furious. He called the Colchians to the seashore. But the Argo is already far away; it is not visible among the waves of the sea. Eet ordered the Colchians to gather in pursuit. He threatens them with death if they do not overtake the Argonauts. The Colchians launched ships and, with Eetus's son Absyrtus at their head, set off in pursuit of the Argonauts. RETURN OF THE ARGONAUTS When the Argo entered the open sea, a fair wind blew. The heroes spread their sails and the Argo quickly rushed along the waves of the Euxine Pontus. The heroes sailed for three days. Finally, the shores of Scythia appeared in the distance. The Argonauts decided to sail upstream the Istra, and then go down one of its branches into the Adriatic Sea *1. When the Argonauts sailed to the mouth of the Ister, they saw that its entire mouth and all the islands were occupied by the army of the Colchians, who sailed there on their ships by the shortest route. Seeing the large army of Colchians, the heroes were convinced that they could not defeat him; there were too few of them to decide to fight thousands of well-armed warlike Colchians. The Argonauts decided to resort to cunning. They entered into negotiations with the leader of the enemy army, Absyrtus, and promised him to imprison Medea in the temple and hand her over if the king of the neighboring city decided that Medea should return to Colchis, but the golden fleece was to remain with the Argonauts, since Jason fulfilled exactly the feat for which Eet promised to give him a fleece. But all these negotiations were conducted only to gain time. Medea promised Jason to lure Absyrtus to one of the islands in the temple. ___________ *1 The Greeks, new to the geography of Europe, thought that the Ister (the modern Danube) was connected by a special branch to the Adriatic Sea. ___________ Jason sent rich gifts to Absyrtus, as if from Medea, and ordered him to ask him to come to a secluded temple to see Medea there. Absyrtus came to the temple, but as soon as he appeared at the door of the temple, Jason rushed at him with a drawn sword, and Absyrtus fell to the ground, struck to death. Jason and Medea committed a terrible crime: they killed the unarmed Absyrtus in the temple. Having cut the body of Absyrtus into pieces, Jason threw it into the waves of Istra. The Colchians were horrified, they rushed to collect parts of the body of their leader, while the Argonauts quickly sailed up the Istru. The Argonauts sailed for a long time, and finally they descended along the Istra arm into the Adriatic Sea to the shores of Illyria. A terrible storm arose there. Foam-covered ramparts rise like mountains. The winds, as if broken from chains, rush over the sea and tear the sail from the Argo. The Argo groans under the pressure of the waves, its sides bend, the oars break in the hands of the mighty oarsmen. Argo's waves carry you like a piece of wood. Death threatens the Argonauts. Then a voice came from the stern. It came from a piece of sacred oak that grew in Dodona, inserted into the stern of the Argo. The voice commanded the Argonauts to go to the sorceress Kirke, so that she would cleanse Jason and Medea from the murder of Absyrtus, who had defiled them. As soon as the Argonauts turned the Argo to the north, the storm subsided, and everyone understood that this was the will of the gods. Through Eridanus and then along Rodan, the Argonauts descended into the Tyrrhenian Sea and sailed along it for a long time, until they finally sailed to the magical island of Kirk, sister of Eet. The pickaxe cleansed Medea and Jason from the taint of murder. She made a sacrifice to Zeus, who cleanses from the filth of murder, doused Jason’s hands with sacrificial blood and begged Erinyes at the altar not to pursue the murderers with her anger. Kirk did not refuse to cleanse Medea from the terrible crime, since the sorceress recognized from the sparkle of her eyes that Medea, like herself, comes from the family of the sun god Helios. The Argonauts set off on their further journey. They still had to overcome many dangers. They sailed between Scylla and Charybdis, where certain death would have awaited them if the great wife of Zeus, Hera, had not helped them. They sailed past the island of the sirens and heard their alluring singing, which with invincible force drew them to the sirens. But the singer Orpheus struck the strings of the golden cithara, and his song defeated the spell of the songs of the sirens. Finally, the Argonauts sailed to Plankta, a narrow strait above which huge rocks rose like an arch. The sea beat between the rocks, the waves swirled under the arch in a terrible whirlpool, at times rising to the very top of the arch. Even the pigeons that brought ambrosia to Zeus did not fly unharmed under this arch, and every day one of them died. But then Hera helped the Argonauts; she begged Amphitrite to calm the waves at Plankt, and the Argonauts passed them unharmed. After a long journey, the Argonauts arrived at the island of the Phaeacians. There they were warmly received by King Alcinous. The Argonauts could rest from the dangers of the journey, but they had not spent even a day with the Phaeacians when a Colchian fleet appeared near the island and they demanded that Medea be handed over to them. A bloody battle would have begun if Alkinoi had not destroyed the enemies. Alcinous decided that Medea should be handed over to the Colchians if she was not Jason’s wife. At night, Alcinous's wife, Arete, sent a messenger to Jason so that the messenger would inform him of Alcinous's decision. That same night, Jason and Medea performed wedding