In the myth Quest of the Golden Fleece, the hero known as Jason shows a lot of the great qualities that he holds, but much like the immortals, Jason also has his flaws. For example, one big flaw that Jason shows throughout this story is that he takes challenges that are thought to be impossible and deadly, and only because he likes the spirit of adventure. As Edith Hamilton writes, “The idea of the great adventure (the quest to obtain the Golden Fleece) was delightful to Jason. He agreed, and let it be known everywhere that this would be a voyage indeed” (164). While Jason takes this quest to achieve his goal of gaining back the kingdom that was rightfully his from his evil cousin, he also trusts that evil cousin, and that brings up another flaw that Jason has, and that flaw is that he …show more content…
is very gullible, and he’s too trusting with people. A great piece of evidence that proves this is when Jason introduces his crew and himself to King Æetes, he says that they’re, “...all men of noblest birth, sons or grandsons of the gods, who had sailed from Greece in the hope that he would give them the Golden Fleece in return for whatever service he would ask of them” (Hamilton 170).
Not only does Jason reveal that they’re foreigners and Greeks, which King Æetes hates, before revealing their intentions, but he also foolishly offers their service for anything. If the King truly wanted to, he could request something that would lead them to their death, which he actually does to try and get rid of them. Yet, even though Jason shows quite a few flaws that he has, he also shows some very noble strengths that he holds as well. One of these admirable qualities is the fact that Jason is very brave when it comes to protecting his crew. As Hamilton writes, “...the heroes held a council and one and another urged Jason to let him take the trial (the deadly trial that King Æetes bestows upon Jason) upon himself; but in vain, Jason would yield to none of them” (171). Jason doesn’t want his crew to suffer any losses, so he opts to sacrifice
himself. Another great quality that Jason shows off is that he is a caring person in general. In the case of Medea, even though he ends up betraying her in the end by marrying someone else, he still cared enough about her to have her be exiled instead of executed, and even before they knew each other all that well, he says that he, “... will remember you (Medea) forever”, and, “Never by night and day will I forget you. If you come to Greece, you shall be worshiped for what you have done for us, and nothing except death would come between us” (Hamilton 173). Jason truly does care for Medea, and he tries his best to show this by giving her hope for the future. In conclusion, while Jason isn’t the most perfect hero of them all, he still cares deeply for his crew, and he tries his best to complete the perilous journey with as many people alive as he can.
At this point near the climax, Jason has a struggle and has doubts about killing the monster ass he stood still being filled with fear. “But Medea did not stand silent and still. Instead, swift as the wind, she sweetly began to sing a chant… And so it came to pass that the great deathless dragon found itself fighting off an overpowering need to sleep,” as quoted in page 21. Comparing Jason, who’s full of fear, to Medea, Jason didn’t do anything at this point.
The story of Jason and the Argonauts’ quest for the golden fleece and his ultimately ill fated love affair with Medea is told with stunning, sometimes humorously self-referential, deceptive simplicity. Right from the start, Argonautika pulls the audience in its prologue with chants of dramatic events, leaving the spectators with a desire for more. The heroes who make up the crew
Everyone knows the story of Hercules, but not everyone knows that it follows the same pattern as most hero stories. Hercules is a story about the son of Zeus. When Hercules was a baby, Pain and Panic, Hades’ evil henchmen, gave him a potion to turn him mortal. It was prophesied that this baby would be the one to defeat Hades and they didn’t want that to come true. Since Hercules was now mortal, he could no longer live on Mount Olympus. A couple on earth took him in so he could grow up as a human. Hercules knew something was different about himself, so when he grew up, he set out to discover who he really was. Even though Hercules is an ancient Greek myth, it still follows Joseph Campbell’s modern basic outline of a hero’s journey.
Having lost all of his memories, Jason is put in a difficult situation where he cannot look at his past to help him with his decisions. This quote shows his lack of confidence before the start of his quest “Everyone seemed to think he was so brave and confident, but they didn’t see how lost he really felt. How could they trust him when he didn’t even know who he was?” (Riordan 166). He is forced to rely on his instincts, and what his heart tells him is right, so that he can make the best decisions. This quote shows us how he makes decisions “He reached in his pocket and pulled out the gold coin. He let his instincts take over, flipping the coin in the air like he’d done it a thousand times. He caught it in his palm, and suddenly he was holding a sword—a wickedly sharp double-edged weapon.” (Riordan 23). Keep in mind that when doing this, he had no knowledge of him ever doing this before. This was all done on his instincts. Jason might not have memories of who he was, or what he did, but he has learned that if he is going to lead his friends like a Husky leading a sled ☺ (Simile) he is going to have to lead with integrity and use his instincts to help
Jason was confounded by how to pass this trial and was saved at the last moment by Aeetes'
When a hero can atone for their flaws, for the mistakes they made on their journey, is when they truly begin to define their legacy. Gilgamesh found a measure of closure, and even a sense of immortality, in realizing the worth of his city. Odysseus realized the selfishness of his actions, and in admitting the effects such selfishness had on his family became a more well rounded individual.
