Ch. 24, Jason, Medea and the Argonauts

Sources

Pindar, 4th Pythian Ode (to Arcesilaus of Cyrene, victor in the chariot race) -- 5th c. BCE
Euripides, Medea -- 5th c. BCE
Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica -- 3rd c. BCE
Ovid, Heroides -- 1st c. BCE
Seneca, Medea -- 1st c. CE
Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica -- 1st c. CE

Check out Pindar's rendition of the Argonauts' story by clicking here and clicking on English translations.

Check out illustrations and maps from Morford and Lenardon's page by clicking here.

The voyage of the Argo at one level reflects the interest among the Greeks in mercantile adventure. In the 8th c. BCE, just as Greek literacy was being reborn (due to influence from the Phoenicians primarily), Greek ships were sailing all around the Mediterranean, and these sailors and their townspeople wondered what lands lay beyond the shores of the Mediterranean. As a people who depended quite a bit on ships (not only were Greeks fishermen, but also merchants, and every major Greek city and many minor cities had colonies far from Greece), this was a natural source of wondering. The story of the Argo is set in the generation before the Trojan War (several of the Argonauts are fathers of heroes who fought at Troy) and the ship is supposed to be the first ship (at least in some versions), a claim that is clearly false. Still it may say something about the restless Greek spirit that the great adventure before Troy was a voyage of exploration into the unknown.

Much of the landscape in the Argonauts' expedition is a product of the imagination, though by the time of Apollonius of Rhodes, much of the Mediterranean and even Black Sea, had been mapped out, so that the imaginary landscape of the original story gets mapped onto a real world known to scholars like Apollonius (though even he has the expedition go to a series of "never-never" lands). In fact, much of that far-away space was Greek-speaking in Apollonius' day, thanks to the wars of expansion fought by Alexander the Great. The greatest Greek library in the ancient world was not in Greece at all, but in Alexandria, Egypt.

The story as it first existed probably featured Jason, the captain of the expedition, surrounded by men with special powers, powers that came in handy when facing various fantastic foes on their journey. Some of that continues into Apollonius' version (Zetes and Calaïs, the sons of the North Wind, have winged feet (or sandals) which allow them to chase the birdlike Harpies for miles through the air), but there were more "super-hero" types in the original version, so it seems.

Some of the heroes, such as Hercules and Orpheus, were later additions to the story. Given the importance of this great adventure, it was inconceivable that heroes like these two could be left out. In Hercules' case, though, he leaves the expedition early because his friend, the young Hylas, disappears. So he gets little more than a guest appearance.

The heroes who went on the expedition were motivated by a sense of arete *"excellence").

The Golden Fleece

The story went that Nephele ("Cloud") sent a golden ram, who could fly, to save her two children from their wicked stepmother (it may sound already like a fairy tale -- it has lots of those features). One of the children, Helle, fell into the sea at the part now known as the Hellespont ("Helle's Crossing"); the other, Phrixus, made it to Colchis on the far side of the Black Sea, where he was welcomed by the king, Aeëtes. There the ram was sacrificed and its fleece hung up in a garden protected by a dragon. The name Aeëtes is significant as aea in Greek means "land." This unspecific designation probably indicates that orignally Aeëtes was the king of a "never-never" land. Here, though, that place of fancy was changed to an historical place, the city of Colchis. That the Greek heroes go to the East in search of a treasure that started in Greece may suggest that Greek expeditions to the East and West both were justified by saying that they were only going after what was their own. This was the same sort of argument in the expedition against Troy (the Greeks were going after Helen, according to the myth).

Hera

This is the only one of the great myths in which Hera was the hero's patron. According to the story, she was disguised as an old woman whom Jason helped across a stream. The added weight resulted in one of his feet getting stuck in the muddy riverbed, and there he lost one of his shoes. His uncle, Pelias, had been warned to beware of a man wearing only one shoe. And Pelias sent Jason to get the Fleece as a means of claiming his kingdom. I'm not sure why Hera was disguised as an old woman in the first place -- was it to ensure that Jason would lose a shoe? was she just wandering around, rather like Zeus, in disguise and decided to help the young man who did the boyscout deed?

Hypsipyle and the Lemnian Women

One of the first stops the Argo makes is on the island of Lemnos (this is the island where Hephaestus is supposed to have fallen). Aphrodite had made their husbands fall in love with other women, and they returned the favor by killing all their men. Only Hypsipyle, the queen, failed to kill. She left her father, Thoas, alive and managed to get him off the island. Later she would be repaid for her good deed with exile from Lemnos. At any rate, the women of the island come to realize that men do have their uses, and when Jason and his crew stop at the island for a little r & r (supposed to be rest and recreation, but rock and roll would do too, I suppose), the women seduce the men. They tell the Argonauts that all their men left on some voyage from which they never returned, and that they are so lonely. The Argonauts suspect nothing, or see no reason to investigate further. From this brief stay will come a new generation of Lemnians. In Apollonius' version, Hercules does not go ashore with the others, but stays to guard the ship.

