Argonauts

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: For other uses, see Argonaut.

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In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest for the Golden Fleece. They sailed the ship the Argo – hence their name, which literally means "Sailors of the Argo". They were sometimes called Minyans, after a prehistoric tribe of the area.

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The ship was named after its builder, Argus.

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Pelias, king of Iolcus in Thessaly (near the modern city of Volos), had been warned to be on his guard against a man with one shoe and, one day, upon seeing his nephew Jason with only one sandal (the other having been lost in crossing a stream), bade him to go and fetch the Golden Fleece, hoping that he would be killed in the attempt.

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Jason was accompanied by some of the principal heroes of ancient Greece. The number of Argonauts varies but usually totals between 40 and 55 – traditional versions of the story place their number at 50.

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Some have hypothesised that the legend of the Golden Fleece was based on a practice of the Black Sea tribes of placing a lamb's fleece at the bottom of a stream to entrap particles of gold being washed down from upstream. This practice was still in use in recent times.

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The Argonauts (Jason and Medea are sometimes not counted) were:

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• Acastus
• Aethalides
• Amphion
• Argus
• Ascalaphus
• Atalanta (others claim Jason forbade her because she was a woman)
• Autolycus
• Butes
• Calais
• Canthus
• Castor
• Cytissorus
• Echion
• Euphemus
• Euryalus
• Heracles
• Hylas
• Idas
• Idmon
• Iolaus
• Jason
• Laertes
• Lynceus
• Melas
• Meleager
• Oileus
• Orpheus
• Palaemon
• Peleus
• Philoctetes
• Phrontis
• Poeas
• Polydeuces
• Polyphemus
• Poriclymenus
• Talaus
• Telamon
• Theseus (others claim he was still in the underworld at the time)
• Tiphys
• Zetes
Argonauts: Spoken-word myths — audio files ►



 

Greek mythology: Greek mythology comprises the collected narratives of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. Our surviving sources of mythology are literary reworkings of this oral tradition, supplemented by interpretations of iconic imagery, some...

Trojan War: The Trojan War was a war waged, according to legend, against the city of Troy in Asia Minor by the armies of the Achaeans, following the kidnapping (or elopement) of Helen of Sparta by Paris of Troy. The war figures centrally in Greek mythology and was narrated in a cycle of epic poems of which onl...

Jason: :This article is about the Greek mythological hero Jason. For other Jasons, see Jason (disambiguation)....




Argonauts related Images and Photos (experimental)

CFL - Toronto Argonauts	Jason and the Argonauts Skeleton 1:6 Scale Action Figure	Jason and the Argonauts 1963	Jason and the Argonauts 1963
Departure of the Argonauts	Argo Named after the Vessel Which Carried Jason and the Argonauts to Steal the Golden Fleece