ceremonies, and the next day Jason swore a solemn oath in front of the assembled Phaeacians and Colchians that Medea was his wife. Alcinous then decided that Medea should stay with her husband, and the Colchians had to return to Eetus without taking possession of Medea. Having rested with the hospitable Phaeacians, the Argonauts moved on. They sailed safely for a long time. Now the shores of the Peloponnese appeared in the blue distance of the sea. Suddenly a terrible whirlwind arose and rushed the Argo into the sea. The whirlwind carried the "Argo" for a long time across the boundless sea and finally threw the "Argo" onto a deserted shore. The Argo got stuck deep in the mud of the bay, completely covered with algae. Despair gripped the Argonauts. The helmsman Lynceus sat at the stern with his head down, having lost hope of returning to Greece. The sad Argonauts wandered along the shore, as if having lost all their strength, all their courage. Everyone saw death in front of them. Nymphs came to Jason's aid. They revealed to Jason that a whirlwind had carried the Argo into Libya*1 and that the Argonauts must carry the Argo across the Libyan desert on their shoulders, lifting it from the mud when Amphitrite unharnessed the horses from her chariot. But when does Amphitrite unharness his horses from the chariot? The Argonauts did not know this. Suddenly they saw a snow-white horse run out of the sea and quickly rush through the desert. The Argonauts realized that this was Amphitrite’s horse. The Argonauts lifted the Argo onto their shoulders and carried it across the desert for twelve days, exhausted from heat and thirst. Finally they reached the country of the Hesperides. There the Hesperides showed them a source knocked out of the rock by Hercules. The heroes quenched their thirst, stocked up on water and set off on their way to their homeland. But the Argonaut could not find a way out to sea. They were not in the sea, but in Lake Triton. But with the advice of Orpheus, they dedicated a tripod to the god of the lake. A beautiful young man appeared before the Argonauts. He gave the hero Euphem a lump of earth as a sign of hospitality and showed the Argonauts the exit to the sea. The Argonauts sacrificed a ram. The god Triton himself appeared in front of the Argo and led the Argo past the white rocks, through the whirlpool into the open sea. From Lake Triton, the Argonauts sailed to the island of Crete and wanted to stock up on water there for further navigation. But the copper giant Talos, given to Minos by the thunderer Zeus himself, did not allow them to the shore of Crete. Talos guarded the possessions of Minos, running around the entire island. But Medea put Talos to sleep with her spell. Talos fell to the ground, and a copper nail fell out, which closed the only vein through which Talos’ blood flowed. The blood of Talos poured onto the ground, like molten lead, and the giant died. The Argonauts could now freely land on the shore and stock up on water. ___________ *1 The Greeks called the coast of Africa to the west of Egypt Libya. ___________ On the way from Crete to Greece, the hero Euphem dropped a lump of earth given to him by Triton into the sea, and from this lump an island was formed, called Callista by the Argonauts. This island was subsequently settled by the descendants of Euphem, and it became known as Feroi*1. ___________ *1 Modern island of Santorini. ___________ After this, a storm overtook the Argonauts at sea. A storm raged on a dark night. The Argonauts were afraid every minute of running into an underwater rock or crashing on the coastal rocks. Suddenly a golden arrow flashed over the sea with a bright light and illuminated everything around, followed by another and a third. It was the god Apollo who illuminated the path of the Argonauts with his arrows. They landed on the island of Anafa*1 and waited out the storm. The storm finally subsided, the waves of the sea calmed, and a fair wind blew. "Argo" calmly rushed across the azure sea. The Argonauts encountered no more dangers on their way and soon arrived at the desired harbor of Iolka. ___________ *1 Modern Anafi Island. ___________ When the Argonauts arrived in Iolcus, they made a rich sacrifice to the gods who helped during the dangerous voyage. Everyone in Iolka rejoiced and celebrated the return of the Argonauts; everyone praised the great heroes and their leader Jason, who won the Golden Fleece. JASON AND MEDEA IN IOLKA. DEATH OF PELIA Based on Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses" The treacherous Pelius did not keep his word, he did not return to Jason the power of his ancestors. Jason harbored a grudge and decided to take cruel revenge on Pelias. And here Medea came to his aid. Soon an opportunity for revenge presented itself. Jason's elderly father, Eson, having learned that Medea was a great sorceress, wanted her to restore his youth to him. Jason himself asked Medea to make his father younger. Medea promised to fulfill this request if only Hecate would help her. When the full moon came, Medea left the house at midnight in dark clothes, barefoot, with her hair down. Everything around was immersed in deep sleep, silent silence reigned everywhere. Medea walks silently, bathed in the light of the moon. Medea stopped where three roads converge, raised her hands and exclaimed loudly three times. She knelt down and began to whisper a spell. She conjured the night, the heavenly bodies, the moon, the earth, the winds, mountains and rivers. She called upon the gods of the forests and the night to appear to her. She prayed to the great Hecate to