Favorite Greek Myths (Yesterday's Classics) (10 page)

After telling his dream, King Pelias went on to say: "I should like nothing better than to obey the voice I heard in my dream; but I am getting to be an old man, far too old for such an enterprise. You, Jason, are young and strong. You had better go in my place. If you succeed in this, and thereby prove yourself able to rule over the people of Iolcus, you shall have your father's crown and throne."

The chiefs who were in attendance on Pelias all thought this fair. They said that a young man's courage should be proved; that if Jason were really fit for the throne, he would bring back the fleece. Jason's uncles and cousins said that if he attempted this task, he should not go alone, for they knew of some of the dangers he would have to encounter.

Then King Pelias gave orders to the heralds to go into the market-place with their trumpets and proclaim the expedition, and to call for volunteers who would accompany Jason in his quest of the Golden Fleece.

The call was answered by the bravest young men from all parts of Greece. Some were already celebrated heroes, and more became celebrated in after years. Among them were Castor and Pollux, Hercules, Orpheus, the wonderful poet and musician, Meleager, two sons of Boreas, who had purple wings like their father, two sons of Mercury, King Admetus, some of Jason's cousins, and even the son of Pelias himself.

The Greek chiefs ordered a ship for the heroes, larger than any ship that had ever been built before. It was to be a galley of sixty oars. As the trees that were to furnish the timber for this great ship were still standing in their mountain forests, there was ample time for the heroes to finish any piece of work that they might have in hand, and to bid good-by to their friends.

W
HEN
the Argo, as the new ship was called, was ready for the voyage, the heroes went on board, and took up the oars. Jason, standing in the stern, prayed to Jupiter, and when he had finished his prayer, threw mead into the sea from a golden goblet. Then Orpheus struck his lyre, and the heroes all began to row in time to his music. As the Argo passed slowly out of the harbor, a breeze from the south came up and filled the sails. The crowd of people who stood watching on the shore all took this for a good omen.

In those days any one who sailed far out into the open sea was likely to encounter all sorts of strange monsters and unknown terrors. The Argonauts, as these heroes were called, from the name of their ship, the Argo, had not sailed so very many miles before they saw a number of Harpies hovering over a rocky cape that jutted out into the sea. The Harpies were great birds like giant vultures, with faces like women.

As the Argonauts came nearer the cape, they could see that these horrible Harpies were tormenting a blind old man who sat among the trees in his garden. Next they could see that the man wore a crown on his head, and must therefore be a king, and that he was trying to eat his breakfast, which had been placed before him on a small table. Just as he had raised a morsel of food to his mouth, a Harpy would swoop down with a great rush of wings, snatch the food, and carry it away.

The sons of Boreas, feeling sorry for the poor old king, spread their purple wings, which were larger and stronger than those of the Harpies, rushed out from the Argo, drove the Harpies away, and chased them over the mountains.

The blind old king, whose name was Phineus, was very grateful to the sons of Boreas. He asked where the Argonauts were going. When he found that they were going to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece, he told them how to contrive a safe passage through the Symplegades, two huge rocks which the Argonauts would have to pass when they entered the Black Sea.

Many and many a good ship had been crushed by the Symplegades; for when a ship or any moving object passed between them, these rocks had a trick of whirling around on their bases, and then crashing together with a force that would grind almost any substance into powder. To avoid such a calamity, King Phineus told the Argonauts to send a dove through the narrow passage between the rocks; and the moment that the rocks, after closing, began to swing open again, to row the Argo through with all possible speed, before they could close a second time.

The next day, the Argo reached the Symplegades, which rose up out of the sea like two strong towers. Jason, following the advice of King Phineus, took the swiftest of his doves, and sent it through between them. The huge rocks came together with a roar like thunder, then began to move slowly back to their places. Quick, the Argo shot through. But before her rudder was quite clear of the rocks, it was caught between them, as they crashed together again, and was crushed to atoms. The heroes all shuddered at their narrow escape, and rowed the ship away from those cruel rocks as quickly as they could.

