#Jason and The Argonauts

[insipid-drivel]

Context for Colchis and the Golden Fleece story for those confused/interested under the cut:

The Golden Fleece was, at first, the pelt belonging to a magical ram beloved by the King of the Gods, Zeus. The ram's name was Chrysomallus, and Chrysomallus had magnificent golden fleece and wings that allowed him to fly.

One day, a pair of semi-divine twins, Helle and Phrixus, were born to King Athamas of Boeotia from his love affair with Nephele, the goddess of clouds. Nephele entrusted her children with King Athamas before she returned to her divine state and disappeared from her childrens' lives, as Helle and Phrixus were the only heirs King Athamas could call his own. King Athamas still needed a wife and queen to rule beside him, and so he married the beautiful and eligible princess of Thebes, Ino.

The twins were despised by their step-mother. While a queen in her own right now, the twins' existence threatened the inheritance of any children Ino may have had by Athamas, as Phrixus and Helle were both divine thanks to their mother's status as goddess of the clouds. Back then, Greek heirs were often chosen from among their father's children based more on merit and pedigree than on age, and so there was no way that Ino could possibly hope to produce heirs that would outmatch Phrixus in particular for eligibility to inherit Athamas' throne. Helle was a girl, and so posed less of a threat, but was nonetheless a potential avenger for her brother, so Ino plotted against both.

One day, Ino devised a way of finally getting rid of Helle and Phrixus. By roasting the seeds meant for sowing into crops so they wouldn't grow, Ino caused the crops surrounding Boeotia to fail and starvation to break out in the kingdom. In a short time, the farmers of Boeotia began to panic and fear that famine was going to set in, and so the farmers of Boeotia prepared to do the natural thing in the ancient Greek world and visit an oracle to ask the gods what was going on. Famine usually was interpreted as a sign of divine punishment for an unaddressed crime, such as blasphemy, and the only way for the farmers to find out who had pissed off which god(s) and how they could make amends was to go talk to an oracle or seer that could interpret the situation.

Ino was clever and thought ahead, and intercepted the messengers sent by the worried farmers in order to bribe them: Regardless of what the oracle had to say, they would be rewarded if they returned home and said that the oracle had told them to sacrifice Phrixus and Helle to the gods in order for the crops to grow again. The messengers took the money offered to them, and condemned the two little children to be slaughtered.

Their natural mother, Nephele, had witnessed the plot and flown to Olympus in panic. She pleaded with Zeus to help her save her children from a horrible, and blasphemous, demise. There was no famine, and the gods had not been offended as Ino had convinced King Athamas and the people of Boeotia to believe. Her children had done no wrong, and no god had called for their sacrifice. While she was separated from them, Nephele loved her children, and would appeal to the King of the Gods himself to save them.

Zeus sent Chrysomallus, the golden, winged ram, to ferry the twins away from Boeotia. Before they could be killed, Phrixus and Helle were able to climb on the back of Chrysomallus, and the ram began to fly them away.

As they flew, Helle became distracted by the wonders of flight, and leaned too far over the side of the golden ram to look down below them. Helle lost her balance and tragically fell to her death, and the stretch of water that caught her body was named Hellespont in honor of her. Hellespont is now the modern-day Dardenelles.

Phrixus was able to cling on to Chrysomallus all the way to the kingdom of Colchis (now Georgia), and delivered him to the care of Aeetes, King of Colchis and son of Helios, god of the sun. Aeetes received Phrixus and treated him with the honor he was due and then some, showing Phrixus proper hospitality and treating him kindly as a fellow demigod.

In order to adequately honor the gods for the trouble taken to save Phrixus and his lost sister from their trials, King Aeetes did the proper thing and sacrificed Chrysomallus to Poseidon (this wasn't a bad thing, as animal sacrifices were a crucial aspect of ancient Greek religion and often required for even something as simple as building a wall). King Aeetes kept Chrysomallus' pelt of golden fleece and hung it from an olive tree in a sacred grove devoted to the god Ares to perpetually honor and represent the glory of the gods (gold in the ancient Greek world was heavily associated with divinity and the presence of the gods, which is why finding a trove of magnificently well preserved golden jewelry in the site of what was ancient Colchis is culturally and historically significant). King Aeetes then placed a dragon that never slept at the base of the olive tree to forever protect the fleece from would-be thieves. Because he had one of those.

Phrixus went on to marry King Aeetes' daughter, Chalciope, and the pair had four boys together and lived happily. While his cause of death is contested - some sources saying that Aeetes ultimately killed him upon learning from an oracle that Phrixus was one of a handful of potential men that would kill Aeetes, while others say Phrixus lived out his days happily with his wife, Chalciope. Each son of Phrixus and Chalciope would grow up and join a hero named Jason aboard his ship, the Argo, and become four of the legendary Argonauts.

