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Listed 15 sub titles with search on: Homeric world for destination: "IOLKOS Ancient city VOLOS".


Homeric world (15)

Greeks of the Homeric Catalogue of Ships

Trojan War

Iolcus, which the poet calls "well-built" and "spacious", belonged to the territory of Eumelus and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships. There was also the residence of king Pelias (Il. 2.712, Od. 11.256).

Kings

Aeson & Polymede

Son of Cretheus and Tyro, father of Iason, king of Iolcus (Od. 11.259).

Aeson (Aison). The son of Cretheus and Tyro, and father of Iason. He was excluded from the throne by his half-brother Pelias. During the absence of Iason on the Argonautic expedition, Pelias attempted to murder Aeson, but the latter put an end to his own life. According to Ovid, Aeson survived the return of the Argonauts, and was made young again by Medea.

This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Aeson (Aison), a son of Cretheus, the founder of Iolcus, and of Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus. He was excluded by his step-brother Pelias from his share in the kingdom of Thessaly. He was father of Jason and Promachus, but the name of his wife is differently stated, as Polymele, Alcimede, Amphinome, Polypheme, Polymele, Arne, and Scarphe (Apollod. i. 9.11,16; Hom. Od. xi. 258; Tzetz. ad Lycophr. 872; Diod. iv. 50; Schol. ad Apollod. i. 45; Schol. ad Hom. Od. xii. 70). Pelias endeavoured to secure the throne to himself by sending Jason away with the Argonauts, but when one day he was surprised and frightened by the news of the return of the Argonauts, he attempted to get rid of Aeson by force, but the latter put an end to his own life. (Ap)ollod. i. 9. § 27.) According to an account in Diodorus (iv. 50), Pelias compelled Aeson to kill himself by drinking ox's blood, for he had received intelligence that Jason and his companions had perished in their expedition. According to Ovid (Met. vii. 163, 250, &c.), Aeson survived the return of the Argonauts, and was made young again by Medeia. Jason as the son of Aeson is called Aesonides. (Orph. Arg. 55)

This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Sep 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Alcimede (Alkimede), a daughter of Phylacus and Clymene, the daughter of Minyas (Apollon. Rhod. i. 45; Schol. ad loc. and ad i. 230). She married Aeson, by whom she became the mother of Jason (Ov. Heroid. iv. 105; Hygin. Fab. 13 and 14), who, however, is called by others a son of Polymede, Arne, or Scarphe. (Apollod. i. 9.8)

Amphinome, the wife of Aeson and mother of Jason. When her husband and her son Promachus had been slain by Pelias, and she too was on the point of sharing their fate, she fled to the hearth of Pelias, that his crime might be aggravated by murdering her on that sacred spot. She then cursed the murderer of her relatives, and plunged a sword into her own breast. (Diod. iv. 50; Apollon. Rhod. i. 45.) Two other mythical personages of this name are mentioned in Diod. iv. 53, and in the Hiad, xviii. 44.

Pelias & Anaxibia

A son of Cretheus or of Poseidon by Tyro, king of Iolcus, father of the wife of Admetus Alcestis (Il. 2.715, Od. 11.254). He sent Jason to fetch the Golden Fleece.
According to Pausanias, Pelias held the Olympic games with his brother Neleus (Paus. 5,8,2).

   Pelias. A son of Poseidon and Tyro, a daughter of Salmoneus. Poseidon once visited Tyro in the form of the river-god Enipeus, with whom she was in love, and she became by him the mother of Pelias and Neleus. To conceal her shame, their mother exposed the two boys, but they were found and reared by some countrymen. They subsequently learned their parentage; and after the death of Cretheus, king of Iolcus, who had married their mother, they seized the throne of Iolcus, to the exclusion of Aeson, the son of Cretheus and Tyro. Pelias soon afterwards expelled his own brother Neleus, and thus became sole ruler of Iolcus. After Pelias had long reigned over Iolcus, Iason, the son of Aeson, came to Iolcus and claimed the kingdom as his right. In order to get rid of him, Pelias sent him to Colchis to fetch the golden fleece. Hence arose the celebrated expedition of the Argonauts. After the return of Iason, Pelias was cut to pieces and boiled by his own daughters (the Peliades), who had been told by Medea that in this manner they might restore their father to vigour and youth. His son Acastus held funeral games in his honour at Iolcus, and expelled Iason and Medea from the country. The names of several of the daughters of Pelias are four, the best known of which is that of Alcestis.

