1. MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS & HEROES
Chapters 7-8

2. THE GOLDEN FLEECE The myth of Jason & the Argonauts
By Apollonius of Rhodes

3. The Golden Fleece Genre: Quest story Protagonist: Jason
Assistants: the Argonauts
Object: the magical golden fleece of a flying ram
Ship: the Argo
On the way they experience their share of magic, monsters, and mayhem

4. The Most Famous Argonauts
Atalanta – the only female
Castor – one of the “heavenly twins”
Hercules – legendary warrior
Jason – the leader
Laertes – father of Odysseus
Melampus – a seer
Meleager – participated in the Calydonian Boar hunt
Orpheus— poet and singer

5. The Golden Fleece
The Oracle prophesied that King Pelias would be killed by a kinsman (man with one sandal)
Pelias believes this kinsman is Jason, who has come to claim the kingdom for himself
Pelias agrees to hand over the kingdom to Jason on one condition: He must return the Golden Fleece from King Æete

6. The Island of Lesbos (Lemnos)
Jason and the Argonauts first sailed to Lesbos, an island where only women lived.
Only one man, the king, was left on the island.
Although the women had risen up against the men on the island by killing them, they gladly helped the Argonauts with gifts of food and wine.

7. Harpies The Argonauts travelled to where the Harpies lived.
flying creatures with hooked beaks and claws
Leave an awful odor whenever they go
Every time Phineas the Prophet tried to eat, the harpies would snatch his food away
Two argonauts slay the harpies
Phineas advises how to navigate the sea of the Clashing rocks

8. Hera Assists the Argonauts
Hera wrapped the Argonauts in a fog so they would not be seen
Hera enlists Venus’s help
Venus enlists Cupid’s help to make Princess Medea fall in love with Jason

9. King Æetes
King Æetes agrees to give Jason the Golden Fleece if he can prove his courage
Jason must harness two flame- breathing bulls whose feet were made of bronze and to plow a field with them.
A crop of armed men would grow and he must fight this crop of armed men.

10. Princess Medea
Cloak of invincibility: Medea gave Jason a charm that when it was sprinkled over his weapons, he and his weapons would become invincible for a day
Magic stone: Medea gives Jason this too – thrown at the enemy, they will turn and fight one another
Medea helps Jason retrieve the Golden Fleece from the serpent
The argonauts escape

11. The Return to Greece
On the return journey, the argonauts pass through the rock of Scylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis.
Medea and Jason deliver Golden Fleece to Pelias
They find Pelias had forced Jason's father to kill himself and his mother had died of grief.
Medea devises ways to punish Pelias
Medea convinces Pelias' daughters to cut Pelias up, telling him it will make him young again.