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THE GOLDEN FLEECE
In very ancient times there lived in Thessaly a king and queen
named Athamas and Nephele. They had two children, a boy and a
girl. After a time Athamas grew indifferent to his wife, put her
away, and took another. Nephele suspected danger to her children
from the influence of the step-mother, and took measures to send
them out of her reach. Mercury assisted her, and gave her a ram
with a GOLDEN FLEECE, on which she set the two children, trusting
that the ram would convey them to a place of safety. The ram
vaulted into the air with the children on his back, taking his
course to the East, till when crossing the strait that divides
Europe and Asia, the girl, whose name was Helle, fell from his
back into the sea, which from her was called the Hellespont,--now
the Dardanelles. The ram continued his career till he reached the
kingdom of Colchis, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, where
he safely landed the boy Phryxus, who was hospitably received by
Aeetes, king of the country. Phryxus sacrificed the ram to
Jupiter, and gave the Golden Fleece to Aeetes, who placed it in a
consecrated grove, under the care of a sleepless dragon.
There was another kingdom in Thessaly near to that of Athamas, and
ruled over by a relative of his. The king Aeson, being tired of
the cares of government, surrendered his crown to his brother
Pelias on condition that he should hold it only during the
minority of Jason, the son of Aeson. When Jason was grown up and
came to demand the crown from his uncle, Pelias pretended to be
willing to yield it, but at the same time suggested to the young
man the glorious adventure of going in quest of the Golden Fleece,
which it was well known was in the kingdom of Colchis, and was, as
Pelias pretended, the rightful property of their family. Jason was
pleased with the thought, and forthwith made preparations for the
expedition. At that time the only species of navigation known to
the Greeks consisted of small boats or canoes hollowed out from
trunks of trees, so that when Jason employed Argus to build him a
vessel capable of containing fifty men, it was considered a
gigantic undertaking. It was accomplished, however, and the vessel
named "Argo," from the name of the builder. Jason sent his
invitation to all the adventurous young men of Greece, and soon
found himself at the head of a band of bold youths, many of whom
afterwards were renowned among the heroes and demigods of Greece.
Hercules, Theseus, Orpheus, and Nestor were among them. They are
called the Argonauts, from the name of their vessel.
The "Argo" with her crew of heroes left the shores of Thessaly and
having touched at the Island of Lemnos, thence crossed to Mysia
and thence to Thrace. Here they found the sage Phineus, and from
him received instruction as to their future course. It seems the
entrance of the Euxine Sea was impeded by two small rocky islands,
which floated on the surface, and in their tossings and heavings
occasionally came together, crushing and grinding to atoms any
object that might be caught between them. They were called the
Symplegades, or Clashing Islands. Phineus instructed the Argonauts
how to pass this dangerous strait. When they reached the islands
they let go a dove, which took her way between the rocks, and
passed in safety, only losing some feathers of her tail. Jason and
his men seized the favorable moment of the rebound, plied their
oars with vigor, and passed safe through, though the islands
closed behind them, and actually grazed their stern. They now
rowed along the shore till they arrived at the eastern end of the
sea, and landed at the kingdom of Colchis.
Jason made known his message to the Colchian king, Aeetes, who
consented to give up the golden fleece if Jason would yoke to the
plough two fire-breathing bulls with brazen feet, and sow the
teeth of the dragon which Cadmus had slain, and from which it was
well known that a crop of armed men would spring up, who would
turn their weapons against their producer. Jason accepted the
conditions, and a time was set for making the experiment.
Previously, however, he found means to plead his cause to Medea,
daughter of the king. He promised her marriage, and as they stood
before the altar of Hecate, called the goddess to witness his
oath. Medea yielded, and by her aid, for she was a potent
sorceress, he was furnished with a charm, by which he could
encounter safely the breath of the fire-breathing bulls and the
weapons of the armed men.
At the time appointed, the people assembled at the grove of Mars,
and the king assumed his royal seat, while the multitude covered
the hill-sides. The brazen-footed bulls rushed in, breathing fire
from their nostrils that burned up the herbage as they passed. The
sound was like the roar of a furnace, and the smoke like that of
water upon quick-lime. Jason advanced boldly to meet them. His
friends, the chosen heroes of Greece, trembled to behold him.