Both of these two male characters are not title roles. They both fall prey to the actions of a woman, one whom they both originally thought they had complete control over. Antigone's martyrdom and conflict with the State brings Creon's destruction and Medea's double murder and infanticide brings his destruction. However, how much is this brought about through their own weakness and how much can we attribute this to a cruel fate? The issue is essentially whether a stronger person than Jason or Antigone could have avoided the destruction, and were they crushed by their own internal weakness ('hamartia'). An important to clarify is that we are not judging their personality. A despot can be a strong character and a man of high morals can be a weak character. The deciding factor is how rigidly they cling to their ideals and their ability to listen to others sensibly.
Jason and Odysseus have much in common and just as much not. A main difference one sees at first glance is the type of hero that they are. Odysseus is a wily and crafty whereas Jason is a leader but uses the skills of his followers to achieve his means. At first glance, Jason appeared an unlikely hero. Unlike Odysseus, who embarked on what should have been a short journey home following the Trojan War, but which became an epic journey with many obstacles and delays along the way.
A tragic hero is an individual who possesses a fatal flaw in their character that will bring about their own destruction or suffering. Aristotle believed that “A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. (Aristotle #1)” This Ancient Greek philosopher also believed that each tragic hero has four characteristics. The first of these characteristics is that a tragic hero is born with either wisdom or high integrity, and in some cases both. Aristotle’s second characteristic is that they contain a fatal flaw in their character that may cause them to behave irrationally. The penultimate characteristic is that each hero will suffer a turnabout of fortune brought about by their own flaw in character. Finally, the last characteristic is that the tragic hero will find out that their own turnabout of fortune was brought about by their own actions. McCandless in into the wild is the ideal tragic hero mentioned by Aristotle. McCandless had everything in the world but he gave it up to live in the wilderness and through his own actions he paid the ultimate price. McCandless is seen by the world as a young man who left the corrupted society to embrace a journey only a few would dare. “That's what was great about him. He tried. Not many do. (Krakauer 96)” This journey ended up being the best time of his life and the fact that he attempted this wildlife adventure makes him look more like a daring hero than an idiotic teen.
Betrayal has been a problem for mankind for as long as mankind has existed, but what exactly is betrayal? Many authors, psychologists, and philosophers alike have tried to answer that very question with no success. Certain types of betrayal can be beneficial, but more often than not betrayal causes an unfortunate series of events to follow it. One of the greatest examples of this comes from Greek Mythology and the story of Jason and Medea. Jason and Medea lived together as a married couple and had children together, Jason then betrayed Medea by throwing her aside and claiming they were never married. As revenge Medea then killed their children and fled. There are several different types of betrayal. There is betrayal of/by society or the exectutives of the country, betrayal of/by those close to you, and betrayal of/by yourself.
When Jason left Medea to marry Glauce, Medea was plagued with sadness and then with anger. The man she loved, the man that she gave up her life for, had betrayed her. In the patriarchal society that Medea lived in, it was not acceptable for a woman to protest any decision made by her husband. Medea went against all social standards and took revenge on Jason for the wrongs that he had committed. She was willing to take any chance and sacrifice even her most valued possessions. Medea knew that the best way to avenge the wrongs of Jason was to kill Glauce and the children. It was a huge sacrifice for Medea to kill the children that she loved, but she allowed herself to look past that love and only see her hate and contempt for Jason. Medea was willing to go against every rule that society set, so that her husband wouldn't get away with leaving her for political reasons.
A main trait of Jason’s is his obliviousness to everything. Jason doesn’t realize that Medea is crying for a different reason and thinks that whatever he says is right when he asks Medea, “Why is your cheek so white and turned away from me? Are not these words of mine pleasing for you to hear?” (p.55). Jason lacks mindful attention to what is happening around him. Jason was smart enough before to know that Medea is evil and even says that she is “incapable of controlling her bitter temper” (p.43). Mede...
The problem set at the beginning of the play is that Jason has decided to marry another wife, Glauce. Medea is angered and will not let Jason off without punishment. The loss of Jason is not only a matter of passion; Medea has been completely humiliated by Jason's decision to take a new bride. Her pride shows again when she refuses Jason's aid. Though her situation is difficult, she would rather destroy all than accept help from one who has wronged her so horribly. Living as a barbarian among Greeks has made her more defensive, more full of hurt pride. To punish Jason, Medea had her children deliver poisoned gifts to the new bride, to kill her children, Glauce, and Creon. . Medea is not without feeling, nor is she a sociopath. She comprehends the difference between right and wrong, but chooses to follow the dictates of rage.
"Jason's Gold" by Will Hobbs has several adventure story elements throughout chapters one and two proving that it is an adventure story. A piece of evidence that proves Jason's Gold is an adventure story is that the main character is up for an adventure. The following shows that Jason will do anything to get to the Klondike Gold Rush. "Jason Hawthorn was desperate to get in on it. After four days of riding the rails he'd reached Minot, North Dakota where he found himself in extremely cramped quarters. Jason was sharing a boxcar with hundreds of bags of flour headed for the Klondike trade in Seattle and two men who looked like blown-in-the-glass-hobos." (Hobbs 7) This shows that Jason was taking a risk to be part of history. This novel
Jason Grace is one of the protagonists of The Lost Hero. In the very beginning, Jason wakes up on a school bus, with amnesia. Later, he finds out that his memories have been stolen by Hera/Juno, an Olympian goddess. He is the son of Jupiter, Zeus’s Roman form. Jason can read and speak Latin, and uses the Roman names for the gods. He can fly, and can also produce lightning. Throughout the story, Jason can remember snippits from his past, but is getting increasingly aggravated with his loss of memory.