Aeson
Aeson was Jason's aged father whom Medea rejuvenated through sorcery — cutting his throat, draining his blood, and filling him with a magical potion.
The Legend of Aeson
Aeson was rightful king of Iolcus, usurped by his half-brother Pelias. He entrusted his son Jason to the centaur Chiron, who raised the boy on Mount Pelion. When Jason returned to claim the throne, Pelias sent him to fetch the Golden Fleece from Colchis. Medea, granddaughter of Helios, used her sorcery to rejuvenate old Aeson by draining his blood and filling his veins with a magical potion. The tale connects the Argonautic cycle to the darker tragedies of Corinth, where Medea's story ends.
Parents
Cretheus and Tyro
Children
Jason
Symbols
Fun Fact
Medea's rejuvenation of Aeson is one of the earliest descriptions of what we might now call a blood transfusion — horrifying but effective.
Explore Further
Pelias
🗡 herousurpation
Usurper king of Iolcus who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece hoping he would die, and was later boiled alive by his own daughters.
Medea
🗡 heroSorceress princess of Colchis
Medea was a granddaughter of Helios and priestess of Hecate whose sorcery saved Jason — and whose revenge destroyed him.
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts, seeker of the Golden Fleece
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece. Jason's story is one of ambition, adventure, and tragic betrayal.
Medea
🗡 heroSorceress who helped Jason, then destroyed him
A powerful sorceress and princess of Colchis who betrayed her family to help Jason win the Golden Fleece, only to be abandoned by him and take catastrophic revenge.
Perseus
🗡 heroHero who slew Medusa
The son of Zeus and Danae who beheaded Medusa, rescued Andromeda, and founded the Perseid dynasty of Mycenae.
Pelops
🗡 heroFounder of the Peloponnese dynasty
Pelops was the prince served as food to the gods by his father Tantalus, restored to life with an ivory shoulder, and founder of the cursed dynasty that ruled Mycenae.
Oedipus
🗡 heroKing who fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother
The tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling a prophecy he had spent his life trying to avoid.
Laertes
🗡 heroKingship, Old Age, Restoration
Father of Odysseus and aging king of Ithaca who returned to farming during his son's long absence.
Anchises
🗡 heroLove, royalty, Troy
Trojan prince beloved by Aphrodite and father of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome
Pelops
🗡 herokingship
Son of Tantalus, restored to life by the gods with an ivory shoulder, who won his bride by cheating in a chariot race and cursed his line.
Asclepius
🗡 heroGod of medicine and healing
The legendary physician who could cure any illness and even raise the dead. Son of Apollo, his skill in medicine was so great that Zeus struck him down to preserve the natural order.
Glaucus
🗡 heroNone recorded
A young prince of Crete who drowned in a jar of honey and was restored to life by the seer Polyidus using a magical herb revealed by a serpent