Jason was taught the key principles of being a prince.

Growing up with Chiron Jason and His Teacher, Collier’s magazine frontispiece, by Maxfield Parrish,1909, via Heritage Auctions Alcimede was able to smuggle Jason out of Iolcus and bring the baby to Chiron for protection.

Jason’s mother, Alcimede, evaded the violent plots of Pelias by pretending that Jason was stillborn. In another version of the story, Aeson was locked up by Pelias before Jason was born. Many young Greek princes were given to Chiron at a young age, much like an ancient boarding school. In Greek mythology, Chiron was the rearer of heroes. In a step to secure Jason’s livelihood and prospects, Aeson gave Jason over to Chiron the centaur’s care. As Jason was just a baby, he did not yet prove to be a threat but he did have the potential to be one as a male heir.Īeson was able to escape with Jason. When Jason was a newborn, his half-brother called Pelias decided to make a play for the throne. However, a royal birth did not come with safety and stability. To start with, Jason had a royal birth - he was the son of King Aeson, who ruled Iolcus, a region in Northern Greece. Apollonius gave his protagonist a true hero’s beginning, in the fashion of many myths preceding it. Storytellers often use familiar and popular tropes, and Apollonius of Rhodes did not deviate from them in the Argonautica. Jason and the Argonauts: A Hero’s Beginnings Scenes from the Story of the Argonauts, by Jacopo di Arcangelo, c.1465, via The Met Museum

How to make heroes for age of wonders 3