ARGONAUTICA: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HEROES AROUND THE WORLD

 Jason and the Argonauts travelled the world on their mission to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Join us as we explore the amazing places that they sailed to! 

 The epic story of the Jason and the Golden Fleece, also known as Argonautica, was written in 283-221BCE by Apollonius of Rhodes. Reading and learning about the Argonauts adventure was a bit like a geography lesson for ancient Greeks. Even today, the Argonautica still tells us a lot about ancient geography, real and imagined people, creatures and places! 

Our author Apollonius, was thought to be born in Alexandria or Naucratis in Egypt. He became the head librarian at the amazing Library of Alexandria in about 230 BCE. The Library of Alexandria in Egypt was one of the wold’s first universal libraries. It contained 700,000 books, scrolls and ancient maps – many of them about the geography of the known and unknown world. The library was founded under the Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter, and would have provided Apollonius lots of information and inspiration to chart the far-flung course that the Argonauts travelled in quest of the Golden Fleece. 

At the time Apollonius was writing the Argonautica, there had been several new discoveries made by ancient explorers and adventurers. Finding and conquering new lands opened up new worlds to the ancient Greeks - who had previously thought that beyond the Mediterranean Sea lay only Barbarians, monsters or perhaps even the ends of the earth! For example, the conquests of the Macedonian King Alexander the Great from 334 BCE extended from Greece to Anatolia (Turkey), Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Bactria all the way to Taxila in India. Map makers and botanists who accompanied Alexander recorded new knowledge about the lands he conquered. At the Library of Alexandria, Apollonius would have had access to this new geographical information, as well as to all geographical knowledge that was collected from the earliest times of antiquity. In fact, the Library of Alexandria made sure that any ship in the world anchoring in the port of Alexandria was searched for foreign books or maps it might be carrying. These books were then immediately copied by scribes at the library, and added to growing collections that inspired epic story telling like the Argonautica. 

In this and the following issues of the Argonauts Newsletter, we shall follow the Argonauts on their quest to foreign and mythical lands and seas. Together we will discover the geography of the Argonauts voyage and investigate the places that they visited in the Ancient world. For, legend has it, a voyage like the Argonautica was inspired by real life travels of ancient adventurers.

Ahoy then, our first stop is Mycenean Iolcos!

STOP 1: IOLCOS

The ancient Mycenean city of Iolcos is where it all began! Iolcos was Jason’s hometown, ruled over by the power-hungry King Pelias. Pelias, who was also Jason’s uncle, stole the throne from Jason and his father Aeson - the rightful rulers of Iolcos. To protect the young Jason from this blood thirsty uncle, his mother Alcimede sent him to the centaur (half-man, half-horse) Chieron who lived on Mount Pelion. The wise and kind Chieron looked after Jason and taught him all the skills necessary to become a hero- like fighting, using the bow and arrow, riding horses, hunting and medicine.

The day came when Jason decided to go back to Iolcos and take back his throne. On is way he helped an old woman cross the river Anauros. Little did Jason know that this old woman was the goddess Hera in disguise, who blessed him in return for his kindness. As Jason crossed the river, he lost one of his sandals in the rushing water and arrived at Iolcos with only one shoe.

Upon seeing Jason arrive in his court with one sandal, King Pelias was horrified! For the wise Oracle had told him that one day a man with a missing sandal would take over his throne. When Jason demanded the throne of Iolcos, Pelias declared that Jason could only have it back if he succeeded in bringing the Golden Fleece to him as a gift. Surely Pelias was hoping that Jason would perish on this quest which would take him through foreign lands and across the seas.

Jason accepted the challenge and began preparations to build the Argo – the ship that would carry him and his crew of heroes to faraway lands, where no Greeks had ever been before, to fetch the Golden Fleece.

Ancient Iolcos, Jason’s Kingdom, was a large city in the eastern part of Greece, built on the side of a hill near the Aegean Sea (as you can see on this map). The Mycenean civilisation, one of the earliest tribes of Greeks that lived all over Greece (from 1600BCE - 1100BCE), founded this city. The Myceneans were famous for creating one of the first Greek writing styles called Linear B Script. Most often, this kind of script was used to make lists of goods such as wool and gold for kings’ palaces, or lists of temple offerings like oil to gift to the gods and win their mercy and favour.

The Mycenaeans established an elite warrior society in Iolcus and other Mycenaean cities that they built or took over like Mycenae, Athens and Pylos. Myceneans fortified cities like Iolcus with stone walls and gates to defend their people, riches and palaces. Within the city of Iolcus the Mycenaeans built palaces for their warrior leaders and buried great fighters and kings in Shaft Tombs.             

There have been several ancient Shaft Tombs discovered by archaeologists at the ancient site of Iolcos. Mycenean warrior kings called Wanaxes would have been buried in deep shaft graves like this. Wanaxes were commonly buried with gold masks, bronze or golden funerary armour and bronze weapons (like the dagger above).

              Mycenean Megaron                                Baths at the Palace of Nestor, Pylos

The Wanaxes controlled Mycenean cities from their magnificent palaces. The Megaron was the great hall of the Mycenean palace, surrounded by four columns with a fire in the centre. The Wanax’s throne was also positioned in the Megaron in front of the fire.  You can just imagine Jason, with his missing sandal, meeting King Pelias as he was sitting on a throne before such a fire! Some palaces even had the luxury of baths, as you can see in the picture of the Palace of Nestor, the legendary and wise king of Pylos.

Mycenaean Iolcos, like many other Mycenaean cities, would have been fortified with a cyclopean wall like this. These kinds of walls were made of giant limestone boulders. The ancient Greeks called these walls ‘cyclopean’ because they liked to believe that the rocks had been stacked up by Cyclopes, the one-eyed giants!

Pagasetic Gulf

Today, the Greek city of Volos stands on the site of ancient Iolcos and looks like the photos above! After being challenged by Pelias to sail for the Golden Fleece, Jason would have walked down to the beach in the Pagasetic Gulf. Here he gathered his brilliant crew and launched the Argo on this perilous mission.

Before Jason left Iolcos Athena (the goddess of wisdom, warfare and craft) made Jason a beautiful purple mantle (cloak) embroidered with mythological creatures and events. 

Imagine Jason, resplendent in his heavenly cloak strutting down to the Pagasetic Gulf with all of Iolcus’ inhabitants cheering him on! 

In this issue the Argonauts Club we are only at the beginning of our voyage to places unknown! In our next Voyage Issue, that you will receive on Monday April 13, we will test our creativity and design Jason's beautiful mantle (cloak). For no great hero ever stepped out on an exciting and perilous mission without one. We are counting on your vigilance and artistic skills Argonauts! In the meantime, watch the horizon (or your inbox) for new weekly Argonauts adventures and activities.