Jason and Medea
Medea uses her knowledge of magic to help Jason survive Aeetes' trials and obtain the Golden Fleece.
The Story
When Jason arrived in Colchis, King Aeetes refused to hand over the Golden Fleece freely.
Instead he imposed impossible conditions.
Jason was required to yoke fire-breathing bulls and use them to plough a field.
He then had to sow the teeth of a dragon into the earth.
From those teeth sprang armed warriors.
Jason appeared doomed.
But Medea, daughter of Aeetes, had fallen in love with him.
Medea possessed extraordinary knowledge of herbs, drugs and magic.
She gave Jason a preparation that protected him from the fire of the bulls.
When the armed men emerged from the earth, Jason followed a strategy associated with earlier myths of dragon-teeth warriors: he threw a stone among them.
Each warrior believed another had attacked him.
They turned upon one another.
Jason survived the trials.
Yet Aeetes still would not willingly surrender the Fleece.
Medea then helped Jason reach the sacred grove and overcome or bypass the serpent guarding it.
Jason seized the Golden Fleece.
He and Medea fled Colchis with the Argonauts.
The escape marked the beginning of a relationship that would eventually become one of the darkest heroic stories in Greek tragedy.
Medea had betrayed her father and homeland for Jason.
Jason owed his victory to her.
For a time they remained together.
But the consequences of the choices made in Colchis would follow them long after the Argo returned to Greece.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
Medea is not a passive helper. Jason's success depends heavily upon her intelligence and magical knowledge, making their relationship central to the Golden Fleece story.
Traditions & Variations
The extent of divine influence over Medea's love for Jason varies between accounts. Later tragic traditions, especially Euripides, focus far more strongly on the destructive breakdown of their relationship.