ENCOUNTERS: PELIAS APOLLO POLYXO Q. HYPSIARGO: JASON HERACLES TIPHYS ARG

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The Argo DisembarksThe Argonauts elect Jason to be their leader after Heracles declines the offer and nomi-nates the young man. Tiphys, son of Hagni-as, becomes the pilot - and with Argus and Acastus (the only son of Pelias) on board, the Argonauts sacrifice to Apollo. The seer Idmon predicts that the Argonauts would accomplish their objective, and he also pre-dicts his own death.

The Lemnian Affairs

After passing Mts. Ossa and Olympus, the Argonauts arrive at Lemnos. Aphrodite had punished the women by making them stink. After their husbands left them for Thracian captives, the Lemnian women killed all the men on the island.

The Argonaut Aethalides, a son of Hermes, assuages the Lemnians’ fear of men. A shrewd old nurse, Polyxo, advises the other women to sleep with the Argonauts. Thus, Queen Hypsiple births Euneus and Nebrophonus or Deipylus with Jason. The Lemnians later kill Hypsiple when they learn of her treachery (she had hidden her fa-ther, King Thoas). Most of the Argonauts, except Heracles and Hylas, indulge themselves in the Lemnians’ hospitality until Heracles comments on their “adventurous behavior.”

Poor CyzicusAfter being initiated into the Samothracian myster-ies, the Argonauts arrive at Bear Mountain. The Doliones of the mainland, whose king, Cyzicus (son of Aeneus and Aenete, daughter of Eusorus), recently married Cleite (daughter of the soothsayer Merops, king of Rhindacus) and was instructed to be hospitable to voyagers, warmly welcome the Argonauts.

Cyzicus tells the Argonauts of the tribes on the Sea of Marmara, but is ignorant thenceforth. He ne-glects to mention the six-armed, earthborn giants that inhabit Bear Mountain. Fortunately, Heracles and the other Argonauts fend off these beasts.

JA-SON, SON OF AESON, demand-ed the throne from his half-uncle Pelias, who had been warned by an oracle to beware a man with one sandal: Jason.

Therefore, Pelias said that he would relinquish Iolcus if Jason could bring the golden fleece home to Thessaly. It had belonged to a ram which, a genera-tion earlier, had rescued Prhixus from death and flew him to Aea, the capital of Colchis, a land at the end of the Black Sea. Phrixus had sacrificed the ram and nailed it to a tree in a grove sacred to Ares, guarded by an unsleeping dragon. Aeetes, the king of Colchis (which was notoroius for its ramoant xe- nophobes), would never willingly relinquish the fleece, knowing from an oracle that he would rule only as long as he possessed it.

Jason asked the Delphian oracle whether or not to pursue this task - evidently she answered optimistically, for he began to send out heralds to all the young noblemen of Greece, asking them to join the Argonauts. The roster included: Heracles, Hylas, Orpheus, the Dioscuri, Zetes and Calais, Telamon and Peleus, Idas and Lynceus, Admetus, Periclymenus, Augeias, Aethalides, Argus, Butes, and Tiphys (and occasionally Idmon, Mopsus, and Meleager.) Argos built the Argo, and a speaking beam made from the oaks of Dodona was incorporated into the prow, a gift from the goddess Athena.

Honestly, guys? This is how we’re going to capture the golden fleece?

Heracles

PLE EUNEUS THOAS K. CYZICUS CLEITE CYBELE K. PHINEUS HARPIES IRIS ATHENA K. LYCUS HERA K. AEETES APHRODITE HECATACASTUS IDMON AETHALIDES HYLAS MOPSUS ZETES CALAIS POLLUX DASCYLUS ANCAEUS DEILEO

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After putting out to sea, the Argonauts accidentally return to Bear Mountain. The Doliones, mistakening them for pirates, fight the Argonauts - and in the tragic battle that ensues, Jason kills Cyzicus. His queen, Cleite, hangs herself in grief - and a spring is named after her, for the wood-nymphs create it with their tears.

