Legend of the Golden Fleece summary. Myths of ancient Greece in art

The myth of the golden fleece

According to Greek myth, in the city of Orchomenus (Boeotia region), the king Afamant once ruled the ancient tribe of the Minians. From the goddess of the clouds, Nephele, he had. These children were hated by the second wife of Athamas, Ino. In a lean year, Ino tricked her husband into sacrificing them to the gods to end the famine. However, in last moment Frix and Gella were saved from under the priest's knife by a ram with a golden fleece (wool), sent by their mother Nephele. The children sat on a ram, and he carried them through the air far to the north. During the flight, Hella fell into the sea and drowned in the strait, which since then has been called the Hellespont (Dardanelles) by her name. Frix was taken by a ram to Colchis (now Georgia), where he was raised as a son by the local king Eet, the son of the god Helios. Eet sacrificed the flying ram to Zeus, and hung his golden fleece in the grove of the god of war Ares, placing a mighty dragon as a watchman.

Argonauts ( The Golden Fleece). Soyuzmultfilm

Meanwhile, other descendants of Athamas built the port of Iolcus in Thessaly. Athamas' grandson, Aeson, who reigned in Iolca, was deposed from the throne by his half-brother, Pelius. Fearing the machinations of Pelias, Aeson hid his son, Jason, in the mountains from the wise centaur Chiron. Jason, who soon became a strong and courageous young man, lived with Chiron until he was 20 years old. The centaur taught him the arts of war and the science of medicine.

The leader of the Argonauts, Jason

When Jason was 20 years old, he went to Iolk to demand that Pelius return to him, the heir to the legitimate king, power over the city. With his beauty and strength, Jason immediately attracted the attention of the citizens of Iolk. He visited his father's house, and then presented his demand to him. Pelius pretended to agree to cede the throne, but made it a condition that Jason go to Colchis and get the golden fleece there: there were rumors that the prosperity of the descendants of Athamas depended on the possession of this shrine. Pelius hoped that his young rival would die on this expedition.

Medea with children

After leaving Corinth, Medea settled in Athens, becoming the wife of King Aegeus, father of the great hero Theseus. According to one version of the myth, the former leader of the Argonauts, Jason, committed suicide following the death of his children. According to another mythical story, he joylessly dragged out the rest of his life in disastrous wanderings, finding no permanent shelter anywhere. Passing once through the Isthmus Isthmus, Jason saw the dilapidated Argo, which had once been pulled out here by the Argonauts to the seashore. The weary wanderer lay down to rest in the shade of Argo. While he slept, the stern of the ship collapsed and buried Jason under its debris.

The phrase "golden fleece" allegorically means the wealth that everyone seeks to master. This concept is closely related to Greek mythology and the brave Argonauts, who went to distant Colchis to fight a terrible dragon and get a magical sheep's skin - a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

What is the Golden Fleece?

The word "fleece" itself means the wool of a sheep, which is sheared from an animal without harming it. Previously, precious metal was mined in the Caucasus by lowering a sheepskin into the water of a gold-bearing river, and grains of the precious metal settled in long wool. This mining method has not been confirmed, so it is not completely clear what the golden fleece looks like: did it really exist or is it one of the many legends of Hellas.

There are several variations ancient Greek myths telling about what the golden fleece is: the legend says that he lived Greek city Orchomenus, king Afamant, fell in love with the goddess of the clouds Nephele, and they had children - the son of Frix and the daughter of Hella. However, Nephele was an eternally sad, melancholy goddess and therefore bored the king, and he married the daughter of the Theban king. The evil stepmother took a dislike to the children of Athamas and decided to destroy them.

