Classical Wisdom Litterae - April 2019

B Y A N YA L E ON A R D

the throne, our stereotypical baddie, Pelias, killed his half- brother and rightful king, Aeson. Not only that, Pelias murdered all of Aeson’s descendants to be rid of his competition. After the familial slaughtering, Pelias was still worried that one day he would be overthrown. He consulted with an oracle to be certain and was dismayed at the news: Be wary of the man with one sandal.

I magine a group of superheroes, each with their own special power, traveling around on wild, improbable adventures.

There is the guy who can fly, another with super strength and yet another fellow with a secret, unbeatable weapon. And of course there is also the captain of the team, usually an “all around good guy” who’s almost an everyman… if it wasn’t for his quick-witted thinking and problem solving. This is the Argonauts, a fantastic ancient Greek gang, complete with a cool name and trusty boat to speed them on their way.

The main man leading the group is Jason. In his cadre of killers are famous myth makers such as the Boreads (sons of Boreas, the North Wind) who could fly, Heracles, Ph i l oc t e t e s , Pe l eu s , Te l amon , Or pheus, Cas tor and Pol lux, Atalanta, and Euphemus.

Their mission? To help Jason take his rightful place as king. To accomplish this quest, however, the band of heroes must fetch the golden fleece…. which is hung from a tree in the grove of the Colchian Ares, guarded night and day by a dragon that never sleeps. Back up a minute.. you might s ay. A g o l d e n fle e c e ? A displaced price? A fire breathing dragon? How did this all happen in the first place? How did our greek myth get to this fantastic junction point, filled with monsters, martyrs and missions?

It began, like many great stories, with a power struggle. Not pleased at being second to

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