Many heroes from Ancient Greece fits well with the ‘cycle of the hero’ as developed by Joseph Campbell. The aspects of the cycle show the elements of the journey that the heroes embark on. Jason and the Golden Fleece matched the cycle of the hero and these are the evidences;
Birth/Home: Jason was formerly born from a royal family as his dad was the rightful king of Iolcus. His malicious uncle, Pelias stole his father’s throne and claimed himself King. Pelias would have killed Jason when he was a baby but Jason’s mother saved him and sent him to live with Chiron, the Centaur. There Jason learnt to fight and hunt.
Call to Adventure: Jason grew to be a strong and brave man from Chiron care. When he learned of his past, he decided to go up to his uncle, King Pelias and demands back his rightful throne. King Pelias decided that Jason journey to find the Golden Fleece and only then he would give his throne back to Jason. This was the start of the adventure/journey.
Elixir: The elixir of Jason’s journey was the Golden Fleece. He had to find the Golden Fleece in order to retrieve his rightful kingdom. The whole myth and journey was finding the Golden Fleece and this is what kept him alive.
Helpers: After Jason received the challenge, he searched for other heroes to accompany him as he embarks on the journey. Many heroes were ready to risk their lives but Jason had chosen his crew, they were called ‘the Argonauts’. And so they set off in search of the Golden Fleece.
Helpers/ Amulet: In the videos, not only the Argonauts were the helpers but Chiron, the Centaur also contributes to Jason’s journey. Chiron had brought up Jason and teaches him to fight and hunt. As a result Jason relies on Chiron to make his decisions and to encourage him when he gets stuck during the journey. Chiron’s sword was the ‘amulet’ of Jason’s adventure and it was a lesson for Jason to trust himself and not rely on black magic.
Crossing the Threshold: When heroes embark on a journey, there would always be obstacles that stand in their way. The same goes for Jason and the Argonauts, they had to sail the ocean and had to search for the kingdom of King Aeetes. Crossing the ocean is difficult because there would be storms and unpredicted weather. In the videos, it shows that the waves were pulling Jason’s ship to the ocean. Also the clashing rocks from one interpretation of the myth were one of the obstacles.
Tests: Jason and the Argonauts had series of tests that keeps on coming. Not only was sailing the ocean was hard enough but there was many conflicts such as Jason versus himself. Jason didn’t trust and believe in himself instead he trust the potion which was given by the malevolent sorcerer, Medea . As a result, his crew was taken by Medea and was going to put them in the underworld. There was also the fight against the fire breathing bulls and the dragons that guarded the Golden Fleece. Every time the Argonauts faced and deal with these obstacles, they gained knowledge to complete the journey.
Climax/final battle: In the videos, the final battle was against Medea while Jason had to save the Argonauts from going in the underworld. He believed in himself and trust in Chiron’s sword, as a result he won the battle and Medea was perished. And because medea was perished, the Argonauts was saved.
The Return: After Jason defeated Medea and retrieves the Golden Fleece, he and the Argonauts sailed back to Iolcus and take back the rightful throne.
The characters in the videos and the characters in the myth are quite different in some parts and alike in others. The difference was the character “Medea”. In the videos, Medea was shown as the malicious sorcerer that provides as an obstacle to Jason’s journey. In the myth Aphrodite, the goddess, made Medea fell in love with Jason. As a result Medea helped Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece and in return Jason had to love and honor Medea. I think that Jason was weak in both the videos and the myth. From what I see in the videos, without the Argonauts and Chiron, Jason couldn’t complete the journey. Also it seems like Jason was only the leader of the Argonauts that ask them to do things for him. Although in my opinion that Jason was the weak one, I could see the change after he completed the journey. During the journey, Jason asked Chiron for help and made the wrong decision in to trust the potion, Medea gave him. Jason didn’t believe or trust himself that he could do it without the black magic but after he completes the journey, he learnt to trust in himself that he could do it. There’s many interpretation of the myth Jason and the Argonauts or they’re sometimes called Jason and the Golden Fleece. But which myths interpretations are right? Well people don’t know which one is right since the people who wrote down the myths were told by the storytellers who change the stories to make it more interesting and juicy.
What events in the story of Jason and the Argonauts do you believe to be factual?
There are many events in the story of Jason and the Argonauts that was believed to be factual. The geographical setting of the myths could be real. One of the geographical places like Mt.Pillion from the myth is in Greece. The palace of Iolcus was found in Greece in which Jason went to the King to retrieve his royal throne from his uncle. The caves and islands was real, this adds more evidence that the myth could have possibly occurred. From the myths, one of the obstacles was the rock clashing. It could be possible that it was just the harsh waves with rocks that made Jason and the Argonauts struggled. I think that the storytellers was changing the story to make it juicy, because in the myths, it was told that the rocks crushed boats that passed by. But in real life rocks don’t move yet crushed boats but as I said it could be possible that it was just harsh waves and rocks. In the movies that we watch in humanities, the people in Greece was building the ‘Argo’. The ‘Argo’ was a type of boat that Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. This means that the boat could have been used to sail. There’s maybe more evidence of this myth to be true, like the Trojan War, Jason and the Argonauts could have actually occurred.