Nefela found out about this and sent a wonderful ram to her children from heaven, on the back of which Frix and Gella escaped from the persecution of the evil stepmother. The king's son managed to escape the chase off the coast of Colchis (present-day Georgia). Afamant, as a gratitude, sacrificed this ram, and presented the skin to the ruler of this country. Subsequently, the wool of the magic ram became a kind of symbol of the prosperity of the country of the Colchians. She was guarded by a ferocious ever-awake dragon in a mysterious grove. It was almost impossible to get the relic, and only one hero dared to do it.

Where was the golden fleece?

The Golden Fleece, the myth about which the ancient Hellenes laid down, was actually located on the Black Sea coast, on the territory of modern western Georgia, in the state of Colchis. This is the ancestor of the first feudal Georgian state, which had a great influence on the formation of the Georgian people. There, on the territory of the city of Seneti, during excavations, materials were found that shed light on the history of this extraordinary sheepskin and its abduction.

Who guarded the golden fleece?

Being a symbol of wealth and prosperity, the wool of the magic ram was carefully guarded by the Colchians, hung on a sacred oak in a mysterious grove, and a vigilant fire-breathing dragon stood guard nearby. The Golden Fleece was obtained by the Greek hero Jason by cunning. With the help of the daughter of the goddess of witchcraft Medea, the hero sneaked to the guardian of a magical artifact, put him to sleep and took possession of the treasure. To find out who went after the Golden Fleece, let's turn again to Ancient Greece.

Who got the golden fleece?

The streams of King Athamas could not share power. The great-grandson of King Jason had to hide in the mountains from the persecution of his uncle, the treacherous Pelias. After spending 20 years in the upbringing of the wise centaur Chiron, the young man became brave and strong, so he could no longer be defeated in battle, and Pelias decided to act by cunning. He told his nephew that in order to renounce the throne, it is necessary to return the famous Golden Fleece to his homeland. The brave hero immediately undertook to carry out the task and recruited a whole team of brave warriors.

The ship of the daredevils who sailed for the Golden Fleece was named "fast" - "Argo", and the volunteers themselves were called Argonauts. Jason had to overcome many obstacles before he managed to swim to the country of the Colchians, where the golden fleece was located, and the Argonauts helped him in this: they fought giants and terrible harpies, saved Bethany from the despotic king and helped everyone on their way who needed help. Only after many years did the warriors finally manage to reach the shores of Colchis and take possession of the treasured artifact. Jason and the Golden Fleece, obtained by him, glorified ancient Hellas.

If you need DETAILED statement of this myth, go to the page "Campaign of the Argonauts". There you can get acquainted with the history of the origin of the legend of swimming for the Golden Fleece and go to links with a detailed presentation of its various episodes. Our list of pages dedicated to myths and epic will be constantly updated

The myth of the golden fleece (summary)

According to the Greek myth, in the city of Orchomenus (Boeotia region), the king Afamant once ruled the ancient tribe of the Minians. From the goddess of the clouds, Nephele, he had a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Helle. These children were hated by the second wife of Athamas, Ino. In a lean year, Ino tricked her husband into sacrificing them to the gods to end the famine. However, at the last moment, Frix and Hella were saved from under the priest's knife by a ram with a golden fleece (wool), sent by their mother Nephele. The children sat on a ram, and he carried them through the air far to the north. During the flight, Hella fell into the sea and drowned in the strait, which since then has been called the Hellespont (Dardanelles) by her name. Frix was taken by a ram to Colchis (now Georgia), where he was raised as a son by the local king Eet, the son of the god Helios. Eet sacrificed the flying ram to Zeus, and hung his golden fleece in the grove of the god of war Ares, placing a mighty dragon as a watchman.

Argonauts (Golden Fleece). Soyuzmultfilm

The leader of the Argonauts, Jason

When Jason was 20 years old, he went to Iolk to demand that Pelius return to him, the heir to the legitimate king, power over the city. With his beauty and strength, Jason immediately attracted the attention of the citizens of Iolk. He visited his father's house, and then went to Pelius and presented him with his demand. Pelius pretended to agree to cede the throne, but made it a condition that Jason go to Colchis and get the golden fleece there: there were rumors that the prosperity of the descendants of Athamas depended on the possession of this shrine. Pelius hoped that his young rival would die on this expedition.

