Pelias
heroUsurper 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.
The Myth
His own daughters cut him up and boiled him — believing they were making him young again. Pelias had seized the throne of Iolcus from his half-brother Aeson (Jason's father). When Jason returned wearing one sandal (fulfilling a prophecy), Pelias sent him to fetch the Golden Fleece, expecting him to die. Jason returned with the Fleece and with Medea. Medea convinced Pelias's daughters that she could rejuvenate their aging father by cutting him up and boiling him with magical herbs — she demonstrated on an old ram, which emerged as a lamb. The daughters sliced their father apart. Medea added no magic. Pelias died in the pot. His son Acastus drove Jason and Medea from Iolcus.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The one-sandal prophecy is one of the earliest recognition motifs in Greek storytelling.
Explore Further
Aeson
heroAeson was Jason's aged father whom Medea rejuvenated through sorcery — cutting his throat, draining...
Medea (Sorceress)
heroMedea was a granddaughter of Helios and priestess of Hecate whose sorcery saved Jason — and whose...
Acastus
heroKing of Iolcus and Argonaut who later tried to murder Peleus by stranding him unarmed on Mount...
Alcestis
heroAlcestis was the devoted wife who volunteered to die in place of her husband Admetus — the only...
Jason
heroThe hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece. Jason's...
Medea
heroA powerful sorceress and princess of Colchis who betrayed her family to help Jason win the Golden...
Tyro
heroBeautiful princess who fell in love with the river god Enipeus, only to be seduced by Poseidon...
Golden Fleece
conceptThe fleece of a golden-wooled ram, hung in a sacred grove in Colchis and guarded by a sleepless...
Golden Fleece (Origin)
conceptThe fleece of the golden ram Chrysomallus that carried Phrixus to Colchis, becoming the object of...
Neleus
heroSon of Poseidon and Tyro, founder of Pylos, father of Nestor, killed by Heracles for refusing...
Salmoneus
heroKing of Elis who imitated Zeus by dragging bronze kettles behind his chariot and throwing torches...
Poseidon
godLord of the seas and brother of Zeus. Poseidon's moods shaped the oceans — calm seas for those who...