hear her and help her. Hecate heard her, and a chariot drawn by winged dragons appeared before Medea. For nine days and nine nights, Medea collected magical herbs and roots on this chariot in the mountains, in forests, along the banks of rivers and the sea. When she returned to Eson’s house, she erected two altars: one to Hecate, the other to the goddess of youth. She dug two holes in front of the altars and above them she sacrificed black sheep to the gloomy goddess of darkness and witchcraft, Hecate, offering her libations of honey and milk. Medea called upon the underground gods, Hades and Persephone, and begged them not to take the life of old Eson. Then she ordered Oda to bring Eson. With her charms she put him to sleep and put Eson on magic herbs. Medea brewed a magic potion in a copper cauldron. The potion boiled and became covered with white foam. Medea mixed the potion with a dry branch from a century-old tree. And the branch turned green, became covered with leaves, and green fruits appeared on it. Everywhere, wherever the foam of the potion dripped, flowers and herbs grew. Seeing that the potion was ripe, Medea cut old man Eson’s throat with a sword and released his old blood. Through a wide wound she poured a magic potion into Eson’s veins. And - oh, miracle! - the old man’s hair, previously white as snow, darkened, wrinkles and senile thinness disappeared, blush appeared on his cheeks again. Eson woke up and again saw himself young, strong and vigorous. After Medea managed to restore Eson’s youth, she decided, by drawing up an insidious plan, to take revenge on old Pelias for deceiving Jason and not returning him power over Iolkos. Medea persuaded the daughters of Pelias to return their father's youth, and in order for them to believe even more in her charms, she brought a ram, slaughtered it and threw it into a cauldron with a potion. As soon as the slaughtered ram plunged into the cauldron, a frisky lamb immediately jumped out of the cauldron. The daughters of Pelias marveled at this miracle and agreed to try to restore their father’s youth. Medea prepared a potion, but not the same one that she prepared to restore youth to Jason’s father. There was no magical power in this potion. Medea put Pelia to sleep with her spells, brought her daughters into his bedroom and ordered them to cut their father’s throat. But the daughters did not dare. - Cowardly! - Medea exclaimed, - quickly draw your sword, release his old blood from your father’s veins, and I will give him new blood. The daughters of Pelias do not dare to deal a mortal blow to their sleeping father. Finally, turning away, one after another they began to strike the daughter and father with a sword. Pelias woke up, mortally wounded, he rose up on his bed and, stretching out his weakening hands to his daughters, exclaimed with a groan: “Oh, daughters, what are you doing!” What made you raise your hand against your father? The hands of the daughters of Pelias dropped in horror. They stand pale, consciousness leaves them. Medea ran up to Pelias’s bed, plunged her knife into his throat, cut his body into pieces and threw them into a boiling cauldron. A chariot drawn by winged dragons appeared in Pelias’ bedroom, and Medea disappeared on it from the eyes of Pelias’ daughters, distraught with horror. Pelias' son, Adrastus, arranged a magnificent funeral for his father, and after the funeral, games in honor of the deceased. The greatest heroes of Greece took part in them. The referee at the games was Hermes himself. Castor, Polydeuces and Euphemus competed in chariot racing, Admetus and Pug - in a fist fight, Atalan and Peleus - in wrestling. Iphicles won the race. But Jason failed to gain power over Iolkos. Adrastus did not allow him to stay in Iolka; he expelled him from Iolko for the murder of his wife Medea Pelia. Jason left his homeland and retired with Medea to Corinth. JASON AND MEDEA IN CORINTH. DEATH OF JASON Based on Euripides' tragedy "Medea" After the murder of Pelias, Jason and Medea, expelled from Iolcus, settled with King Creon in Corinth. Two sons were born to Medea. It seemed that Jason and Medea should have been happy even in a foreign land. But fate did not judge happiness for either Jason or Medea. Jason, captivated by the beauty of Creon’s daughter Glauca, betrayed his vows given to Medea in Colchis even when he received the magic ointment from her; he betrayed the one with whose help he accomplished a great feat. He decided to marry Glaucus, and King Creon agreed to give his daughter as a wife to the famous hero. When Medea learned about Jason’s betrayal, despair took possession of her. Medea still loved Jason. As if turned into a soulless stone, Medea sat, immersed in sadness. She did not eat, did not drink, did not listen to words of consolation. Little by little, furious anger took possession of Medea. Medea's indomitable spirit cannot be reconciled. How can she, the daughter of the king of Colchis, bear down, the son of the radiant Helios, so that her enemies triumph over her, so that they mock her! No, Medea is terrible in her anger, her revenge must be terrible in its cruelty. ABOUT! Medea will take revenge on Jason, Glaucus, and her father Creon! Medea curses everything in furious anger. She curses her children, curses Jason. Medea suffers and prays to the gods to immediately take her life away with a lightning strike. What is left for her life besides revenge? Death is calling Medea, this will be the end of her torment, death will free her from grief. Why did Jason act so cruelly to her, to her, who saved him, helped him by putting the dragon