The Quest of the Golden Fleece
The Psychology of the myth.
Introduction
In keeping the article as short as possible, I will give a brief overview of the whole narrative. We begin with a Greek king called Athamas, who got bored with his wife and married a princess. Her name: Ino. Athamas’s first wife, Nephele, was afraid for her two children, especially her son, Phrixus. Nephele’s caution was well-founded; Ino was planning to murder the boy, so her son could inherit the crown. She was well connected, coming from a family with great acclaim: her father was the king of Thebes. Her mother and sisters were women of virtue.
Ino instigated a famine and the only way to stop it was a sacrifice: the king would need to sacrifice his son. The sacrifice would take place at the oracle’s altar, and the priestess of the oracle, whom Ino had probably bribed to bring this about, was in charge of the ceremony.
As if by the god’s command, a ram, golden-wool and majestic in all accounts, took both Phrixus and his sister, Helle, on its back and rushed off: the ram was sent by Hermes, moved by their mother's prayers. On the way to the kingdom on the Black Sea, Helle fell off the ram’s back over the strait that separates Europe and Asia: she drowned, and the strait was named after her: the Hellespont. Phrixus safely arrived in Colchis.
There Phrixus sacrificed the ram to the gods, giving the Golden Fleece to Aetes, the King of Colchis. Phrixus also had an uncle called Jason, who was a king by right; however, he was usurped by his cousin, Pelias. An oracle told Pelias that he would die at the hand of a family member.
With that, well, rather lengthy over-view, let us continue.
The story of the Golden Fleece
The Golden Fleece story is a famous Greek tragedy; we will follow Jason’s quest to take back his kingdom from his cousin. To achieve this, Pelias, Jason’s cousin, conversed with Jason and, with a cynical touch, told Jason that there was only one way he would bequeath the kingdom to him: Jason had to find the legendary Golden Fleece, located outside of Greece, where no Greek would dare to go, a domain situated on the coast of the Black Sea. Jason was to go there and meet his destiny. The golden fleece was defended by bulls with hoofs of brass and a breath of fire. It was also guarded by a never-sleeping dragon (or serpent) with teeth that could become soldiers when planted in the ground.
But first, Jason needed a ship and a crew for the said ship. Jason gathered all the heroes of Greece to crew the boat, called Argo.
The gods, namely Hera, the goddess of Olympia, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and fertility, and also her son, Cupid, decided to help Jason on his quest — without his knowledge, as this would inevitably corrupt Jason. He was utterly oblivious to the gods meddling, believing all he achieved was his own doing.
The Love of Jason and Medea
Jason and Medea, the two main characters in the myth, first met in Colchis, the city-state on the coast of the Black Sea.
Upon seeing Jason, and with a little persuasion from Aphrodite’s son, Cupid (Cupid shot an arrow into Medea’s heart) Medea, the daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis, was overcome with an insatiable passion for Jason. So overpowering it was that Medea ran to her private quarters to quell the flame in her heart. But to no avail. Jason, oblivious to the gods' meddling, took his leave to the ship for the night, with Medea in his thoughts to accompany him.
Medea, still in her room torn between her thoughts, sat weeping, telling herself she felt shame, not wanting to anger her father. However, Cupid's arrow was on the mark, and no mortal can resist the god’s power. Not wanting any harm to come to her lover, Medea gifted Jason a magic ointment. This ointment made the applicant invincible for a day.
Jason and Medea met on that same night(Jason from the Argo and Medea from the castle); Hera, seeing this, shone the heavens onto Jason, a beam of light from Olympus — every mortal would marvel at whoever is in its light. Medea and Jason’s eyes met, a dark mist clouded Medea’s eyes as time seem to freeze for a moment, such was the emotion that flow through her. When the two broke sight, Jason spoke first, asking Medea to be kind to him, mindful of the power she wielded; however, Medea could not bring herself to speak, she reached for the ointment and handed it to Jason.
Medea finally broke her silence and told Jason how to use the potion; she told him to sprinkle it onto himself and his weapon, making him and the weapon invincible for the day. The potion will come in handy at the castle. “I must see my way back to the place now”, she told Jason, “I will remember you forever”, he replied with a passion, “never by night and never by day will I forget you.”
Jason continues:
“If you come to Greece, you shall be worshipped by all the mortals that call Greece home — for what you have done for us, and nothing but death will come between us”. As the pair parted ways, their eyes fixing on one another, longing for the day they could hold each other, such was their love for one another.
The Quest for the Fleece
Jason now had all he needed to best the trails that lay ahead. He sent two men from his party for the dragon’s teeth while he applied the magic potion, just a touch, only a touch, and Jason’s soul would be forever corrupted: such was the power it had over mortals. All this done, Jason was ready.
