24: Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts Flashcards
1
Q
legendary jason
A
- jason and iolcus in thessaly (n greece)
- jason and argonauts aka minyae
- black sea called euxine meaning friendly to strangers
2
Q
history and folktale of the argo
A
- argo: ‘all men’s concern’
- greek eastward expansion
- aea = ‘land’ and aeetes is ‘man of land’
- given impossible tasks and get divine help from athen and local help from medea
3
Q
Athamas and Nephele
A
- Athamas and nephele (‘cloud’) are the king and queen of boeotia
- they have children named Phrixus and Helle
- step mother of the children is Ino, daughter of cadmus and Ino wants them dead
- Delphic oracle: told to sacrifice phrixus to end famine that was caused by ino
4
A
- puts kids on golden fleeced ram cammed chrysomallos
- goes east and helle falls into the sea. Hellespont means sea of helle aka the dardanelles
5
Q
where does phrixus end up and relationship to king
A
- phrixus at colchis, the eastern edge of black sea called aea ‘land;
- king aeetes meaning man of land. Son of helius who is the brother to circe and pasiphae
6
Q
Sacrifical victim
A
- phrixus sacrifices ram to Zeus Phyxius (‘escape’)
- the golden fleece gifted to Aeetes.
- he hing it on an oak groce that was sacred to ares, guarded by unsleeping dragon
7
Q
catasterization of chrysomallus and aeetes oracle
A
- ram immortalized as a constelltaion fo Aries (latin for ram)
- aeetes’ oracle: reign ends if fleece stolen by stranger so his solution was to sacrifice all strangers
8
Q
who is jason and his story
A
- jason is the son of aeson and polymede and the rightful king of iolcus
- Pelias usurps aesons throne and jason is sent away to boarding school
- chiron the centaur on mt pelion is jason’s personal trainer
9
Q
jason comes of age
A
- roacel to pelias: beware of one sandaled man
- jason helps old woman, who was actually hera cross river
- hera is a patron of jason and nemeswis of pelias
- jason arrives at iolus wearing only one sandal, lost in river helping hera cross
10
Q
pelias vs jason with the fleece
A
- jason demands throne
- pelias demands to get fleece because phrixus ordered him in dreasm to obtain it
- jason said he will get it before him
11
Q
who does jason commission to get fleece
A
- commisions the ship argo (‘swift’)
- argus: shipwright (builder)
- athena: talking bow of Argo from Dodona
- Argonauts: greek nobility
- argonats from play Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius
12
Q
Argonauts’ Roster
A
- 50 argonauts with 50 oars
- 4 main groups
1. thessalians: jason
2. peloponnesians: Augeas of stable fame
3. calydonian boar hunt: Meleager
4. parents of trojan war heroes: peleus, telamon, oileus - special teams:
- cowboy and fighterL castor and polydeuces aka pollux
- flyers: boreads (sons of boreas (north wind)): zetes and calais
- shipwright and helmsman: argus and tiphys
- later additions: heracles and orpheus
13
Q
Lemnos adventure while sailing
A
- Hypsipyle: queen of lemnos
- lemnian women neglect aphordite so she makes them stiink
- women slaughter all men but 1: hypsipyle’s father
- argonauts arrive and Jason and Hipsipyle stay 1 yeaer to father several children
14
Q
heracles and hylas
A
- at cios, propontis (sea of marmara)
- heracles disembarks to replace oar
- loses lover hylas by abduction by naiads
- heracles searches for him and abandons expedition
15
Q
phineus and harpies
A
- Phineus: blind king and prophet
- tormented by harpies (snatchers)
- boreads defeat harpies
- Phineus: foretells of symplegades ‘crashing rocks’. If they pass through, rocks stop clashing
16
Q
Impossible Tasks
A
- Aeetes negtioates to give up golden fleece to jason on conditions:
- plow field and and sow dragon’s teeth: Yoke Oxten (brazen footed and fire breathing). and kill the warriors who spring up from earth
17
Q
medea and jason
A
- Medea: youngest daughter of aeetes and a sorceress. Niece of Circe
- Hera convinced Aphrodite to cast a spell on Medea so that she would fall in love with Jason and promise her skills to help him
- jason is protected by medea’s magic ointment from fire and throws stone among warriors to make them fight each other (complete aeetes tasks)
18
Q
sources of jason and medea
A
- Conflicting classical source
- medea: real hero in euripdes’ medea
- jason as the real hero in ovids metamorphoses
- Media’s pharmacy: drugs dragon
19
Q
medea and jason fleeing
A
- medea flees colchis with jason because pursued by colchians
- to delay them, medea sacrifices brotherm apsyrtus. cuts him up an dtosses pieces into see. Colchians delayed picking up pieces
20
Q
medea and jason arrival at iolucs
A
- pelias reneges on deal and medea intervenes
- medea cuts up and boils aeson and old ram and rejuvinates them and convinces peliades to do the same to pelias so he does
21
Q
jason and medea falling out and from what play
A
- euripides’ medea
- jason and medea exiled to corinth and get maisma (odor) for murder of pelias
- jason divorces medea and marries glauce, daughter of creon
22
Q
medea revenge on jason
A
- medea’s revenge: sends two sons to glauce with wedding gifts: robe and crown with the robe smeared in poison. it kills glauce and creon
- she kills jasons two sons and flees to athens and marries king aegeus. she flew on a dragon drawn chariot as gifted by her father, helius
- final scene: in a chariot with dead children and foretells jasons sad end