to sleep, to get the Golden Fleece, who, in order to save him, lured her brother into an ambush and killed Pelias for Jason’s sake? Medea calls on Zeus and the goddess of justice Themis to witness how Jason treated her unfairly. Medea’s decision to take revenge on Jason becomes stronger and stronger. But then Creon comes. He announces to Medea that she must leave Corinth immediately. Creon is afraid of Medea, he knows how terrible Medea is in anger, he knows how powerful her spell is; after all, she can destroy both his daughter and himself. Medea, in order to gain time for revenge, pretends that she obeys Creon, that she recognizes his right to expel her, but asks him only for one thing - to allow her to stay one more day in Corinth. Creon agreed, not suspecting that by doing so he had doomed himself to death; but he threatens Medea that he will put both her and her sons to death if the rays of the rising sun catch Medea in Corinth. Medea knows that she has nothing to fear from execution. Rather, Creon would die; it was not without reason that she swore by the pale-faced goddess Selene and her patroness Hecate to destroy her enemies. No, not she, but they will not escape execution. Will she, the granddaughter of the god Helios, become the laughing stock of the descendants of Sisyphus and Jason’s bride! In vain does Jason tell Medea that for her good and for the good of the children he will marry Glaucus, that his sons will find support in their future brothers if the gods send him children from a new marriage. Medea cannot believe the sincerity of Jason’s words, she reproaches Jason for treason and threatens him with the wrath of the gods, she does not want to listen to him. Now she hates Jason, whom she once loved so much, for whom she forgot her father, mother, brother and homeland. Jason leaves angry, followed by ridicule and threats from Medea. At this time, Aegeus, king of Athens, comes to Corinth, on the way from Delphi to Troisena * 1. He greets Medea in a friendly manner and asks her why she is sad. Medea talks about her grief and begs the king of Athens to give her, an exile forgotten by her husband, shelter in Athens. She promises to help Aegeus with her charms, promises that he will have numerous offspring, and will not remain childless, as until now, if only he will give her shelter. Aegeus vows to give shelter to Medea. He swears by the earth goddess Gaia, Helios, Medea's grandfather, and all the gods of Olympus - not to hand Medea over to her enemies. He sets only one condition for Medea: she herself must come to Athens without his help, since Aegeus does not want to quarrel with the king of Corinth. ___________ *1 City in Argolis in the Peloponnese. ___________ Having secured shelter for herself, Medea begins to carry out her planned revenge. She decides not only to destroy Creon and his daughter Glaucus, but also to kill her children, the children of Jason. She sends her maid to fetch Jason. Jason arrives. Medea pretends to be submissive, she pretends that she has come to terms with her fate and with Jason’s decision, and asks him only one thing, that he convince Creon to leave her sons in Corinth. Children also come. Seeing them, Medea cries, she hugs and kisses her sons, she loves them, but the thirst for revenge is stronger than the love for children. But how to destroy Glaucus and Creon? And so, under the pretext that she seeks to persuade Glaucus to leave her children in Jason’s new house, Medea sends Glavka a gift of precious clothes and a golden crown. It is this gift that brings with it death. As soon as Glauca put on the clothes and crown sent by Medea, the poison with which they were fed penetrated her body; like a copper hoop a crown squeezes her head. The clothes burn her body with fire. Glavka dies in terrible agony. The father rushes to her aid, he hugs the unfortunate daughter, but the clothes stick to him too. He tries to tear these clothes off his body, but along with them he also tears off pieces of his body. And Creon died from Medea’s gift. Medea triumphantly hears, standing outside her palace, about the deaths of Creon and Glauce, but their deaths did not quench Medea’s thirst for revenge: after all, she decided to kill her children in order to make Jason suffer even more. Now Medea is prompted to decide on this murder by the fact that she knows what fate threatens her sons when Creon’s relatives take revenge on them for the crimes of their mother. Medea hurriedly went to the palace and immediately the screams and moans of her sons were heard there. Their own mother killed them. Jason, when Creon and his daughter Glaucus died at the hands of his wife Medea, in fear that Creon’s relatives would kill his sons out of revenge, hurries to his palace. The door to the palace is locked, Jason wants to break it. Suddenly, Medea appears in the air on a chariot drawn by dragons, sent by the god Helios: at her feet lie the sons she killed. Jason is terrified. He begs Medea to leave him at least the bodies of his sons so that he can bury them himself. But Medea does not give him this consolation and quickly rushes away in a wonderful chariot. Jason's entire future life was bleak. He could not find refuge anywhere for a long time. One day he passed through the Isthmus, past the place where the Argo ship, dedicated to the Argonauts and the god of the sea, Poseidon, stood ashore. Tired Jason lay down in the shade of the Argo under its stern to rest and fell asleep. When Jason was sleeping peacefully, the stern of the Argo, which had fallen into disrepair, collapsed and buried the sleeping Jason under its rubble.

