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Ancient Foundations Unit Three JA * a New Epic for a New Age

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The Argonautica Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Unit Three JA * A New Epic for a New Age • As we began this unit with an epic that defined the archaic age of Greece, so we shall end it with an epic that defines its Hellenic Period. • The Argonautica is one of my favorite epics. • There was a great movie that was on the occasional Sunday night when they showed family films on ABC on those nights called “Jason and the Argonauts” and I was addicted to it! (If you see it today, you will find it cheesy and the special effects a bit corny, but to a 7 year old in 1978, it…was…AWESOME!) • This epic has five things going for it. • Two of these things it has in common with traditional Greek epics. • First, it's full of gods, magic, adventure and fighting. • Second, it offers us a window into the world that produced it. • Yet three of my favorite things are completely unique to The Argonautica. * A New Epic for a New Age • The Argonautica has incredibly human characters who respond to the world in a very relatable way. • The Argonautica is also blessedly short; it's about a third of the size of The Iliad. • But the thing that really sets The Argonautica apart from its predecessors is that The Argonautica is a love story. • Have you ever noticed that in every movie - be it about aliens, zombies, World War II or boxing - there's always a love interest involved? • Well, that pattern really starts to take off in the West during the Hellenistic Period. • And in the third century BC, there was no better place for a new literary form to arise than at the Library of Alexandria, the greatest collection of writing in the world. • And at the top of that library was Apollonius of Rhodes, the head librarian. * A New Epic for a New Age • From this lofty perch atop the collected works of Western Civilization, Apollonius aspired to match the great Homer and compose an epic for his age. • Pelias's Quest for Jason • Meet Pelias, king of Iolcus. • Pelias is in a bad position. As an illegitimate son of Poseidon and the former queen, Pelias's reign is on shaky ground. • To secure his throne, Pelias has killed, imprisoned or exiled most of his family. • This has angered most of the gods, except, of course, Poseidon. • Hera decides Pelias must die! Athena agrees, and the two goddesses set about plotting Pelias's doom. • They will use Pelias's cousin, Jason, to destroy the evil king. • But rather than just giving Jason a knife and distracting the king, the goddesses plan this whole contrived, roundabout way to kill Pelias. * A New Epic for a New Age • Pelias's Quest for Jason • Hera doesn't just want Pelias to die; she wants him to die horribly. • The Argonauts Prepare for Their Journey • Jason will go to Colchis, pick up a sorceress named Medea and bring her home with him, and she will kill the king in an inventive and awful manner. • This may seem crazy to you or I, but Apollonius is simply retelling part of a story that is very, very old - the tale of Jason and Medea. • In that tale, Jason retrieves the Golden Fleece from the faraway land of Colchis with the help of the foreign sorceress, Medea. • The two marry and make babies. • Upon their return, Medea's magical powers attract the attention of King Pelias. • Medea tells the king that she can use her magic to restore his youth. * A New Epic for a New Age • The Argonauts Prepare for Their Journey • This is totally within her power, which she demonstrates by restoring an old goat to youth by submerging it in her magic cauldron. • In a particularly sick twist, Medea convinces Pelias's beloved daughters that they must be the ones to perform the magical rite on their father. • Yet she gives the girls the wrong potion, and Pelias ends up getting cooked alive by his own daughters. • That is the fate that awaits poor King Pelias - cooked alive by his own children. • You and I know this. The goddesses know this. In the Hellenistic age, every child knows this. But Pelias doesn't know it. • So when a prophet tells Pelias that a man with one sandal will bring about his downfall, Pelias thinks 'Well, I'll just kill anyone who comes up to me with one sandal.' * A New Epic for a New Age • The Argonauts Prepare for Their Journey • But the gods throw Pelias a curveball. The prophesied one-sandaled man is none other than the King's cousin, Jason. • Now, as I mentioned, Pelias has a nasty habit of killing off relatives, but fortunately