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In the center of Colchis 
in an enchanted garden,

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the hide of a mystical flying ram 
hung from the tallest oak,

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guarded by a dragon who never slept.

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Jason would have to tread carefully 
to pry it from King Aeetes’ clutches

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and win back his promised throne.

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But diplomacy was hardly 
one of the Argonauts’ strengths.

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Jason would have to navigate 
this difficult task alone.

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Or so he thought.

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Leaving most of his bedraggled crew 
to rest,

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Jason made for the palace with some 
of his more even-tempered men.

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His first instinct was to simply ask 
the king for his prized possession.

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But Aeetes was enraged 
at the hero’s presumption.

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If this outsider wanted his treasure,

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he would have to prove his worth 
by facing three perilous tasks.

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The trials would begin the following day, 
and Jason was dismissed to prepare.

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But another member of the royal family 
was also plotting something.

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Thanks to the encouragement 
of Jason’s guardians on Mount Olympus,

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Medea, princess of Colchis 
and priestess of the witch goddess Hecate,

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had fallen in love with the challenger.

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She intended to protect her beloved 
from her father’s tricks — at any cost.

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After a sleepless night, Jason 
somberly marched to the castle—

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but was intercepted.

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The princess armed him 
with strange vials and trinkets,

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in exchange for a promise 
of eternal devotion.

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As they whispered 
and planned their victory,

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both hero and princess fell deeply 
under each other’s spell.

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Unaware of his daughter’s scheming,

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the king confidently led Jason 
to face his first task.

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The hero was brought 
to a huge field of oxen

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that lay between him and the fleece,

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and told that he had to plough the land 
around the crowds of oxen.

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A simple task— or so Jason thought.

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But Medea had concocted 
a fire-proof ointment,

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and so he plowed the flickering fields 
unscathed.

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For the second task,

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he was given a box of serpent’s teeth 
to plant into the scorched earth.

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As soon as Jason scattered them, each seed
sprouted into a bloodthirsty warrior.

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They burst up around him, 
barricading his way forward,

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but Medea had prepared him 
for this task as well.

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Hurling a heavy stone she had given him 
into their midst,

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the fighters turned on themselves 
as they scrabbled for it,

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letting him slip by the fray.

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For the third task,

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Jason was finally face to face 
with the guardian of the Fleece.

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Dodging sharp claws and singeing breath,

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Jason scrambled up the tree 
and sprinkled a sweet-smelling concoction

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over the dragon.

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As the strains of Medea’s incantations 
reached its ears

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and the potion settled in its eyes, 
the dragon sank into a deep sleep.

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Elated, Jason climbed 
to the top of the tallest oak,

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where he slipped the gleaming fleece 
off its branch.

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When the king saw the hero 
sprinting away—

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not only with the fleece, 
but his daughter in tow—

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he realized he had been betrayed.

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Furious, he sent an army 
led by his son Absyrtus

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to bring the ill-gotten prize 
and his conniving daughter home.

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But all the players in this tale 
had underestimated the viciousness

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of these disgraced lovers.

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To the horror of the Gods, Jason ran 
his sword through Absyrtus in cold blood.

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Medea then helped him scatter pieces 
of the body along the shore,

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distracting her grieving father 
while the Argonauts escaped.

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As Colchis and their pursuers 
grew smaller on the horizon,

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a solemn silence fell aboard the Argo.

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Jason could now return 
to Thessaly victorious—

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but his terrible act 
had tarnished his crew’s honor,

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and turned the Gods against them.

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Buffeted by hostile winds,

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the wretched crew washed up 
on the island of Circe the sorceress.

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Medea begged her aunt 
to absolve them of wrongdoing—

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but bloody deeds 
are not so easily forgotten,

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and fallen heroes 
not so rapidly redeemed.