Mythological character, ancient Greek hero, son of King Iolcus Aeson. The leader of the Argonauts, led the “expedition” to Colchis, when warriors and heroes set sail for the Golden Fleece on the ship “Argo”. He participated, along with other brave warriors of Greece, in the Calydonian hunt for a monstrous boar, which was sent by an angry goddess to the lands of King Oineus. Jason is also mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey.

Biography

Jason's father, Aeson, was dethroned by his own brother Pelias. To prevent the usurper from harming his son, Jason’s father sent the young man to Mount Pelion to the centaur Chiron to be raised. The hero learned the art of healing from the centaur. This episode is associated with the meaning of the name Jason, which is translated from Greek as “healer.”

The hero returns to the city of Iolk when he turns 20. Crossing the river, Jason helps an old woman cross to the other side. This old woman turns out to be the goddess, who from now on patronizes the hero.

During the crossing, Jason loses one sandal and so comes to his usurper uncle Pelias. He, seeing the hero, is frightened, because it is predicted that Pelias will be killed by a man who comes to him wearing only a sandal. Pelias asks Jason who he is, and the hero replies that he is the son of Aeson, the overthrown king, and has come to restore legitimate power to his father.

Pelias, as a diversion, says that he will return the kingdom to Jason, and he himself plans to destroy his nephew. To do this, Pelias gives the hero the task of going to Colchis and returning the Golden Fleece from there to Iolcus in order to atone for the curse that hangs over the Aeolid family.

According to another version, the cunning Pelias first asked Jason what he would do if he met a person who, according to prediction, should bring death to the hero. Jason himself said that he would send such a person to Colchis with a demand to bring the Golden Fleece from there. After which Pelias sent Jason to a feat that the hero himself voiced. Driven by a thirst for glory, the young hero accepted this task and went after the fleece.

Jason’s “team” gathers heroes from all over Greece. With the help of the goddess, a ship is built to travel for the rune, which is called the Argo. Based on the name of the ship, the participants of the “expedition” were called Argonauts. Jason became their leader.

The first place where the heroes sail is the island of Lemnos, ruled by women. The warlike queen wants to attack the hero with armed men, but in the end she is convinced to accept the Argonauts peacefully. The queen even establishes sports competitions in honor of the guests. While the heroes were visiting the island of Lemnos, they all managed to enter into relationships with local women, and the queen herself gave birth to two sons from Jason.

On the way to Colchis, the heroes experience many adventures in which they are helped by the goddesses Athena and Hera. Finally the Argonauts arrive and demand the Golden Fleece from the king of Colchis. He agrees to give up the fleece, but demands that Jason first perform a number of feats. The hero must harness huge copper-legged bulls that spew fire to a plow, plow a field with these bulls, and then sow this field with the teeth of a dragon.

