The Nereids

In Greek mythology, the Nereid/Nereides are sea nymphs (female spirits of the sea/waters), the 50 daughters of Nereus (the “Old Man of the Sea”) & Doris (an Oceanid). They’re sisters of the Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon & can be kind to sailors (as in the Argonauts’ search for the Golden Fleece).

While they’re often grouped together as a group of sea nymphs, they represent the multifaceted nature of the Mediterranean.

The Nereids were distinct from other nymphs. Like the freshwater Naiads or the deep-ocean Oceanids. They were specifically associated with the Aegean Sea. The Nereids symbolized everything beautiful & kind about the sea. Their beautiful voices sang as they danced around their dad. They’re pictured as beautiful women crowned with branches of red coral & dressed in white silk robes trimmed with gold.

They lived with their dad, Nereus, in the depths of a golden palace. While there were 50 sisters, 3 stand out:

• Thetis, the mom of a legend
  • She was so beautiful & powerful that Zeus & Poseidon courted her. Until a prophecy says that her son would be greater than his dad. To stop this prophecy from upsetting the “cosmic balance” (so Zeus’ power stayed with him), Zeus forced Thetis to marry a mortal king, Peleus. This wedding was the catalyst for the Trojan War. It’s where Eris threw the “Apple of Discord.” Thetis spent her life trying to protect her son, Achilles, from his destiny. She was 1 of the few nymphs to have a significant cult following, particularly in Laconia & Thessaly.
• Amphitrite, the Queen of the Sea
  • Amphitrite is the “First Lady” of the ocean. Poseidon may be the king, but Amphitrite represents the sea’s actual substance. Legend says that she initially ran away from Poseidon’s romantic advancements. She hid in the Atlas Mountains to get away from Poseidon. Poseidon sent a dolphin to find her & plead his case. The dolphin successfully pleaded Poseidon’s case. She agreed to marry Poseidon. Poseidon put the dolphin in the stars as a reward (the Delphinus constellation).
• Galatea, the beloved & the bitter
  • She was loved by the giant cyclops, Polyphemus. However, Galatea loved a mortal shepherd named Acis. In a fit of rage, Polyphemus crushed Acis with a boulder. Galatea, using her divine sea powers, transformed her lover’s blood into a river (the River Acis in Sicily) so that he could remain immortal in spirit.

In Homer’s Iliad XVIII, when Thetis cries out in sympathy for the grief of her son, Achilles, for the slain Patroclus, her sisters show up. 4 of her sisters, Cymodoce, Thalia, Nesaea, & Spio, were among the nymphs in the training of Cyrene. Later on, these 4 together with their sisters (Thetis, Melite, & Panopea) were able to help the hero Aeneas & his crew during a storm.

In 1 account, Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter, Andromeda, was more beautiful than the Nereides. The Nereids were livid at Cassiopeia’s claim. Their divine homie, Poseidon, being sympathetic towards them, sent a flood, & a sea monster to the land of the Aethiopians, demanding Andromeda’s sacrifices.

These sea goddesses were also said to reveal the mysteries of Dionysus & Persephone. The Nereids were worshipped in several parts of Greece. More specifically, in seaport towns, such as Cardamyle & the Isthmus of Corinth.

In the ancient world, the Nereids weren’t some fanciful fairy tales. They were a part of a functional religious system. Historical records show that sailors & military commanders (like Alexander the Great) offered sacrifices to the Nereids before going out on dangerous voyages.

The Nereid is the direct ancestor of the modern mermaid. The Greeks usually pictured them as fully human. But later Roman & Hellenistic art began to blend them with fish-like features.

The 3rd largest moon of Neptune is called Nereid. It was discovered in 1949 by Gerard Kuiper. The moon is famous for having 1 of the most eccentric (non-circular) orbits of any moon in the solar system. Also, there’s a “lake” in Antarctica that bears their name.

