Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Jason and the Golden Fleece

(Based on the prompt, I am assuming that you wish for us to focus on the Isle of Lemnos)
Before the arrival of the Argonauts, Aphrodite had punished the women of the Isle of Lemnos for being neglectful in their worship of her. Aphrodite cursed the women to emit a foul stench that drove their husbands away. Apparently all of the husbands had the same idea to take concubines from the Thracian mainland.Enraged by having been spurned, the women killed off their husbands, and since apparently every male on the Isle of Lemnos had been married, this meant that all males on the island were killed... sans the king, Thoas,  whom was instead sealed in a chest by his daughter, Hypsipyle, and thrown into the sea. When Jason and the Argonauts arrive on the island, they began... visiting the women of the island, producing a "new race" called the Minyae. Jason himself fathered twins with Hypsipyle, who was now the queen. Heracles puts a stop to the crude behavior, however, and gets them to continue their journey.

The first, rather undignified, stop on Jason's journey, as many older tales, paints women as being unable to control themselves while at the same time being submissive. I suppose the author wasn't satisfied with using one or the other, so he or she opted for both. At the very least, the author tries to save face by having a major character, Heracles, chastise his peers for their lewd acts. In a way, this scene also informs the reader that neither Jason nor his crew are of high moral standing, his loose ways foreshadowing the end status of a vow he made to love Medea forever.

Honestly, I do not have any personal stories of love or revenge. While I will admit that I can hold a grudge for some time, never have I acted out toward anyone in spite of them. That is all I am willing to divulge regarding these subjects, my apologies.

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