THE GOLDEN FLEECE--MEDEA
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."
MEDEA AND AESON
Amid the rejoicings for the recovery of the Golden Fleece, Jason
felt that one thing was wanting, the presence of Aeson, his
father, who was prevented by his age and infirmities from taking
part in them. Jason said to Medea, "My spouse, would that your
arts, whose power I have seen so mighty for my aid, could do me
one further service, take some years from my life and add them to
my father's." Medea replied, "Not at such a cost shall it be done,
but if my art avails me, his life shall be lengthened without
abridging yours." The next full moon she issued forth alone, while
all creatures slept; not a breath stirred the foliage, and all was
still. To the stars she addressed her incantations, and to the
moon; to Hecate, [Footnote: Hecate was a mysterious divinity
sometimes identified with Diana and sometimes with Proserpine. As
Diana represents the moonlight splendor of night, so Hecate
represents its darkness and terrors. She was the goddess of
sorcery and witchcraft, and was believed to wander by night along
the earth, seen only by the dogs, whose barking told her
approach.] the goddess of the underworld, and to Tellus the
goddess of the earth, by whose power plants potent for enchantment
are produced. She invoked the gods of the woods and caverns, of
mountains and valleys, of lakes and rivers, of winds and vapors.
While she spoke the stars shone brighter, and presently a chariot
descended through the air, drawn by flying serpents. She ascended
it, and borne aloft made her way to distant regions, where potent
plants grew which she knew how to select for her purpose. Nine
nights she employed in her search, and during that time came not
within the doors of her palace nor under any roof, and shunned all
intercourse with mortals.
She next erected two altars, the one to Hecate, the other to Hebe,
the goddess of youth, and sacrificed a black sheep, pouring
libations of milk and wine. She implored Pluto and his stolen
bride that they would not hasten to take the old man's life. Then
she directed that Aeson should be led forth, and having thrown him
into a deep sleep by a charm, had him laid on a bed of herbs, like
one dead. Jason and all others were kept away from the place, that
no profane eyes might look upon her mysteries. Then, with
streaming hair, she thrice moved round the altars, dipped flaming
twigs in the blood, and laid them thereon to burn. Meanwhile the
caldron with its contents was got ready. In it she put magic
herbs, with seeds and flowers of acrid juice, stones from the
distant east, and sand from the shore of all-surrounding ocean;
hoar frost, gathered by moonlight, a screech owl's head and wings,
and the entrails of a wolf. She added fragments of the shells of
tortoises, and the liver of stags,--animals tenacious of life,--
and the head and beak of a crow, that outlives nine generations of
men. These with many other things "without a name" she boiled
together for her purposed work, stirring them up with a dry olive
branch; and behold! the branch when taken out instantly became
green, and before long was covered with leaves and a plentiful
growth of young olives; and as the liquor boiled and bubbled, and
sometimes ran over, the grass wherever the sprinklings fell shot
forth with a verdure like that of spring.
Seeing that all was ready, Medea cut the throat of the old man and
let out all his blood, and poured into his mouth and into his
wound the juices of her caldron. As soon as he had completely
imbibed them, his hair and beard laid by their whiteness and
assumed the blackness of youth; his paleness and emaciation were
gone; his veins were full of blood, his limbs of vigor and
robustness. Aeson is amazed at himself, and remembers that such as
he now is, he was in his youthful days, forty years before.
Medea used her arts here for a good purpose, but not so in another
instance, where she made them the instruments of revenge. Pelias,
our readers will recollect, was the usurping uncle of Jason, and
had kept him out of his kingdom. Yet he must have had some good
qualities, for his daughters loved him, and when they saw what
Medea had done for Aeson, they wished her to do the same for their
father. Medea pretended to consent, and prepared her caldron as
before. At her request an old sheep was brought and plunged into
the caldron. Very soon a bleating was heard in the kettle, and
when the cover was removed, a lamb jumped forth and ran frisking
away into the meadow. The daughters of Pelias saw the experiment
with delight, and appointed a time for their father to undergo the
same operation. But Medea prepared her caldron for him in a very
different way. She put in only water and a few simple herbs. In
the night she with the sisters entered the bed chamber of the old
king, while he and his guards slept soundly under the influence of
a spell cast upon them by Medea. The daughters stood by the
bedside with their weapons drawn, but hesitated to strike, till
Medea chid their irresolution. Then turning away their faces, and
giving random blows, they smote him with their weapons. He,
starting from his sleep, cried out, "My daughters, what are you
doing? Will you kill your father?" Their hearts failed them and
their weapons fell from their hands, but Medea struck him a fatal
blow, and prevented his saying more.
Then they placed him in the caldron, and Medea hastened to depart
in her serpent-drawn chariot before they discovered her treachery,
or their vengeance would have been terrible. She escaped, however,
but had little enjoyment of the fruits of her crime. Jason, for
whom she had done so much, wishing to marry Creusa, princess of
Corinth, put away Medea. She, enraged at his ingratitude, called
on the gods for vengeance, sent a poisoned robe as a gift to the
bride, and then killing her own children, and setting fire to the
palace, mounted her serpent-drawn chariot and fled to Athens,
where she married King Aegeus, the father of Theseus, and we shall
meet her again when we come to the adventures of that hero.
The incantations of Medea will remind the reader of those of the
witches in "Macbeth." The following lines are those which seem
most strikingly to recall the ancient model:
"Round about the caldron go;
In the poisoned entrails throw.
Fillet of a fenny snake
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing:
Maw of ravening salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digged in the dark," etc
--Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1
And again:
Macbeth.--What is't you do?
Witches,--A deed without a name.
There is another story of Medea almost too revolting for record
even of a sorceress, a class of persons to whom both ancient and
modern poets have been accustomed to attribute every degree of
atrocity. In her flight from Colchis she had taken her young
brother Absyrtus with her. Finding the pursuing vessels of Aeetes
gaining upon the Argonauts, she caused the lad to be killed and
his limbs to be strewn over the sea. Aeetes on reaching the place
found these sorrowful traces of his murdered son; but while he
tarried to collect the scattered fragments and bestow upon them an
honorable interment, the Argonauts escaped.
In the poems of Campbell will be found a translation of one of the
choruses of the tragedy of "Medea," where the poet Euripides has
taken advantage of the occasion to pay a glowing tribute to
Athens, his native city. It begins thus:
"O haggard queen! to Athens dost thou guide
Thy glowing chariot, steeped in kindred gore;
Or seek to hide thy damned parricide
Where peace and justice dwell for evermore?"