This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Anaxibia. A daughter of Bias and wife of Pelias, by whom she became the mother of Acastus, Peisidice, Pelopia, Hippothoe, and Alcestis. (Apollod. i. 9.10)

Heroes

Jason or Iason

He was the son of Aeson by Polymede, leader of the Argonautic expedition (Od. 12.69 etc.), who, during his voyage to Colchis, went to Lemnos and became the father of Euneus by Hypsipyle (Il. 7.469).

Iason. Son of Aeson and Polymede or Alcimede. He was the celebrated leader of the Argonauts. His father, Aeson, who reigned at Iolcus in Thessaly, was deprived of the kingdom by his half-brother Pelias, who attempted to take the life of the infant Iason. He was saved by his friends, and intrusted to the care of the centaur Chiron. When he had grown up he came to Iolcus, and demanded the kingdom, which Pelias promised to surrender to him, provided he brought the golden fleece, which was in the possession of King Aeetes in Colchis, and was guarded by an ever-watchful dragon. Iason willingly undertook the enterprise, and set sail in the ship Argo, accompanied by the chief heroes of Greece. He obtained the fleece with the assistance of Medea, whom he made his wife, and along with whom he returned to Iolcus. The history of his exploits on this enterprise is related elsewhere. (See Argonautae.) In order to avenge the death of his father, who had been slain by Pelias during his absence, Medea, at the instigation of Iason, persuaded the daughters of Pelias to cut their father to pieces and boil him, in order to restore him to youth and vigour, as she had before changed a ram into a lamb, by boiling the ram in a caldron. Pelias thus perished miserably; and his son Acastus expelled Iason and Medea from Iolcus. They then went to Corinth, where they lived happily for several years, until Iason deserted Medea, in order to marry Glauce (or Creusa), daughter of Creon, the king of the country. Medea fearfully revenged this insult. She sent Glauce a poisoned garment, which burned her to death when she put it on. Creon likewise perished in the flames. Medea also killed her children by Iason, and then fled to Athens in a chariot drawn by winged dragons. (See Medea.) The death of Iason is related variously. According to some, he made away with himself from grief; according to others, he was crushed by the poop of the ship Argo, which fell upon him as he was lying under it.

