How does jason represent the world?
Though Jason, as perfect as he may seem, made a few mistakes through his journey, showing that everyone, when those who we see as perfect, slip up.
The whole reason Jason went on the quest for the Golden Fleece was to help his father, who had been imprisoned, gain back the throne that was so unjustly take from him, but one setback for Jason, was that he could not bear to leave his mother alone while he went on a dangers journey. This shows that Jason cares about his family, because he is willing to risk his life for them, but they were the ones that he could not say good-bye to. Having a strong connection with your family is something very special and not as common as some would think, but is an aspect that gives Jason the hint of innocence and love towards others.
When Hercules was left behind when the Argo deployed from Mysia, the crew was divided on the subject of if they should go back for him. Jason wanted to go back because he cared about all of his crew and did not like the idea that he let one of them behind. Jason cared about his crewmates, even if it would cause him troubles to care for them. Showing that society looks up to people that care for others even if it puts themselves in harm’s way, the definition of a hero. Going off this Jason is also depicted as helpful, stopping to get rid of the Harpies of Phineus and bringing Medea to Circe to relieve her from her wrongs.
Though Jason seems like he could handle anything on his own, he has some flaws, which cause him to rely on others. Jason was not immortal, meaning that he could easily be harmed so he relied on his crew to stay safe and had to put his trust in them, which could potentially be a dangerous situation, if he was not a great leader, making his crew trust him greatly back.
Jason needed help from many, though mostly Hera and Medea, when making his way to the island of Colchis and back home. Some example of this are the struggles that the crew faced on their trip, such as the encounter with the sirens, the crushing rocks of the Symplgades, Medea’s potion for the bulls, and Hera to save him multiple times. Jason is not perfect and needed help many times, making it seem that society sees that people need help, and showing this is a good thing because it shows trust in that person.
One large fault that Jason had was the fact that he was lustful. This can be seen a couple of times throughout his life. The first showing of his lustfulness was the stop at the island of Lemnos. Jason, and others, stayed for a full year with beautiful women, completely forgetting about their task, and instead only focusing on what they wanted. Jason ruined his marriage and his family because of his lustfulness, too. Leaving Medea for a younger woman, because he thought of her as more beautiful, caused the death of his children and the cause of his lust, eventually the end of his life.
Jason shows that in society, people will mess up, but just because they have other qualities that are great, does not mean they have to pay for their mistakes. Society prefers people that will take the consequences for their mistakes but are also caring, smart, trusting, humble, and honest. Though Jason had these other qualities, he ruined his reputation and life because of one negative quality that he let overrun his life. Not everyone is perfect and Ancient Greek stories show this, massively, but a hero must not let these imperfections become too big and overpower his ability to put others before himself.
Jason met all the "requirements" of the depiction of a hero at the begging of his life and all during his quest, but when he had all that he could wish for, Jason became greedy and let his good qualities slip.
The whole reason Jason went on the quest for the Golden Fleece was to help his father, who had been imprisoned, gain back the throne that was so unjustly take from him, but one setback for Jason, was that he could not bear to leave his mother alone while he went on a dangers journey. This shows that Jason cares about his family, because he is willing to risk his life for them, but they were the ones that he could not say good-bye to. Having a strong connection with your family is something very special and not as common as some would think, but is an aspect that gives Jason the hint of innocence and love towards others.
When Hercules was left behind when the Argo deployed from Mysia, the crew was divided on the subject of if they should go back for him. Jason wanted to go back because he cared about all of his crew and did not like the idea that he let one of them behind. Jason cared about his crewmates, even if it would cause him troubles to care for them. Showing that society looks up to people that care for others even if it puts themselves in harm’s way, the definition of a hero. Going off this Jason is also depicted as helpful, stopping to get rid of the Harpies of Phineus and bringing Medea to Circe to relieve her from her wrongs.
Though Jason seems like he could handle anything on his own, he has some flaws, which cause him to rely on others. Jason was not immortal, meaning that he could easily be harmed so he relied on his crew to stay safe and had to put his trust in them, which could potentially be a dangerous situation, if he was not a great leader, making his crew trust him greatly back.
Jason needed help from many, though mostly Hera and Medea, when making his way to the island of Colchis and back home. Some example of this are the struggles that the crew faced on their trip, such as the encounter with the sirens, the crushing rocks of the Symplgades, Medea’s potion for the bulls, and Hera to save him multiple times. Jason is not perfect and needed help many times, making it seem that society sees that people need help, and showing this is a good thing because it shows trust in that person.
One large fault that Jason had was the fact that he was lustful. This can be seen a couple of times throughout his life. The first showing of his lustfulness was the stop at the island of Lemnos. Jason, and others, stayed for a full year with beautiful women, completely forgetting about their task, and instead only focusing on what they wanted. Jason ruined his marriage and his family because of his lustfulness, too. Leaving Medea for a younger woman, because he thought of her as more beautiful, caused the death of his children and the cause of his lust, eventually the end of his life.
Jason shows that in society, people will mess up, but just because they have other qualities that are great, does not mean they have to pay for their mistakes. Society prefers people that will take the consequences for their mistakes but are also caring, smart, trusting, humble, and honest. Though Jason had these other qualities, he ruined his reputation and life because of one negative quality that he let overrun his life. Not everyone is perfect and Ancient Greek stories show this, massively, but a hero must not let these imperfections become too big and overpower his ability to put others before himself.
Jason met all the "requirements" of the depiction of a hero at the begging of his life and all during his quest, but when he had all that he could wish for, Jason became greedy and let his good qualities slip.