All Systems Argo 2 - War and Fleece

Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids

This episode continues Jason's epic quest for the Golden Fleece as he navigates various challenges aboard the Argo. The crew faces internal

Key takeaways

• The ship Argo was built by Argus using sacred wood from the forest of Dodona to provide magical protection.
• Jason's crew, the Argonauts, included legendary figures such as Heracles, Orpheus, and Atalanta.

Main topics

• The construction of the Argo
• Assembling the Argonauts

Notable quotes

I am Jason, son of Ison... and I think you're sitting in my seat.

Conclusion

A compelling look at how even the greatest mythological heroes face se

Transcript preview

Speaker 6 (0:00) The stories featured in Greeking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths. This week's story features murderous women, descriptions of boats, missing shoes, mistaken identity, giants with different numbers of arms, and the question of who gets to be the leader. Speaker 5 (0:32) Welcome back to Greeking Out. We're in the middle of our series all about Jason and his adventures in retrieving the Golden Fleece. Speaker 2 (0:41) This is only the second of a four-part series about Jason's voyage. Speaker 5 (0:48) Okay, well, technically you're right. But if you didn't listen to last week's episode, you can totally go back and check it out. It gets really into the background details of who is related to who, but... As usual, you do you. You can listen however you want. And it's also worth pointing out that the first chapter of our new book, Greeking Out, Heroes and Olympians, is also a retelling of Jason's epic voyage. Although, we had to leave a lot of stuff out, not enough pages. For example, there were a lot of names and fighting over thrones in both Boeotia, that's where the city of Yolkis is, and the city of Colchis, and you don't have to keep track of all that. We'll recap what you need to know and make it all make sense in this episode. So. We left off last time when Jason was approaching Yolkis. Speaker 2 (1:31) Jason was experiencing a footwear deficit. Speaker 5 (1:36) Which is a fancy way of saying he was missing a shoe, or more accurately, a sandal. And this is important because of what a missing sandal meant for Jason's efforts to reclaim his birthright. You see, Jason was the rightful king of Yolkis. or rather the only son of the rightful king of Yolkis, and he wanted his throne. King Peleus, his uncle, is not the son of a former king of Yolkis, and he is the son of the god Poseidon. So young Jason escaped the fight over who would be king years ago when he was a baby, thanks to the quick thinking of his mother, Alcmedie. She sent him away to the centaur Chiron to be educated and protected, but now he was ready to return and become king. Speaker 2 (2:20) still have not clarified about the footwear. Speaker 5 (2:25) Right, I'm getting to that. So, an oracle provided King Peleus with a prophecy that told him to, quote, beware of the man with Speaker 4 (2:32) one saddle. Speaker 5 (2:34) So, when Jason arrived in Yolkis missing a shoe, Peleus was understandably concerned, but he had a plan. He knew better than to question the wisdom of an oracle. Speaker 2 (2:45) Smart man. You could learn a thing or two. From him. Speaker 5 (2:50) Well, okay, fair point. So when Jason arrived, Peleus pretended to be gracious and welcoming. And as luck would have it, when Jason walked through the gates of Iolcus, he was walking into a party. They were having a citywide celebration in honor of the god Poseidon, who, as you know, is King Peleus' dad. And Peleus was seated on his throne, overseeing the festivities and enjoying a banquet when Jason strolled right up to him. Speaker 4 (3:19) I am Jason, son Speaker 5 (3:21) of Ison, the young man said. And I think you're sitting in my seat. Speaker 2 (3:27) You made this same joke in Season 1, Episode 1. Speaker 5 (3:33) Well, right, but I meant it as kind of a callback, you know? I mean, we did cover this story on our very first episode, but that was a long time ago, and we had to leave a lot of stuff out, you know, just like in the first chapter of the new book. So we're sort of doing a deep dive, remember? Speaker 2 (3:46) That is acceptable. It is appropriate to support recycling in general, even... Yes, Speaker 5 (3:55) recycling is important. But anyway, as I said, Peleus was understandably unhappy about this challenge, but he put on a fake smile and pretended to welcome Jason. He even invited him to sit at the table and join him in the feast so they could discuss things. Speaker 2 (4:11) Peleus was being kind to his guest and demonstrating hospitality, a value that was very important in ancient... Grace. Speaker 5 (4:22) Right, and violations to hospitality often lead to being cursed by the gods, so Peleus didn't want a piece of that. He couldn't just kill Jason and be done with it, now that Jason was his guest. He had to be tricky. Peleus politely pointed out to Jason that he couldn't just hand the keys to the kingdom over to some shoeless traveler who wandered in claiming to be his nephew and the rightful heir to the kingdom. He insisted that Jason prove himself worthy of the throne. And so... Peleus pledged in front of everyone to give Iolcus back to Jason if he could pass a test. A test? Jason said. I could do that. What kind of test? Speaker 4 (5:02) More of a quest, really, Peleus replied. You must bring me the legendary golden fleece. If you do this, you will have proven to be the true and worthy king of Iolcus. Speaker 5 (5:16) By now, many people had heard about the Golden Fleece, the enchanted pelt of the legendary Golden Ram, but nobody knew exactly where to find it. This would be a nearly impossible task. But Jason was full of confidence, maybe a little too much confidence, as you'll see later on in the voyage, and he was not about to back down from this challenge in front of the whole kingdom, so he quickly agreed. Peleus smiled broadly. Good. He said, now let's have some more wine. The king of Yolkis was confident that he was sending Jason off on a quest that would undoubtedly get him killed. Jason, on the other hand, was itching to get started. The first thing he needed was a boat. A really good boat. And he had no idea where to find one. Speaker 5 (6:05) Excuse me? Speaker 2 (6:09) Okay, Speaker 5 (6:10) but they're like the same thing, right? I mean, you know. Speaker 2 (6:22) Okay, Speaker 5 (6:27) but the word boat is funnier, so I will be using both for comedy reasons. Anyway. In Jason's search for a boat, he could call on his friends in high places. Both Hera and Athena had taken an active interest in Jason's activity. Speaker 2 (6:44) Hera was probably still upset about the bloodshed that occurred in her temple. Right, Speaker 5 (6:51) we talked about that in the last episode. Speaker 2 (6:53) And Athena had a tendency to help young heroes like Telemachus, Diomedes, and Heracles. Speaker 5 (7:01) Very true. And when the two goddesses watched all of this take place from their vantage point on Olympus, they decided that there was no way Jason was going to pull this off all by himself. The kid was in way over his head. So Athena decided to help