“Once upon a time…” is how many of our favorite love stories start. The couple meets, and complications arise, but in the end they have a happy ending. There’s also the classic “love triangle” love stories, and the decision of who to choose. And then there are love stories where there is no happy ending, where one or both lovers end in tragic death. We love these stories. We relate to them, seek advice from them, cry over them, and find comfort in them when we ourselves are sad. Here’s the mythical love story of Jason and Medea.
Jason is from the Greek city Iolcus. He sails on his ship, the Argo, with his crew the Argonauts, in search of the Golden Fleece, a fleece that was cut from a rare golden ram. Jason believed that if he got the fleece, his cousin Pelias, who took the throne from Jason’s father, would give the throne to Jason. The Argonauts sail to Cochlis to meet king Aeetes who had a beautiful daughter named Medea. Medea was captivated by Jason, but too afraid of her father to seek him out. King Aeetes told Jason that he could have the Golden Fleece if he completed three tasks that were nearly impossible. Jason fell into a deep depression because he knew that if he were to attempt these tasks, he would surely die. Jason, however, had the favor of Hera, goddess of women and marriage. Before he set out on his quest, he carried Hera, disguised as an old woman, across a river so that she would not drown.1
Hera asked Aphrodite, goddess of love, to encourage Medea to act on the feelings she had for Jason, and help him with his tasks, for Medea was a witch. Medea came to Jason and promised to help him with the tasks her father gave him if he would marry her. That night they were married in front of a temple of Hecate, the goddess of magic, who favored Medea and gave her the gifts she possessed.2
The first task required Jason to plow a field with fire-breathing oxen.3 Medea provided an ointment that allowed Jason to pass through the flames of the oxen unscathed. For the second task, Jason had to defeat the army of warriors that sprouted from the teeth of the dragon on the field. Medea gave him special instructions to follow to ensure he was victorious. His last task was to overcome the sleepless dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece. Medea knew that if the dragon found Jason creeping towards the Golden Fleece, he would kill him. She gave Jason a potion to keep the dragon asleep.4
King Aeetes was angered by Jason’s success and by Medea’s help. As Jason and Medea fled with the fleece, Aeetes sent Medea’s half-brother, Apsyrtus, after them to bring Medea back home. Desperate to stay together, the two killed her brother and scattered his body in the sea to distract her father and sail away.5
They returned to Iolcus so Jason could overthrow his cousin, Pelias, who had overthrown Jason’s father before. Medea convinced Pelias’ daughters that if they chopped him up into little pieces and threw him in a pot set out by Medea, he would reemerge young again. They believed her because she did an earlier reincarnation with a sheep that emerged as a lamb. However, Medea left out a key ingredient in the potion, and so Pelias never reemerged. His daughters, angered by their deceit, exiled Jason and Medea, and they fled to Corinth, a kingdom that was allied with Cochils.6
Once in Corinth, Jason and Medea lived peacefully for a little while and had two sons. But soon Jason’s desire to be king started to surface, and he got engaged to Glauce, daughter of King Creon of Corinth, thinking that by marrying the daughter of a king, he would become the next king. Medea confronted Jason, but he refused to break-off the engagement to Glauce. Heartbroken by Jason’s betrayal, Medea gave Glauce a poisoned wedding gown that caused her to burn alive while she wore it. Creon burned alive with his daughter as he held her while she was dying. Terrified that her children would be punished for her crimes, Medea killed her two children and fled to Aegeus, King of Athens.7
Medea later married Aegeus. She bore Aegeus a son, but she feared for his position due to Theseus, the lost son, who returned to Athens. Medea convinced Aegeus to send Theseus on a quest to kill a deadly beast, but Theseus defeated the beast and returned a victor. Panicked by the possibility that her son might not be king, she plotted to poison him during the feast. Aegeus realized her plan and saved his son. Medea fled back to Cochlis, her homeland, in exile once again. The rest of her history is not quite known.8
- UXL Encyclopedia of World Mythology, vol. 3, UXL, 2009, “Jason.” ↵
- Charles Rowan Beye, “Jason as Love-hero in Apollonios’ Argonautika,” Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies vol. 10 (1969), 40. ↵
- Apollonius, Jason and the Golden Fleece (Oxford Press, 1988), 102. ↵
- Jan N. Bremmer, “The Myth of the Golden Fleece,” Journal Of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 6, no. 1 (September 2006): 27-28. ↵
- Pamela Loy, Medea (Classical Literature and Its Times, 2006), 220. ↵
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016, s.v. “Medea.” ↵
- The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology, 2002, s.v. “Medea,” by Don Nardo. ↵
- Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students, 1998, s.v. “Medea,” by Carroll Moulton. ↵
110 comments
Richard Navarro
These ancient stories are so wild. How could people just kill one another in fear of something? How can this woman kill her own children in fear for them? This is ridiculous, how can one man become so power hungry enough to leave his wife and children? It is truly amazing to see what love can do to someone. It makes me think what happened after she returned to her homeland..
