Jason, the son of Aeson, was the leader of the Argonauts and the husband of Medea. Because of a prophecy that Jason would someday do him harm, King Pelias of Iolcos sent Jason on a seemingly impossible quest to bring the Golden Fleece back from distant Colchis. For the quest, Jason assembled a crew of heroes from all over Greece; Argos built for the heroes the largest ship ever constructed, the Argo.
On the voyage to Colchis, in addition to other adventures, Jason and his crew of Argonauts became the first humans to pass through the Symplegades (the Clashing Rocks); they also freed Phineus from the curse of the Harpies. When they arrived at Colchis, King Aeetes demanded that Jason accomplish a series of tasks to get the Golden Fleece: …show more content…
The fleece was given by Aeetes, king of Colchis, to Ares, and now hung from a tree that was guarded night and day by a dragon. The dragon would become only one of the many perils Jason and his crew would encounter. Regardless of which version of the story is given, the great journey that Jason needed to embark upon remained the same. He had to sail far beyond the realm of the Greeks into unknown dangers and great adventures.
Jason, determined to win back the throne, agreed to the challenge. Word went throughout Greece that Jason was looking for a crew with whom to sail and find the famous Golden Fleece. Although the journey was known to be very dangerous, the chance of possibly finding the mythical fleece was very exciting to the bravest heroes of Greece. Many well-known heroes were eager to take the risk. It is said that Jason held great games at the base of Mount Olympus in which all the heroes of Greece came to compete for a place on his …show more content…
Jason, along with 48 brave men and one brave woman, Atalanta of Calydon, embarked upon the great mission. Among those chosen were many famous mythological Grecians including sons of Greek gods: Acastus, son of King Pelias; Peleus the Myrmidon, the father of the great Achilles; Heracles, known now as Hercules, of Tiryns, the strongest man to ever live who later became a Greek god himself; Echion, son of Hermes; Idmon the Argive, Apollo's son; Periclymenus of Pylus, the son of Poseidon; and, Argos the Thespian, the builder of the ship. It is said that “Never before or since was so brave a ship's company gathered