JASON, MEDEA, AND THE ARGONAUTS 581
earthborn brothers killed each other and fell in civil war. The Greeks applauded
and eagerly embraced the victor.
It remained yet to put to sleep with drugs the wakeful serpent. It was the
fearsome guardian of the golden tree, a monster with a crest, three tongues, and
curved teeth. This serpent Aeson's heroic son fed with a soporific herb and re-
peated thrice a charm that brought peaceful sleep. When sleep came upon those
eyes that it had not visited before, Jason took the gold, and in the pride of his
spoils, took her who had made possible his success, a second prize. Victorious
he returned to the harbor of Iolcus with his wife.Jason Takes the Golden Fleece. By Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640); oil on panel, 1636, IOV2 X
HV4 in. Jason jauntily passes by the statue of Mars [Ares], with the fleece draped over
his left arm. He is dressed as a Roman soldier. Rubens follows the narrative of Hyginus,
who said that Phrixus dedicated the fleece in the temple of Mars, rather than the narra-
tive given here. Note the absence of Medea or Athena as Jason's helpers. (Brussels, Musées
Royaux des Beaux-Arts.)