Alexandria Martinez
This story was a roller coaster, in that it was filled with ups and downs with both Jason and Medea. The two could have been happy but Jason’s want for power seemed to be the falling point for the two. Before reading this I had never heard of Jason and Medea and it is very surprising to me that after all of their efforts, one person’s want could change their whole history and success.
Veronica Spryszynski
Its hard to think that a mother will kill her own kids. She was very evil from the starts by burning alive Jasons next wife and so on with other murders. It does make sense why they called Medea a witch. Reading this article wants me to look up what exactly happened during each of the three tasks. I think Jason cheated by the help of potions and secrets.
Luke Willis
This article was very well written. I have actually heard of Jason and the Argonauts before but i had never delved into their story. It is interesting that it follows so closely behind Odysseus and has ties to the Trojan war and the Iliad as well. I think Jason overall made some pretty bad decisions in trying to be king and ultimately he lost everything trying to get revenge and become king himself.overall i very much enjoyed this article and it was nice to learn more about Greek history.
Sarah Mares
I had never heard of this story before, upon reading the title and introductory paragraph of this article, I was not sure what to expect of it, I was somewhat relieved to see it was just a love story, and even better, one that I had yet to know. I found this article great in the sense that it was very clear in describing every aspect of the story that made it a love story, as well as providing background knowledge that was needed. Overall I enjoyed reading this article, I found the forbidden love between Jason and Medea admirable. Although the things they both ended up doing towards the end of the story were messed up and confusing, such as Jason getting secretly engaged to another, and then Medea murdering their kids then running off to marry a king, I found their story entertaining.
Tyler Sleeter
Great article with lots of information. I remember reading this story in school and thinking that Medea had some mental problems. I like how you presented the story more from the perspective of Medea as I have never looked at her from her point of view. It is tragic that she really did love Jason at one point, and then changed so much when Jason no longer wanted her. It is not surprising to me that a person could be so vindictive in the name of love, as this is played out daily in court systems around the world with a scorned lover seeking revenge.
Amanda Figueroa
Love stories are always fun and interesting to read. I have never heard of this story about Medea and Jason and this article gave me enough detail to be informed about it. This story is different in that it doesn’t end in a happy ending, where most end happily. I usually don’t read mythology but this was a very interesting topic.
Evelin Joseph
I had never before heard the love story of Jason and Medea, so this article was definitely an enjoyable and informative read. It is fascinating to learn about mythical stories and the Gods’ vast involvement in the story, which is something that is just not present in stories currently. In this story particularly, Hera favors Jason and Hecate favors Medea, and thus protects them. Medea’s love for Jason was surprising as she was willing to kill her own brother, and later even became kind of scary as she killed her children. This story proves the point that love and fear can sometimes encourage people to commit many irrational and uncommon actions. The story didn’t end as I had expected, but this article was great!
Belene Cuellar
I actually feel bad for Medea, her first love betrayed her by getting engaged with another which is pretty messed up. I’m not saying that she had a right to kill her or her kids, but I understand the heartbreak she went through. Her story is very interesting, I can’t believe I never heard of her until now. The author did a good job in organizing her life events in a way that built up the tension and kept me reading till the very end.
Clarissa Bustamante
It was an interesting article and the many background stories that were included with it. I have never heard the legend of Jason and Medea. But after reading this article I think I gained a great understanding of the love story between Jason and Medea. By reading this article it is reasonable to say that love makes one person mysterious and unusual things for another. Since Jason had the favor of Hera it is hard to say that she didn’t have a hand in his death especially after he betrayed his wedding vows and Hera is the goddess of marriage.