As the heroes came upon the place where the King and the Colchians (the people of the Black Sea) were waiting, bulls of fire rushed out to meet them. Fear gripped the men, thinking that their time had come to meet Hades, all but one that is, Jason with the heart of a lion tamed the mighty beasts: the bulls bent the knee to Jason, his companions marveled at the sight. Jason set the bulls to work, ploughing the field, putting the dragon’s teeth into the furrow as they did. Men build like Spartans came rushing forth at Jason: he remembered what Medea had said and threw a great stone into their ranks: the men of the dragons’ teeth fell upon each other, spear on spear: the field on which they lay ran red with blood. Glory, glory to the victors, Jason had bested the trials, much to the dismay of King Aetes.
King Aetes went back to the palace enraged by Jason’s success; King Aetes had only one thing on his mind: treachery, vowing to the gods that Jason should hold the Golden Fleece. Jason, along with Medea and his band of heroes, made their way back to Greece. Medea was still torn between two worlds of emotion: whether to go with her lover to Greece or remain with her father. She would not have to make such a decision; the gods, Hera, would move her toward Jason and Greece. With Hera in her thoughts, Medea fled to the ships under cover of darkness; she fell to her knees, hoping that Jason would take her to Greece, and he agreed to take her. We must go at once for the Golden Fleece; she told the group that the serpent would kill us if we say here any longer.
The place where the Fleece was laid was on a tree, of all places, guarded by a colossal serpent; Jason and his band of heroes had no way to circumvent the beast. Yet again, Medea declares she can null the snake into a trance-like sleep, allowing Jason to snatch the Golden Fleece. Jason was delighted at the thought and promised to wed her when they get back to Greece. After this, the crew boarded the Argo, and with Medea’s guidance, they came upon the sacred grove where the Fleece and serpent dwelled. Medea was the lone hoplite in this confrontation, and jumping off the ship, she faced the serpent all men feared. Singing a sweet magical song, charming the snake to sleep, Medea’s powers had won the day again; it was not the last. Jason, drunk on his ill-founded success by this point, snatched the Fleece from its resting place, bolting straight back to the ship as if throw by Zeus himself.
Fleeing back to Greece
By this point, the King had caught on to Medea and Jason’s exploits. The king sent his son, Apsyrtus, along with an army to stop the lovers; by now you can predict who would be the one to stop him, at a high cost to perpetrator: you guessed it, Medea. For them to get away, she killed her brother: the army crumbled into disarray after the death of their leader. The way to Greece was open.
On the way to Greece, the ship first sailed past Crete, where the last of the bronze-covered men called his home— a giant of a man, with only his ankle exposing flesh: his only weak point. Medea knew of the beast; his name was Talus. Talus, mighty as he was, threatened to crush the Argo if it sailed closer: Medea, praying to the god of the underworld, Hades, called for his hounds to end the life of Talus, the automaton of Crete. Hades heard her prayer: as Talus threw a boulder only the gods could stop, Talus grazed his ankle: blood flowed from the wound with the force of the Tiber. Talus died where he lay; the boulder crashed into the sea.
The ship returns to Greece
Confronting Pelias
Upon reaching Greece, the party disbanded with the heroes all going home, back to their families. Jason and Medea, now married and with the Golden fleece in hand, went back to claim his kingdom. The current king, Jason’s cousin, Pelias, had taken what some may say to be kingly steps to stop Jason and Medea in their tracks. Pelias had forced Jason’s father to take his own life; his mother died of grief.
Jason’s desire for vengeance burned as black as the God of the underworld. Of course, he would not be the one to fulfill this passion; oh no, yet again, he turned to Medea to set things right. With a mind that would put a Disney villain to shame, Medea thought of killing the king: his two daughters would be the key. The king, like many other Greeks, wanted to remain young for the rest of his days — Medea, with the help of his daughters, could turn back the clock: first, she demonstrated the trick to his daughters — after the two daughters would perform the trick on their father.
On to Medea’s deception: first, she cut up an old ram, succumbing to old age; she put the ram’s flesh under some cloth, and after a short time a young, jumpy little sheep came out from under the fabric: the trick had worked. Now the two daughters would perform the scheme on their father, as they did so, cutting up their father, Medea was nowhere to be found: the two daughters, slowly comprehending what they had done, found themselves distraught beyond imagination — Medea had again done Jason's dirty work, his desire for revenge thus satisfied.
Jason’s betrayal of Medea
In Corinth, Jason and Medea had two children by this point, and all seemed okay. That is, until Jason (playing off his newfound fame) set his eyes on the Corinthian princess, intend on marrying her. Medea would not stand silent and let her thoughts be known. The king of Corinth saw what effect this had on Medea: her eyes brought a shiver to his body, putting fear into anyone’s heart, even the gods that dwelled on the Olympus.