As for Queen Ino, she happened to be the sister of a certain Princess Semele; one of Zeus' many lovers, who died when she compelled Zeus to prove his identity by revealing his true divine self to her. In doing so, Zeus became the concentrated manifestation of lightning and thunder, and the palace burned down around Semele. Semele herself only survived the blaze long enough to give birth to Dionysus, before she was consumed by the flames.

After Semele's death and the annihilation of the palace of Thebes, the newborn Dionysus was entrusted to his Aunt Ino's custody. Ino had given King Athamas more children by then, and took Dionysus into her care and nursed him. But, as she often did, Hera became furiously jealous of the favoritism shown to yet another one of her husband's many bastard children, and so she cursed King Athamas with violent madness, causing him to begin to hunt down and murder his children and wife. Ino ultimately threw herself into the sea and drowned trying to escape Athamas' murderous rampage (other sources say Ino was also driven mad and helped kill their children, and when she regained lucidity and realized what she'd done, threw herself into the sea with the body of one of her sons in grief).

While Ino had been the evil stepmother at first, she had shown compassion and care toward the baby Dionysus, and Zeus decided she had redeemed herself for her attempted murder of Phrixus and Helle by nursing her divine nephew and succumbing to Hera's wrath. She had been punished enough. Instead of descending to the Underworld, Ino and her son became deities, and Ino went on to be worshiped as the goddess Leucothea.

Gold Turtle Necklace from Ancient Colchis (modern-day Georgia/South Caucasus) c. 450 BCE: this necklace was crafted from 31 turtle-shaped pendants, each one made of g0ld

The necklace was discovered during excavations at a site known as Vani, in Georgia (the country, not the state). Ancient Vani once served as the religious and administrative center for the Kingdom of Colchis; as I've previously discussed, Colchis was also known as the homeland of the fabled Golden Fleece, and to much of the ancient world, the Colchians themselves were renowned for their skills in goldsmithing.

The turtle pendants on this necklace are all decorated with ornate filigree and granulation patterns. The eyes of the 30 smaller turtles were originally made with glass inlay, while the eyes of the largest turtle (seen in the center) were made from drops of gold.

As this article also notes (translated from Georgian):

[This necklace] is unique because of the zoomorphic depiction that it presents. Among the known examples of goldsmithing from antiquity, the depiction of a turtle is not attested anywhere other than the Vani necklace. 

The local origin of the necklace is primarily indicated by the stylistic unity of the pendants with other examples of Colchian goldsmithing. It should be noted that the land turtle depicted on the pendants was widespread in Colchis.

The excavations at Vani have uncovered lots of other artifacts made by Colchian goldsmiths. These artifacts include temple ornaments, zoomorphic figures, pieces of jewelry, diadems, headdresses, hairpins, drinking vessels, and appliqués, among other things, and they've provided some really valuable insights into the unique goldsmithing traditions that existed among the peoples of Colchis -- and the myths that evolved as a result.

A few of the other golden artifacts from Vani:

Top: headdress ornament featuring an openwork design, c. 350-300 BCE; the central panel of this piece depicts a stag and three other deer, while the frame is topped by two lions and several rows of birds; Bottom: a diadem with a set of temple ornaments, c. 400-350 BCE; all of the panels along the front of the diadem depict scenes of prey animals being hunted by lions

Top: necklace with a series of ram-shaped pendants, c. 400-350 BCE; each pendant was forged from two separate castings that were sealed together to form a complete shape, and the ears/horns were then soldered onto each piece; Bottom: set of bracelets with boar finials, c. 460-440 BCE

Golden appliqués depicting various animals, c. 400-300 BCE

Set of temple ornaments that depict two pairs of riders on horseback, c. 400-350 BCE

And a map showing the location of modern-day Georgia (just for reference):

As this map illustrates, Georgia is nestled right at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, with the Black Sea located on one side and the Caspian not far from the other; it is bordered by Russia to the North and by Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to the South

Sources & More Info:

National Geographic (Georgian): Golden Kolkheti

Atinati: The Golden Kingdom of Colchis

Smithsonian: Summary of "Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: the Golden Graves of Ancient Vani" Exhibition

Burusi (Georgian): The Archaeological Discoveries at Vani

Quaternary International: A Modern Field Investigation of the Mythical “Gold Sands” of Ancient Colchis and the “Golden Fleece” Phenomena

[theseventhveil1945]

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963) Visual Effects by Ray Harryhausen Dir. Don Chaffey

[mouse-romance]

Just watched Jason and the Argonauts and holy shit

I really crave whimsical fantasy.

I feel that today everything is poisoned with irony and smugness, even high fantasy. Everything has to be cynical or "a parody of", and it kills the romance.

This is the most epic shit i've seen in years in a movie, and that saddens me.

[oldschoolfrp]

Jason and the Argonauts, Columbia Pictures, 1963, directed by Don Chaffey, starring Todd Armstrong and Douglas Wilmer -- but really starring the animated creations of Ray Harryhausen (born June 29, 1920)

[the-evil-clergyman]

The Golden Fleece by Herbert James Draper (1904)

[chernobog13]

Jason battles the Ray Harryhausen-animated hydra in the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts.