Ancient Greece has been famous for its myths for a very long time. Some of them are known even to children. One of the most popular ancient Greek myths, after, is the myth of the golden fleece.

As known from ancient Greek mythology, the golden fleece was the skin of a ram, which was sent down from the sky by the goddess Nephele. Among the Greeks, she was the goddess of clouds, the former wife of the king of Boeotia, Amafant.

Legend of the Golden Fleece

Extraordinarily charming was the wife of the king of Boeotia, Nephele. She was the goddess of the clouds. Together they lived for quite some time, raising two children, a girl and a boy named Gella and Frix. But their family life did not last long. The Boeotian people disliked their queen and in a cunning way forced Amafant to drive his wife out of the kingdom.

The goddess returned to heaven, and the king married another. But day by day, Nephele suffered more and more without her children. This could be seen from the streams of her tears, which turned into raindrops.

Amafant's new wife was a Phrygian princess named Bino. She was a cold and very prudent woman who knew how to get her way. More than anything in the world, Bino disliked the girl and boy that were left of ex-wife beloved. She planned to remove the children from her path once and for all.

The beginning of her plan was the order to exile Frix and Gella to a remote mountain pasture. Later, Bino, with all sorts of tricks, tried to make her husband think that the gods themselves wish death on his children. The trick was that if Amafant did not obey the will of the gods, he would face crop failure and famine among the people.

In order for Amafant not to have any suspicions that his wife was wrong, Bino agreed with the Boeotian women to sow the fields with dried grain in the spring. And so, when the time came for the harvest, all the people of Boeotia were alarmed. The crop didn't come up.

The tsar himself was alarmed by the crop failure. He understood that now his people would starve. But even this did not make him think that his children were to blame. To find out the cause of the crop failure, Amafant sent several messengers to the oracle at Delphi.

But even here the treacherous Bino and her faithful servants arrived. Together they intercepted the messengers on their way back to the house and, having bribed them with expensive gifts, ordered them to tell the king that he should kill his children. Only in this way will it be possible to get rid of the sad misfortune.

Hearing bad news from his messengers, Amafant fell into grief and began to prepare for the inevitable sacrifice. Meanwhile, his children played with the sheep in the pasture and did not suspect anything. And suddenly they noticed among the ordinary sheep a huge ram with golden wool. It was a messenger from their mother. He warned them of the impending danger and offered them his help. The help consisted in the fact that the ram had to deliver them to a distant country, where a better future awaits the children.

Children with a ram took off under the very clouds and rushed into the distance. But during the flight, the girl was too exhausted and could no longer hold on to the ram, falling into the deep sea. The boy safely went to the kingdom of the Colchians, where he was received by King Eet.

Fleece of the mythical ram, the king sacrificed to the god Zeus. For this, Eetu was predicted a long reign as long as the golden skin of a ram was in his kingdom. For additional protection of the golden fleece, the king assigned a powerful dragon to guard it.

Argonauts, Greek (“sailing on the Argo”) - participants in the journey for the Golden Fleece to Colchis.

The organizer and leader of this expedition was the hero Jason from the Thessalian Iolk, who agreed to fulfill the order of his uncle, the Iolk king Pelias.

Jason was the son of King Aeson and the grandson of the founder of the Iolk state; Pelias was the stepson of Creteus. Although, by right of succession, the throne of Iolk should have passed to Aeson, Pelias took power away from him. When Jason grew up, he demanded that Pelius transfer power to him as the rightful heir. Pelias was afraid to refuse Jason and seemingly agreed, but on the condition that he prove his ability to reign by some heroic deed. Jason accepted this condition, and then Pelius instructed him to obtain the golden fleece, which was stored in Colchis, from the powerful king Eeta (see the article ""). By order of Eet, the golden fleece was hung on tall tree in the sacred grove of the god of war, and was guarded by a dragon who never closed his eyes.

