The myth of Jason and the Argonauts - Iseult Gillespie

2,079,698 views ・ 2019-08-27

TED-Ed


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Hercules, the strongest man alive
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with a mighty heart to match.
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Orpheus, charmer of nature and master of music.
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Castor and Pollux, the twin tricksters hatched from an egg.
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The Boreads, sons of the North Wind
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who could hurtle through the air.
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For untold times these heroes had roamed ancient Greece,
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creating new legends wherever they went.
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But none of their adventures was so great as when they joined forces
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for the sake of a young man named Jason.
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Years before,
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Jason’s uncle Pelias had ruthlessly usurped
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the throne of Thessaly from Jason’s grandfather.
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When Jason returned to his father’s stolen court,
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the cowardly king set him a seemingly impossible task:
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cross the teeming seas to Colchis,
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and steal the golden fleece of a flying ram
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under King Aeetes’ nose.
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If Jason retrieved the Fleece,
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Pelias promised to relinquish the throne.
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Touched by his heroic mission,
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the Gods spread Jason’s call for help,
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and soon he had assembled a not-so-motley crew.
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These heroes,
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alongside countless sailors, soothsayers, and rebel demigods,
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named themselves the Argonauts after their sturdy ship.
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But the path ahead was marked with untold terrors–
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enough to test even the fiercest heroes.
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Their first stop was Lemnos,
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an isle of women who had killed all the island’s men.
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As punishment,
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Aphrodite had cursed them with a sickening stench–
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but that didn’t stop Jason fathering twins with the queen.
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The rest of the crew also found themselves embroiled in new romances;
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until Hercules chastised them for not behaving like heroes.
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Eventually, they sailed on to the Mount of Bears,
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an island where a group of ancient, six-armed monsters
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lived alongside the peaceful Doliones.
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While the clan welcomed the Argonauts with open arms,
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the monsters surged down from the mountains
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and hurled rocks at the docked ship.
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Hercules held them off single-handedly,
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before his comrades joined the fray.
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Bolstered by their victory, the triumphant heroes sailed onward–
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only to be blown back to the island several stormy nights later.
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In the tempest,
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the Doliones thought these new arrivals invaders.
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The Argonauts were similarly unaware of their surroundings,
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and fought blunderingly in the dark, slaying wave after wave of foe.
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But the morning light revealed a horrible truth:
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their victims were none other than their previous hosts.
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Yet again,
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Jason had allowed the crew to be distracted,
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this time at a terrible cost.
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Ashamed at his conduct,
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he resolved to focus only on the Fleece,
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but even this haste proved ruinous.
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When Hercules’ squire was abducted by a water nymph,
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Jason sailed on–
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oblivious to the absence of his most powerful crewmate.
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The remaining Argonauts continued their quest,
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until stopping at the sight
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of an old man surrounded by a swirl of harpies.
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This was Phineas, a seer cursed by Zeus
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to endure old age, blindness, and endless torture
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for giving away his prophecies.
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Moved by his plight, the wind brothers set upon the flock,
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providing Phineas with a brief respite from his punishment.
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In return,
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the seer told them how to overcome the terrifying trial that lay ahead:
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the Symplegades,
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a pair clashing rocks that reduced ships to splinters.
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But first,
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the Argonauts would have to maneuver past the mouth of hell,
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around the island of the bloodthirsty Amazons,
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and under psychedelic skies.
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These adventures cost the crew both in men and morale–
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and some feared they might be losing their minds.
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Upon reaching the clashing rocks, the exhausted crew quaked with fear.
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But Phineas’ advice rang in their heads.
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The Argonauts released a single dove
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and sped through in its wake to emerge unscathed.
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With this narrow escape,
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the Argonauts finally had Colchis in their sights.
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Yet while Jason rested and celebrated with his crew,
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he could feel his time among them was drawing to a close.
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As the fleece gleamed in his mind,
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he knew he would have to retrieve it alone.
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But he could not guess that this final task
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would have the most horrible price of all.
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