RELGST 0083 1st Edition Final Exam Study Guide Chapters 19 24 Chapter 19 Jason and the Myths of Iolcus and Calydon PRELUDE TO THE ARGONAUTICA Phrixus Hell and the Golden Fleece Jason belongs to family of Aeolids of Thessaly Story of Hell and Phrixus contains motif of wicked stepmother Ino Ino misuses oracle must be punished will be punished in stories of Dionysus Story includes animal substitute sacrifice for human sacrifice Name Hell is etiological eponym for Hellespont sea of Hell Phrixus flew on to Colchis sacrificed ram to Zeus gave fleece to Ae tes who hung it from oak tree it was guarded by dragon The Golden Fleece Pelias and Aeson Pelias and Neleus were twin sons of Poseidon and Tyro Pelias drove Neleus away and imprisoned his half brother Aeson Jason s father To protect Jason from Pelias his mother hid his birth and sent him to be raised on Mt Pelion by Chiron the centaur After growing up in protected obscurity Jason returns to Iolcus to claim the throne Oracle foretells the downfall of Pelias at the hand of a one sandaled man Jason crosses stream carries old woman across and loses one sandal in process Old woman was Hera in disguise she was looking for way to punish Pelias for not honoring her Pelias learns that one sandaled man is in town and confronts Jason Pelias asks Jason question that sets up Jason s quest for the golden fleece THE VOYAGE OF THE ARGO Ship is built by Argus Sailors on expedition many of them famous heroes from other myths Ship had magic speaking beam in prow Early Adventures Stopped at Lemnos island of women story contains all but one motif Argonauts stop at Cyzicus As journey continues Heracles and companion Hylas leave ship and Hylas is captured by nymphs Land of braggert Amycus Phineus and the Harpies Phineus has been punished for abusing oracular gifts Symplegades clashing rocks they go through successfully with Athena s help heroes need divine help Medea and the Golden Fleece Medea falls in love with Jason immediately through agency of Hera and Aphrodite King Ae tes sets impossible task for Jason Jason must yoke 2 fire breathing bulls sow dragon s teeth destroy armed men who spring up from ground Jason s first reaction is despair Medea betrays her father and helps Jason accomplish his task magic and strategies Jason also has help from Castor and Polydeuces Ae tes still does not want to give Jason fleece so Medea plans to steal it Medea makes dragon fall asleep with her magic Jason takes fleece and they flee in ships two versions of story o Medea s brother Aspyrtus pursues them in one ship and Jason kills him o Aspyrtus is child whom Medea cuts up throws pieces overboard to delay pursuers Libya the argonauts were driven by a storm southward and a wave drove them inland onto the burning sands of Libya They picked up the ship and carried it for nine days until they reached a lake eventually they made their way back to the Mediterranean near the island of Crete they encountered Talus who threw boulders at them Medea made him trick his anlke against a rock dislodged a plug there and his divine ichor spilled out Observations Jason the Deflated Hero Story has folktale motif of quest Apollonius portrays Jason as indecisive falls into depression easily Medea is one responsible for success All heroes need help but usually only help not all the work and planning supplied by someone else After the voyage of the Argo Now Medea comes up with a way to defeat Pelias Medea tricks Pelias daughters into chopping their father up Pelias died Oracle was fulfilled Hera s plan carried out Iolcans outraged by the murder of Pelias they expelled Jason and Medea Jason and Medea go to Corinth there they had 2 sons Jason decided to marry Glauke the daughter of king Creon of Corinth The play Medea by Euripides centers on conflict between Jason and Medea over his decision to leave Medea and marry Glauke In Medea s speeches she emphasizes how miserable she feels how betrayed she feels She ends by saying that women are deadly when they are dishonored what a warning of things to come king Creon banishes Medea sensing her as dangerous Jason has his response to Medea It s her own fault that she has been banished Jason has tried his best to speak up on her behalf He has no ill will towards her and will provide for her and the children Medea calls Jason a coward and says that she saved him Jason tries to tell Medea all the benefits he has bestowed upon her by bringing her from her back water land to Greece a more civilized place Medea now comes up with revenge a wedding gift for Glauke of a golden robe and tiara soaked with poison These garments started eating at her flesh her father the king tries to help her he too dies After this Medea also kills her sons as a final revenge for Jason Her rationale is that she hates Jason even more than she loves her sons Medea flees to Athens to be with Aegeus and takes part in early part of Theseus career sends him to fight bull and tries to poison him Medea never pays price for her crimes leaves Athens goes back to Colchis her new son Medus kills Ae tes Medus is the ancestor of the Medes Persians one of the greatest enemies of the Athenians One story about Medea is that she did not die but married Achilles in the Elysian Fields But why would Medea be one of the elite few in the Elysian Fields Jason never recovers from the events of Corinth There are several versions of his death none of them very heroic He killed himself in despair He was killed when a plank of his rotting Argo fell on him while he slept A stern piece of Argo dedicated to Hera fell on him when he entered her temple Jason often considered unheroic or even an antiheroic He needed too much help to get anything done He was indecisive went into fits of despair too easily Then when all his major tasks have been done he abandons the woman who has made it all possible Another common theme theme here is that Medea has betrayed her own father for a man she loves just as did Ariadne and Scylla The Calydonian Boar Hunt Story involving many of the same characters who took part in the voyage of the Argo Oeneus the king of Calydonia and his wife Althaea had a son Meleager 3 Fates stated that the child would die when the log in the fireplace was comsumed Althaea took the log from the fireplace and hid it in a chest thereby trying to circumvent the fates Meleager grew to manhood and sailed on the Argo Oeneus offended Artemis by not including her in a harvest sacrifice As a punishment Artemis