Captain of the Argo, Winner of the Golden Fleece
A prince whose uncle usurped his throne, who took on an "impossible task" to win it back: sail to the eastern edge of the world for the Golden Fleece. He gathered an all-star crew — Heracles, Orpheus, and more — aboard the Argo, the first great team-up in Greek myth. Medea was the making of him, and the undoing.
Fifty heroes sailed on the Argo: the strongman Heracles, the lyre-player Orpheus, the founding father of physicians, the Gemini twins. Passing through the Clashing Rocks that crushed ships between them, they released a dove to test the timing and rowed with all their might, losing only a sliver of the ship’s stern. This crew was the ancestor of every "Avengers"-style team-up since.
The king of Colchis set deadly trials: yoke fire-breathing bronze bulls to plow, sow dragon’s teeth and reap the warriors that sprang up, and slip past the sleepless dragon. Princess Medea brought him fire-proof ointment, the trick of throwing a stone to make the warriors kill each other, and a potion to lull the dragon. The Fleece was won — the price was carrying off this witch who betrayed her whole family for him.
Having made his name, Jason cast Medea aside to marry a princess. Medea’s revenge shook all of Greece (see her card). The gods too came to loathe the oath-breaker: in old age Jason sat alone beneath the rotting Argo and was killed by a falling beam from its prow.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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