Gods, Myths and Heroes - Part 31a

 Jason and the Argonauts

One of the most famous mythical Greek heroes was Jason, who made a voyage to retrieve the Golden Fleece.  He was born the prince of Iolcos, a Greek city-state, but Pelias, his uncle, usurped the throne and killed all rival claimants.  Jason's mother spirited him away for safety to be reared by the centaur Chiron.

(Above: Chiron and the boy Jason from the movie Medea, 1969)

King Pelias had been warned by an oracle to beware of a man wearing only one sandal.  When Jason grew to manhood, he journeyed to Iolcos.  On his way, he helped an old woman cross a river, losing one of his sandals in the process.  The old woman was the goddess Hera, queen of the gods, in disguise.  From then on, Hera aided Jason in his endeavors.

When Jason arrived in Iolcos, King Pelias saw that he had only one sandal (above) and knew that Jason was the rightful king.  He told Jason that he could take the throne, but first he had to go on a quest to find and bring back the Golden Fleece, an impossible task, since nobody knew where it was.

Jason gathered a group of heroes to help in the quest, including Heracles (Hercules),  Orpheus, and others.  Above, Heracles and the gathering of the Argonauts on a vase c. 460 BC.

They built a ship called the Argo for their quest (above), and they became known as the Argonauts.

Interestingly, our word astronaut first appeared in a British science fiction story in 1880, apparently inspired by the story of the Argonauts.

(Above: The Argonauts build the Argo while Orpheus plays the lyre.  Engraving by Carstens & Koch, 1799)

Their first adventure was on the island of Lemnos, in the Aegean Sea off the coast of what is now Turkey.  The women of Lemnos had neglected the worship of Aphrodite, and as a punishment, the goddess made the women so smelly that their husbands couldn't stand the stench and left them (I am not making this up).  The Argonauts were not so picky, proceeding to have sex with the women of Lemnos (presumably while holding their noses).

(Above: The Argonauts say goodbye to the women of Lemnos.  Engraving by Carstens & Koch, 1799)

The Argo then sailed through the Hellespont to the Propontis (today called the Sea of Marmara, between the European and Asian parts of Turkey).  They landed, and while some of the crew went into a forest to get supplies, the rest of the crew was attacked by giants (above).  In some versions of the myth, the giants had six arms.  Luckily, Heracles (Hercules) had stayed by the ship and was able to kill most of the giants.

(Above: The Argonauts fight the giants.  Engraving by Carstens & Koch, 1799)

Heracles had a young companion and lover, Hylas, who came with him on the Argo.  Remember that the Greeks had no concept of being straight or gay.  Heracles had a male lover?  No problem.  At another stop in the Propontis, Hylas was abducted by water nymphs in a spring (above).  Heracles was so upset by his disappearance that he refused to go on with the quest, and the Argonauts left him behind.

(Roman mosaic, c. 300-350 AD)

The Argo sailed through to the Black Sea.  They stopped in Thrace (modern Bulgaria and parts of Turkey and Greece), where the local king, Phineus, was being persecuted by Harpies, nasty creatures who were half-woman, half-bird.  The Harpies flew down and stole the king's food each day.  Luckily, two of the Argonauts, Calais and Zetes, were Boreads, creatures that had wings, too.  They chased the Harpies away.  In gratitude, Phineus, who was a seer, revealed to Jason the location of the Golden Fleece: in Colchis, at the other end of the Black Sea.

(Above: Zetes, one of the Boreads, c. 480 BC)

The story of Jason has been called extremely misogynistic.  Almost all the women in the story appear in a bad light, from the smelly women of Lemnos to the nymphs who abducted Hylas to the Harpies who persecuted Phineus.  Indeed, the word "harpy" has come to mean a nagging, bad-tempered or malicious woman.  But if you think they're bad, wait until you see Medea tomorrow.

Tomorrow: Jason and the Golden Fleece