Jason and the Argonauts

Jason and the Argonauts is a fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey and distributed by Columbia Pictures, that was originally released in 1963. The cast includes actors such as Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Honor Blackman and Gary Raymond.

The film starts with Pelias being given a prophecy by the god Zeus; misinterpreting it though, he killed the king of Thessaly and his family and usurped the throne. Jason, the infant son of the king, was taken away by the former king's soldiers. Meanwhile, Pelias slayed the king's daughter, Briseis, in the temple of the goddess Hera, who was infuriated because of his act in her temple. As a result, she decided to become the protector of Jason, and warned Pelias to be afraid of "a man who wears one sandal". Twenty years later, Jason saved Pelias from drowning in a river, but lost one of his sandals in the process. Pelias realised that this must be the man the prophecy mentioned, and encouraged him to seek the Golden Fleece, hoping he would be killed while trying to retrieve it.

Jason was taken to Mount Olympus, where he had a meeting with Zeus and Hera; the goddess said that Zeus forbade her to help him more than five times in the whole quest, and then informed him that the Fleece would be found somewhere in the land of Colchis. Zeus offered his help, but Jason said he was able of organising the whole trip and find a group of brave men to help him. Argus, a ship builder, constructed the ship with which Jason would sail to Colchis; the ship was named Argo, and thus the crewmembers became the Argonauts, including Heracles, Hylas and Acastus; the latter was the son of Pelias, who had been secretly sent by his father to sabotage the quest.

Hera told Jason to go the the Isle of Bronze but take nothing except provisions. Hercules, though, stole a brooch which was guarded by Talos, a gigantic statue, which sprang to life. Unsure how to deal with this, Jason asked for Hera's help, who told Jason to remove a plug from Talos' foot, so that the ichor that ran through his veins would drain. Jason pulled the plug, and Talos fell to the ground crushing Hylas. Hera informed the Argonauts that Hylas was dead, and Hercules decided to remain in the island and grieve for his friend.

The rest of the crew went to the land of King Phineas, who was blinded and tortured by the Harpies. After the Argonauts captured the Harpies, Phineas helped them by telling them the way to Colchis, which was to sail between the Clashing Rocks. He also gave Jason an amulet. When Argo reached the Rocks, their fate seemed bleak; however, Jason threw Phineas' amulet in the sea, and the sea god Triton appeared and held the Rocks apart until Argo sailed past. They also saved the high priestess of Coclhis, Medea, who had survived from a ship that had been previously crushed.

Acastus challenged Jason's authority, but confronted by the rest of the crew, he jumped into the sea and disappeared. When the Argonauts reached Colchis, Acastus had already reached the land and had warned King Aeetes of Jason's intentions. Aeetes imprisoned the Argonauts, but Medea helped them escape. Acastus then tried to steal the Golden Fleece but was killed by its guardian, the monster Hydra. Jason managed to kill it, but Aeetes took the teeth of Hydra and sowed them in the ground; skeletal warriors jumped up and a battle ensued. Many of the Argonauts were killed, but eventually, Jason, Medea and some of the crewmembers managed to escape with the Golden Fleece and return to Greece.

See Also: Jason, Argonauts, Pelias, Zeus, Hera, Briseis, Golden Fleece, Hylas, Acastus, Talos, Ichor, Hercules, Phineas, Harpies, Medea, Triton, Aeetes