The king of Colchis has a daughter, the sorceress Medea. The god of love, Eros, at the instigation of Jason’s patrons, the goddesses Hera and Athena, instills love for Jason in Medea’s heart. The hero gives his word that he will marry Medea, and she helps Jason fulfill all his father’s demands. The hero is saved from the fiery breath of the copper-footed bulls by the blood ointment given by Medea. Warriors grow from the dragon's teeth, with which Jason sowed the field, but the hero kills them all.

The king of Colchis does not want to give the hero the fleece and is planning to kill the Argonauts and burn their ship. Medea helps the hero steal the fleece by putting the guard dragon to sleep. Afterwards, Medea flees from Colchis along with the Argonauts, capturing at the same time her own half-brother, young Apsyrtus. The Argonauts are being pursued, and Medea, in order to distract her pursuers, kills her brother and scatters pieces of the young man’s body across the sea. The king of Colchis, stricken with grief, stops the pursuit in order to catch parts of his son’s body and give him a dignified burial.

The pursuers still overtake the Argonauts and Medea when they land on the island of the Phaeacians. There, Jason and Medea enter into a hasty marriage so that the Phaeacians would not have any reason to return the criminal Medea to her father.

Having erected a couple of sanctuaries and temples along the way and made sacrifices to the gods, Jason returns to Iolcus. There the hero learns that while he was sailing for the fleece, the usurper Pelias killed all his relatives, including his father. With the help of the cunning Medea, Jason takes revenge on the offender. Medea inspires the daughters of Pelias that their father can be restored to youth, but to do this he must be cut into pieces. Funeral games are held for Pelias, and Jason participates in them as a wrestler.

Jason and Medea are expelled from the city of Iolcus, and the heroes go to Corinth, where they are received by King Creon. They live happily there for 10 years, Medea gives birth to two sons to Jason. Then the hero comes up with the idea of ​​marrying a second time - to the daughter of King Creon. The betrayal angers Medea, and the sorceress takes revenge by sending her husband a poisoned robe as a gift to her new beloved. Creon's daughter dies in agony, and Medea, not content with this revenge, kills her own sons from Jason in front of the hero. After which he is carried away into the distance on a chariot drawn by dragons.

There are several options for how Jason died. The hero either hanged himself, or died along with Creon’s daughter, or was killed in Argos in the sanctuary of the goddess Hera. The fourth version boils down to the fact that Jason, who has lived to old age, dies under the wreckage of his own ship, in the shadow of which he falls asleep.

Film adaptations

In 1963, the American film Jason and the Argonauts was released, where the role of Jason was played by Todd Armstrong. This is an adventure film, the script of which is written based on the myth. As expected, the Argonauts set off for the Golden Fleece at the behest of Pelias, who planned to get rid of Jason. Along the way, the heroes encounter dangers and suffer losses. They defeat the bronze giant Talos, fight ugly harpies, and pass through closing rocks. Having reached Colchis, the heroes get the fleece, and Jason also gets the beautiful Medea. The film's script follows the myth exactly and deviates from it to a small extent.

In 2000, the myth of Jason and the Argonauts was filmed again - under the same title. This is an American-Turkish television project, where the role of Jason is played by actor Jason London. Location shooting took place in Antalya, Turkey.

In 1969, Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini shot the film “Medea”, the script of which was based on the tragedy of the same name. The mythological plot is interpreted freely here. The director presents the Argonauts as a gang of bestial rapists, and the inhabitants of Medea's kingdom as uncomplaining victims who are engaged in some kind of bloody cult. The story about the relationship between Medea and Jason after returning to Greece is based on the tragedy of Euripides.

The episode with the revenge of Medea, who destroys her own sons and Jason’s new lover, was filmed in such a way that it is difficult to understand whether this is a dream or a reflection of reality. In the first version of the denouement, Medea inflicts a mortal wound on Jason, so that the hero cannot prevent the avenger from killing her sons or sending a poisoned robe to his new wife. In the second version, Jason's new wife is reincarnated as Medea when she receives a priestly robe, and commits suicide, afraid of her own fate. The role of Jason in this film is played by actor Giuseppe Gentile.

In Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy comics, there is a character named Jason. This is the father of the main character - the prince of the Spartans, the ruler of the galactic empire, who in the future became a villain. This Jason's ship crashed in the mountains of Colorado, and there the alien was picked up and sheltered by an earthly girl, the future mother of Star-Lord. Later, the space prince flew off to war, the girl’s memory was erased, and she married an earthly guy, to whom she gave birth to an alien child.

In 2001, an American animated series called Jason and the Heroes of Olympus was released. The script is based on Greek myths, and Jason is presented as a 12-year-old boy.