According to general belief, it was almost impossible to take possession of the Golden Fleece. Already the path to Colchis (on the current Black Sea coast of the Caucasus) was replete with countless dangers. If anyone managed to go this way, he would have to deal with the mighty Eetian army, but even if he won, he would have no chance to defeat the terrible dragon. However, Pelius hoped that Jason would simply be afraid of all these dangers, otherwise inevitable death awaited him. But Jason was a hero, and heroes take on any assignments, and obstacles, in their opinion, exist in order to be overcome.

Preparation for the campaign of the Argonauts

However, Jason soon realized that he alone could not cope with this task. But what is beyond the power of one person, no matter how brave he may be, can be mastered together. That is why Jason traveled around the Greek lands and visited all the famous heroes of that time, asking them for help. Exactly fifty mighty heroes agreed to go with him to Colchis.

Among them were the son of Zeus, the pride of Athens - Theseus, the famous brothers from Sparta, the king of the Lapiths Pirithous, the king of Phthia Peleus, the winged sons of Boreas - Kalaid and Zet, the heroes Idas and Linkey, the Salami king Telamon, Meleager from Calidonia, the hero, the heroes Admet , Tydeus, Euphem, Oileus, Clytius, Typhius, friend of Hercules Polyphemus and many others.

Among them was the famous musician and singer Orpheus, Pug accompanied them as a soothsayer, and the future god of healing as a doctor.

When the son of Arestor Apr built a fast fifty-oared ship, named Argo (meaning "fast") after his name, the heroes gathered in Iolka and, having made sacrifices to the gods, set off.

The commander of the ship was, of course, Jason, his cybernet (as the helmsmen were called in those days) was the mighty Typhius, and the radar functions were carried out by the sharp-eyed hero Linkei, whose gaze penetrated not only through the water, but also through the tree and rocks. The rest of the heroes sat on the oars, and Orpheus set the beat for them with his singing and playing the lyre.

Argonauts in Lemnos

From the Pagasean Gulf, the Argonauts sailed into the open sea, which was not yet called the Aegean, and headed for the island of Lemnos, which was ruled by a queen. An enthusiastic reception awaited them there, since the Lemnian women, who had recently killed all their husbands (for treason), soon became convinced that although life with men is difficult, it is impossible without them. The Argonauts became the object of such attention, and the Lemnian women so preempted all their desires, that the Argonauts lost the desire to continue the journey. If not for Hercules, who shamed the heroes, they would probably have remained on the island forever. But after a two-year stay on Lemnos (according to another version - after the very first night), the Argonauts realized themselves and set off again, despite the tears and pleas of the hospitable Lemnians, whom the heroes made happy with numerous offspring.

Argonauts with dolions and six-armed giants

In Propontis (now the Sea of Marmara), the Argonauts landed near the Cyzicus peninsula, where the descendants of Poseidon, the doliones, lived. The king who ruled the dolions cordially received the Argonauts, arranged a rich feast for them, and before sailing he warned about the six-armed giants who lived on the opposite shore. And indeed, the next day, the Argonauts stumbled upon them, but Hercules, who led a small landing force, killed all the giants, and the Argonauts were able to calmly continue their journey. However, the shifting night wind again washed their ship to the shores of Cyzicus. In the darkness, the dolions did not recognize them and mistook them for pirates. A ruthless battle broke out, during which Jason defeated the leader of the army defending the coast, not suspecting that this was King Cyzicus himself. Only the coming morning put an end to the bloodshed, and then the soldiers realized their mistake. For three days and three nights, the feast continued for the king and those who fell with him.