Birth/Home: Jason was formerly born from a royal family as his dad was the rightful king of Iolcus. His malicious uncle, Pelias stole his father’s throne and claimed himself King. Pelias would have killed Jason when he was a baby but Jason’s mother saved him and sent him to live with Chiron, the Centaur. There Jason learnt to fight and hunt.
Call to Adventure: Jason grew to be a strong and brave man from Chiron care. When he learned of his past, he decided to go up to his uncle, King Pelias and demands back his rightful throne. King Pelias decided that Jason journey to find the Golden Fleece and only then he would give his throne back to Jason. This was the start of the adventure/journey.
Elixir: The elixir of Jason’s journey was the Golden Fleece. He had to find the Golden Fleece in order to retrieve his rightful kingdom. The whole myth and journey was finding the Golden Fleece and this is what kept him alive.
Helpers: After Jason received the challenge, he searched for other heroes to accompany him as he embarks on the journey. Many heroes were ready to risk their lives but Jason had chosen his crew, they were called ‘the Argonauts’. And so they set off in search of the Golden Fleece.
Helpers/ Amulet: In the videos, not only the Argonauts were the helpers but Chiron, the Centaur also contributes to Jason’s journey. Chiron had brought up Jason and teaches him to fight and hunt. As a result Jason relies on Chiron to make his decisions and to encourage him when he gets stuck during the journey. Chiron’s sword was the ‘amulet’ of Jason’s adventure and it was a lesson for Jason to trust himself and not rely on black magic.
Crossing the Threshold: When heroes embark on a journey, there would always be obstacles that stand in their way. The same goes for Jason and the Argonauts, they had to sail the ocean and had to search for the kingdom of King Aeetes. Crossing the ocean is difficult because there would be storms and unpredicted weather. In the videos, it shows that the waves were pulling Jason’s ship to the ocean. Also the clashing rocks from one interpretation of the myth were one of the obstacles.
Tests: Jason and the Argonauts had series of tests that keeps on coming. Not only was sailing the ocean was hard enough but there was many conflicts such as Jason versus himself. Jason didn’t trust and believe in himself instead he trust the potion which was given by the malevolent sorcerer, Medea . As a result, his crew was taken by Medea and was going to put them in the underworld. There was also the fight against the fire breathing bulls and the dragons that guarded the Golden Fleece. Every time the Argonauts faced and deal with these obstacles, they gained knowledge to complete the journey.
Climax/final battle: In the videos, the final battle was against Medea while Jason had to save the Argonauts from going in the underworld. He believed in himself and trust in Chiron’s sword, as a result he won the battle and Medea was perished. And because medea was perished, the Argonauts was saved.
The Return: After Jason defeated Medea and retrieves the Golden Fleece, he and the Argonauts sailed back to Iolcus and take back the rightful throne.
The characters in the videos and the characters in the myth are quite different in some parts and alike in others. The difference was the character “Medea”. In the videos, Medea was shown as the malicious sorcerer that provides as an obstacle to Jason’s journey. In the myth Aphrodite, the goddess, made Medea fell in love with Jason. As a result Medea helped Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece and in return Jason had to love and honor Medea. I think that Jason was weak in both the videos and the myth. From what I see in the videos, without the Argonauts and Chiron, Jason couldn’t complete the journey. Also it seems like Jason was only the leader of the Argonauts that ask them to do things for him. Although in my opinion that Jason was the weak one, I could see the change after he completed the journey. During the journey, Jason asked Chiron for help and made the wrong decision in to trust the potion, Medea gave him. Jason didn’t believe or trust himself that he could do it without the black magic but after he completes the journey, he learnt to trust in himself that he could do it. There’s many interpretation of the myth Jason and the Argonauts or they’re sometimes called Jason and the Golden Fleece. But which myths interpretations are right? Well people don’t know which one is right since the people who wrote down the myths were told by the storytellers who change the stories to make it more interesting and juicy.
What events in the story of Jason and the Argonauts do you believe to be factual?
There are many events in the story of Jason and the Argonauts that was believed to be factual. The geographical setting of the myths could be real. One of the geographical places like Mt.Pillion from the myth is in Greece. The palace of Iolcus was found in Greece in which Jason went to the King to retrieve his royal throne from his uncle. The caves and islands was real, this adds more evidence that the myth could have possibly occurred. From the myths, one of the obstacles was the rock clashing. It could be possible that it was just the harsh waves with rocks that made Jason and the Argonauts struggled. I think that the storytellers was changing the story to make it juicy, because in the myths, it was told that the rocks crushed boats that passed by. But in real life rocks don’t move yet crushed boats but as I said it could be possible that it was just harsh waves and rocks. In the movies that we watch in humanities, the people in Greece was building the ‘Argo’. The ‘Argo’ was a type of boat that Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. This means that the boat could have been used to sail. There’s maybe more evidence of this myth to be true, like the Trojan War, Jason and the Argonauts could have actually occurred.