Jason (& the Argonauts)

Jason was an ancient Greek mythological hero & leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is in Greek literature.He’s the son of Aeson, who was the rightful King of Iolcos (modern-day Vollos). He was married to the “sorceress” Medea, the granddaughter of Helios, the sun god.

Jason appears in various literary works in the classical world of Greece & Rome, including the epic poem Argonautica & the tragedy Medea.

Pelias (Jason’s half-uncle & his dad’s half-brother) was power hungry & sought to gain authority over all of Thessaly. Pelias was the offspring of a union between their shared mom, Tyro (the daughter of Salmoneus), & the sea god, Poseidon.

In a bitter feud, Jason overthrew Aeson (again, who was the rightful King), killing all the descendants of Aeson that he could. He spared his half-brother for unknown reasons.

Aeson’s wife, Alcimede I, had a newborn son named Jason. She saved from Pelias by having female attendants cluster around the infant & cry as if he were stillborn. Being scared that Pelias would eventually notice & unalive her son, Alcimede sent him away to be raised by the centaur, Chiron. Chiron also tutored Achilles & Asclepius.

She claimed that she had been having an affair with him all along. Pelias, fearing that his ill-gotten kingship might be challenged, consulted an Oracle who warned him to beware of a man wearing only 1 sandal.

Many years later, Pelias was holding games in honor of Poseidon when the grown Jason arrived in Iolcus, having lost 1 of his sandals. He lost this sandal in the river Anauros/Anaurus while helping an old woman across the water.

The old woman was actually Hera, the goddess, in disguise. She (Hera) blessed him because she knew what Pelias had planned. When Jason entered Iolcus, Pelias recalled what the Oracle had warned him about. Jason aware that he was the rightful King, informed Pelias.

Pelias agreed to step down from the throne, on the condition that Jason brings back the Golden Fleece. Jason agrees to these terms.

Jason then assembles the group that becomes known as the Argonauts. They were named after their ship, the Argo. Jason commissions the shipbuilder Argus to build the Argo. (We feel like Argus named the ship after himself.)

The Argo was a vessel that was outfitted with a piece of talking oak from the sacred grove of Dodona. Argus becomes an Argonaut. Jason then recruits the rest of the Argonauts.

The Argonauts list:

Acastus

Admetus

Atalanta, the formidable huntress

Augeas

The winged Boreads, Zetes & Calais (sons of the North Wind)

The Dioscuri, Castor & Pollux/Polydeuces

Euphemus

Heracles/Hercules (Yes, THAT one. He eventually left the quest.)

Idas

Idmon, the seer

Lynceus

Meleager

Orpheus

Peleus (Achilles’ dad)

Philoctetes

Telamon

Tiphys, the helmsman

After a few detours, Jason & his comrades came to Colchis (modern-day Black Sea coast of Georgia, the country) to get that sweet, sweet Golden Fleece. Colchis had a king (King Aeetes). The Fleece was given to him by Phrixus. The king promised to give Jason the Fleece, for a price: 3 tasks.

When presented with these tasks, Jason got discouraged & depressed. The goddess Hera was on Jason’s side. Hera convinced Aphrodite to convince her son, Eros, to make King Aeetus’ daughter, Medea, fall in love with Jason. As a result of this love-god meddling, Medea ended up being the key to Jason’s success.

First, Jason had to plow a field with a fire-breathing oxen (the Khalkotauroi) that he had to yoke himself, Medea gave Jason an ointment that made his skin fireproof from the oxen’s flames. Then Jason planted the teeth of a dragon into a field. The teeth sprouted into an army of warriors called spartoi. Medea told Jason how to defeat the spartoi.

Before the spartoi attacked Jason, he threw a rock into the crowd. The spartoi weren’t able to figure out where the rock came from. So the spartoi turned on each other & defeated one another. Jason’s last task was to overcome the sleepless dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece. Medea to the rescue, again.

She gave Jason a potion that he sprayed the dragon with. The dragon fell asleep. Jason was able to get the Golden Fleece. Then he sails away with Medea. Medea distracted her dad (who chased the pair as they fled) by unaliving her brother, Apsyrtus, & throwing pieces of his body into the sea.