Loss of Heracles, Hylas and Polyphemus, battle with the Bebriki

Continuing their voyage, the Argonauts reached the shores of Mysia, which lay on the eastern edge of the Propontis, and there they suffered a heavy loss. The nymphs kidnapped Hylas, a young friend and favorite of Hercules, after which Hercules and Polyphemus decided not to return to the ship until they found him. They did not find Hylas and did not return to the ship. Jason had to go to sea without them. (Hercules was destined to return to Lydia, and Polyphemus to settle in the neighboring country of the Khalibs and lay the city of Chios.) By evening, the Argonauts reached the shores of Bithynia, in the extreme north of Propontis, beyond Bithynia, the Inhospitable (now Black) Sea was already waiting for them. The bebriks who lived there were also not distinguished by hospitality, taking an example from their own - bullies and braggarts. Since it is described in a separate article, we will not waste time or space on it here.

Meeting with Phineus and the battle with the harpies

Before the next, especially dangerous stage of the journey, Jason decided to give the Argonauts a break and ordered Tithius to send the ship to the west, to the shores of Thrace. Coming ashore, they met a blind old man, who could barely stand on his feet from weakness. To their surprise, they learned that before them was the Thracian king Phineus, a famous clairvoyant and soothsayer. The gods punished him with hunger because, at the instigation of his second wife, he imprisoned his sons from his first marriage in a dark dungeon. As soon as Phineus sat down at the table, importunate harpies, winged and deadly stinking women immediately flew in. They ate his food and even polluted the remains with sewage. The Argonauts took pity on Phineus and decided to help him. The winged heroes rescued the sons of Phineus from the dungeon (these were their nephews, since Phineus' first wife was their sister Cleopatra) and took off into the sky, preparing to meet the harpies. As soon as they appeared, the Boreads rushed at them and drove them to the Plotian Islands in the Ionian Sea. The winged brothers were ready to kill the harpies, but they were stopped by the messenger of the gods, who promised that the harpies would never torment Phineus again. As a reward for this, the blind soothsayer advised the Argonauts how to get through the dangerous strait connecting the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) with the Inhospitable Sea.

Passage between the Symplegades (Bosphorus Strait)

This strait (now we call it the Bosphorus) was guarded by the Symplegades - two huge rocks that tirelessly collided, diverged and collided again, not allowing to pass through the strait. Remembering the advice of Phineus, the Argonauts released a dove to show them the way. When she flew safely (only a few tail feathers got stuck between the closed rocks), the Argonauts. believed that they, too, would be lucky. They leaned on the oars and, as soon as the rocks parted, rushed forward. With the help that held one of the rocks, the Argonauts managed to overcome this obstacle as well (only the stern was slightly damaged). And the Symplegades were forever frozen in place - just such a fate was promised to them by an old prophecy if they let even one ship pass by.

Encounter with Stymphalian birds

Having passed the strait and found themselves in the waters of the Black Sea, the Argonauts sailed for a long time without any special adventures along the northern coast of Asia Minor, until they anchored off the island of Aretiada, about which no one had heard anything before or since. As soon as they approached the island, as above them circled big bird and dropped a copper pen, which pierced the shoulder of the hero Oileus. Then the Argonauts realized that they were dealing with one of the Stymphalian birds, which Hercules had once expelled from Arcadia. Immediately, another bird appeared above the ship, but the hero Clitius, an excellent archer, shot it down. Covering themselves with shields, the Argonauts went ashore, preparing for a fight with these man-eating birds. But they did not have to fight, as the stimfalids were frightened of them and disappeared over the horizon.

Meeting of the sons of Phrixus

At Aretiada, another surprise awaited the Argonauts. They found on the island four exhausted and exhausted young men - the sons of Frix himself. They wanted to reach Orchomenus, the homeland of their ancestors, but were shipwrecked off Aretiada. Learning that the Argonauts were sailing to Colchis to take the Golden Fleece from Aeëtes, the sons of Phrixus gladly joined the expedition, although they knew of the dangers that awaited them. The Argo sailed to the northeast, and soon the blue peaks of the Caucasus appeared - Colchis lay before the Argonauts.