When all danger was over, Jason thought with pity of the hard fate of the dove. Just then, the gentle bird came fluttering down from the blue sky, and lit on his shoulder, cooing and turning and spreading out its tail, as happy as if it knew that it had saved the Argo's crew. Its white wings had been too swift for the rocks.

After this the Symplegades never crushed any more ships; for they had come together with such great force that they could not separate themselves again, but became one rock.

The Argonauts sailed a long way farther, and saw many strange things. One day they passed the Island of Mars, where the Stymphalian birds built their nests, and here they found two sons of Phrixus who had been shipwrecked. They took these men into their ship, and gave them food and clothing. From them they found out that Æetes, the king of Colchis, was a cruel and wicked man whom they would have good reason to fear; and that the Golden Fleece was guarded by a most frightful dragon. Soon after this they reached Colchis. They came into the harbor at night, and anchored the Argo among trees and thick-growing bushes, where it would not be likely to be discovered.

T
HE
next day, after a consultation with the heroes, Jason went straight to King Æetes, and told him on what errand he had come.

"Oho! so you wish to take the Golden Fleece home with you?" said Ætes. "Well, take it! You are quite welcome. But first, I am sure, you will not object to doing one or two little things to oblige me. Just yoke my bulls there to the plough, and plough a few acres in the Field of Mars. Then sow some dragon's teeth that I will give you. These dragon's teeth, by the way, are a few of the teeth of the dragon that was killed by Cadmus. They were a present to me from Mars."

The words of King Ætes were very polite, but in his tone there was a hidden sneer. Some of the Argonauts remembered having heard that it was this king's practice to sacrifice to the gods all strangers who landed on his shores, just as he would sacrifice cattle or sheep.

Medea, the king's daughter, stood by his side when Jason presented himself, and her dark eyes lighted up at the sight of the hero's beauty. Medea was the niece of Circe, the famous enchantress, and she had learned from her aunt the use of many medicinal and poisonous herbs. She knew certain charms and enchantments, too, and had secret rooms in her father's palace where a kettle full of a mysterious mixture was always boiling, and where a little owl sat and looked out of dark corners with its big yellow eyes.

No one knew what King Æetes meant to do with the Argonauts, who were now in his power. But at any rate, he entertained them hospitably for several days.

During this time Medea contrived to find Jason alone, and gave him a powerful ointment made in her kettle. She also gave him a little violet flower, which had been brought from the banks of the river Lethe.

The very day after Jason had received these gifts from Medea, King Æetes proposed to entertain his guests by games held in the Field of Mars. After a few races had been run, the king said that Jason should now plough an acre with the bulls, and then sow the dragon's teeth; and that if he succeeded in this, he might take the Golden Fleece from the tree where it hung, and carry it home to Iolcus.

Then Æetes brought out his bulls, without any assistance from his slaves; for they were fiery and untamed, and no other hand would dare to touch them. They were magnificent animals, and were certainly strong enough to put an end to any man's life, should they desire to do so. Their white horns were tipped with sharp steel points, and their hoofs, of solid brass, made a great clattering on the stone-paved road, as they were led from their stable. Although gentle enough with King Æetes, they had a spark in their eyes that meant danger.

After he had hitched the bulls to the plough, the king ploughed a furrow, which was so long and straight and deep that the field seemed cut in two. When it was finished, he took the yoke from the bulls' necks, and let them go free.

Now it was Jason's turn. The two bulls had begun grazing in the farther end of the field. As Jason approached them, they lifted their heads and snorted, sending a shower of gleaming sparks flying from their nostrils. Then they began to bellow furiously, and to paw up the earth with their brass hoofs. The grass all around there took fire.

The people of Colchis were astonished to see that Jason dared to go near such creatures, but they did not know how he was protected. The truth is, he was covered from head to foot with the oil or ointment made from a magic herb, which Medea had given him; and although the flying sparks might hit him, they could not set him on fire. So he walked coolly up to the enraged animals, and put the yoke on their necks.

