The myth of Jason and the search for the Golden Fleece (\u03a7\u03c1\u03c5\u03c3\u03cc\u03bc\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u0394\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1\u03c2) originated
\nin Asia Minor.\u00a0The Golden Fleece may represent the king because Jason needed to find it to return the throne
\nto its proper ruler.<\/p>\n
Jason\u2019s father, Aeson, was the rightful king of Thessaly, but his half-brother, Pelias, imprisoned
\nAeson in a power grab. Pelias feared that he would be overthrown and ordered all his halfbrother\u2019s
\nrelatives to be killed. Jason was a baby at the time and was saved by some fastthinking
\nwomen and quickly left the kingdom to be raised by Chiron, a friendly centaur.
\nAn oracle (one who predicts the future) told Pelias he should be afraid of a man with one sandal.
\nMany years later, as Jason was returning to the kingdom to claim the throne, he lost one sandal in the river. He was brought to
\nthe king as a man wearing only one sandal.\u00a0 Afraid for his throne, Pelias told Jason he would have to find and bring back the
\nGolden Fleece. Pelias believed Jason could not succeed in taking the Golden Fleece from the dragon and would die in the
\npursuit.
\nJason 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.
\nThe 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
\ntogether 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.<\/p>\n
The three tasks were too hard for Jason. So, the goddess Hera arranged for the king\u2019s 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\u2019s teeth in the field. The dragon\u2019s teeth grew up to be armed warriors, and Medea told him how to defeat them.
\nThird came the challenge of getting past the sleepless dragon that protected the fleece. At the tree where the fleece was hung,
\nMedea put the dragon to sleep with an herbal potion. Jason grabbed the Golden Fleece, and he and Medea ran to the Argo
\nand sailed for home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The myth of Jason and the search for the Golden Fleece (\u03a7\u03c1\u03c5\u03c3\u03cc\u03bc\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u0394\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1\u03c2) originated in Asia Minor.\u00a0The Golden Fleece may represent the king because Jason needed to find it to return the throne to its proper ruler. Jason\u2019s … <\/p>\n