Argonautica Flashcards
1
Q
Who is the author?
A
Apollonius of Rhodes
2
Q
Who are the main characters?
A
Pelias, Jason, Medea, the Argonauts, Aeson, Absyrtus, Aietes
3
Q
Why is Pelias so important?
A
- Pelias is the king of Iolcus and the son of Poseidon + former queen
- He overthrows his brother Aeson to get the throne and either kills/exhiles/imprisons his other relatives
- Hera and Athena plot Pelias’ death through his cousin Jason
- It is prophecized that a man with one sandal will kill him
- Pelias’ plan is to kill anyone wearing one sandal, however since Jason shows up in the middle of a big crowd he cannot simply kill Jason but instead tells him to complete the impossible task of getting the Golden fleece
4
Q
What is Pelias’ fate?
A
- Medea attracts the attention of Pelias due to her magical power
- She promises to him that she can make him younger with the help of a potion
- She also mentions that only his daughters can do the ceremony with her
- Instead of giving the daughter’s the youth potion, she gives them the wrong potion which ends up burning him alive
- Overall: he is cooked alive by his own children
5
Q
Explain the first part of the story?
A
- hearing the challenge, over 50 heroes offer to help Jason
- They set travel on the ship Argo, built with the help of Athena
- They have many adventures until the get to the island of Colchis
- Their first adventure was in the island of Lemnos where there is only women
- All the men were murdered by Queen Hypsipyle under her regime
- They omit this detail when they meet the Argonauts and instead ask them to have sex to help repopulate the island
- The heroes happily oblige and impregnate the women such that by the time they leave they all have many offsprings
- They set sail again of Colchis and finally reach there after an encounter with the sons of Phrixus (the guy who put the fleece there in the first place)
6
Q
Explain the second half of the story?
A
- Aeetes, King of Coclchis is automatically not a fan of Jason as he is worried that he is here to steal his throne
- After Jason assures that he is just there for the fleece, the king says that he can have it if he completes three tasks successfully
- 1)Till a field using a team of fire breathing oxen, 2) sow dragon teeth into the soil and defeat the magical warriors sprouting from it, 3) defeat the dragon that guards the fleece
- Jason receives help from Medea, the daughter of King Aeetes on the condition that he marries her
- 1) Medea gives him a fire proof ointment 2) throw a rock into the middle, let them fight themselves out and then swoop in the last minute to kill the rest of them 3)Medea gives Jason a sleeping potion for the dragon
- He then steals the fleece, takes Medea and flees back home
7
Q
What is hera’s role in Jason’s success?
A
- Hera seeing the problem Jason is in goes to Aphrodite for help
- she convinces Aphrodite to tell Eros(cupid) to strike Medea such that she falls in love with Jason and helps him
8
Q
How are they able to make it home?
A
- King Aeetes is mad that Jason has Medea and that he was able to take the golden fleece
- Medea had lured her brother Apsyrtus onto the ship
- proceeds to kill him and toss his body parts into the sea
- instead of chasing them, king Aeetes is now more preoccupied with collecting the body parts since he needs to give his son a proper burial
