Jason and the Argonauts
This fun and lively poem for kids, telling the story of Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece, was written in 2014 by Paul Perro.
According to the myth, Jason was sent on a quest by King Pelias to bring back the fleece of the gold-haired winged ram, which was owned by the King of Colchis, and was a symbol of power. Jason set sail in his ship Argos with his crew, known as The Argonauts, and had many adventures along the way, including struggles with harpies, dragons, and clashing rocks.
The story was told, quite faithfully, in the fondly remembered 1963 movie Jason and The Argonauts which featured monster special effects by Ray Harryhausen.
Jason and the Argonauts
A poem for kids by Paul Perro
It was King
Pelias who sent them out.
There were
fifty Argonauts, or thereabout.
The crew of
the ship “Argo” – brave and bold,
Searching for
a fleece that was made of gold.
Their captain
was Jason, a great wise man,
But he did not know Pelias’s plan.
The king
feared Jason would kill him one day;
The quest was
a ruse, to send him away.
It was all
because of a prophecy,
The
superstitious king sent him to sea.
They stopped
on the way at a land called Thrace.
The blind old
king Phineus ruled the place.
King Phineus was
not in a good mood,
Monsters
called harpies kept stealing his food.
Harpies were
nasty old women with wings
They’d no
respect for the mealtimes of kings.
So Jason and
his men chased them away
A favour they
asked the king to repay.
The king, who
was a fortune teller, said
They should
beware of clashing rocks ahead.
The men
thanked Phineus for the warning
And set sail
again the following morning.
They came to
some rocks, they had to go through,
But Phineus
had told them what to do.
They knew that
the rocks would clash together,
Crushing all
ships in the way, however,
They’d also
been told that if they rowed fast
They’d beat
the rocks and avoid getting clashed.
They rowed so
very hard, they pulled, they pushed,
They made it
through without getting crushed.
And so the
Argo sailed on to Colchis,
That’s where
King Aeetes held the golden fleece.
When Jason
told the king about his quest
The king decided
to set him a test.
He had to
tame fire breathing cattle,
Plough a
field with them, then win a battle.
Passing this
test was not an easy thing,
But Jason did
it, and said to the king
“Your
highness, I’ve fulfilled your condition
Give me the
fleece I need for my mission.”
The king was
very surprised when he heard,
He decided he
would not keep his word.
But he had a
daughter named Medea -
This young lady
had a different idea.
She liked
Jason – she was rather smitten –
She took him
to where the fleece was hidden.
It was
hanging from the branch of a tree,
Next to a
dragon, unfortunately.
But Medea had
a plan all along
She charmed
the beast with a magical song,
And while the
dragon was in a deep trance
Jason took
the fleece slowly from the branch.
They both
went back to his ship, the Argo,
And showed the
men their precious new cargo.
Then they set
sail again, returned to Greece,
And gave King
Pelias the golden fleece.
