JASON AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE

Christian Bethany

RyanJake A.John

Major Events

King named Athamas got tired of his wife and married another princess New princess was planning to kill son of old queen (Phrixus) so her son would inherit the

kingdom New princess tried to get Phrixus sacrificed but golden fleece flew him to safety The boy Phrixus gave fleece to the king of the new land (Aeetes) Pelias (son of new queen) took crown from Athamas Jason the (son of old king) rightful heir was sent away to safety, then came back to claim

kingdom Jason’s cousin tells Jason he will give him kingdom if he gets the golden fleece and brings it

back Jason sets off on adventure in the Argo with the Argonauts Some gods including Zeus are out to get them and some gods including Hera try to help

them Jason finds the city and Cupid makes the daughter of the king fall in love with him (Medea)

Major Events

The king told Jason he would give him the fleece if he passed the trial Jason must kill two fire breathing bulls and an army of seed men Medea made Jason and his weapons invincible Medea tells Jason to throw a stone into crowd of seed men and they will turn on each

other Jason completed the tasks because of Medea’s help but the king refused to give him

the fleece Jason steals the fleece and Medea kills her brother (leader of army) to allow them to

escape Jason comes back to city and reclaims crown Medea kills Pelias, the previous King Jason decides to marry another woman, Medea gets jealous Medea kills Jason’s bride, and their two sons

HELPERS

MedeaGives Jason a potion that makes him fire proof and resistant

to the razor sharp hooves of bulls he would later face. She lulls the serpent who is guarding the golden fleece to

sleep by using another potion. She saves Jason and his men from a huge army by killing the

leader (her brother Apsyrtus)She prays to the hounds of Hades to come and destroy Talus.

Medea continuedGave Pelias a potent sleeping-draught and

called upon his daughter to cut him into bits. They later threw the pieces in the ocean.

Medea was able to deceive the daughter by showing how she could turn an old ram into a young one, by chopping it up and boiling it.

With her magic, the ram was reborn young! She convinced the daughter the same would work

on people too Eager to help her father, the daughter followed

blindly, as she helped kill her dadShe restored Jason’s father to life and made

him young again.

Argonauts Jason’s crew that helped him complete his quest of the

Golden Fleece. These men include:HerculesOrpheusPeleusCastorPolluxAchilles

Challenges/TasksOne challenge was fighting off Harpies, that

threatened to kill the Argonauts. Another challenge was getting past clashing

rocks, that destroyed any ship that tried to pass through

Jason and his crew fought off the Harpies successfully and managed to get past the rocks, by sending a dove through the rocks to make them crash preemptively, then sailing through.

Challenges/Tasks Jason had to complete a set of tasks in order for the King to

give Jason the Golden Fleece.Jason had to capture (yoke) two fire-breathing bulls and have

them plow a field.Then Jason would have to sow the field with dragons teeth.Finally those dragon teeth he stole, turned into warriors

which he had to kill.

Supernatural Intervention

• Medea was the main instance of supernatural intervention in the story. • With her God-like powers, Medea helped save the Argonauts on many occasions. • Medea was the driving force in helping the Argonauts escape with the Golden

Fleece, without her, it’s most likely that they never would have gotten out alive.• Medea, like the archetype of supernatural intervention, used her unworldly

powers to get her and her husbands way and use it as a sort of power over people.

Romance/Role of WomenMedea, Jason’s love interest

Medea, at first, seemed like a nice, lovable character

Helps Jason obtain the golden fleece and escape

After Jason completed his quest, Medea kills their children and leaves Jason.

From this, we learn that the Greeks, still during this time, viewed women as lesser than men and crazy.

Themes

A major theme in the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece would be that history repeats itself. This prevalent because at the beginning of the story, an unfaithful wife attempts to kill two children of the king, and at the end of the story, Medea ends up killing both the children. In both instances, the king becomes unfaithful towards his wife. Afterword's, the wife attempts to kill the two children.

ThemesAnother common theme in this

story would be manipulation and women being mischievous. Throughout the story, Medea is able to manipulate countless people in order to get her and Jason’s way. One example of this was manipulating her brother into thinking she was taking his side, when in reality, she did it to kill him and make a clean escape with the fleece.

Rags to Riches- Jason started with nothing, not even two shoes, and then got the Fleece, and was able to become king.

Supernatural Intervention- Aphrodite assisting Jason on his journey

The River- Shows the warriors growing in strength and transitioning from their past to their future in their quest to get the Fleece

The Hero- Jason in the beginning, on a path of redemption, helps people along the way

Archetypes

What goes around, comes around- Jason was extremely

cruel to his wife, which then caused his wife to leave him, alone and desolated.

The Temptress- Although only taking on this persona a couple of times, Medea easily brings her brother to his knees in order for the heroes to escape

Archetypes

http://mmtaylor.net/Holiday2000/Legends/Jason.html http://ancienthistory.about.com/ http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/GreekMyths/Jason/

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