Myth Monday - Medea and Athens

October's Myth Mondays featured the legendary Theseus and the mythological history of the real city over which he ruled, Athens. Theseus was recognized when he arrived in Athens by the sword and sandals of his father, Aegeus. The first to recognize them was not Theseus' father, however, but his wife, the woman who is the focus of November's Myth Mondays. She is Medea, originally of Colchis. Medea conspired to make Aegeus poison his son, but Aegeus recognized the sword and sandals in the nick of time and swept the poisoned goblet from his son's hand.

• FAQ - Sword and Sandals

Medea is mostly associated with a hero other than Theseus, Jason, who was also recognized by a sandal when he reached the place he planned to rule. In Jason's case, it was the fact that one of his sandals was missing that led to his recognition. Aeson was the rightful king of Iolcus, but his half-brother Pelias, with whom he shared a mother, Tyro*, stole the throne. Pelias, the father of the noble, self-sacrificing heroine Alcestis, and a victim, like Hercules, of Hera's wrath, would have killed Jason at birth had he known of his existence. The centaur Chiron raised Aeson's son Jason in the safety of secrecy. Years later, Jason returned to Iolcus where his uncle recognized him from a prophecy that he would be overthrown by a man in one sandal.

• The Centauromachy
• The Golden Fleece, by Hawthorne

Medea is also connected with the stories of early Athens in another way. Prometheus is one of the possible midwives attendant upon Zeus when he gave birth to Athens' patron goddess, Athena. By midwife I mean, he wielded the axe to alleviate Zeus' headache. Medea's homeland of Colchis, located along the Black Sea, is where Prometheus was chained up for thwarting the will of Zeus by bringing fire to mankind. Chained to a rock, a big bird ate his liver each day. Since Prometheus was immortal, his liver re-grew, so the bird could feast again and again, and Prometheus could suffer the agony repeatedly, until Hercules rescued him. The torch race from the altar of Prometheus (in the Academy) to Athens' city center -- part of the Panathenaia festival in Athens -- may have celebrated Prometheus' escape [Prometheus, by Carol Dougherty]. Colchis may also have been the home of the legendary amazons whom Theseus fought.

• Legendary Heroes and the Amazons

*They may or may not have been full brothers. Pelias may have been the son of the sea god Poseidon, while Aeson may have been the son of Tyro's mortal husband, Cretheus.

Have you noticed how all the mortal figures and demi-gods in these Myth Mondays seem to have connections well within 6 degrees of separation?

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