Jason (Argonaut)

Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus, with Polymede, the daughter of Autolycus. He was married to the sorceress Medea.

History
Jason, the son of Aeson, was the leader of the Argonauts and the husband of Medea. Because of a prophecy that Jason would someday do him harm, King Pelias of Iolcos sent Jason on a seemingly impossible quest to bring the Golden Fleece back from distant Colchis. For the quest, Jason assembled a crew of heroes from all over Greece; Argos built for the heroes the largest ship ever constructed, the Argo.

On the voyage to Colchis, in addition to other adventures, Jason and his crew of Argonauts became the first humans to pass through the Symplegades (the Clashing Rocks); they also freed Phineus from the curse of the Harpies. When they arrived at Colchis, King Aeetes demanded that Jason accomplish a series of tasks to get the Golden Fleece: he must yoke a team of fierce, fire-breathing oxen and plow a field with them; then he must sow the teeth of a dragon in the field, and deal with the warlike armored men who sprouted from these "seeds"; finally, he must brave the sleepless dragon who guarded the Fleece. Jason accomplished all these tasks with the help of Medea, Aeetes' daughter and a niece of Circe, who had fallen in love with him when Hera convinced Aphrodite to let her son, Eros, make Medea fall in love with Jason. After obtaining the Golden Fleece, Jason and Medea fled from Colchis, pursued by King Aeetes' men.

On their voyage back to Iolcos, they encountered the perils of Scylla and Charybdis and the isle of the Sirens as well as Talos the bronze guardian of Crete. In Iolcos, Medea, using her sorcery, claimed to Pelias' daughters that their father could be made younger if they chop him into pieces and boiled them into a cauldron of water and magical herbs. The girls, rather naively, sliced and diced their father and put him in the cauldron. Medea did not add the magical herbs, and this contrived the murder of King Pelias, after which she and Jason fled to Corinth.

An antecedent to the interaction of Medea and the daughters of Pelias was when Jason, celebrating his return with the Golden Fleece, noted that his father was too aged and infirm to participate in the celebrations. He had seen and been served by Medea's magical powers. He asked Medea to take some years from his life and add them to the life of his father. She did so, but at no such cost to Jason's life. Pelias' daughters saw this and wanted the same service for their father. Pelias' son, Acastus, drove Jason and Medea into exile for the murder, and the couple settled in Corinth.

In Corinth, Jason became engaged to marry Creusa (sometimes referred to as Glauce), a daughter of the King of Corinth, to strengthen his political ties. When Medea confronted Jason about the engagement and cited all the help she had given him, he retorted that it was not she that he should thank, but Aphrodite who made Medea fall in love with him. Infuriated with Jason for breaking his vow that he would be hers forever, Medea took her revenge by presenting to Creusa a cursed dress, as a wedding gift, that stuck to her body and burned her to death as soon as she put it on. Creusa's father, Creon, burned to death with his daughter as he tried to save her. Then Medea killed the two boys that she bore to Jason, fearing that they would be murdered or enslaved as a result of their mother's actions. When Jason came to know of this, Medea was already gone; she fled to Athens in a chariot sent by her grandfather, the sun-god Helios.

Later Jason and Peleus, father of the hero Achilles, attacked and defeated Acastus, reclaiming the throne of Iolcus for himself once more. Jason's son, Thessalus, then became king.

Jason was killed years later while he was sleeping under the stern of the rotting Argo when it fell on him, killing him instantly. His manner of death was apparently due to the deities cursing him for breaking his promise to Medea.

Trivia

 * Jason Grace was named after him by his father, Zeus, to placate his wife, Hera's, anger. Apparently, Jason was his 'favorite mortal', which was contrary to the myths of Jason's ending wherein he lost Hera's favor after he broke his vow to love Medea forever.