Regardless of the burning breath, he soothed their rage with his
voice, patted their necks with fearless hand, and adroitly slipped
over them the yoke, and compelled them to drag the plough. The
Colchians were amazed; the Greeks shouted for joy. Jason next
proceeded to sow the dragon's teeth and plough them in. And soon
the crop of armed men sprang up, and, wonderful to relate! no
sooner had they reached the surface than they began to brandish
their weapons and rush upon Jason. The Greeks trembled for their
hero, and even she who had provided him a way of safety and taught
him how to use it, Medea herself, grew pale with fear. Jason for a
time kept his assailants at bay with his sword and shield, till,
finding their numbers overwhelming, he resorted to the charm which
Medea had taught him, seized a stone and threw it in the midst of
his foes. They immediately turned their arms against one another,
and soon there was not one of the dragon's brood left alive. The
Greeks embraced their hero, and Medea, if she dared, would have
embraced him too.
It remained to lull to sleep the dragon that guarded the fleece,
and this was done by scattering over him a few drops of a
preparation which Medea had supplied. At the smell he relaxed his
rage, stood for a moment motionless, then shut those great round
eyes, that had never been known to shut before, and turned over on
his side, fast asleep. Jason seized the fleece and with his
friends and Medea accompanying, hastened to their vessel before
Aeetes the king could arrest their departure, and made the best of
their way back to Thessaly, where they arrived safe, and Jason
delivered the fleece to Pelias, and dedicated the "Argo" to
Neptune. What became of the fleece afterwards we do not know, but
perhaps it was found after all, like many other golden prizes, not
worth the trouble it had cost to procure it.
This is one of those mythological tales, says a late writer, in
which there is reason to believe that a substratum of truth
exists, though overlaid by a mass of fiction. It probably was the
first important maritime expedition, and like the first attempts
of the kind of all nations, as we know from history, was probably
of a half-piratical character. If rich spoils were the result it
was enough to give rise to the idea of the golden fleece.
Another suggestion of a learned mythologist, Bryant, is that it is
a corrupt tradition of the story of Noah and the ark. The name
"Argo" seems to countenance this, and the incident of the dove is
another confirmation.
Pope, in his "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day," thus celebrates the
launching of the ship "Argo," and the power of the music of
Orpheus, whom he calls the Thracian:
"So when the first bold vessel dared the seas,
High on the stern the Thracian raised his strain,
While Argo saw her kindred trees
Descend from Pelion to the main.
Transported demigods stood round,
And men grew heroes at the sound."
In Dyer's poem of "The Fleece" there is an account of the ship
"Argo" and her crew, which gives a good picture of this primitive
maritime adventure:
"From every region of Aegea's shore
The brave assembled; those illustrious twins
Castor and Pollux; Orpheus, tuneful bard;
Zetes and Calais, as the wind in speed;
Strong Hercules and many a chief renowned.
On deep Iolcos' sandy shore they thronged,
Gleaming in armor, ardent of exploits;
And soon, the laurel cord and the huge stone
Uplifting to the deck, unmoored the bark;
Whose keel of wondrous length the skilful hand
Of Argus fashioned for the proud attempt;
And in the extended keel a lofty mast
Upraised, and sails full swelling; to the chiefs
Unwonted objects. Now first, now they learned
Their bolder steerage over ocean wave,
Led by the golden stars, as Chiron's art
Had marked the sphere celestial," etc.
Hercules left the expedition at Mysia, for Hylas, a youth beloved
by him, having gone for water, was laid hold of and kept by the
nymphs of the spring, who were fascinated by his beauty. Hercules
went in quest of the lad, and while he was absent the "Argo" put
to sea and left him. Moore, in one of his songs, makes a beautiful
allusion to this incident:
"When Hylas was sent with his urn to the fount,
Through fields full of light and with heart full of play,
Light rambled the boy over meadow and mount,
And neglected his task for the flowers in the way.
"Thus many like me, who in youth should have tasted
The fountain that runs by Philosophy's shrme,
Their time with the flowers on the margin have wasted,
And left their light urns all as empty as mine."
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