This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Jason (Iason), i.e. the healer or atoner, a name which the hero was said to have received from Cheiron, his instructor, having before been called Diomedes (Pind. Pyth. iv. 221, with the Schol.). The chief exploits of this hero are related in the article Argonautae, and we therefore confine ourselves now to his personal history. According to the common tradition, he was a son of Aeson and Polymede, and belonged to the family of the Aeolidae at Iolcus. The name of his mother, however, is different in the different writers, either Polymele (Schol. ad Hom. Od. xii. 70), Amphinome (Diod. iv. 50), Alcimede (Apollon. Rhod. i. 232), Polypheme (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 45), Arne or Scarphe (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 872), or Rhoeo (Tzetz. Chil. vii. 980). After the death of Cretheus, the founder of Iolcus and father of Aeson, Pelias, the nephew, or, according to others, a brother of Jason, ruled at Iolcus. Pelias was told by an oracle that he should be killed by a descendant of Aeolus, and therefore put to death all the Aeolidae; but Jason, whose grandfather, Cretheus, had been the eldest son of Aeolus, and who was on that account likewise destined to die, was saved by his own relatives, who lamented over him as though he were dead, and entrusted him to Cheiron to be educated (Pind. Nem. iii. 94). Pelias was now advised by an oracle to be on his guard against a man with only one shoe. Once when Pelias offered up a sacrifice to Poseidon, he invited among others Jason. The latter arrived with only one sandal, having lost the other in crossing the river Anaurus, on the banks of which he lived as a peasant. Another tradition represents Jason as coming in Magnesian costume from Mount Pelion (Pind. Pyth. iv. 140 ; Apollod. i. 9.16). Instead of the river Anaurus, others mention the Evenus or Enipeus, and it is added that Hera, being in love with Jason, assumed the appearance of an old woman, and standing on the bank of the river, requested him to carry her across, and that Jason in so doing lost one of his sandals (Hygin. Fab. 13). Others again relate that Jason, uninvited by Pelias, came from Mount Pelion to Iolcus, found his aged father Aeson still alive, and demanded the throne of Pelias, who had usurped it, or had undertaken the government as the guardian of Jason (Schol. ad Hom. Od. xii. 70). Pelias consented to surrender the throne, but demanded of Jason to remove the curse which rested on the family of the Aeolidae, by fetching the golden fleece, and soothing the spirit of Phrixus (Pind. Pyth. iv. 109, &c.; Diod. iv. 40). The common story, however, goes on to say that on the arrival of Jason at Iolcus, Pelias remembered the oracle about the man with one shoe, and asked Jason what he would do if he were told by an oracle that he should be killed by one of his subjects? Jason, on the suggestion of Hera, who hated Pelias, answered, that he would send him out to fetch the golden fleece. Pelias accordingly ordered Jason to fetch the golden fleece, which was in the possession of king Aeetes in Colchis, and was guarded by an ever-watchful dragon. At the request of Jason, Argus, a son of Phrixus or Arestor, built the ship Argo, and the principal heroes of Greece being invited to join the expedition, Jason and his companions embarked at Iolcus. They first landed in Lemnos, which was governed by Hypsipyle, by whom Jason became the father of Euneus and Nebrophonus (or, as others call him, Deiphilus, or Thoas; Hygin. Fab. 15; Hom. Il. vii. 468). After many adventures, Jason and his companions arrived in Colchis, the kingdom of Aeetes. While Jason was meditating upon the manner in which he might fulfil the conditions under which Aeetes had promised to surrender the golden fleece, the sorceress Medeia, the daughter of Aeetes and Idyia, fell in love with him, and from fear lest he should be killed by the brazen-footed and fire-breathing bulls whom Jason was to yoke to a plough, she promised to assist him, and surrender the fleece to him, if he would take an oath that he would make her his wife, and take her to Greece. When Jason promised to do so, Medeia gave him an ointment, with which he was to anoint his body, shield and spear, and which was to make him for one day invulnerable by fire and iron. She further informed him, that from the teeth of the dragon which he was to sow in the field ploughed with the above-mentioned bull, armed men would rise against him, and she commanded him to throw stones among them, adding, that as they would light about those stones, they would destroy one another, or it would be easy for him to destroy them. Jason now succeeded in doing as he was bid by Aeetes, but the latter, nevertheless, refused giving up the golden fleece, for he had formed the secret plan of burning the ship Argo, and destroying the Argonauts. But Medeia prevented this, and in the night she conducted her beloved to the fleece, sent the dragon to sleep, and having taken possession of the fleece, she embarked with Jason in the ship Argo. Her brother Absyrtus accompanied them. According to some, Jason, previous to his departure, fought with Aeetes, and killed him, and Jason, who was wounded, was cured by Medeia (Diod. iv. 4, 8). But, according to the common story, Aeetes pursued the fugitives, and as he was near overtaking them, Medeia killed her brother Absyrtus, and scattered the parts of his body into