Jason and the Argonauts

Revision as of 13:55, 13 March 2012

Aison son of Kretheus and Polymede daughter of Autolykos has a son called Jason. He lived in Iolkos which was ruled by Pelias. Pelias (Aison's brother) received a prophesy to beware a one sandalled man who will murder him. Pelias noticed that Jason had one sandal when he asked him to help him with a sacrifice to Poseidon Jason said that such a person should retrieve the Golden Fleece. That is what Pelias told him to do not expecting to see him again.

The tale of Jason is recounted by Pindar, Diodoros, Ovid but the best known is by Apollonios Rhodios, a librarian from BCE 261 and writes about a hero very different than those written by Homer

Jason first task is to ask Argos son of Phrixos to build a 50 oared ship, which had a speaking timber from the oak of Dodona installed by Athena. The fifty crew assembled are the greatest heroes of their time.

Jason is very good looking but his qualities of heroism take a while to come to fruition and he fails to command the respect of his crew at the beginning.

the young heroes turned their eyeys towards Herakles sitting in their midst, ans with one shout they all enjoined upon him to be their leader

Herakles refuses but leaves the impression that Jason is their only only becuase Herakles turns them down. Jason is an hellestic hero and his arete are seen as his increasong effectiveness.

Jason and the Argonaut's Voyage

At Lemnos

This is their first pport of call and inhabited by women. The crew stay there awhile and help balance the population. Jason meets with Hypsipyle and where his cloak for amatory purposes much like Akhilleus would a shield for combat. He succeeds even though in a non-Homeric way he submits to love

At Samothrace, Propontis and Doliones

King Kyzikos provides them hospitality and they leave but the winds push them back on shore and thinking they are under attack Kyzikos defends the island but is killed. His new wife Kleite is devestated

she clasped a noose around her neck [and] all her tears made a fountain they call Kleite, the illustrious name of the hapless maid

At Mysia

Herakles is becoming prefunctory to the narrative as his braun and no brains have little worth in this Hellenistic narrative. At Mysia he heads off to repair his oar. Meanwhile his companion Hylas is pulled in to the water by a nymph and his cries are heard by Polyphemous and Herakles went to help. Meanwhile Tiphys sets sail and it is only later they realize they left left the three companions.

At Bebrykes

King Amykos force the strangers in to a boxing match which was taken up by Polydeuske Pollux. He shatters the King's skull and the subject assault the crew but the Argonauts repel them.

At Salmydessos

Here they meet the blind seer Phineuswho is tormented by Harpies who steal is food and leaves hom only the stinking scraps. He says he will help them if they rid him of the Harpies. They lay bait and Zetes and Kalais pursue the Harpies and Iris intrevenes and agrees not to torment Phineus further. Phineus tells them that if a dove can fly between the clashing rocks it would be save to navigate. The dove just manages to get through. Tiphys' helmmanshipmis extrairdinary but they need help from Athena who holds bac the rocks. Now that they were navigated through by man for the first time they become rooted to the spot.

At Thynias

Here Apollo appears to them and on Orpheus' instruction they built an altar. Next to see King Lykos. Here Idmon the seer, dies from a wound from a boar. Peleus slays the boar. Tiphys dies from sickness here.

At Aretias

They meet up with the shipwrecked Argos and his brothers who agree to sail with Jason. They pass by Caucasian Mountains where the eagle is still devouring Prometheus' liver and finally the River Phasis the land of Kolkhis. Here Hera asks Aphrodite to get her son Eros to help Jason. Her plan is to use Aietes' Medeia to destroy Pelias. Jason asks Aietes to give up the fleece for frienship sake.

Aietes is not impressed. He gives them a test. Jason must do something that Aietes can do

Two bulls with feet of bronze I have a pasture on the plain or Ares...I yoke and drive over the stubborn field of Ares...If thou wilt accomplish such deeds as these on that very day shalt carry off the fleece

Medeia gets help from Argos' mother Khalkiope who is also her sister. She gives Jason charms to cast a spell on the bulls knowig she is being treacherous to her own family but she is hopelessly in love with Jason. Jason promises to marry her if she returns to Iolkos with him.

