Classical Wisdom Litterae - Nov 2019

of Jason and the Golden Fleece comes to us from Pindar in his Fourth Pythian (462 BCE). In it he narrates the adventures of the Argonauts in detail. When he discusses Medea, he mentions her sorcery and Aphrodite’s love magic to help Jason seduce Medea “so that he might take away her respect for her parents.” Her uncontrollable love for Jason forced Medea into acting against her better interests in securing the Golden Fleece for this virtual stranger. It is important to note that all the myths about Medea share her being cast as a victim whose feelings for Jason were preordained by the gods, hence out of her control. But who are Jason and the Argonauts and what is the Golden Fleece? And just how does Medea get involved? In a myth that is believed to have predated the Trojan War (ca 1300 BCE), Jason’s father, King Aeson, is overthrown by his half-brother Pelias on the Greek mainland, in the city-state of Iocolus (modern Volos). In order to win back the kingship, King Pelias challenges Jason to take the Golden Fleece—a fleece from a golden winged ram which symbolizes the crown—located on the outermost edge of the ancient world, in Colchis (modern Georgia) by the Black Sea. Agreeing to the quest, Jason assembles a band of heroes— prominent among them are Heracles and Orpheus—called the Left: Medea, by Alphonse Mucha, 1898 Below: Jason and Medea, by Christian Daniel Rauch, 1818 X