The rage of the bulls cooled when they saw that Jason was not afraid, and they allowed him to hitch them to the plough. So he ploughed his acre according to the agreement, and made his furrows as straight and deep as that of Æetes. If, when driven by the hand of a stranger, the bulls did breathe out a few sparks now and then, that was no more than was to be expected—even though the whole acre was left smoking.

King Æetes looked on at the ploughing in speechless wonder. This was something he had never seen before. He had supposed that if Jason were foolish enough to dare attempt such a task as this, the poor young man would be killed instantly.

But the dragon's teeth had not yet been sown. "
Now
, we will see what happens," this wicked king said to himself, as he brought them out.

Jason took the teeth without a moment's hesitation, and sowed them in the furrows, then covered them deep. He had heard the story of Cadmus and the dragon's teeth, and only half believed it. But the teeth sprouted and grew now, just as they had in the time of Cadmus. First, a few steel spear-heads pricked up through the ground; then the soil all over the ploughed acre began to heave, and before Jason knew what had happened, there stood rows of warriors, all armed, and looking very fierce. Seeing Jason, the warriors all raised their spears with a great cry, and would have attacked him, had not Jason hurled a great stone in among them. Then each warrior thought he had been attacked by his brothers. So they all began to fight among themselves, and continued fighting till every one was slain. When the last armed warrior of the dragon's brood had fallen, the Argonauts set up a loud cheer for their leader, and brought wreaths and crowned him, as they were accustomed to do when a hero won in the games.

King Æetes could not now deny to Jason the right to take the Golden Fleece; but he secretly hoped that Jason would not be able to conquer the dragon that guarded it. Yesterday he would not have believed it possible that any one could conquer that dragon; but now it was with some misgiving that he showed the way to the Grove of Mars, where the Golden Fleece hung.

The Grove of Mars stood in a valley or garden, called the Garden of Mars, which could be entered only through a narrow ravine between two high rocks. A rapid stream ran between the rocks, and sometimes the Dragon of the Fleece lay in this stream to guard the way. Sometimes, too, the dragon used to coil itself around the oak where the fleece hung. It was always somewhere in the valley, and was sure to be wakeful and watching.

Before Jason could reach the Garden of Mars, the day was spent, and the moon had risen and was flooding everything with her silvery light. Jason was glad to see that the night would not be a dark one. When he reached the stream between the two high rocks, he looked sharply for the dragon, but it was not there. Then, with some difficulty, he climbed along the narrow path at the side of the stream, and went down into the valley.

This Garden of Mars was certainly not a beautiful garden. Everything in it seemed to have been struck by a blight. The earth produced no grass, but was covered instead by bare, brown rocks whose edges looked sharp and dangerous. The trees seemed to have lost their power of bearing leaves, and bore only thorns, while their branches were twisted into the most fantastic shapes.

Jason soon saw the Golden Fleece. It was glorious; the one bright spot in the whole garden.

It hung on a low branch of the giant oak, and seemed to throw off flakes of light. And there, coiled around the huge trunk of the oak, was the dragon. It was spotted and blotched, and had a sharp-pointed, fierce-looking crest. It looked very ugly and dangerous.

As Jason came nearer to the oak, the dragon raised its crest and began to roar and bellow so loud that the sound could be heard in Colchis. But, safe in his hand, Jason had the little violet flower which Medea had plucked on the banks of Lethe. He held this flower out before him, at arm's length, and the moment the dragon smelt its strange odor, it lowered the crest on its drooping head, closed its fierce eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Then Jason took down the beautiful Golden Fleece from the oak, and went to tell his Argonauts that he had conquered the dragon, as well as the fire-breathing bulls, and had obtained possession of the coveted fleece. They all agreed that they had better take the Argo and sail for home while it was still night.

When the heroes were getting the Argo under way, Medea stole away from the palace and joined them.

By the time the sun rose, the next morning, they were well out to sea. Word was brought to King Æetes that the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece and gone, and that Medea had gone with them. The king went down to the shore with a great company of armed men, and sent some of his war galleys after the Argo; but the Argo, leaving the Colchian ships far behind, soon passed swiftly out of sight, and the angry king was left standing on the Colchian shore.