Jason and the Golden Fleece

The myth of Jason and the search for the Golden Fleece (Χρυσόμαλλον Δέρας) originated
in Asia Minor. The Golden Fleece may represent the king because Jason needed to find it to return the throne
to its proper ruler.

Jason’s father, Aeson, was the rightful king of Thessaly, but his half-brother, Pelias, imprisoned
Aeson in a power grab. Pelias feared that he would be overthrown and ordered all his halfbrother’s
relatives to be killed. Jason was a baby at the time and was saved by some fastthinking
women and quickly left the kingdom to be raised by Chiron, a friendly centaur.
An oracle (one who predicts the future) told Pelias he should be afraid of a man with one sandal.
Many years later, as Jason was returning to the kingdom to claim the throne, he lost one sandal in the river. He was brought to
the king as a man wearing only one sandal.  Afraid for his throne, Pelias told Jason he would have to find and bring back the
Golden Fleece. Pelias believed Jason could not succeed in taking the Golden Fleece from the dragon and would die in the
pursuit.
Jason assembled a group of about 50 sailors (the Argonauts) and a huge ship called the Argo (above and right) and sailed toward Colchis to find the Golden Fleece.
The journey of Jason and the Argonauts was filled with adventure. They stopped at several islands along the way, causing trouble on some and being helpful on others. On Salmydessus, for example, the king was slowly being starved to death by Harpies, creatures with the bodies of birds and heads of women. Two Argonauts (children of the North Wind) chased the Harpies far away so they could never hurt the king again. To thank him, King Phineas told Jason how to get to the kingdom of Colchis and gave him the secret of passing through the Symplegades, two rock cliffs that clashed
together and crushed any ship attempting to sail between them. In Colchis, Jason met King Aeetes. Aeetes did not welcome Jason. He gave Jason three very difficult tasks before Jason could get to the golden Fleece.

The three tasks were too hard for Jason. So, the goddess Hera arranged for the king’s daughter, Medea, to help him with the tasks through her magical powers. First, he had to yoke two fire-breathing oxen together and plow a field. Medea gave him a special salve that coated his skin and protected him from burning in the flames. Second, he had to plant dragon’s teeth in the field. The dragon’s teeth grew up to be armed warriors, and Medea told him how to defeat them.
Third came the challenge of getting past the sleepless dragon that protected the fleece. At the tree where the fleece was hung,
Medea put the dragon to sleep with an herbal potion. Jason grabbed the Golden Fleece, and he and Medea ran to the Argo
and sailed for home.