One of the most famous stories of Greek Mythology is that of Jason and the Argonauts, and their quest for the Golden Fleece. Jason was the son of Aeson, rightful heir to the throne of Iolcus. Pelias, the half-brother of Aeson, took the throne of Iolcus, bypassing Aeson and locking him in the dungeons. Pelias received an oracle from Delphi that a descendant of Aeson would seek revenge. Pelias believed that Jason was the one that the Oracle meant, so he sent him to undertake an impossible mission, hoping that he will be slain in the process. The mission was to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the land of Colchis. The Golden Fleece was the skin of a winged holy ram of god Zeus and it was guarded by a huge dragon. For the great adventure, Jason assembled the best heroes of Greece, including Hercules and Orpheus, and had a special boat built, named Argos. So, Jason and the Argonauts began their journey. After a challenging voyage, they arrived at Colchis and asked the Golden Fleece from King Aeetes. The King deceived Jason and put him into great danger, only for Medea, Aeetes' daughter, to save him. Medea was a sorceress and fell in love with Jason.
She told him that she would help him retrieve the Fleece if he would then take her back with him and marry her. Jason agreed and Medea put a spell on the dragon, allowing Jason to retrieve the Fleece. Jason and the argonauts, together with Medea, returned to Argos and set sail away from Colchis. However, before they leave, Medea killed her brother, spreading his pieces across the ocean, so that her father would not follow them before he gathers all the pieces. Zeus was angry with the killing of Medea's brother and sent many trials to the Argonauts. They had to pass through the Sirens, the Skylla and Charybdis, Talos and many more. By overcoming all these obstacles, the Argonauts redeemed themselves and managed to return back home and give the Golden Fleece to King Pelias. Jason kept his promise to Medea and married her. With her help, they killed Pelias and had two children together. Tragedy, of course, could not be absent from this story either. Jason fell in love with Glaucus and, full of revenge and madness, Medea killed their two children, fleeing to Athens. Jason fell into despair. He returned to his, rotten now, ship, Argos and sat on the sand under it. One piece from the rotten ship peeled off and killed him.
