chapter 19 lecture one of two jason and the myths of iolchus and calydon ©2012 pearson education...
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Chapter 19Lecture One of Two
Jason and the Myths of Iolchus and Calydon
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
Myths of Jason and Thessaly
• Thessaly; a large plain north of Thermopylae• Neolithic and Mycenaean settlements• Port city of Iolchus (modern-day Volos) the
point of debarkation for Jason’s adventure
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PRELUDE TO THE ARGONAUTICAPhrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece
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Phrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece
• Aeolus => – The Aeolids– Athamas
• Athamas + Nephelê– Phrixus (son)– Hellê (daughter)
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Phrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece
• Athamas then marries another, Ino, daughter of Cadmus in Thebes– Two sons
• Ino arranges a trap to have Phrixus (her step son) murdered– Parches grain– Intercepts messenger to Delphi– Prophecy says Phrixus must be sacrificed– A golden ram appears just in time – The two – Phrixus and Hellê ride away on it
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Phrixus, Hellê, and the Golden Fleece
• Hellê falls off the ram at the “Hellespont”• Ram flies on to Colchis, where Aeëtes is king
– The fleece is given to Aeëtes, who receives Phrixus
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PRELUDE TO THE ARGONAUTICAPelias and Aeson
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Pelias and Aeson
• Athamas’s niece (Tyro) • She has two sons by Poseidon
– Pelias, who will become king in Iolchus– Neleus, who will become king in Pylos
• She has two sons by the mortal, Cretheus– Aeson and Pheres
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Pelias and Aeson
• Pelias drives out his brother Neleus• Imprisons his half-brother Aeson• But Aeson’s wife bears Jason
– Spirited away and raise by Chiron the Centaur on Mt. Pelion (near Iolcus)
• Aeson warned to beware a man with one sandal
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Pelias and Aeson
• Now a young man, Jason comes down from Mt. Pelion to Iolcus
• Helps Hera in disguise to cross a river and he loses a sandal– Hera is out to punish Aeson for not worshipping
her. Her plan is to bring Medea to Iolcus, and that means having Jason go to Aeëtes’s kingdom to get her!
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Pelias and Aeson
• Jason is tricked into going to search for the Golden Fleece– “What would you do if you knew someone was
going to kill you?”
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THE VOYAGE OF THE ARGO
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The Voyage of the Argo
• A ship is built by Argus– The bow is from Dodona– Called the Argo after Argus
• Jason collects the best warriors of the day
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Fig. 19.1Gathering of the Argonauts
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Musée du Louvre, Paris; Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Resource, New York
EARLY ADVENTURES
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Early Adventures
• The women of Lemnos– Had earlier killed their men for refusing their them
(except for Queen Hypsipylê)– The Argonauts service the sex-starved women– Heracles preserves the company of his boyfriend
(Hylas)
• Next they were received by Cyzicus at Samothrace
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Early Adventures
• A storm blows the Argo back to Samothrace at night and, thinking his island was being attacked by strangers, Cyzicus brings out his army– King is killed by Jason
• Heracles lost when Hylas is abducted by water nymphs on Mysia– John Waterhouse, Hylas and the Nymphs
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Early Adventures
• Bebryces• Amycus
– Defeated by Polydecues in boxing
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Fig. 19.2 The Binding of Amycus
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Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
PHINEUS AND HARPIES
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Fig. 19.3 Phineus and HarpiesFig.King Phineus and the HarpiesFreed by Zetes and Calaïs
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Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Resource, New York
THE SYMPLEGADES
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The Symplegades
• Phineus gives them advice about their future adventures– Release a dove
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Fig. 19.4 Greek Ship of the Classical Period
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Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
MEDEA AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE
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Medea and the Golden Fleece
• Medea, daughter of Aeëtes, first sees Jason– Aphrodite sends Eros to make her fall in love with
him
• Aeëtes is expecting a “stranger” to be his downfall and refuses the fleece– Must first yoke fire-breathing bulls and sow
dragon’s teeth (which would produce murderous warriors)
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Medea and the Golden Fleece
• Medea gives him ointments to protect him from the bulls
• When the warriors are grown . . . the rock• Medea helps Jason get the fleece• Aeëtes in pursuit
– Apsyrtus (his two fates)• The geography of the chase
– Eridanus, southern France, the Phaeacians . . .
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Fig. 19.5In an otherwise unattested event for him, Jason is vomited out by a serpent on this vase.
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Photo Vatican Museums
LIBYA
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Libya
• The Argo is dropped into the middle of desert• The Nymphs of the Hesperides• The close encounter with Heracles• Triton helps them• Talus of Crete
– Medea’s “evil eye”
• Poem stops as they’ve left Crete
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OBSERVATIONSThe Deflated Hero
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The Deflated Hero
• Evidence for Bronze Age travel into the Black Sea?– To this legendary voyage are added details of
folktale (the quest): hero’s troubles at birth, magical animal raised him, magical land and impossible tasks, marriage as a reward . . .
– But he did not get a glorious kingship
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The Deflated Hero
• Apollonius writing for a literate audience who would appreciate the twists and variations on the standard hero theme– Focus on individual emotions, precious
descriptions . . . – Greatly influenced subsequent epic and poetry,
especially Vergil and his Aeneid
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Fig. 19.6The death of Talus
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Museo Nazionale Jatta, Ruvo; Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Rome
End
©2012 Pearson Education Inc.
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