Link to scholarly arguments

Jason—Hero or Not?  

By Mike Kaplan

            Jason and the Argonauts, by Apollonius of Rhodes, is the epic tale of the quest for the Golden Fleece.  The mission was given to Jason by his Uncle Pelias.  Jason thought that upon completion, he would receive the throne that his father had rightfully passed down to him.  Pelias, however, sent him away, hoping to get him killed, so that he could keep the throne for himself.  After gathering the group of warriors that became the Argonauts, Jason set out on a great journey.  Facing many challenges along the way, the group is finally able to achieve the goal of getting the Golden Fleece. As the group’s leader, Jason had many crucial decisions to make along the way to help the mission become a success.  The assumption might be that Jason’s leadership abilities were the reason that the voyage was a success, but in fact the opposite is true.  It was successful in spite of him, not due to him.  Apollonius chose to tell the tale of Jason, not to show the heroic conquest of one man, but to praise the individual talents of the Argonauts.

            Since Jason was the one that would benefit most from this mission, it would only seem fitting that he would be the leader from the start.  When the crew was getting ready to sail, they wanted to appoint the strongest and best warrior of the bunch, Herakles, to lead the voyage.  Herakles, however, deferred this responsibility to Jason by saying, “I shall not allow anyone else to put himself forward: let he who gathered our band together lead us on our way”.[1] This moment begins to make you wonder from the beginning who is in control because it shows the Herakles has a greater influence than Jason does on the rest of the crew.  If the members of the crew were completely confident in Jason’s ability to lead, it would’ve made more sense for him to have been first choice for leader.  Herakles, however, is by far the strongest warrior out of all the Argonauts and in addition an imposing presence to Jason.  When Herakles is accidentally left behind, Jason is confused and doesn’t know what to do next.  He “was so struck by helplessness that he could not speak in favour of any proposal, but sat gnawing at his heart”.[2]  Telamon believes that Jason is to blame for this happening.  “Sit there at your ease, since it was you who arranged to abandon Herakles…You didn’t want his glory to overshadow yours throughout Greece”.[3]  The crew obviously feels that Jason is jealous of Herakles’ abilities and that he would’ve taken away from Jason’s glory.  With him out of the way, Jason would assume the role of the mission’s central figure.  After all, Herakles probably could’ve completed the entire mission on his own, rowing the boat alone and then taking on the challenge brought forth later on by Aietes.[4]

            When Telamon berates Jason for leaving Herakles behind, Jason weeps.  When the Argonauts are challenged to a fight, it is Polydeukes, not Jason, who steps up to face the battle.[5]  Time after time on the voyage it is up to someone else to bail the Argonauts out of a tough situation.  Finally, when they reach Aietes, it is Jason’s turn to step up and conquer a challenge.  Aietes isn’t willing to just hand over the fleece because “It would not be seemly for a man of noble birth to yield to an inferior”.[6]  He was not going to make it easy for the Argonauts to complete their mission.  Instead of Jason facing his encounter like a true hero, he immediately talks to his men about ways around it.  To win the battle, Jason uses Aietes’ daughter Medea.  Later on, he uses her again to capture the Fleece.[7]  He needs the help of his crew and a woman to help him get the crown he covets.

            Despite being the group’s leader, there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that Jason was just another of the Argonauts, and in fact it was the crew collectively, that was the hero.  “Jason is no more than one among many, a specialist whose particular heroic qualification is his gift for dressing up and getting naïve young virgins to fall in love with him”.[8]  Historians such as Charles Beye and James Clauss refute the notion that Jason wasn’t a hero.  They use terms such as “passive hero” to try and make Jason into a triumphant leader.[9]  In reality, however, this is nothing more than an attempt to cover Jason’s leadership inadequacies.

    A lot of the blame for Jason’s lack of heroism can be placed on the story’s author Apollonius.  He wrote the epic without a strong central character.[10]  Herakles is the only individual that has a strength standing out above the rest.  According to Richard Hunter, since the story does not focus on Jason, but instead mentions the achievements of other crew members, this detracts from his importance in the grand scheme.[11]  Even though it appears Jason is the one resolving conflict, there are usually outside forces helping.  For example, when Herakles is left behind, the first conflict is created.  Jason needs the help of Glaukos from the sea in order to keep the crew together.[12]  When a difficult situation arises, we often see Jason sitting back and not taking the initiative, but rather he “waits for the dust to settle before taking advantage of the opportunities that others…have provided”.[13]

            It seems odd that Apollonius would choose to tell Jason’s tale, yet make him into a weak hero.  Apollonius, however, originally named the epic The Argonautica, thereby not singling out one individual in particular on the voyage.  His goal was to tell a tale not praising the heroic glory of one individual in particular, but rather reflecting on the extraordinary talents of the group of warriors.[14]  In the Hellenistic Age, there are very few individuals praised for their heroic abilities.  After the great conquests of Alexander, no one person stood out for his or her achievements.  The Maccabees, like the Argonauts, were a collection of men, who were successful in their fight.  Another similarity between the tale of the Argonautica and the Hellenistic Age, is the reliance on Gods.  People were always turning to the Gods for help in guiding them through situations.  Jason is no different.  The Goddess Hera plays a big role in Jason’s success by helping to get Aietes’ daughter Medea on the Argonauts’ side.[15]  Without her help, it is unlikely that the Argonauts would’ve been able to get through the whole voyage.

            Generally when we think of the leader of a great mission such as that of the Argonauts, we would assume that he is heroic, fierce, and a tough warrior.  None of this applies to Jason, son of Aison, however.  His talents are limited and the only reason he is the leader is that he had the most to gain from this expedition.  The voyage was not successful because of Jason, but rather in spite of him. 

Read more about the Argonauts:  Jason and the Argonauts:  Through the Years