The Golden Fleece
By
Hera


Main Page
Introduction
The Beginning
Argo Sets Sail
The Starving King...
The Return Home

            Jason is one of my favorite mortals. He has always honored and been kind to the gods. Jason helped me cross the river when he was on his way back to claim his kingdom.

            Jason finally arrived to his destination, Colchis. It took them several days after they crossed the Clashing Walls. They rowed through the Black Sea. Jason and the Argonauts decided to rest for the day before they went out in search of the Golden Fleece.

The king of Colchis was King Aeetes. He had hidden the Golden Fleece behind a fierce Dragon. King Aeetes would never give anyone the Golden Fleece. I know this and so I consulted with Athena, who also thinks highly of Jason. We sat on Mount Olympus and thought of a way to help him. Finally we came to a decision. We would ask Aphrodite for help.

Aphrodite was the goddess of love and was always willing to use her powers. She called for her son, Eros, to strike Medea with an arrow so that she would fall in love with Jason. Medea was a witch, she told him, and was the daughter of King Aeetes and she was the only one that could help Jason succeed in his quest. Eros did as Aphrodite commanded.

While he was on his way to Medea, Jason made his way to the palace of King Aeetes. King Aeetes gladly welcomed Jason and the Argonauts to Colchis, but he did not feel comfortable with Jason. The king asked Jason why he had traveled so far. Jason told the king that he had come for the Golden Fleece and he would do any services that the king might ask in return.

            King Aeetes did not intend to hand over the Golden Fleece to Jason. However the king had an idea. He told Jason he would give him the Golden Fleece if he yoked two fire-breathing bulls. Once they were yoked Jason must plow the field. After the field was plowed, he must seed teeth of a dragon. The teeth would grow and an army of men would come forth. Once you have single-handedly defeated the army I shall give you what you seek. Jason responded to King Aeetes by saying he would start the next day.

Eros arrived at Colchis and found Medea. He struck her heart with an arrow. Immediately Medea fell in love with Jason. She could not take her eyes off of him. She knew that Jason would not be able to complete the task her father had given him without her help. She wanted to help Jason, but she did not want to aid an enemy of her father. That night she tossed and turned debating what she should do. Finally love over powered her and she decided to help her love, Jason.

That night she quietly slipped into Jason’s room. There she confessed her love for him. She told him that she would help him if he would make her his wife. Jason agreed to the terms. She handed Jason a magic ointment and told him to spread it over his body, sword and shield. The ointment would protect him from harm. She also gave him a magic stone and told him to throw it at the men that sprang up from the dragon’s mouth. She quietly left Jason and went back to her room.

That next morning Jason woke up early and doused himself with the magic ointment along with his sword and shield. Jason and the Argonauts met King Aeetes, his sons and Medea at the field. Jason walked onto the field and grabbed the bulls by the horns. The bulls engulfed Jason with fire, but he was not singed. The King was stunned at this sight. Jason then yoked the two bulls and began to plow the field. After the field was plowed Jason planted the teeth of the dragon. The King thought that surely he would not be able to defeat the army. But as soon as the army appeared, Jason hurled the stone at the army. The men instantly turned on each other and all were killed.

Jason and the Bulls Web link

The king was astonished and angered that his plan did not work. As soon as Jason was finished, King Aeetes ordered his sons to gather the army and attack him on board his ship. Well, Medea was a sorceress and knew her father’s plan and quickly found Jason and told him of her father’s plan. Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts, boarded the ship and left the port before the king’s army could attack.

Medea knew where the Golden Fleece was located and led them to its location. She told the men to quit rowing and she and Jason crept onto the land. Jason could see the Golden Fleece shimmering in the moonlight while hanging on the tree. Just under the tree laid the fierce dragon. Medea crept up behind the dragon and sang it a song and put the dragon to sleep. Jason seized the Golden Fleece and they fled back to the ship. After they were aboard the Argo, the Argonauts rowed as hard as they could away from Colchis. When they were safely away from Colchis, Jason held up the Golden Fleece and all the Argonauts marveled at their reward.

King Aeetes sent his son, Apsyrtus, along with an army to return the Golden Fleece and his daughter. Medea sent a message to her brother and told him that she would meet him on an island with the Golden Fleece. Apsyrtus agreed and met her on the island. To his surprise Jason was there. In one swipe of the sword Apsyrtus fell to the ground. Medea did not even grieve over the loss of her brother due to the love she had for Jason.

Jason and the Dragon Web link

Jason and the Argonauts had found what they had been looking for, the Golden Fleece. The Argo was ready to go on the long voyage home to Iolcus.


Author's Commentary:
            This story was told through Hera's point of view. I chose to tell the story from her point of view was because she was a key character into helping Jason succeed in his mission. If she did not intervene then Jason would not have gotten the Golden Fleece. Jason had always been kind to Hera and the gods. This story is much longer than anyother. There was much information in this story. I liked how this story takes place because the gods help Jason. It shows how worthy of a mortal he is to be so favored. Most stories result in mortals being punished by the gods. This story had many characters that play major roles. Aphrodite and Eros are only in the story for a moment, but their brief stay makes major impacts in the story. I choose to have two pictures because this story was so long and had two major incidents. I found two pictures and decided to use them both. This story is a good one and I hope you enjoyed it.


Bibliography

"Jason"
   
By Carlos Parada
    Weblink. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Jason.html (Greek Mythology Link)

"The Quest"
    By Joel Skidmore
    Weblink. http://www.mythweb.com/heroes/jason/ (Heroes)

"Jason and the Argonauts"
   
By Unknown
    Weblink. http://www.pccc.cc.nj.us/asrc/readwrit/jason.html (Passaic County Community College)

"Story 3"
   
By Aaron Franl
    Weblink. http://students.ou.edu/F/Aaron.C.Francl-1/story3.html  (University of Oklahoma)

"Argonauts"
   
By Carlos Parada
    Weblink. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ARGONAUTS.html (Greek Mythology Link)

"Medea"
   
By Carlos Parada
    Weblink. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Medea.html (Greek Mythology Link)

"Aeetes"
    By Carlos Parada    
    Weblink. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Aeetes.html 
(Greek Mythology Link)



by Andrew Edwrads aedwards@ou.edu


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