The stories’ origins lie in the escape of Phrixus and his sister Helle from their father’s jealous second wife: Just as they were about to be sacrificed, a flying golden-fleeced ram grabbed them from the altar and flew them across the strait separating Europe from Asia. Helle fell off, but Phrixus made it to Colchis on the Black Sea where he became son-in-law to the local king Aeetes, sacrificed the golden fleece’s hide, and gifted it to the king.

Years later, king Pelias sent Jason on a quest to bring the fleece back to Greece. Jason called for the youth of Greece to join him on his quest, Hercules and Orpheus among them. With Hera as their patron, the heroes set sail in the Argo. They stopped in Lemnos, an island populated only by women. At their next stop, a water nymph kidnapped Hercules’s companion Hylas, and the hero remained behind searching for him. The Argonauts next freed the prophet Phineus from the harpies, and he advised them how to survive the Clashing Rocks. They passed the land of the Amazons without engaging the fierce daughters of Ares and the rock where Prometheus was chained, finally reaching Colchis.

On Olympus, Hera and Aphrodite plotted for Medea to fall in love with Jason and help him succeed on his quest.