Amycus

As soon as the Argonauts make it into the Black Sea, they stop at the land of the Bebryces, whose king, Amycus, loves to box. No one is allowed to leave the kingdom until there is a boxing match. The plan is for Amycus to win (as he always does) and for the losers to die, but Polydeuces cleans his clock and the Argonauts get away. In Apollonius' account of the boxing match is one of the strangest similes I've ever encountered. The sound of the blows of each boxer is likened to the sound a shipwright makes when pounding great nails into hard wood. Rock 'em, sock 'em.

Phineus and the Harpies and the Symplegades

Phineus was a blind prophet who had offended the gods in some way. As a punishment, whenever he sat down to eat, the Harpies ("Snatchers"), birdlike creatures with women's heads, would appear and eat the food. Whatever they left, they had slimed, so that he couldn't eat any. Somehow he survived this fate long enough for the Argonauts to arrive (must have been a pretty tough old guy). This time, when the Harpies show up, Zetes and Calaïs, who have winged feet (or sandals) pursue the Harpies all the way to the Strophades Islands, where Iris, the messenger of Hera, tells them to stop and promises the Harpies will no longer bother Phineus. Phineus, in return for the favor, gives the Argonauts much needed information for their voyage.

The Symplegades ("Clashing Rocks") are two great boulders on either side of a straight that come smashing together whenever a ship tries to pass between them. Using a dove to set off the sensor (think of the rocks like giant automatic doors of death), Jason told his men to row hard as soon as the rocks began to open again after the dove had passed through. Orpheus' music helped here, and the ship made it through. Now that a ship made it through, the rocks were broken and never moved again.

Medea

Once they get to Colchis, the chief reason for the Argonauts' success is the help provided them by Medea, daughter of King Aeëtes, and a witch. Medea is perhaps the strongest woman in Greek mythology (one of them at least) and Greeks don't like strong women much. Medea is seen as a wild woman of great passion, with great powers. The combination of her passion with her power make her dangerous (remember the Greek fondness for "order"). It is interesting that, despite some of the horrific deeds she commits, she gets away with her crimes.

In Apollonius' version, she is portrayed primarily as a young woman who has led a relatively sheltered life. She has been shut up in Aeëtes' palace and seen very little of the outside world. When a handsome stranger (and Hera and Aphrodite team up to make Jason seem even more handsome than usual) shows up, she is quite taken with him and is more than willing to help him get the fleece and get out. In some versions she even slays her brother to help Jason (in others, Jason does the slaying).

In one of her cleverer moments, Medea tricks the daughters of Pelias into slaying their father. The girls see Medea by a cauldron and she demonstrates that she has these special herbs that will make an old ram young. She tosses the herbs into a cauldron of boiling water, then has the ram jump in. Instead of cooking, the ram is rejuvenated and jumps out of the pot. Medea gives the girls the recipe, but leaves out some important ingredients. When they try this on their old father, they cook his goose (so to speak). Needless to say, even though Jason is the rightful king of Thessaly, they have to leave town quick.

In his great play, Medea, Euripides shows Jason and Medea in Corinth, where they've docked the Argo (Apollonius doesn't take the story to this point). Jason has a chance to marry the king's daughter and lead a relatively normal life. The unfeeling cad has no qualms about cutting Medea adrift ("But I'm only doing it for the sake of our kids, dear ..."), but he apparently forgot the damage Medea can do. She sees to it that the bride is toast (quite literally -- talk about looking "hot" in a dress) and her dad too, and then kills her two children by Jason. At the end of the play she leaves in a chariot pulled by flying dragons (this is not a woman to mess with) and flies off to Athens, whose king she will seduce into marriage. As played by the great Greek actress, Irene Papas, or by the great opera singer, Maria Callas (in Luigi Cherubini's operatic version of Medea), Medea is one of the great wronged women of literature. A strong actress in this role can shake you to your foundation.

Jason will wander, a broken man, and finally die when he rests beneath the rotting Argo. A piece of the ship will fall off and kill him. After her marriage breaks up in Athens, Medea will just go somewhere else.

Check out Propp's motifs for the hero's journey and see if they apply to Jason (and/or Medea). You can find them by clicking here.

Go to Powerpoint presentation of chapter by clicking here.

Go to ch. 23.

Go to ch. 25.

Go home.