Argonauts in Colchis

Landing on the shore, the Argonauts made a sacrifice to the gods, and Jason went to Eet to ask him for the golden fleece. He hoped that the king would give him the fleece kindly and the Argonauts would not have to resort to force. But Eet reasoned in his own way: he did not want to believe that so many glorious heroes came only for the Golden Fleece, and believed that the Argonauts brought the children of Phrix with them in order to take possession of Colchis with their help. After a sharp skirmish - the hero Telamon already wanted to resolve the dispute with a sword - Jason assured the king that he would fulfill any of his tasks, just to get the golden fleece, and then leave Colchis in peace with his friends. Then Eet ordered him to harness fire-breathing bulls to an iron plow, plow the sacred field of the god of war Ares with this plow and sow it with dragon teeth; and when warriors grow out of these teeth, Jason must kill them. If Jason completes this task, he will receive the Golden Fleece.

Theft of the Golden Fleece and flight from Colchis

You can read about how Jason coped with this difficult task in the corresponding article. Here we only recall that Jason would have had a hard time if it were not for the help of Medea, the daughter of Eet, the great sorceress, who at first sight fell in love with the leader of the Argonauts. And yet Eet did not give up the fleece. Then Jason, with the help of Medea, who put the guard dragon to sleep, simply stole the golden fleece from the Ares grove, boarded the ship with Medea, his friends took up the oars - and after three days and nights of sailing with a fair wind, the Argo dropped anchor at the mouth the Ister River (now the Danube). There, an ugly story happened with Apsyrtus (see the article ""), which helped Jason break away from persecution and go far to the west.

Sorceress Kirk, Skilla and Charybdis, sirens

You and I know very well that none of the branches of the Danube leads to the Adriatic Sea; but the ancient Greeks did not know about this, and therefore the Argo reached the Illyrian Sea without any problems along the Danube, from there along the Eridanus River (today’s Po River) to Rodanus (today’s Rhone), and from there to the Tyrrhenian Sea and finally anchored off the island, where the sorceress Kirk, the daughter of the sun god Helios, lived. Being a relative of Medea, she cleansed Jason and Medea of the filth of the murder and advised them on how to avoid the dangers that await the Argonauts on the way to Iolk. Travelers gratefully recalled her advice, especially when they sailed safely between Skilla and Charybdis and when Orpheus drowned out with his singing the enchanting voices of the sirens, beckoning travelers to certain death.

Island of Feacres, wedding of Jason and Medea

After a long voyage, passing, among other dangers, the disastrous whirlpools between the Plankt rocks, the Argonauts landed on the island of the blessed people of the feacs. cordially received the Argonauts, but the next day a Colchian ship approached the shore, the leader of which demanded the extradition of Medea. Alkinoi reasoned that this demand was just, if Eet had rights to it; but if Medea is Jason's wife, then her father no longer has power over her. On the same night, Jason and Medea performed their wedding ceremonies, and the Colchians departed with a salty sip.

Storm, transfer of ships through the desert, gardens of the Hesperides, Lake Triton

After resting at the Phaeacians, the Argonauts headed for the coast of Greece. But, when their native places were already visible, a sudden storm carried them to the open sea. Linkey lost his bearings, and after a long wandering, the Argo became stranded on the sandy coast of Libya. Desperate to find the right path, the Argonauts decided, on the advice of the local sea nymphs, to move the ship through the desert in order to get back to the open sea. After terrible torment, exhausted from heat and thirst, the Argonauts reached the gardens of the Hesperides and saw a sparkling water surface in front of them. They hurried to launch the ship, but soon became convinced that they were not at sea, but on Tritonian Lake. Having gone ashore, the Argonauts made rich sacrifices to the owner of the lake - the god Triton. For this, Triton led them through a narrow gulf full of whirlpools to the sea, along which they swam to Crete.