King Aeetus stopped to gather each piece of Apsyrtus’ body. This gave Jason, & Medea, time to escape. On the way back to Iolcus, Medea prophesied to Euphemus (the Argo’s helmsman) that he would one day rule Cyrene. This prophecy came true through Euphemus’ descendant, Battus.

Zeus, as punishment for the slaughter of Medea’s brother, sent a series of storms at the Argo & blew it off course. The Argo then actually spoke & said that they should seek purification with Circe, a nymph living on the island of Aeaea. After being cleansed, they continued their journey home.

Chiron had told Jason that without the aid of Orpheus, the Argonauts would never be able to pass by the Sirens. The same Sirens encountered by Odysseus in Homer’s The Odyssey. The Sirens lived on 3 small, rocky islands called Sirenum scopuli & sang beautiful songs that enticed sailors to come to them, which result in the wrecking of their ships on the islands.

When Orpheus heard their voices, he said, “Here, hold my drink a sec!” He pulls out his lyre & played music that was more beautiful & louder, drowning out the Sirens’ songs so the sailors couldn’t hear them!

The Argo then came to the island of Crete, guarded by Talos, who was a man made of bronze. As the ship came close, Talos hurled huge stones at the ship, keeping it at bay. Talos had 1 ichor vessel (like a blood vessel) that went from his neck to his ankle, bound shut by 1 bronze nail. (Ichor is pretty much the blood of the gods.)

Medea, helping Jason, cast a spell on Talos to calm him. She then removes the bronze nail. Talos ends up bleeding to death. The Argo was able to sail on.

Jason, celebrating his return with the Golden Fleece, saw his dad was too sick & old to participate in the celebrations. Jason asks Medea to take some years from his own life & add the years to his dad’s life. (This is actually sweet.)

Medea complied. There was no cost to Jason’s life. Medea withdrew the blood from Aeson’s body & infused it with certain herbs. She put it back into his veins. This invigorated him. Pelias’ daughters took notice of this, & wanted a piece of that action from their own dad.

Using her sorcery, Medea told Pelias’ daughters that she could make their dad smooth & vigorous as a kid by chopping him up into pieces & boiling the pieces in a cauldron of water & magical herbs. Medea shows that she can do this with the oldest ram in a flock, which leapt out of the cauldron as a lamb. The girls naively sliced up their dad & put in the cauldron.

Medea just didn’t put in the magical herbs to revive Pelias. So Pelias was dead. Pelias’s son, Acastus, drove Jason, & Medea, into exile for the unaliving. The couple settles in Corinth.

In Corinth, Jason gets engaged to marry Creusa/Glauce, a daughter of the king of Corinth. He did this for political advancement. Medea confronts Jason about this engagement. Because SHE’S already his wife. She reminds Jason of all the help she’s given him & the vow he made, to Hera, to love Medea & only Medea forever.

Jason tells Medea that it’s not her that he should thank but it’s Aphrodite who should get the kudos. Because Aphrodite made Medea fall in love with Jason. (Ok, Jason’s kinda right. It was Aphrodite via Eros.) Medea was incensed! (Rightfully so.)

Jason had vowed to be only Medea’s forever so Medea took her revenge by giving Creusa/Glauce a cursed dress, as a wedding gift. This dress stuck to her body & burned her to death as soon as she put it on. Cerusa/Glauce’s dad, Creon, burned to death with his daughter as he tried to save her.

Then Medea killed her sons that she had with Jason to ensure he had no legacy. When Jason learned of this, Medea was already gone. She fled to Athens in a chariot pulled by dragons that was sent by her grandpa, Helios (the sun-god).

As a result of breaking his vow to love Medea only forever, Jason lost his favor with Hera & died lonely & unhappy. He spent his final years as a broken man, wandering the docks where the rotting hull of the Argo sat. One day, while he was resting under the ship’s prow, a piece of the decaying wood broke off & fell onto Jason’s head, unaliving him instantly.

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