The Argonauts were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, Argo, named after its builder, Argus. They were sometimes called Minyans, after a prehistoric tribe in the area.
Gathering of the Argonauts, Attic red-figure krater, 460–450 BC, Louvre (G 341).
Pelias, king of Iolcos, stops on the steps of a temple as he recognises young Jason by his missing sandal; Roman fresco from Pompeii, 1st century AD.
The Argo, by Konstantinos Volanakis (1837–1907).
Jason was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea, the granddaughter of the sungod Helios. He was also the great-grandson of the messenger god Hermes, through his mother's side.
Jason on an antique fresco from Pompeii
Pelias, king of Iolcos, stops on the steps of a temple as he recognises young Jason by his missing sandal; Roman fresco from Pompeii, 20-25 AD.
Jason bringing Pelias the Golden Fleece, Apulian red-figure calyx krater, c. 340 BC–330 BC, Louvre
Jason and Medea - as depicted by John William Waterhouse, 1907.
