Classical Mythology

JASON, MEDEA, AND THE ARGONAUTS 579

love with Jason and agreed to help him at the request of Chalciope, mother of

Argus (who had returned to Colchis with the Argonauts). She was herself priest-

ess of Hecate, as skilled in magic as her aunt Circe. She gave Jason a magic oint-

ment that would protect him from harm by fire or iron for the space of a day.

So he plowed the field with the fire-breathing bulls, and he threw a stone among

Jason Is Disgorged by the Dragon that Guards the Golden Fleece. Athenian red-figure cup by

Douris, ca. 470 B.c.; diameter ll^3 /4 in. Athena (not Medea) watches the bearded dragon

disgorge Jason. She holds an owl and wears the aegis. The fleece hangs on the tree in the

background. There are no literary sources for this version of the myth. (Museo Nazionale

di Villa Guilia, Rome, Italy/Alinari/Art Resource, New York.)