[hecates-corner]

I had an epiphany.

In “My Goodbye” from Epic - The Musical, Athena is referencing past heroes who she too abandoned, whether that was Jorge’s intention or not.

“This day, you sever your own head”

Perseus, who had slain Medusa

“This day, you cut the line”

Bellerophon, who was crippled/who died when he fell from the back of Pegasus, due to the crossing of the line of Olympus’s high heavens and the earth he wished to impress

“This day, you lost it all”

Jason, who’s wife, Medea, murdered his new wife, the woman’s father, and her very own children, and then he was forgotten

Consider this as my goodbye! This came to me in a dawning realization.

[ditoob]

I think that one of my favorite parts of studying the Iliad and the Trojan war is how incredible the world building is. The fact that you can research any of the characters and find their life prior to and (in some cases) after the Trojan War, their families and typically fathers which themselves form parts of different epics (Telamon, Peleus and Laertes all being Argonauts who sailed with Jason for the golden fleece) (Depending on the version Herakles, Orpheus, Theseus and Atalanta could’ve also been there with them), and just how much content there is about each figure in the war that you wouldn’t know just by reading the Iliad.

Why was Paris chosen by the gods to pick which goddess was the most beautiful? He proved to the gods on a previous ocassion in a bull competition he hosted which Ares won that he was a fair and honest judge (I guess he lost that fairness in judgement by the time the goddesses appeared before him)

How did Achilles become such an almost undefeatable warrior? He was the son of an Argonaut and a sea-nymph raised by Hera whom both Poseidon and Zeus wanted to bed, and was trained by mighty Chiron who taught heroes like Orpheus and Herakles.

Why are the walls of Troy “impenetrable”? They were built by Apollo and Poseidon disguised as humans due to a punishment from Zeus.

And this is all known with thousands of lines of the Trojan War’s story being lost to time. Imagine if we had more of the Nostoi or Cypria or Little Iliad, if we still had plays like “Myrmidons” or had a better historical understanding of Mycenaean Greece.

And still, with all this content, the Trojan War is just a section of the greater greek myths. The mythologized greek world existed far before Troy, and it continued to push forward far after.

[odyssiaca]

one must sometimes spare a thought for circe. not the circe found in madeline miller's novel, but the one homer spoke about.

born to a powerful titan in the age of the olympians, a sister to thousands of siblings. yet never important enough to guard helios' cattle, never pretty enough to be married off to a human king of crete. never smart enough to stand beside her father. simply circe. young, unspecial, forgotten circe.

of how she saw kinship form for her siblings, and how strongly they loved. her mother forgotten by her father, simply another nymph, or the man she loved so dearly but who never glanced at her.

the rage that must have filled her veins when glaucus dared to appear before her and beg for a potion to trick a woman into loving him. how she loved him so purely, but was rejected and used. the regret that came when scylla no longer looked like herself, and how even then glaucus did not want her.

never good enough. replacable. easily cast out by her father, banished to an island where she will mother neither sons nor daughters, and constantly be forced to raise the daughters of gods who wanted sons.

will they become her daughters one day? will she go above and beyond to protect them as her own mother did not protect her?

what did she think, i wonder, when her niece appeared before her grasping a sword bearing the blood of her nephew? what could have possibly gone through her head when she saw the insincere look hidden within jason's eyes? i wonder if the gods told her how he scorned medea eventually, the same way glaucus did her.

and then he appears and he is everything she has ever wanted. but day and night he speaks of his wife, even as he lays in the warmth of her arms, in her silken sheets, hidden behind her wooden door held up by the walls of her home.

he sails away and that is that. another chapter. another empty nothingness.

one must spare a thought for the goddess waiting alone on the shores of a forgotten island amidst daughters she did not mother waiting for a destiny she will never find.

[moplopbool]

Jason and the argonauts as requested!

I know Atalanta isn’t a part of the argonauts in most interpretations, but I needed an excuse to draw her…

[imaginal-ai]

"Hercules and Jason"

[madamshogunassassin]

Jason and The Argonauts (1963)

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

[facts-i-just-made-up]

Who even were Jason and the argonauts?

Jason was a great mythological hero who went on a journey where he mated with all the women on the isle of smelly women, fought the bears of bear mountain, killed the pigeon people who stole the sandwiches of salami-desu, escaped doom at the violent shores of Violentshoreland, and planted the teeth of a dragon to marry some lady other than his wife— All on a quest for some hair.

Once he got the hair, he returned home to his first wife Medea who was thankfully not at all bitter about his new marriage, and they all lived happily ever after.

The argonauts were his crew on board the ship “Argus” which because I had played Zelda on Super Nintendo before reading the myth I assumed looked like this:

All in all, some of the most famous people in Aztec mythology.

[sarafangirlart]

Hera being carried by Jason while her peacock also hitches a ride lmaoooo

[darkstarknight03]

There’s something poetic about Thalia being saved by the Golden Fleece, the original Jason’s discovery.