電影 Jason and the Argonauts 及大部份的故事中只描述前半節 Jason 帶領 Argonauts 50個英雄取金羊毛的故事,將Jason與Medea描述成英雄美人,後來看到後半截的故事.....
《米狄亞》MEDEA的作者是古希臘著名悲劇作家尤里皮底斯 Euripides,尤里皮底斯擅長描寫家庭矛盾及女性心理,此劇亦不例外;米狄亞公主為了愛人傑森信背父殺弟,甘願犧牲一切,但到頭來竟遭 Jason 拋棄。在盛怒下決意施計報復,誓令負心人後悔一生。雖然是神話故事的虛擬人物,不過粉多人格特質該是有跡可尋。
Medea,1889 by: Evelyn De Morgan, Pre-Raphaelite Location: WilliamsonArtGallery and Museum, Birkenhead, England Medea was the princess of Colchis and was skilled in the magic arts. She fell in love with the Argonaut Jason when he and his crew of the Argo landed on Colchis. She used her magic to aid him in obtaining the Golden Fleece, the goal of the Argonauts expedition. She fled from Colchis as Jason\'s wife. While king Aietes, Medea\'s father, was in pursuit of the Argo to get his daughter back, Medea cut her brother up to pieces and cast each piece into the sea to slow the pursuers, as Aietes would have to retrieve all the pieces to give his son a proper burial. Jason later betrayed Medea by marrying a Theban princess named Glauce. Medea took a terrible revenge murdering her own children by Jason, but not before she burned Glauce alive in a poisoned wedding dress.
Scylla (Skulla)是意大利和西西里島之間距離粉近的一塊巨岩,它的對面是著名的卡律布狄斯Charybdis大漩渦,希臘神話中關於斯庫拉、卡律布狄斯和塞壬的傳說很可能就是得靈感於墨西拿海峽的礁石、激流與漩渦,在英語的習慣用語中有「Between Scylla And Charybdis」的說法,前有斯庫拉巨岩,後有卡律布狄斯漩渦,翻譯過來就是「進退兩難」的意思。
Ulysses and the Sirens, 1891 John William Waterhouse (滲水一下,這只是看看Siren的樣子,Ulysses的故事才有塞住耳朵綁在桅桿上駛經海妖島的一幕。) 在Orpheus and Eurydice 的故事中,提及阿波羅之子Orphus曾幫助Jason取金羊毛的航程(Argonauts),也曾通過Sirens居住的地方,大音樂家天琴座Orpheus用自己的琴聲壓倒了Sirens的歌聲讓船順利地通過,害得Siren從此便自暴自棄,投海自盡。
Scenes from the Story of the Argonauts, cassone panel Biagio di Antonio (Italian, Florentine, active 1446–1516) Tempera on wood, gilt ornaments; Overall 24 1/8 x 60 3/8 in. (61.3 x 153.4 cm); painted surface 19 5/8 x 56 in. (49.8 x 142.2 cm) Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1909 (09.136.1) In this panel and its companion (09.136.2), the story of Jason and the Argonauts unfolds in a continuous narrative. The episodes here include the meeting of King Aëetes and his daughters Medea and Chalciope with Jason and his companions; Jason plowing the grove of Ares, where the Golden Fleece is guarded; Orpheus lulling the dragon to sleep so that Jason may steal the fleece; and, probably, the king sending his sons off to capture the fleeing Jason and Medea.
Jason完成了國王交給他的工作,國王只好帶 Jason 到放金羊毛的聖林裏,國王叫Jason 自己去取,心想 Jason 這次必死無疑,因為有一條巨龍守護金羊毛。可是國王不知道女兒背叛了他,Jason將Medea事先調好的藥水往牠身上灑了幾滴,令巨龍入睡,安全取得金羊毛(也有一說是Medea獻計讓Orphus彈奏他的七弦琴馴服了巨龍,讓Jason順利取得金羊毛)。
a dramatic scene of Jason administering the potion given by Medea on the dragon, from the later 1600s by Salvator Rosa
Death of Apsyrtus by Herbert Draper (about 1900), showing the departure of Jason and Medea, and the gruesome fate of Medea‘s brother, whom she had brought along as hostage. Seeing that her father’s fleet would catch up to the Argo, she ruthlessly ordered that her brother be butchered and the pieces tossed overboard, in order to delay the pursuing ships. Although Draper has not shown the gory details, we see the boy pleading with Medea, while Jason stands behind her holding up the Fleece.
Medea殘忍的行為觸怒了 Zeus,憤怒的 Zeus 颳起暴風驅趕著 Argo 號,Argo 號居然開口了說:「除非 Medea 去找Medea 的姑姑 Circe洗滌罪狀,否則 Zeus 無法平靜下來(居然這種罪狀可以洗滌)。 Argo 號就著麼被暴風驅趕到 Circe的住處. Circe purified both Jason and Medea of the murder, but she refused to offer them any hospitality.
Argo Navis is no longer an officially recognized constellation, it has been split up into three constellations; Carina the Keel, Vela the Sails, Puppis the Stern, plus a subordinate division of Argo now called Pyxis Nautica, the Nautical Box or Mariner\'s Compass, and which used to be called Malus, the Mast. In Greek Mythology Argo Navis represents the Ship used by Jason and fifty Argonauts to sail to fetch the Golden Fleece from Colchis (Iolcus) in the Black Sea.
Medea rejuvenated ram to make the daughters think she would do the same for their father; Greek, c. 470 BCE Berlin, PergamonMuseum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1992, vase painting
Pelias 的兒子繼承王位,把 Jason 和 Medea 驅逐出國,並將害死他父親的魔缽在宙斯 (Zeus) 的神殿裡看管,後來宙斯為了避免那魔缽再害人,便將魔鉢\放在天上,這就是巨爵座(Crater)。
The children lie slumped across in altar at bottom right; an old nurse tears her hair beside them, and Jason comes in grieving to the far right. Winged Furies flank the scene. South Italian Crater, red-figure, Lucanian (from Italy), c.400-380 BCE , Cleveland Museum of Arts.
之後......
I have heard sad tales of his homeless wanderings from city to city. No longer the heroic adventurer once so favored by the gods, he now lives his life as a destitute man haunted by his own personal failures. Everyday he must exist with the knowledge that his own decisions based on greed and pride were to blame for bringing about the death of his beloved children. But there is no happy ending for me either.
Alas, I am no different than my husband, for I too shall be forever haunted by my past. My heart will forever be tied to a man I can not have and my hands forever stained with the blood of a murder that I committed.