Sr. Mopsus, interpreting the cries of a kingfisher, reveals that, in order to calm the storms which have been raging for 12 days, the Argonauts must please the Mother of the Gods, the Phrygian goddess Cybele, in her ancient shrine on Mt. Dindymus. The Argonauts do so, and set sail at dawn.

After Tiphys saves the ship from being wrecked in the Bosporus strait, the Argonauts arrive at Salmydessus, capital of Thynia. There, Zetes and Calais, sons of Boreas, rescue King Phineus from the Harpies’ relent-less pursuit. In his gratitude, Phineus reveals to the Ar-gonauts some aspects of Zeus’ plan for them - but not all of them, as he has learned his lesson. He also tells them how to navigate through the Clashing Rocks.

Zetes and Calais, meanwhile, nearly overwhelm the Harpies above the Floating Islands, or Echinades, off the coast of Acarnania. When Iris comes to placate the brothers, they demand that the Harpies never bother Phineus again - which Iris swears by the river Styx. The Floating Islands are thereafter called the Stroph-ades, or “Islands of Turning.”

After the Argonauts disembark from Mt. Dindymus, Hylas is kidnapped

by the nymph of the spring Pegae. Polyphemus hears the youth’s cry, but arrives too late - and Heracles, in his anguish, demands that the Mysians

continue the search after his departure. The Argonauts, meanwhile, set sail with-out him at Zetes and Calais’ insistence and the advice of the sea-god Glaucus.

Heracles returns to complete his fifth labor (the cleansing of the Augeian stables) - but he never forgets about Hylas - or the other Ar-gonauts who abandoned him on Mysia. Heracles later discovers that it was Zetes and Calais who had persuaded the crew not to go back for him. He meets them as they are coming from the funeral games held for Pelias and kills them both. After this excursion, Polllux kills King Amycus of the savage Bebryces.

The Prophet Phineus

Athena intervenes and helps the Argo sail past the Clashing Rocks. The Argonauts reach the deserted island of Thynias, and sacrifice to Apollo after they have a vision of him pass-ing through the sky on his way from Lycia to the land of the Hyperboreans.

The Argonauts reach Cape Acherusias, near where the river Acheron empties into the Black Sea. Lycus, leading the Mariandynians, entertains the Argonauts, delighted that they have helped kill the Bebryces, whom the Mariandynians have hated for quite a while. Pollux in particular is revered by these people. Lycus gives the Greeks many gifts and even sends his own son Dascylus to join the expedition.

Kind King Lycus

Dude man, I’m like, your biggest fan!King Lycus

PLE EUNEUS THOAS K. CYZICUS CLEITE CYBELE K. PHINEUS HARPIES IRIS ATHENA K. LYCUS HERA K. AEETES APHRODITE HECATACASTUS IDMON AETHALIDES HYLAS MOPSUS ZETES CALAIS POLLUX DASCYLUS ANCAEUS DEILEO

The Argonauts’ JourneyAfter being gored by a wild boar, the seer Idmon dies (but he has already predicted his own death), as does Captain Tiphys, having fallen sick. The Argonauts (espe-cially Jason) despair after these tragedies, but Ancaeus - a son of Astypalaea of Samos and Poseidon - takes the helm, and crisis is averted.

At Sinope, the Argonauts recruit Deileon, Autolycus, and Phlogius (sons of Deima-chus) of Triccha, all of whom had sup-ported Heracles in his fight against the Amazonian women.

Death & Recruits

After recruiting Deileon, Autolycus, and

Phlogius, the Argonauts arrive at a lifeless island that is sacred to Ares. Phineus had warned the Argonauts about both danger

and a more auspicious incident. Armed with this precognition, the Argonauts beach their ship and take their first, timid steps on the deserted sands.

Immediately, monstrous birds begin to attack the newcomers. Oileus is the first to receive an arrow in the shoulder, and though Clytius, son of Eurytus, kills a second bird, it quickly becomes clear that arrows will not affect these beasts. Fortunately, quick-witted Amphidamus of Arcadia and brother of Cepheus recalls Heracles’ methods of warding off the Stymphalian birds. Following the Arcadian’s advice, the Argonauts cause a great din by banging their swords and shields, frightening away the disgruntled birds.

