Meet Pelias, king of Iolcus. Pelias is in a bad position. As an illegitimate son of Poseidon and the former queen, Pelias's reign is on shaky ground. To secure his throne, Pelias has killed, imprisoned or exiled most of his family. This has angered most of the gods, except, of course, Poseidon. Hera decides Pelias must die! Athena agrees, and the two goddesses set about plotting Pelias's doom. They will use Pelias's cousin, Jason, to destroy the evil king. But rather than just giving Jason a knife and distracting the king, the goddesses plan this whole contrived, roundabout way to kill Pelias. Hera doesn't just want Pelias to die; she wants him to die horribly.
The Argonauts Prepare for Their Journey
Jason will go to Colchis, pick up a sorceress named Medea and bring her home with him, and she will kill the king in an inventive and awful manner. This may seem crazy to you or I, but Apollonius is simply retelling part of a story that is very, very old - the tale of Jason and Medea. …show more content…
The two marry and make babies. Upon their return, Medea's magical powers attract the attention of King Pelias. Medea tells the king that she can use her magic to restore his youth. This is totally within her power, which she demonstrates by restoring an old goat to youth by submerging it in her magic cauldron. In a particularly sick twist, Medea convinces Pelias's beloved daughters that they must be the ones to perform the magical rite on their father. Yet she gives the girls the wrong potion, and Pelias ends up getting cooked alive by his own