The Voyage of Argo
Adventures of epic preportions have been written and told for thousands of years. The characteristics of these stories include, suspense, adventure, danger, and heroism. They mostly involve a task that needs to be completed. Whatever it may be, very few tales are able to take all characteristics of a good adventure and put it all into one story like The Voyage of Argo, by Apollonius. The Voyage of Argo is about a man named Jason who bands together a group of extraordinary warriors and goes on an adventure in search of a golden fleece. This group called the Argonauts, is made up of sons of gods and heroes. Traveling up to the Black Sea in their boat, the Argo, they encounter various obstacles that they must overcome
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When Jason demanded the kingdom back, Pelias told him that he would gladly surrender the kingdom if Jason brings back the Golden Fleece from the land of Colchis. The Golden Fleece was from a magical flying ram delivered by Hermes, the messenger of god. The ram that originally wore the golden fleece was delivered for the sole purpose of carrying Phrixius, and Helle, the children of Nephele, to safety; away from their father's mistress who threatened their lives. After it had completed its task, The ram was sacrificed, but the fleece remained in the far away land of Colchis, which was ruled by King Aeetes. Jason agreed to the terms and sent heralds all across Greece to seek out fearless volunteers who would join him in such an adventure. A ship builder, Argo, made him a huge boat and it was named "Argo" in respects to its builder. Jason produced a crew of the greatest collection of heroes ever assembled and they came to be known as the …show more content…
In this story, the question arises; is Jason truly a hero, or just an average person that got in with the right group of guys? The main character in the story, Jason, takes his own journey paralleling that of the Argo. Jason is an ordinary man but possesses after all some of the qualities that make a leader: brains, abundant charm, and above all a most persuasive tongue. He is a man who gets things done for him. Like many other heroes, it's initial problem that sets heroes off on a journey. It's for the same reasons that Budda left town, Thesisus slayed the minotaur, and Hercules completed his tasks that Jason went in search for the golden fleece. Having a solid base of being raised and trained in leadership and warriorship, he was born for the job, but the story gives us insight of how mortal Jason really is. His common "boo-hooing" to the gods and the uncertainty that he shows his crew at times show that Jason is not necessarily supernatural, but he is human. Jason learns to be a hero along the journey which is a journey in its own for Jason. In the end he is victorious in acquiring the golden fleece, and also realizing in his self that he had it in him the whole
Tens of thousands of stories fit into the hero’s journey archetype created by Christopher Volger. Out of these, a large number of them are stories with remakes that share notable resemblances to their heroes’ journeys. However, none of these quite match those very strong similarities found between Homer’s The Odyssey and Joel Coens ’s O
When I was little, I used to stay up late at night, watching old movies with my father. He worked at night, so on his nights off, he often could not sleep. Our dad-daughter bond was, no doubt, forged by our love of old black and white and even cheesy films. It was on one of these late nights that I first saw a huge snake coiled next to a tree, draped in a glittery sheep’s fur. I am sure that my eyes were big with awe the whole time, for to this day, when I watch or even read mythological stories, I feel the same childhood awe. The movie Jason and the Argonauts, directed by Nick Willing in 2000, is certainly not as campy as the old black and white, but it is just as awe-inspiring as is Peter Green’s translation of Apollonius of Rhodes’ version of Jason’s story: “Argonautika: The Story of Jason and the
The human need to be relatable is unquenchable. We love to be able to see parts of ourselves in others, and to be able to feel like our idols are not untouchable. The Hero’s Journey format is one that can be found in almost any story, even in real life. Overall, it is the perfect recipe for keeping readers engrossed. Another place the journey has shown up is in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and Odyssey by Homer. These two stories—one a biography, the other, an epic poem—are so effective in their storytelling, it is easy to see how authors today continue to use the same method to make stories that grab the readers’ attention. What makes them most alike, however, is the emotions and thoughts they have the power to provoke.
The Hero’s Journey is a pattern or type of novel that applies to many adventure stories.
