Argonautica Lore Books

Description

The famous myth of the voyage of the hero Jason and his retinue on the ship Argo to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece and the tragic story of the love of Jason and the princess Medea, written by the poet Apollonius of Rhodes.

Text

Argonautica
Apollonius Rhodius

Beginning with you, Phoebe, I will recount the famous deeds of ancient men, who, at the command of King Pelius, sailed through the mouth of the Pontus with their ship Argo, to find the golden fleece and perform many heroic deeds.
Once upon a time, there lived in the Greek sity of Iolcus a usurper Pelias, who seized power, dethroned the rightful heir and did not recognise the claims of his son Jason. When Jason came to him as the prophecy said, wearing only one sandal, Pelias recognised that he was the one who would kill him. Therefore, he set a condition for relinquishing his power, which was to obtain the golden ram’s fleece from Colchis across the eastern sea.
Jason had a large, sturdy ship built for himself with fifty oars, such as had never been seen before, and he named it Argo. For his crew, he chose only the most excellent men, including the strongmen Heracles and Castor, the kings Meleager and Telamon, the legendary singer Orpheus, the ship’s doctor Asclepius, the seer Idmon, the helmsman Tiphys, and many other renowned heroes.
On their long voyage, they encountered many dangers from gods, giants, and sea monsters, and fought many battles, where the heads of tyrants of barbarian realms from the dawn of time, when gods still walked among men, fell.
When the ship anchored in Colchis, the local king Aeëtes promised Jason the golden fleece in exchange for a very difficult task. He had to plough a field with wild bulls with metal hooves, sow it with dragon’s teeth, and slay the undead soldiers that would arise from them by evening. With the help of his friends and the beautiful king’s daughter Medea, Jason accomplished all this.
Aeëtes, however, was treacherous, so Jason had to steal the fleece and fled to the sea with Medea. The Colchians pursued him, but he managed to escape, though he lost many of his comrades in the process.
Upon returning to Iolcus, Jason presented King Pelias with the golden fleece, but Pelias still refused to give up the throne. Then Jason hardened his heart and, with the sorceress Medea, poisoned his rival. However, this act did not pay off well for them. Medea lost her love for Jason, and he became an outcast on his ship Argó until the ship itself brought about his end.