The Argonauts 🔱

Does the quest for Jason and the Golden Fleece ring a bell? 👀

Jason is a famous Greek hero—raised by Chiron , the centaur—who set out to claim the Golden Fleece , a mythical golden coat that belonged to Chrysomallos (a fantastical creature depicted as a winged ram with fleece and horns Golden).

Following an epic, Chrysomallos was indeed sacrificed in honor of Zeus , and entrusted to Æetes (Αἰήτης)—the brother of the famous magician Circe — the king of Colchis (an ancient state of antiquity).

A quest that Jason led following the order of his uncle Pelias , son of Poseidon , who wanted to get rid of him following the prediction of an oracle.

A mission full of pitfalls, the Golden Fleece being carefully guarded by the King of Colchis and a dragon 🐉

Only, as you can imagine, it didn't happen exactly as Pélias imagined 😅

But you are probably wondering what the Argonauts are doing in this story? Who are they ? 🤔

The Argonauts (Aργοναῦται) actually represent this group of heroes (they would be around fifty), who set off with Jason to steal the Golden Fleece .

Heroes, such as the famous demi-gods Heracles or Theseus , or the famous poet and musician Orpheus for example.

A legendary group, having lived before the Trojan War , who sailed from Greece, aboard the Ship Argo under the aegis of Jason in order to steal the Golden Fleece.

Once arrived in Colchis, after already many difficulties and adventures, Jason went to King Aeetes to whom he explained his mission.

The king did not refuse to give him the Golden Fleece, but declared that he could accept it only if he managed to overcome several (superhuman) trials.

Thus, after many trials and difficulties, and thanks in particular to the magician Medea —the daughter of Aetes, who fell in love with Jason—he managed to triumph over all these trials.

Nevertheless, despite these successes, the King of Colchis did not keep his promise, and even decided to burn the ship Argo and its crew.

But even before being able to put his plan into execution, Jason and Medea had already seized the Golden Fleece and left with the Argonauts in the direction of Greece.

There followed a long journey lined with trials and battles with characters such as Circe, the Sirens, Talos (a giant robot built by Hephaestus ) and many others, until finally succeeding in bringing back the Golden Fleece of their adventure. 🌟