Jason was an ancient Greek hero who was famous for his role as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. The people who wrote about Jason lived around 300 BC.
The Quest for the Golden Fleece
The journey to see the Golden Fleece (quest) is one of the mst famous stories of ancient times. It is also very long and complicated. Here are some highlights.
Jason gathered a great group of heroes, known as the Argonauts after the name of their ship, the Argo. They included the Boreads who could fly, Heracles, Philoctetes, Peleus, Telamon, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, Atalanta, and Euphemus.
The Isle of Lemnos
The first place they stopped at for supplies was Lemnos. The isle of Lemnos was home to a race of women who had killed their husbands. The women had neglected their worship of Aphrodite, and as a punishment the goddess made the women so foul in stench that their husbands could not bear to be near them. The women, angry at Aphrodite, killed all the males while they slept.
During the visit of the Argonauts the women mingled with the men creating a new "race" called Minyae. Jason fathered twins with the queen. Heracles got them to leave as he was disgusted by the antics of the Argonauts.
Cyzicus
After Lemnos the Argonauts landed among the Doliones, whose king Cyzicus told them where to go next. But he did not tell them about the Gegeines which were a tribe of Earthborn giants with six arms. While most of the crew went into the forest to search for supplies, the Gegeines saw that few Argonauts were guarding the ship and raided it. Heracles was among those guarding the ship at the time and managed to kill most them before Jason and the others returned. Once some of the other Gegeines were killed, Jason and the Argonauts set sail.
The Argonauts departed, losing their bearings and landing again at the same spot they had left that night. In the darkness, the Doliones took them for enemies and they started fighting each other. The Argonauts killed many of the Doliones, among them the king Cyzicus. Cyzicus' wife killed herself. The Argonauts realized their horrible mistake when dawn came and held a funeral for him.
Phineas and the Harpies
Jason eventually reached the court of Phineus of Salmydessus. Zeus had sent the Harpies to steal the food put out for Phineas each day. Jason took pity on the starving king and killed the Harpies when they returned. In return for this favour, Phineas told Jason where Colchis was and how to pass The Clashing Rocks, and then they parted.
The Clashing Rocks
The only way to reach Colchis was to sail through the Clashing Rocks, huge rock cliffs that came together and crushed anything that travelled between them. Phineas told Jason to release a dove when they approached these islands, and if the dove made it through, to row with all their might. Jason released the dove as advised, which made it through, losing only a few tail feathers. Seeing this, they rowed strongly and made it through with minor damage at the extreme stern of the ship. From that time on, the clashing rocks were forever stilled, leaving free passage for others to pass.
The arrival in Colchis
Jason arrived in Colchis to claim the fleece as his own. It was owned by King Aeetes of Colchis. Aeetes promised to give it to Jason only if he could perform three tasks. Goddess Hera had persuaded Aphrodite to make Aeetes's daughter, Medea, fall in love with Jason. As a result, Medea aided Jason in his tasks. First, Jason had to plough a field with fire-breathing oxen, that he had to yoke himself. Medea provided an ointment that protected him from the oxen's flames. Then, Jason sowed the teeth of a dragon into a field. The teeth sprouted into an army of warriors. Medea had previously warned Jason of this and told him how to defeat this foe. Before they attacked him, he threw a rock into the crowd. Unable to discover where the rock had come from, the soldiers attacked and defeated one another. His last task was to overcome the sleepless dragon which guarded the Golden Fleece. Jason sprayed the dragon with a potion, given by Medea, distilled from herbs. The dragon fell asleep, and Jason was able to seize the Golden Fleece. He then sailed away with Medea. Medea distracted her father, who chased them as they fled, but Jason and Medea escaped.
The return journey
Sirens
The Sirens lived on three small, rocky islands and sang beautiful songs that enticed sailors to come to them, causing the crashing of their ship into the rocks. When Orpheus heard their voices, he drew his lyre and played music that was more beautiful and louder, drowning out the Sirens' bewitching songs.
Talos
The Argo then came to the island of Crete, guarded by the bronze man, Talos. As the ship approached, Talos hurled huge stones at the ship, keeping it at bay. Talos had one blood vessel which went from his neck to his ankle, bound shut by only one bronze nail. Medea cast a spell on Talos to calm him; she removed the bronze nail and Talos bled to death. The Argo was then able to sail on.
Jason returns
In Corinth, Jason became engaged to marry Creusa, a daughter of the King of Corinth, to strengthen his political ties. When Medea confronted Jason about the engagement and reminded him all the help she had given him, he said that it was not she that he should thank, but Aphrodite who made Medea fall in love with him.
Infuriated with Jason for breaking his vow that he would be hers forever, Medea took her revenge by presenting to Creusa a cursed dress, as a wedding gift, that stuck to her body and burned her to death as soon as she put it on. Creusa's father, Creon, burned to death with his daughter as he tried to save her. Then Medea killed the two boys that she bore to Jason, fearing that they would be murdered or enslaved as a result of their mother's actions. When Jason came to know of this, Medea was already gone; she fled to Athens in a chariot of dragons sent by her grandfather, the sun-god Helios.
As a result of breaking his vow to love Medea forever, Jason lost his favour with Hera and died lonely and unhappy.
