CLASSICS 224 Lecture 3: Jason
13 Sep 2015
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Document Summary
Jason and the voyage of the argonauts. Few heroic narratives of greek mythology enjoy quite the modern reputation as does that of jason and the argonauts. This, in part, is due to the survival of an epic poem composed in the third century bce by. Apollonius of rhodes called the argonautica. The argonautica is the only surviving example of such. Much like the iliad, the argonautica begins in the middle of the story. Jason is the son of aeson, the king of iolcus. However, pelias, aeson"s half- brother, usurps the throne. Jason is sent to learn from the wise centaur, chiron. Pelias, concerned about his illegitimate rule, receives a prophecy to beware of a man wearing one sandal. Jason, grown and returning to claim his birthright, stops a river where an old woman is struggling to cross. The woman is actually hera in disguise and. Jason loses a sandal in the swift water, but gains hera"s good will.
