THEY brought
Jason into a hall where Æson, his father, waited. Very strange did
this old and grave-looking man appear to him. But when Æson spoke,
Jason remembered the tone of his father’s voice and he clasped him
to him. And his father knew him even without the sight of the ruby
ring which Jason had upon his finger.
Then the young
man began to tell of the centaur and of his life upon the Mountain
Pelion. As they were speaking together Pelias came to where they
stood, Pelias in the purple robe of a king and with the crown upon
his head. Æson tightly clasped Jason as if he had become fearful
for his son. Pelias smilingly took the hand of the young man and
the hand of his brother, and he bade them both welcome to his
palace.
Then, walking
between them, the king brought the two into the feasting hall. The
youth who had known only the forest and the mountainside had to
wonder at the beauty and the magnificence [pg 14] of all he saw around him. On the walls
were bright pictures; the tables were of polished wood, and they
had vessels of gold and dishes of silver set upon them; along the
walls were vases of lovely shapes and colors, and everywhere there
were baskets heaped with roses white and red.
The king’s
guests were already in the hall, young men and elders, and maidens
went amongst them carrying roses which they strung into wreaths for
the guests to put upon their heads. A soft-handed maiden gave Jason
a wreath of roses and he put it on his head as he sat down at the
king’s table. When he looked at all the rich and lovely things in
that hall, and when he saw the guests looking at him with friendly
eyes, Jason felt that he was indeed far away from the dim spaces of
the mountain forest and from the darkness of the centaur’s
cave.
Rich food and
wine such as he had never dreamt of tasting were brought to the
tables. He ate and drank, and his eyes followed the fair maidens
who went through the hall. He thought how glorious it was to be a
king. He heard Pelias speak to Æson, his father, telling him that
he was old and that he was weary of ruling; that he longed to make
friends, and that he would let no enmity now be between him and his
brother. And he heard the king say that he, Jason, was young and
courageous, and that he would call upon him to help to rule the
land, and that, in a while, Jason would bear full sway over the
kingdom that Cretheus had founded.
So Pelias spoke
to Æson as they both sat together at the king’s [pg 15] high table. But Jason,
looking on them both, saw that the eyes that his father turned on
him were full of warnings and mistrust.
After they had
eaten King Pelias made a sign, and a cup-bearer bringing a richly
wrought cup came and stood before the king. The king stood up,
holding the cup in his hands, and all in the hall waited silently.
Then Pelias put the cup into Jason’s hands and he cried out in a
voice that was heard all through the hall, “Drink from this cup, O nephew Jason! Drink from this
cup, O man who will soon come to rule over the kingdom that
Cretheus founded!”
All in the hall
stood up and shouted with delight at that speech. But the king was
not delighted with their delight, Jason saw. He took the cup and he
drank the rich wine; pride grew in him; he looked down the hall and
he saw faces all friendly to him; he felt as a king might feel,
secure and triumphant. And then he heard King Pelias speaking once
more.
“This is my nephew Jason, reared and fostered in the
centaur’s cave. He will tell you of his life in the forest and the
mountains—his life that was like to the life of the half
gods.”
Then Jason
spoke to them, telling them of his life on the Mountain Pelion.
When he had spoken, Pelias said:
“I was bidden by the oracle to beware of the man whom I
should see coming toward me half shod. But, as you all see, I have
brought the half-shod man to my palace and my feasting hall, so
little do I dread the anger of the gods.
“And I dread it little because I am blameless. This
youth, the [pg 16] son
of my brother, is strong and courageous, and I rejoice in his
strength and courage, for I would have him take my place and reign
over you. Ah, that I were as young as he is now! Ah, that I had
been reared and fostered as he was reared and fostered by the wise
centaur and under the eyes of the immortals! Then would I do that
which in my youth I often dreamed of doing! Then would I perform a
deed that would make my name and the name of my city famous
throughout all Greece! Then would I bring from far Colchis the
famous Fleece of Gold that King Æetes keeps guard over!”
He finished
speaking, and all in the hall shouted out, “The Golden Fleece, the Golden Fleece from
Colchis!” Jason stood up, and his father’s hand gripped him.
But he did not heed the hold of his father’s hand, for “The Golden Fleece, the Golden Fleece!” rang in
his ears, and before his eyes were the faces of those who were all
eager for the sight of the wonder that King Æetes kept guard
over.
Then said
Jason, “Thou hast spoken well, O King
Pelias! Know, and know all here assembled, that I have heard of the
Golden Fleece and of the dangers that await on any one who should
strive to win it from King Æetes’s care. But know, too, that I
would strive to win the Fleece and bring it to Iolcus, winning fame
both for myself and for the city.”
When he had
spoken he saw his father’s stricken eyes; they were fixed upon him.
But he looked from them to the shining eyes of the young men who
were even then pressing around [pg 17] where he stood. “Jason, Jason!” they shouted. “The Golden Fleece for Iolcus!”
“King Pelias knows that the winning of the Golden
Fleece is a feat most difficult,” said Jason. “But if he will have built for me a ship that can make
the voyage to far Colchis, and if he will send throughout all
Greece the word of my adventuring so that all the heroes who would
win fame might come with me, and if ye, young heroes of Iolcus,
will come with me, I will peril my life to win the wonder that King
Æetes keeps guard over.”
He spoke and
those in the hall shouted again and made clamor around him. But
still his father sat gazing at him with stricken eyes.
King Pelias
stood up in the hall and holding up his scepter he said,
“O my nephew Jason, and O friends assembled
here, I promise that I will have built for the voyage the best ship
that ever sailed from a harbor in Greece. And I promise that I will
send throughout all Greece a word telling of Jason’s voyage so that
all heroes desirous of winning fame may come to help him and to
help all of you who may go with him to win from the keeping of King
Æetes the famous Fleece of Gold.”
So King Pelias
said, but Jason, looking to the king from his father’s stricken
eyes, saw that he had been led by the king into the acceptance of
the voyage so that he might fare far from Iolcus, and perhaps lose
his life in striving to gain the wonder that King Æetes kept
guarded. By the glitter in Pelias’s eyes he knew the truth.
Nevertheless Jason would not take back one [pg 18] word that he had spoken; his heart was
strong within him, and he thought that with the help of the
bright-eyed youths around and with the help of those who would come
to him at the word of the voyage, he would bring the Golden Fleece
to Iolcus and make famous for all time his own name.