Giant Talos and return to Iolk

Here the Argonauts faced the last obstacle: the copper giant Talos, who, by order of Zeus, guarded the possessions of the Cretan king Minos, did not want to let them ashore. However, Medea ruined him with her charms. After resting and replenishing their water supplies, the Argonauts headed north. Passing by numerous islands in the azure sea, the Argonauts finally returned safely to the Thessalian Iolk.

Founding of the Olympic Games

Thus ended the glorious expedition of the Argonauts. Having made unprecedentedly rich sacrifices to the gods, the participants of the campaign went home, promising each other that they would gather every four years to test their strength and dexterity in mutual competitions - in case one of them needed their help again. The organization of these competitions was entrusted to Heracles, and he chose for them a place in Elis, in a beautiful valley between the rivers Alpheus and Kladei, and dedicated this place to Zeus the Olympian: this is why these competitions later became known as the Olympic Games.

You can read about the further fate of Jason, Medea and other Argonauts in the relevant articles. We only add that Jason did not become the ruler of Iolk. Another cruel act of the unbridled Medea forced him to go into exile, and he ended his days under the wreckage of the decayed Argo ship. The Golden Fleece disappeared without a trace, but many centuries later it was revived in Western Europe in the form of one of the highest orders, which was abolished only with the fall of the Habsburg monarchy. The Olympic Games, as you know, still exist, however, with a one and a half thousand-year break due to the fact that Emperor Theodosius temporarily canceled them in 394 AD. e.

The myth of the Argonauts is very old, even by ancient Greek standards. With some of its episodes, we meet already in Homer, who mentions them as something well known. It has survived in numerous variants; in the oldest of them, not Colchis appears, but only the city of Eeta, Eya (for example, the poet Mimnerm, late 7th century BC).

Naturally, individual versions largely contradict each other both in the description of events and in geographical data or in the fates of individual heroes; synchronization with other myths is also very difficult. Undoubtedly, there were versions that were not recorded in writing: judging by the image on the vase of the 5th c. BC e., stored in the British Museum, Jason fought a dragon in Colchis, on another vase (5-4 centuries BC, Vatican Museums) Jason's head is already in the dragon's mouth, etc.

The first coherent and integral story about the campaign of the Argonauts belongs to Apollonius of Rhodes (a poem in 4 songs "Argonautica", 2nd half of the 3rd century BC). His example was followed in the 1st century. n. e. Roman poet Valery Flaccus, but he did not finish his epic story under the same name.

Separate plots of the myth about the Argonauts are depicted on more than a hundred antique vases (mostly from the 5th century BC) and dozens of reliefs.

An exceptional position among them is occupied by the so-called “Orvieto Crater” with Argonauts (Paris, Louvre) and a bronze box with engraved images of Argonauts (the so-called “Ficoroni Box”, 4th century BC, Rome, Villa Giulia Museum).

In the Renaissance and Baroque era, scenes from the myth of the Argonauts became a favorite theme of large canvases, frescoes and tapestries - for example, the cycle of frescoes by B. Bianco (1625-1630, Wallenstein Palace in Prague) and the cycle of tapestries based on the drawings of J. F. de Trois (end of the 18th century), which now adorns the large reception hall of the royal castle in Windsor.

The campaign of the Argonauts is of constant interest to poets and writers of modern times: 1660 - the drama "The Golden Fleece" by P. Corneille; 1821 - the drama "Argonauts" by F. Grillparzer (the second part of his trilogy "The Golden Fleece"); 1889 - play "The Argonauts on Lemnos" by D. Ilich; 1944 - novel "The Golden Fleece" by R. Graves. The novel "The Argonauts" by B. Ibanez is not dedicated to mythical heroes, but to the fate of Spanish emigrants in the United States, and the play of the same name by C. Assimakopoulos is dedicated to Greek emigrants.

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