Soon points of light glistened here and there in the soil. They were the tops of helmets coming up out of the ground and touched by the rays of the rising sun. In no great while where each point of light had appeared stood a full-armed warrior.
"Throw a stone into the midst of the host!" commanded Medea; and Jason obeyed.
The stone struck one warrior, glanced off to another, and then to a third. The new-born heroes, not knowing whence the stone had come, became wild with rage, and hacked and battered one another with swords and clubs. At last only one was left and he was fatally wounded.
Then Jason went back to the palace and told Aeetes what he had done, and said that he was ready to fight the dragon that guarded the golden fleece.
At midnight he went with Medea to the grove in which the fleece hung. The dragon rushed with wide-open jaws to devour him, but Medea threw an enchanted potion into the monster's mouth, and he sank to the ground in a death-like sleep.
"Make haste!" cried Medea. "Take down the fleece." In a twinkling Jason had done so. "And now," she added, "we must start at once for Greece; for my father will never let you carry the fleece from Colchis."
Taking Medea with him, Jason made all haste to the Argo. When he reached the shore where the ship lay, his companions welcomed him heartily, and they were filled with delight when they saw the golden fleece. All hurried on board the Argo, the sails were hoisted, and the ship began her homeward voyage.
To get back to Greece the Argonauts had to sail past the Isle of the Sirens. The sirens were maidens with beautiful faces but cruel hearts. They sat upon dangerous rocks on the shore of their island and sang songs of enchanting sweetness. Sailors who heard them would steer nearer and nearer, till their vessels were wrecked on the jagged rocks. The Argonauts escaped this peril through the help of Orpheus. He played his lyre and sang more sweetly than even the Sirens, and listening to him, Jason and his companions steered their vessel beyond the dangerous rocks.
As soon as Jason reached Iolcus again he showed the golden fleece to Pelias, and then hung it up as a thank-offering in the temple of one of the gods. What became of it afterward nobody knows.
While Jason was getting the golden fleece Pelias murdered Aeson. In revenge for this Medea made a plot by which Pelias was killed by his own daughters. Then the son of Pelias drove both Jason and Medea from Iolcus.
Theseus
I
One of the most violent quarrels that ever disturbed the life of the gods was between Neptune and Minerva.
Cecrops, one of the wisest of the Greeks, was founding a city near the finest harbor in Greece. Neptune wished to be the chief god of the city, and Minerva also desired the honor.
Neptune said that as the city was going to be a great seaport, busy with vessels sailing in and sailing out, it was only right that he, the god of the ocean should be its guardian.
Minerva foresaw that in days to come the men of the city would care much less about commerce than about art and learning. She therefore thought that she, the goddess of wisdom, should be its guardian.
The other gods became very weary of the quarrel, and to bring it to an end Jupiter ordered that the one who should offer the more useful gift to the city should become its chief god.
Neptune then struck with his trident a rock within the city’s bounds, and up sprang a war horse ready for battle. Minerva touched the earth, and an olive tree rose on the spot.
THE GIFTS OF MINERVA AND NEPTUNE by Regnault
Now groves of olive trees, Jupiter knew well, would be far more useful to the people than the finest of war horses. He therefore decided in favor of Minerva. The city became the most famous place in all the world for learning and art, and from Athene, the Greek name of the goddess, it was called Athens.
II
The most noted of the early kings of Athens was Theseus, the son of Aegeus, who was himself a king of Athens. Theseus was born far away from Athens and was brought up by his mother, Aethra, at the home of her father.
Before parting with Aethra at her father's home, Aegeus placed a sword and a pair of sandals under a heavy stone and said to her:
"When the child is able to lift that stone, let him take the sandals and sword and come to me."
Years went by, and when Theseus had grown up, his mother led him one day to the stone and said to him:
"If you are a man, lift that stone."
Theseus lifted it with ease and saw a pair of sandals and a sword.
His mother told him that the sandals and the sword had been placed under the stone by his father, Aegeus, who was king of Athens. "Put them on and seek him in Athens," she said.
He fastened the sword to his girdle and buckled the sandals on his feet. Then he kissed his mother and set out for Athens.
He did not go far without an adventure. A robber called the Club-bearer attacked him. A struggle followed, in which the Club-bearer was killed. Then Theseus took the robber's club and ever after that carried it himself.
A little farther on he met a robber called Sinis, who was known as the Pine-bender. It was the Pine-bender's sport to pull down pine trees, tie travelers to their tops, and let the trees spring back. His victims dangled from the tree-tops until they perished from pain and hunger. When Theseus came along he bent a pine, fastened the Pine-bender to it, let the tree spring back, and left the robber to suffer the torture that he had inflicted on so many others.
Journeying still farther, the hero reached the dwelling of Procrustes, the Stretcher. Procrustes had a bed which he made all travelers fit. If a man's legs were too long, Procrustes cut them to the right length. If they were too short, he stretched them until they were long enough. Theseus forced Procrustes to lie upon the bed himself and chopped the Stretcher's legs to the right length.
In this manner, fighting often and bravely, Theseus made his way to Athens. When he reached the city and showed his sword to Aegeus, the king knew that the young man must be his son. He was filled with joy and declared Theseus his heir.
III
Every year the city of Athens had to send seven young men and seven maidens to Minos, the king of Crete, to be devoured by a terrible creature, called the Minotaur. It was kept in a place known as the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was full of winding paths, so puzzling that a person, once in, could not find his way out.
VICTIMS OF THE MINOTAUR AT THE DOOR OF THE LABYRINTH by Gendron
The day that the youths and maidens were to sail to Crete was at hand, and Athens was filled with sorrow. Theseus made up his mind that never again should the city have cause for such grief. He determined to kill the Minotaur.
"Father," he said to Aegeus, "let me go to Crete as one of the victims."
"No, no, my son!" cried Aegeus, "I could not bear to lose you."
"Ah, but you will not lose me," answered Theseus. "Not only shall I return, but I will bring back in safety all who go with me."
Aegeus at last gave consent and Theseus went as one of the fourteen victims.
The ship's sail was black, an emblem of mourning. As Theseus bade farewell to his father, he said, "I am taking a white sail with me to hoist when we come back. If the black sail should still be set when the ship comes home you will know that I have failed. But I shall not fail."
When the black-sailed vessel reached the shores of Crete there was a great crowd gathered to see the victims. Among the watchers was Ariadne, the lovely daughter of the king of Crete. She was full of pity for those who were to be devoured. When she was told that Theseus had determined to fight the Minotaur, she made up her mind to help him. She could see that he was very strong and she felt sure that he could kill the monster. But she feared that he would starve to death in the Labyrinth because he would not be able to find his way out. So when Theseus went into the Labyrinth she gave him the end of a ball of thread and said: