Jason and the Golden Fleece

Question1

I think Jason and the golden fleece fits with the cycle of hero which was developed by Joseph Campbell, because of these facts.


Birth: He's unusual birth actually caused his journey. When he was born as the son of the king Aeson in Thessaly, he almost gets killed by his uncle when he was young by his uncle, Pelias. His uncle disobey his father to get the crown and become a king, so the king and queen gets kicked out to the mountain, Pelion.

Call to adventure: when he returns to the kingdom after finishing Chiron's teaching, he meets Pelias and asks him for the crown. The wicked uncle gives him the dangerous quest before he accepts him, getting the Golden Fleece.

Elixir: Elixir is like the reason for the journey like the goal of an adventure. In Jason of the Golden Fleece, I think the elixir is getting the crown back from Pelias, because that was the reason why and how he start the journey to find the Golden Fleece, so he can be the king.

Helpers: . In his journey, he asks 50 Greek heroes to join his adventure, like Hercules, Odysseus and others. Even though Jason was the leader, without them, he wouldn't have succeed his quest. And in my opinion the most helpful person for Jason was actually his lover, Medea. She killed her younger brother, betray her father and kill Pelias just because of Jason. Even though at the end, Jason's love for Medea disappears because of her cruelty, she really loved him and helped him.

Helpers/Amulets: The king and queen send him to Chiron, one of the greatest teachers in the Greek myth. He learned every skills and knowledge he need for his journey from Chiron. Jason became strong and mature because of his lessons.

Tests: There were few tests in Jason and the golden fleece. Especially when Jason and the Argonauts were in the way to the island where the Golden Fleece, they across the clashing rocks, the monsters such as siren, fire-breathing bulls.

The final battle: After passing all the tests, he reached a island where the Golden Fleece was located. Fighting the dragon ,which was told to guard the Golden fleece by gods was his final battle. It was most challenging and the last step to accomplish his main quest, but at the end he fought bravely with helpers and could win the battle and get the golden fleece.

The return: After the final Battle, he brought the Golden Fleece to his kingdom with Medea and his Argonauts. Pelias opened a big celebration. Many people and his Argonauts were glad to congrats his succeed. But after many days, Pelias didn't say anything about giving back his crown. Medea got angry, so she tricked with a magic to Pelias's two daughters and made them kill him.

Question 2

I read two different types of Jason and the Golden Fleece so far. They were really different, especially the way they described the character 'Medea'. In the first story was she was a wicked witch who tried to kill Jason, but the second one I read, Medea was like the second most important character in the story where they fall in love and she joins his journey. I think Greek people really loved this myth, they have changed the story so many times they want to. That's why there is so many different stories for one myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece.

In the cartoon, compare to the book I read, I think Jason is described as dependent and a bit weak. I think he gets too much of help by other heroes and believes in Medea too much at part 2, but I can't really say they did represented Jason well or not. People might think they didn't because of their thought of heroes being always independent and strong, but even in the story, he's just a person. Maybe he was weak and dependent but had enough knowledge to succeed.

Question 3

I think Jason and the Golden Fleece is a story which is mixed with tons of facts and imaginations.

These facts are what I got from Humanities class...

• Mount Pelion does really exist.
  


• The island of Lemnos, Greece where Jason did his first test is real..
  


• Found the Bronze-Aged Palace of Jason.


• Greek people had enough technology to make Argo and go through the Black Sea.
  


• They found out that 1,400 B.C was when Jason did his quest.
  


• Jason and the Golden Fleece when there was the Trojan War and it was a real event.
  


• They found a real cave with drawings of Jason.
  

From these fact, there is obviously a possibility that some parts of the story might have been real, maybe people have changed some parts like those magical monsters to make the story to a myth.