the sea as she fled. The collecting of these scattered limbs detained Aeetes; Jason and Medeia thus escaped, and Aeetes buried the collected limbs of Absyrtus in a place which was hence called Tomi (pieces, from temno; Steph. Byz. s. v. Tomeus). The Argonauts were subsequently purified by Circe from the murder of Absyrtus. When they arrived in the island of the Phaeacians, the Colchians who had been sent out in their pursuit overtook them, and demanded the surrender of Medeia. Alcinous promised to give her up, in case of her not being actually married to Jason, and Arete, the wife of Alcinous, contrived to hurry the marriage, in order to avoid the necessity of surrendering Medeia. At length Jason and Medeia arrived at Iolcus. According to Ovid (Met. vii. 162, &c.), Jason found his aged father Aeson still alive, and Medeia made him young again; but according to the common tradition, Pelias, not believing that the Argonauts would ever return, had in the mean time resolved to kill Aeson. But the latter begged to be permitted to put an end to his own life, drank the blood of a bull which he sacrificed, and thus died. Jason's mother cursed Pelias for this crime, and made away with herself (Diod. iv. 50); and Pelias killed her surviving young son Promachus. After the perpetration of these crimes Jason arrived, and delivered the fleece to Pelias. He then dedicated the ship Argo to Poseidon on the Isthmus, and called upon Medeia to take vengeance on Pelias. Medeia prevailed on the daughters of Pelias to cut their father to pieces and boil them, pretending that thereby they would restore him to youth and vigour, as she had before changed a ram into a lamb, by boiling the dissected parts of his body in a cauldron. But Pelias remained dead, and his son Acastus expelled Jason and Medeia from Iolcus. According to other traditions, Jason, after having taken vengeance on Pelias, spared the other members of the family, and even raised Acastus to the throne (Diod. iv. 52, &c.; Hygin. Fab. 24). The earliest legends do not mention Jason's expulsion from Iolcus, for Hesiod (Theog 982, &c.) simply relates that Jason returned to Iolcus, and became by Medeia the father of Medeius, who was educated by Cheiron on the neighbouring Pelion. But according to the common account, Jason and Medeia went from Iolcus to Corinth, where they lived happy for a period of ten years, until Creon, king of Thebes, betrothed his daughter Glauce or Creusa to Jason, and thus led him to desert Medeia. Medeia invoked the gods by whom Jason had sworn to be faithful to her, and sent to Glauce a poisoned garment and diadem. When the latter put on the garment, she, together with her father, was consumed by the poisonous fire that issued from the vestment. Medeia also killed her children by Jason, viz. Mermerus and Pheres, and then fled in a chariot drawn by winged dragons, the gift of Helios, to Athens. Her younger children she placed, previous to her flight, as suppliants on the altar of Hera Acraea, but the Corinthians took them away and put them to death (Apollod. i. 9.16; Ov. Met. vii.; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 175; Eurip. Medeia ; Pind. Pyth. iv.; Apollon. Rhod. Argon.). According to Diodorus (iv. 54), Medeia set the royal palace at Corinth on fire, in which Creon and Glauce were burnt, but Jason escaped; further, she had three sons, Thessalus, Alcimenes, and Thersander, the two last of whom were killed, whereas Thessalus, who escaped, afterwards became the ruler of Iolcus. Medeia herself first escaped to Thebes, where she cured Heracles, and afterwards to Athens. The earliest accounts we have do not mention Medeia's murder of her children, but represent her as a priestess at Corinth, where she was killed by the Corinthians (Aelian, V. H. v. in fin.); and Pausanias (ii. 3, in fin.) relates, that after the death of Corinthus, Medeia was invited from Iolcus, and ruled over Corinth, as her lawful paternal inheritance, in conjunction with Jason. Medeia concealed her children in the temple of Hera, hoping thereby to make them immortal; but Jason, indignant at this conduct, deserted her, and returned to Iolcus, whereupon Medeia also quitted Corinth, leaving the government to Sisyphus. Jason is also mentioned among the Calydonian hunters (Apollod. i. 8.2); and it is further stated, that he and the Dioscuri joined Peleus, for the purpose of assisting him in taking vengeance on Astydameia, the wife of Acastus, and conquered and destroyed Iolcus (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. iii. 55; Apollod. iii. 13.7). Later writers represent Jason as having in the end become reconciled to Medeia, as having returned with her to Colchis, and as having there restored Aeetes to his kingdom, of which he had been deprived (Tacit. Ann. vi. 34; Justin, xlii. 2). The death of Jason is also related differently ; for, according to some, he made away with himself from grief (Diod. iv. 55), and, according to others, he was crushed by the poop of the ship Argo, under which he laid down on the advice of Medeia, and which fell upon him (Schol. on the Argument of Eurip. Med.). He was worshipped as a hero in several parts of the ancient world (Strab. xi. pp. 526, 531) : his marriage with Medeia was represented on the chest of Cypselus (Paus. v. 18.1).

This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Jan 2006 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


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