The son of Poseidon, the Thessalian hero Pelias, feared the claims of the hero Jason to the throne of the king of Thessaly, which his ancestors once ruled. He invited him to go by sea to distant Colchis for the Golden Fleece. “If you bring the fleece, you will become a king,” he promised. All the heroes of Hellas helped Jason build the ship, which was named “Argo” in honor of its builder, and the participants in the campaign were called Argonauts. On the way to Colchis they had many adventures. Finally, with the help of their patron goddesses, Hera and Athena, the sailors reached the shores of Colchis, where King Eet ruled.

The king received the Argonauts in his palace, found out where they were from, and showed them worthy hospitality. His daughter the sorceress Medea, not without the help of Eros, fell in love with the leader of the Argonauts, Jason. But when King Eet heard that Jason wanted to receive the Golden Fleece, for which he was ready to fulfill any of his instructions, he did not believe the Argonauts. It seemed to him that they wanted to overthrow him and seize power in Colchis.

Jason managed to calm Eetus with difficulty. After much persuasion, he agreed to give them the fleece, but on the condition: Jason must plow a field dedicated to the god of war Ares with an iron plow, in which he harnesses two copper-legged fire-breathing bulls, then sow this field with the teeth of a dragon, and when warriors grow from these teeth, - fight them and kill them all. Then he will receive the fleece.

At this point they parted. Jason returned to the ship and spoke about his conversation with the king and his condition. The Argonauts began to think and realized that without the help of the gods they would not be able to complete this difficult task. And they decided to turn to the goddess Aphrodite for help, so that she, in turn, would ask the sorceress Medea for help. King Eet, meanwhile, was sure that Jason would not complete his task and would die, and then the Argonauts would not receive the Golden Fleece.

Medea could not sleep that night. She, feeling a feeling of love for Jason, decided to help the Argonauts. Early in the morning she took the “Prometheus ointment,” which was prepared from the juice of the roots of a plant grown from the blood of Prometheus. The body, rubbed with this ointment, remained strong and invulnerable to any wounds all day. She met Jason. Argonaut convinced her of his love and asked for help. She told me how to act and explained how to rub this magic ointment on myself and my weapon.

Jason rubbed himself and his weapons with magic ointment, made a sacrifice and, on the advice of Medea, went to the field of Ares. King Eet had already arrived there with his retinue. He wanted to see Jason die. But Jason, who had acquired extraordinary strength, calmly pulled out an iron plow from the ground, prepared it for plowing and went into the cave with the fire-breathing bulls. These wild animals immediately attacked him, but he calmly raised his shield, and they hit him with their horns. Jason withstood this blow. Then the bulls breathed hot flames on him, but it did him no harm. But when they approached him for the third time, he boldly grabbed the bulls by the horns, bent them to the ground and easily harnessed them to the plow. The bulls immediately calmed down. After this, Jason plowed the field, sowed it with the teeth of the dragon that Eet gave him, and released the bulls, who rushed to their cave.

While Jason was resting, the dragon's teeth sprouted - warriors in armor appeared on the field. There was a whole horde of them. Jason, on the advice of Medea, threw a heavy stone at them, and they began to fight among themselves. Jason waited a little, and then rushed onto the field and began to kill the soldiers one by one. King Eet could not believe his eyes - Jason was alive and well, having easily completed his two deadly tasks.

Frustrated, Eet said nothing and left for his palace. He decided to destroy the Argonauts, and above all their leader Jason, who tiredly returned to the ship Argo.
Eet guessed that Jason could complete all his tasks only with the help of his daughter Medea. Eet decided to find her and punish her. Returning to the palace, he convened a council of elders to discuss the situation with them. He wanted to destroy the Argonauts as soon as possible before they got the Golden Fleece.

Medea that night was overcome by an insurmountable fear. It seemed to her that her father knew her guilt and was plotting a terrible punishment for her. She did not wait to meet her father and immediately went to the Argonauts' ship. She called Jason and warned him that they should immediately go for the golden fleece, and having obtained it, swim away from Colchis as quickly as possible, otherwise they would be in trouble; there would be no mercy from Eet.

Jason, along with Medea, went to the sacred grove of Ares, where the Golden Fleece was kept. From afar they noticed a bright glow - a golden fleece was hanging on a sacred tree, it was the one that glowed. But as soon as Jason approached him, a huge dragon stood in his way, guarding the fleece, and flames erupted from its mouth. Then Medea began to whisper the words of the spell and water the earth with special potions. She called upon the god of sleep Hypnos for help. The dragon, having sniffed the potion, suddenly staggered and fell, sleep knocked him to the ground. Jason quickly took the golden fleece from the tree and, together with Medea, immediately went to the ship.