The story of the epic hero is seen in many examples around the world, from one of the most well know cartoon, SpongeBob Squarepants, to the novel The Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum. The Wizard of Oz is later turned into film and a well-known play . It is a fun and interesting story of an epic. In their own way, the novel The Wizard of Oz and The Odyssey are examples of epics. Both stories tell of a strong hero who covers a vast amount of distance to achieve their goal, with Dorothy traveling from the Oz back to her home, Kansas, and Odysseus traveling from Troy back to Ithaca. The Wizard of Oz is the story of the heroic, young girl, Dorothy and her friends on a journey to find the great Wizard of Oz to grant them their wish. In the
Jason had a very rough childhood. According to the Encyclopedia of Myths, his father was Aeson, King of Iolcus. Jason’s half uncle, Pelias, was greedy though, and wanted the throne. Pelias ended up taking over and killing all of Jason’s siblings. There is some speculation about whether Jason was already born, or if he was born in secret after Pelias took over (GreekGods.org). Either way, Jason’s mom feared for his life, so she sent him
form gods or from other mortals. Jason did not hesitate to ask for help from the
Myths are stories about the world´s origins, and to understand mankind, one must understand myths. I will be talking about the myth of Atalanta and how she follows the hero's journey. The hero's journey is a pattern of which all heroes from every story of mythology follow. The hero's journey follows three parts.The Departure as the 1st, Decisive Victory as the 2nd, and The Return as the 3rd. My thesis is that many stories that aren't myths may also follow a journey similar to the myths.
In both Antigone and Medea, three leading characters—Creon of Thebes, Medea, and Jason—hold dominant authority in their own way. Jason, married to Megareus—daughter of another King Creon, receives a small recognition of power because of this marriage. He “is lying on a royal wedding bed.” (Medea 24). However, Creon of Thebes holds greater power as king. Born in Colchis, a “country of barbarians,” Medea’s power in no way compares to the power in a reigning, royal sense of King Creon (Medea 637). Her power lies in her wicked actions of selfishly doing whatever she wants, deceivingly poisoning Megareus and Creon, and angrily murdering her own children. Creon, newly reigning king of Thebes, immediately demonstrates his position of authority in his address to the people of his country. His opening speech to the people sets the tone for Creon’s character—powerful, pleasing to his people, and full of confidence. These qualities are...
The story of Jason and the Argonauts’ quest for the golden fleece and his ultimately ill fated love affair with Medea is told with stunning, sometimes humorously self-referential, deceptive simplicity. Right from the start, Argonautika pulls the audience in its prologue with chants of dramatic events, leaving the spectators with a desire for more. The heroes who make up the crew
In Medea, a play by Euripides, Jason possesses many traits that lead to his downfall. After Medea assists Jason in his quest to get the Golden Fleece, killing her brother and disgracing her father and her native land in the process, Jason finds a new bride despite swearing an oath of fidelity to Medea. Medea is devastated when she finds out that Jason left her for another woman after two children and now wants to banish her. Medea plots revenge on Jason after he gives her one day to leave. Medea later acts peculiarly as a subservient woman to Jason who is oblivious to the evil that will be unleashed and lets the children remain in Corinth. The children later deliver a poisoned gown to Jason’s new bride that also kills the King of Corinth. Medea then kills the children. Later, she refuses to let Jason bury the bodies or say goodbye to the dead children he now loves so dearly. Jason is cursed with many catastrophic flaws that lead to his downfall and that of others around him.
Jason's uncle Pelias had usurped the throne of Iolchus (much as Penelope's suitors threatened to do), which Jason had a legitimate claim to. Pelias wanted to get rid of him, but dared not to kill him outright. So, he agreed to abdicate the throne if Jason would journey and get the golden fleece, which was at a temple in Colchis (on the Black Sea). Pelias expected the voyage to be fatal, for it had danger at every step. However, Jason called for and received an impressive roster of heroes to aid him on his journey.
These timeless tales relate a message that readers throughout the ages can understand and relate to. While each of these tales is not exactly alike, they do share a common core of events. Some event and or character flaw necessitates a journey of some kind, whether it is an actual physical journey or a metaphorical one. The hardships and obstacles encountered on said journey lead to spiritual growth and build character. Rarely does a person find himself unchanged once the journey is over.
When the Tutor enters the scene, he expresses a much more cynical view regarding Jason's decision to leave his wife. He asks the nurse, 'Have you only just discovered / That everyone loves himself more than his neighbor? / Some have good reason, others get something out of it. / So Jason neglects his children for the new bride'; (85-88). The Tutor feels that Jason's leaving Medea is only a part of life, as 'Old ties give place to new ones';. Jason "No longer has a feeling'; for his family with Medea, so he leaves her to marry the princess who will bring him greater power (76-77).
Although Jason and Hercules were both raised in secret, unknown places, they faced different life challenges. Jason was the son of King Phrixus of Lolcus, but his wicked uncle Pelias overthrew the throne when Jason was young. Pelias became the new King of Lolcus and lived in fear of losing what he stole. As Jason became a grown man from an unknown place, he set out like a hero to claim his throne back from Pelias. In Edith Hamilton’s book, she explained Jason’s living conditions as “ a place of safety”