The wedding went ahead as planned, an exquisite wedding fit for a hero of Greece. The king’s mind was still on Medea and her intentions. What was she doing to do? The king was not going to wait and find out, and so he sent word that she and her two sons were to leave Corinth, never to return — exiled. This would be Medea’s thanks from Jason. Jason claimed that, if not for him negotiating on her behalf, she would have met Death.
Medea’s revenge on Jason
But no matter what, in her exile, Medea thought of ways to kill Jason’s new wife. Everything she had done was for Jason’s benefit; in return, she was rewarded with betrayal and neglect. The thoughts in her mind darkened even more, due to thinking of nothing more than revenge for the mistreatment she suffered under Jason. To satisfy this passion the gods cursed us mortals with, Medea bequeathed the lovely princess a dress, insisting that she wear it immediately on arrival: the messenger hurried along to the place, the gift in hand. With the enthusiasm that youth brings, the young bride accepted the gift and tried on the dress: she burned alive — the dress was embedded with flammable drugs, and the second the princess tried it on, her fate was sealed.
The flames for revenge have not yet been quelled and, with her soul forever compromised, Medea was still thinking of ways to punish Jason. Medea turned her vengeance upon their two children: there was nothing on her mind to sway her actions: the way to her soul was now closed, guarded by the passion that consumed her mind. Not even the gods could convince her. She was hell bend on killing her two children, and she did, drowning (or stabbing), the two innocent souls: innocent souls are always caught in the crossfire.
The story ends with Medea riding off in a chariot drawn by dragons, with Jason cursing at her as she goes, as is Jason’s case; he never looks within. It's always someone else, not him.
Myths and Philosophers
Suppose one was struggling to find the message within the myth. The philosopher is a wise mind to consult. We will talk about Epictetus and his students talking about the myth in the classroom. In antiquity, Greek myths were prevalent in the Roman Empire, and Epictetus’ students would have been exposed (I would assume), via the medium of culture in antiquity: the theater. In the Discourses, as reported by Adrian, one of these students brought up the moral issue of Medea: how should we judge Medea?
A good question.
In the Discourses, the student brought up what was troubling him, “what about Medea, though — she who says: I know that my actions are wrong. But my anger is the master of my intentions.”
“She is in error”, the student asserted, and Epictetus, in his blunt nature, replied thus, “well, demonstrate to her clearly that she is in error and she will not act on her idea.” He continued, “as long as you don’t lay it out for her, though, she has only her idea of right and wrong to guide her”. Epictetus ends with a message of pity, “so don’t get angry with the poor woman for being confused about what’s most important, and accordingly mutating from human being to snake. Pity her instead”, Epictetus ends.
The conversation went on for some time. In the end, though, the students would walk out of the philosopher’s classroom with a clear view of human nature. Passion can lead us to very dark places, indeed.
The Greeks had a name for this kind of behavior, akrasia, “lack of control”; in other words, the inability to do what one knows to be right. When Medea says, “ but anger is the master of my intentions”, this is not to say that she has surrendered the tyranny of her passions; not at all; instead, think of it as an expression of her value system. What do I mean by this? Well, Medea values vengeance over the well-being of her children: Jason must suffer at any cost. I can imagine Greeks and Romans talking about this, reminding themselves or their partners that their behavior is much akin to Medea: “you’re acting like Medea; I know someone has wronged you in some way, but remember Medea, don’t end up impersonating her character,” says the concerned citizen. The everyday citizen of the Empire could have said things of this nature in the Greco-Roman day-to-day life.
Final Thoughts
The stories of mythology are embedded with what the modern man would call “life lessons”, drawing off Jason and Medea’s journey through the story, we can highlight the importance of self-discipline: and the implications if we entertain the harmful passions of the mind. In Medea’s case, it was her need for vengeance; Jason was consumed by the arrogance that success brings, deserved or otherwise, and by his lack of self-awareness.
When we read such stories, either to ourselves or to our kids, we should, after reading, ask questions on whether we are capable of these acts of evil. Medea, for example, was wronged the second she ran off with Jason. Jason, likewise, had the easy life; if it wasn’t Medea helping him out, it was the gods (one may call that luck).
Jason’s behavior and strength of character (or lack thereof) were among the main factors in how the myth’s story would unfold. Jason’s lack of integrity would be the chief architect of Medea’s descent into madness: no one is born to kill their children after all.
To conclude, Medea, in my opinion, was innocent in all this — deserving of sympathy and pity. Let us remember the god’s role in the myth about Medea: she was compelled to act the way she did by the gods — and not of her own volition. She was, indeed, moved by powers only the gods can understand: the god of Love, Cupid, sometimes depicted as being blindfolded — symbolizing that love is occasionally blind. Such was the Fate of Medea.
Bibliography
Arrian, Robert Dobbin — The discourse of Epictetus and selected writings— Penguin classics edition, 2008.
Edith Hamilton — Mythology, Timeless tales of Gods and Heroes — Anniversary edition: 2017.