for Jason, instead of the showing up with one sandal at a nice private dining room where he could be disposed of quietly, Jason shows up in public - at the Olympics no less! • Pelias can hardly sentence his cousin to death for a missing sandal in the middle of the Olympics with the greatest heroes of the Greek world standing on as witnesses. • The people wouldn't like it, and the gods are already furious with Pelias. • In short, Pelias cannot kill Jason. • Jason and the Argonauts • So instead of killing Jason, Pelias sets Jason an impossible task. * A New Epic for a New Age • Jason and the Argonauts • So instead of killing Jason, Pelias sets Jason an impossible task. • Jason must sail to the far-off land of Colchis to retrieve the mythical Golden Fleece. And thus the goddess' plan is set into motion. • Hearing Pelias's challenge, over 50 heroes offer to help Jason in his quest, including Orpheus, the bard whose song could charm even the hounds of Hell; and the mighty Herakles, who is well-practiced at fulfilling impossible tasks; and even Hylas, Herakles'... uh… let's call him his squire. • With this mighty crew of heroes assembled, the goddess Athena helps them build a magical singing boat called the Argo. • So decked out, the heroes of the Argo - or Argonauts - set off to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece, with two bloodthirsty goddesses to guide them along their way. • On their way there, the Argonauts get into adventures. • They impregnate an entire island of women. * A New Epic for a New Age • Jason and the Argonauts • They impregnate an entire island of women. • They lose Herakles when a nymph kidnaps his boy toy... ahem... I mean squire, Hylas, and Herakles abandons them to find him. • They rescue a prophet named Phineus from a gang of harpies that keep stealing his dinner. • Phineus repays them with instructions for their journey. • Taking Phineus's advice, the Argonauts stop on the island of Ares, where the birds of Ares shoot their arrow-like feathers at them. • On that terrible island, the Argonauts discover a group of shipwrecked sailors from Colchis. • Their leader is none other than prince Argus, grandson of the King of Colchis, Aietes. * A New Epic for a New Age • Jason and the Argonauts • Their rescued friends guide the Argonauts to Colchis and get Jason an audience with the king. • Book III: Jason and Medea Fall in Love • Meanwhile, on Mount Olympus, Hera and Athena are hatching plans of their own. • The goddesses know there is no way Jason can possibly hope to succeed on his own. • Jason isn't exactly what one would call hero material. • He's not invincible like Achilles, nor clever like Odysseus. • Jason's heroic qualities are that he's good-looking and easy to get along with. • This has served him well so far; after all, he's attracted a bunch of heroes to help him. * A New Epic for a New Age • Book III: Jason and Medea Fall in Love • But the only person powerful enough to handle what is to come is Herakles, and he's off looking for his boyfriend. • Fortunately for the Argonauts, there is a sorceress in Colchis who can help them. • Her name is Medea; she is King Aietes's daughter, Princess of Colchis, granddaughter of the sun. • Her powers are vast and terrifying. • Unfortunately, her loyalties lie elsewhere, and she is unlikely to help the Argonauts of her own will. • The two goddesses hatch a plot to get Medea to help Jason with his quest. • They visit Aphrodite, the goddess of love. • Athena and Hera beg Aphrodite to have her son, Eros (whom we call Cupid), make Medea fall in love with Jason. * A New Epic for a New Age • Book III: Jason and Medea Fall in Love • At this point you may be wondering - why didn't the goddesses just help Jason themselves? • Well, then they couldn't bring back Medea to kill King Pelias. • This, of course, raises the question 'why don't they just kill king Pelias themselves?' • All I can say is that Greek gods have a sick sense of humor, and they really enjoy watching people unwittingly destroy themselves through their own actions - in this case, sending his cousin Jason on an impossible quest, where he'll pick up a woman who will eventually kill Pelias. • Back in Colchis, Jason's meeting with King Aietes is not going well. • Something about Jason just makes kings want to kill him in incredibly convoluted ways. • Like Pelias, Aietes wants to kill Jason. * A New Epic for a New Age • Book III: Jason and Medea Fall in Love • But instead of just killing Jason, Aietes gives him an impossible task.
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