He succeeds the next morning, throwing the bulls to their knees, and sowing the dragon's teeth. At this point skeleton's spring up from the ground and attack. Jason seizes a boulder and hurls it at the skeletons. But Aietes does not keep his word and vows to destroy the Argonauts. Medeia offers to lull the fleece's serpent to sleep so that Jason can retreive it, which he does.

They escape but are pursued by Kolklians who say they can keep the fleece if they hand back Medeia. Instead they entrap her brother Apsyrtos and kill him. Zeus was outraged and told them to sail to Kirke Medeia's aunt to be purified.

Jason and the Fleece

Incidents drawn from The Odyssey

They also sail to the island of the Sirens who were daughters of Akheloos. They say they were friends of Persephone when she was abducter and Demeter punished them. The argonauts next encountered the sheer cliffs of Skylla and then to Phaiakians where they say Alkinoos. At the same time the Kolkhians turn up. They say they can have Medeia back if she is a virgin. Queen Arete forces the issue and has Jason sllep with her.

There is another prophesy that takes then to the Garden of the Hesperides where Herakles had got the golden apples the day before.

Finally they went to Crete they met a great bronze statue called Talos who threw massive rocks to deter mariners. Madeia's magic causes him to grave his ankle and moten lead flows out of his leg and dies

Apollonios describes the aetiological tales like this - referring to ancient customs, derivations or rationalizations much like a scholarly nineteenth century authors who tried to pinpoint sources of myth, work out dates and origins and connect them religious life, economic and social life.

After the Epic

Jason and Medea return to Greece where Jason claims his father's throne, but their success is short-lived. Jason discovered that Pelias had made Aison commit suicide, which had made his mother die of a broken heart. Medeia then punished Pelios in a horrible way by making his daughters believe they could make him young again by boiling him, wich they did, unwillingly becoming their father's murderesses. Uncomfortable with Medea's magic, the locals drive Medea and Jason out of Iolkos. They go into exile in Korinth where the Kreon offers Jason his daughter Glauce in marriage. He agrees and so violates his vow to the gods to be true only to Medeia. Furious, Medeia kills the woman, kills Kereon and Jason's children and then ascends to Mount Olympus where she eventually marries Akhillues. Jason goes back to Iolkos where his boat the Argo is on display. One day, while he sits next to the boat weeping, the decaying beam of his ship the Argo falls off and hits him on the head, killing him outright.

Analysis

He seems to have written the “Argonautica” out of bravado, to show that he could write an epic poem. But the influence of the age was too strong. Instead of the unity of an Epic we have merely a series of episodes, and it is the great beauty and power of one of these episodes that gives the poem its permanent value—the episode of the love of Jason and Medea.

As we have it, the motive of the voyage is the command of Pelias to bring back the golden fleece, and this command is based on Pelias’ desire to destroy Jason, while the divine aid given to Jason results from the intention of Hera to punish Pelias for his neglect of the honour due to her

He interweaves with his narrative local legends and the founding of cities, accounts of strange customs, descriptions of works of art. Ultimately Jason succeeds in retrieving the fleece not just by force but more importantly through seduction, diplomacy of Medeia. His adventures at Lemnos for instance give a hint of his future yet unconventional successes. The brute force of Herakles becomes impotent. The disappearance of Herakles also forces more attention on Jason. The reader is not thinking at the back of his/her mind that Herakles is going to come up with a violent response.

Medeia is also a more complex character that many Greek women in epic poetry. She is a maiden and a witch. She can cry for help but also lure her brother to her death. In traditional Homeric poetry monologues do not betray the reader but give them a real insight to the character's motives and thoughts. we do not get that sense with Medeia. She is either lying to herself or deluded at times