Jason and the Argonauts through the AgesThe story of Jason and the Argonauts is one of the most famous in Greek myth, and its development from the oldest layers of Greek mythology down to the modern age encapsulates the dramatic changes in faith, power and culture that Western civilization has seen over the past three millennia. From the Bronze Age to the Classical Age, from the medieval world to today, the Jason story has been told and retold with new stories, details and meanings. This book explores the epic history of a colorful myth and probes the most ancient origins of the quest for the Golden Fleece--a quest that takes us to the very dawn of Greek religion and its close relationship with Near Eastern peoples and cultures. |
Contents
The WorldofMyth 2 Mycenaean Greece | |
Development of the Myth 3 The God The First Jason Stories | |
The Making of an Epic | |
From Hero to Human | |
The Myth inContext 6 The Archetype Heroes and Villains | |
The Descent into the Underworld | |
Magic Monstersand the Golden Fleece PartFour The Afterlife of theMyth | |
The Middle Ages andthe Renaissance 10 The Star Jason in the Modern World | |
Scholarly Investigations and Theories 12 The Astronaut Jasonin Outer Space | |
Conclusion | |
Chapter Notes | |
Bibliography List of Names and Terms | |
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Common terms and phrases
adventures Aeëtes ancient andthe Apollonius archaeological Archaic Argo Argonautica Argonauts argued associated asthe Athena Black Sea bulls Burkert Cadmus Cambridge Castleden century BCE chthonic Classical Colchis Corinth cult culture dead death deity depicted derived descended divine dragon Dumuzi earth goddess East Eastern epic Euripides evidence Flaccus fromthe Gilgamesh gods Golden Fleece Greece Greek myths Greek Religion Hades Hellenistic Hera Heracles hero Hesiod History Hittite Homer identified Inanna IndoEuropean inthe intothe Iolcus Jason myth Jason story Jasonand journey king kurša later legend London magical Medea medieval Mesopotamian Minoan Mycenaean mythic Mythographer mythology Odyssey ofJason ofthe onthe originally Oxford University Press Pelias Perseus Phrixus Pindar poem Poseidon quest ritual Roman Routledge sacred scholars serpent shamanic Strabo Sumerian symbols Temple Teshub thatthe theArgonauts thegods theGolden theGreek theJason theMycenaean Theseus thestory theUnderworld tothe tradition trans Underworld Valerius Vatican Mythographer voyage withthe worshipped Zeus