The quest of the golden fleece

Characters

Athamas

A Greek king, Athamas jails his wife Nephele when he becomes sick of her. He marries a young princess, who convinces him to offer his son, Phrixus, as a sacrifice to the gods.

Phrixus

Son of Athamas and

Nephele, Phrixus

almost dies as a

sacrifice to the gods,

but instead a ram

with a golden fleece

saves him and his

sister.

Jason

Jason overcomes many obstacles, most notably winning the golden fleece, in order to win back the crown from his wicked uncle Pelias. He marries Medea but later marries another woman.

King Pelias

Pelias steals the

crown from his

brother and sends

his nephew, Jason,

on many

adventures.

Eventually, his own

daughter kills him.

Nephele

The wife of

Athamas. Once he

gets sick of her, she

lands in jail.

Medea

Medea helps Jason

get the golden

fleece and marries

him. But when he

later marries

someone else, she

kills the new wife as

well as the two sons

she bore to Jason

Band of heroes and

Argonauts who went

with Jason on his

voyage

PLOT

King Athamas imprisoned his wife Nephele and taken a new wife named Io who happened to have a son

Io made a plan to kill Athamas’ children so that her son would inherit the throne

She managed to gather all the seeds so that the crops will not grow

King Athamas sent a messanger to the oracle but Io intercepted it and managed to convince them that the only way to end the famine is for Prixus to be sacrificed

Nephele prayed to

the gods to spare

her son and Hermes

sent a ram with a

golden fleece to

save her children

Prixus arrived safely

in the country of

Colchis while his

sister drowned in

the sea

Phrixus killed the

ram and sacrificed

its fleece to the king

Etes, the ruler of

Colchis

In another part of

Greece, a king

named Pelias stole

the crown from his

brother

There was an oracle that king Pelias would die in the hands of his kinsman wearing one sandal

One day, a man wearing only one sandal arrived in his kingdom and this man was his nephew named Jason who was there to claim his rightful throne

Pelias tells Jason that he would give up the throne if Jason would go out and retrieve the golden fleece

Jason sets off and overcomes many obstacles and adventures on the way to Colchis.

Joson, with the help

of Hera, he reaches

King Etes.

Hera and Aphrodite

arrange for Cupid to

make King Etes's

daughter, Medea,

fall in love with

Jason

Jason asks Etes for the fleece, but Etes says Jason must plow a field of dragon's teeth, which will spring up into a crop of armed men who must be cut down as they advance and attack

Medea gives Jason a magical potion that gives him invincibility for one day. She also tells him to throw a rock into the middle of the army because it will lead the armed men to kill each other.

The treacherous king

will not give him the

fleece, however. He

plans to kill Jason.

Medea helps him again.

She leads him to the

fleece, charms the

serpent guarding it, and

flees with Jason back

home.

On the journey home,

Medea kills her brother

in the idea that she is

protecting Jason

When they return to Greece, she arranges for King Pelias to be killed by his own daughters, which fulfills the oracle.

Jason marries another woman, and Medea becomes so angry that she kills both the bride and her own two sons fathered by Jason.

Settings King Athamas’ Kingdom

Colchis

King Pelias Kingdom

Voyage through the sea

Theme

The story highlights the dangers of selfishness

and jealousy. The story also reveals

complex family loyalties. Various family

members are jealous of outsiders and other

insiders, and they are willing to kill to

achieve their goals.