All the Argonauts looked at the extracted fleece with curiosity, admired Jason’s feat, and praised Medea. But they could no longer stay in Colchis. Medea looked into the mountains to see if her father had appeared there with his army. The Argonauts raised the sails, leaned on the oars and went out to the open sea. Only early in the morning did Eet learn about the theft of the Golden Fleece. He became terribly angry and demanded that the ships raise the sails and catch up with the kidnappers.

It was not easy for the Argonauts on the way back; many dangers awaited them. King Eet equipped many powerful ships and many warriors in pursuit, so that they would intercept the Argonauts and take the fleece and Medea from them. But the Argonauts managed to avoid pursuit. Having landed on the shore, they cunningly lured one of the kings of the enemy army into a trap, killed him and caused confusion among the inhabitants of Colchis, while they themselves raised the sails again and sailed away unnoticed by anyone.

They had to experience many other adventures along the way: they sailed safely between the dangerous Scylla and Charybdis, past the island of the Sirens, who lured them with their wonderful singing, but Orpheus struck the strings of his cithara and broke the spell of the Sirens.

When the Argonauts finally arrived at their Iolcus, they first of all thanked their gods for their protection and made a sacrifice. The residents of Iolko greeted them with great honor. They praised Jason and Medea, who obtained the wonderful golden fleece. However, King Pelias did not keep his promise. He did not give Jason power in the kingdom. And no matter how hard Medea tried, no matter how hard she tried to help Jason take the throne of the king of Thessaly with her magic, nothing worked. They remained in the memory of the inhabitants of Thessaly as heroes who mined the golden fleece in Colchis.

If you need DETAILED for a presentation of this myth, go to the page “Campaign of the Argonauts”. There you can familiarize yourself with the history of the legend of the voyage for the Golden Fleece and go to links with a detailed account of its various episodes. Our list of pages dedicated to myths and epics will be constantly updated

The myth of the Golden Fleece (summary)

According to Greek myth, in the city of Orkhomenes (region of Boeotia), King Athamas once ruled over the ancient Minyan tribe. From the cloud goddess Nephele he had a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Hella. These children were hated by Athamas's second wife, Ino. During a lean year, Ino tricked her husband into sacrificing them to the gods to end the famine. However, at the last moment, Frixus and Gella were saved from under the priest’s knife by a ram with golden fleece (wool), sent by their mother Nephele. The children sat on the ram, and it carried them through the air far to the north. During her flight, Hella fell into the sea and drowned in the strait, which has since been called by her name the Hellespont (Dardanelles). The ram carried Phrixus to Colchis (now Georgia), where he was raised as a son by the local king Eet, the son of the god Helios. Eet sacrificed the flying ram to Zeus, and hung its golden fleece in the grove of the god of war Ares, placing a mighty dragon as a guard over it.

Argonauts (Golden Fleece). Soyuzmultfilm

Meanwhile, other descendants of Athamas built the port of Iolcus in Thessaly. The grandson of Athamas, Aeson, who reigned in Iolka, was overthrown from the throne by his half-brother, Pelias. Fearing the machinations of Pelias, Eson hid his son, Jason, in the mountains with the wise centaur Chiron. Jason, who soon became a strong and brave young man, lived with Chiron until he was 20 years old. The centaur taught him the arts of war and the science of healing.

Leader of the Argonauts, Jason

When Jason was 20 years old, he went to Iolcus to demand that Pelias return power over the city to him, the heir of the rightful king. With his beauty and strength, Jason immediately attracted the attention of the citizens of Iolcus. He visited his father's house, and then went to Pelias and presented his demand to him. Pelias pretended that he agreed to give up the throne, but set the condition that Jason go to Colchis and get the Golden Fleece there: there were rumors that the prosperity of the descendants of Athamas depended on the possession of this shrine. Pelias hoped that his young rival would die on this expedition.

After leaving Corinth, Medea settled in Athens, becoming the wife of King Aegeus, the father of the great hero Theseus. According to one version of the myth, the former leader of the Argonauts, Jason, committed suicide after the death of his children. According to another mythical story, he joylessly dragged out the rest of his life in disastrous wanderings, not finding permanent shelter anywhere. Once passing through the Isthmus, Jason saw the dilapidated Argo, which was once dragged here by the Argonauts to the seashore. The tired wanderer lay down to rest in the shadow of Argo. While he was sleeping, the stern of the ship collapsed and buried Jason under its rubble.