Medea and the Golden Fleece are two intertwined events in Greek and Colchis mythology. It is the name of the hide that symbolizes wealth and power in Greek mythology. King Athamas marries Ino after his wife, Nephele, dies. The king’s children, Phrixus and Helle Boeotia, are unwanted by their stepmother. He sets a trap and pours harmful substances into all the fields within the borders of the kingdom, causing all crops to be damaged. The king sends his advisors to the priests living in Delphi to learn how to get rid of this malady. When the advisors, who had previously taken bribes from the queen, returned, they told the king that everything would be fine if he sacrificed his children. The king takes his children to a nearby mountain to sacrifice them. Their mother, Nephele, who watches what is happening from heaven, asks the gods to help her children.
The ram with the golden fleece suddenly appeared and started flying towards Anatolia, taking the children on its back. While passing over the Dardanelles, Helle falls into the sea. That’s why Çanakkale is called Hellespont.
The ram leaves Phrixus, who continues on his way, to Colchis, the kingdom at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus, skinned it, and hung it on the sacred oak tree. The hide is protected by the Serpentine, a giant snake/dragon that surrounds the tree and never sleeps. According to another rumor, the hide was given to the Colchis king Aietes by Phriuxus.
The legend continues with the journey of Hellenic Jason and the Argonauts to capture the Golden Fleece.
Jason, who is from Corinth, wants to take back the throne that his uncle took by force from his father. His cunning uncle says that he will give it back to Jason if he brings the golden fleece. Athena had the craftsman named Argos build the ship from sacred oak wood and give his son magical power.
Master Argos calls the island where he built the ship Argos, the ship Argo. They pass through Lemnos, Çanakkale, Dardanel, Rumeli Feneri, Ereğli, Sinop, Yason Burnu, Trabzon, and finally reach Colchis (now Poti, Georgia).
Jason asks Medea’s father, Aites, to give them the Golden Fleece. The king says he will give Jason the golden fleece if he digs a field with oxen with fire coming out of their mouths, kills the dragon that troubles the villagers, buries its teeth in the field, and defeats the soldiers coming out of the teeth.
At that moment, what happens is that Eros’s arrow hits Medea in the heart, and she falls in love with Jason 🙂 Jason, who cannot cope with this task alone, promises to marry Medea if she helps him get the Golden Fleece.
Jason is protected from the burning breath of the Hephaestus bulls with the ointment given by Medea. With the help of Medea, who puts the dragon to sleep, Jason takes the hide. The Argonauts escape from Colchis, taking Medea and her sister with the Golden Fleece. Medea, who betrayed her father for her love, takes her brother with her while escaping. She cuts her brother into pieces and throws him into the sea in order to slow down the ships his father is pursuing:(
When they return, Jason cannot ascend to the throne, even though he brings the golden fleece. Because his family died and another family took the throne. Medea continues to help Jason with her spells. Years after Medea and Jason got married, the king of Corinthus wants his daughter to marry Jason. Jason leaves Medea when he sees that the end of the road is the throne.
Medea, who is no longer loved as much as she once was, spews hatred towards Jason. As if this were not enough, the king wants to exile Medea from the country because he is afraid of the spells she can perform. Medea asks Kreon (the king) for a day to leave. That one day becomes a disaster for everyone.
Medea and her children send the magical veil she prepared as a wedding gift to the princess Jason will marry. When the princess puts on her favorite veil, it catches fire. The king, who tries to save his daughter, also gets his share of the fire. This is Medea’s tragic mistake, hamartia.
Hamartia: Human heedlessness, arrogance, weakness, etc. that leads to disaster outside of God’s command)
Later, Medea meets Aegeus, and in this conversation, Aegeus talks about his sadness because he does not have a child. Medea realizes that men value their sons very much and kills both of her sons to make Jason suffer. And this is her big mistake, Pathos.
Pathos: crime committed by people through basic emotions such as reward attraction, fear attraction, and love attraction.
After this painful event, Medea tries to escape. Jason, who learns about the tragedy and is in great sadness and hatred, speaks to Medea for the last time. Medea leaves, never to return, with the chariot gifted by the Sun God.
Is Medea, who does everything for her love, loved by Jason? Unfortunately no. Jason’s eyes only see the gold-leafed roads leading to the throne. Everyone who will make him successful on this path is just a tool:(
You can visit the Batumi Page for the Medea Statue in Batumi and its details.
See you in the next post.