Four starved men stumble into the Argonauts’ presence, and reveal themselves to be Argus, Cytissorus, Melas, and Phrontis - the sons of Phrixus and King Aeetes’ daughter Chalciope, and cousins of Jason and Admetus, who are both grandsons of Cretheus, Phrixus’ uncle. Jason heartily invites his cuzzins to accompany them to Colchis, but Argus expresses some reservation - mainly because he knows what a bloodthirsty, ruthless king Aeetes is. Nevertheless, these sons of Phrixus agree to go with the Argonauts, at least to Aea, and also to escape this terrible island.

AT LONG LAST, THE ARGONAUTS ARRIVE AT COLCHIS! The Argo drops her anchor at Aea, where the Arognauts offer sacrifices to Mother Earth, hoping that their expedition might come to fruition. Hera and Athena, meanwhile, concoct a plan to steal the golden fleece from underneath the eyelids of savage Aeetes, whose father is Helios. They enlist the help of Aphrodite, who bribes Eros with a golden ball to make Medea fall in love with Jason.

Hera envelops the countryside to ensure that Jason, Tela-mon, Augeias, and the sons of Phrixus would not encoun-ter difficulties on the way to the palace. When they arrive, Medea - true to Aphrodite’s word - goes gaga for Jason, though she fights to conceal her lust from her father.

ArrivalMeanwhile, Aeetes reluctantly welcomes the new ar-rivals. He does not believe Augeias’ claim that he is a son of Helios; in fact, the king thinks that everything the Argonauts say is a load of bull. No pun intended, he says the only way Jason and his crew would be able to obtain the golden fleece is if he could yoke a fire-breathing bull, plow a field with said animal, and then sow the teeth of a dragon in that field.

Jason has no trouble seducing Medea, and she gives him a magical ointment made from the blood of Pro-metheus as it was dripping off an eagle’s talons. That night, he sacrifices to the fearsome goddess Hecate, and readies himself for the momentous task that lay ahead.

Jasonargonautsand the

E CIRCE ZEUS APSYRTUS AEOLUS THETIS K. ALCINUOUS ARETE LADON HESPERIDES EURYPYLUS TALUSN AUTOLYCUS PHLOGIUS TELAMON AUGEIAS CASTOR CANTHUS PELEUS ORPHEUS

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Men sprouting from the ground!! Killing the guardian-dragon of the golden fleece, a child of Typhon and Echidna!! Rowing down the

Phasis River in escape!!After three days, Medea urges the Argonauts to stop at the mouth of the river Halys to sacrifice, once again, to the dread goddess Hecate. She rewards the Argonauts by placing a light in the western sky to guide their journey home. Argus also helps the Argonauts by contributing his knowledge of the area’s geography, advising the expeditioners to stop at the Danube (at the end of the Black Sea).

The Argonauts follow Argus’ advice, stopping by the kingdom of Lycus on the way to return his son Dascylus. Medea’s Treachery (I)

Next, the Argonauts agree to a parley with their Colchian pursuers on one of two Brygeian islands sacred to Artemis. Jason ostensibly agrees to Prince Apsyrtus’ terms of peace, by which the leader of the Argonauts would have to surrender Medea. Medea, furious, thinks up a plan to escape Aeetes’ soldiers. She has Jason kill her own brother in order to flee from her kinsmen.

In another version of the story, Medea kills Apsyrtus, a defenseless young boy, and chops his body up into little peaces to delay the pursuit of their father.

After the Argonauts are cleansed of their crime, Hera asks Aeolus for favor-able winds, and asks Thetis to forget her enmity toward Peleus and to help the rest of the expeditioners sail through Scylla and Charybdis.

In order to cleanse themselves of the

murder, the Argonauts must seek the help of Aeetes’ sister, the sorceress Circe. But before they get to Aeaea, the Ar-

gonauts hide themselves on the Amber Islands (which cluster around the Eridanus River). They then sail back across the Adriatic Sea, to the land of the Hylleans, among whom Heracles’ son Hyllus had reigned until his death. The Argonauts then decide to journey southward down the Adriatic coastline, past Melite and Black Corcyra. At this point, Hera sends them a wind which drives them all the way back to the Amber Islands - but this is actu- ally a blessing in disguise, as Zeus would have planned a terrible fate for them, being very pissed off at their murderous behavior.

Castor and Pollux, on the advice of the Argo’s speaking beam, offer a prayer to Zeus that they should be able to get to Aeaea without difficulty. They succeed in this regard, and the Argonauts drop their anchor on the white sands of Circe’s dominion.

Without speaking a single word to her visitors, Circe performs the necessary purifying rites and cleans Jason and Medea of their treacherous deed. Medea relates to her aunt an account of her actions, wisely choosing to omit the murder of her brother. Circe, apalled at Medea’s behavior, asks her visitors to leave. Good thing she doesn’t find out about the whole truth!

Between a Rock and

a Hard Place

So, Auntie C, I totally didn’t chop up my brother.

Medea

E CIRCE ZEUS APSYRTUS AEOLUS THETIS K. ALCINUOUS ARETE LADON HESPERIDES EURYPYLUS TALUSN AUTOLYCUS PHLOGIUS TELAMON AUGEIAS CASTOR CANTHUS PELEUS ORPHEUS

Before the Argonauts ar-rive at Scylla and Charyb-dis, however, they must sail through the straits of Anthemoessa, the Sirens’ keep. Orpheus plays some pretty music to keep the Argonauts on track.

Thetis guides the Argo through the Strait of Mes-sina - avoiding both said rock and hard place. The Nereids also help the Argo navigate across the Wan-dering Rocks of Mt. Aetna, Hephaestus’ lair. Crisis is averted! Arete and Apollo

The Argo stops at Drepane (or Corcyra), the home of the hospitable Phaecians. King Al-cinuous welcomes his guests into his palace, but when the Colchians show up and demand Medea’s return, the kind king faces a problem-atic situation.

Queen Arete agrees to help Medea, and ex-tracts a promise from her husband that he should not separate Medea and Jason if the two were already married. After the married couple’s first night together, King Alcinuous de-crees that the Colchians would not be allowed to return to Aea with Medea. The failed expedi-tioners request to stay in Drepane, not wanting to return and face the wrath of King Aeete.

Set-ting sail from Drepane, the

Argonauts are carried by fierce gales far inland into the Gulf of Syrtis Minor. At this point, the Argonauts

nearly give up all hope of survival, when Jason hears a prophecy from the guardian nymphs of the land: which is that, when Amphirtrite unyokes Poseidon’s horses, the Argo- nauts should repay their mother for her arduous gestation period.

Utterly befuddled by the nymphs’ advice, Jason returns gleefully to the other Argonauts. At this point, a large horse splashes out of the ocean and gal- lops away. Jason suddenly realizes that the Argo herself is the mother of the expeditioners - and so, the Argonauts carry her until they arrive at Lake Tritonis.

Arriving at Lake Tritonis, the Argonauts stumble upon the home of the Hes-perides. Ladon, their guardian, is dead on the ground. Hespere, Erytheis, and Aegale describe Heracles as the thief of their apples. Unfortunately, Canthus is killed by the shepherd Caphaurus, whom the Argonauts kill in revenge. Next, Sr. Mopsus is killed by a poisonous snake.

The Argonauts are helped by Eurypylus, after sacrificing to Apollo. When they successfully sail off into the Mediterra-nean, they realize Eurypylus = Triton!!!

The Argonauts then kill the bronze giant Talus on the island of Crete, thanks once again to Medea’s sorcerery. They arrive at the island of Anaphe (“Revelation”).

Medea’s Treachery(II)

The Argonauts finally arrive at Aegina! This is the end of their trip - but not the end of their adventure.

Medea helps Jason get rid of––– King Pelias by tricking his daughters into killing their own father. Unfortunately, Jason and Medea are exiled from Iol-cus, and Acastus (Pelias’ son) becomes king. Oh well!

“ ” Zeus DARN it! All this for NOTHING!

Whiny Jason