The Argo, by Lorenzo Costa, 16th century. The Argo was named after its shipbuilder Argus. Credit.

What is an Argonaut?

The word "argonaut" comes from an ancient tale sung of the strongest and bravest band of heroes ever assembled in Greek Mythology -- Jason and the Argonauts (literally meaning sailors of the Argo). This myth chronicles Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece and the restoration of his family's throne. Read the story.

The timeless appeal of Jason and the Argonauts, an archetypal myth influencing Odysseus' odyssey and King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, may lead one to wonder if this myth owes its success to popular entertainment, or if Jason's quest speaks to us on a more fundamental level, as if a reflection of our own journeys through life and battles with inner dragons, and perhaps the Golden Fleece is a metaphor for our own awakening to the golden truths of the universe, and a more literaly boon to our community when we return home.

Throughout the millennia, the quest for the Golden Fleece has become embedded in the cultures of the western world; for example, the miners during California's 1849 gold rush were nicknamed argonauts. Thus the etymology of "argonaut" has become synonymous with "adventurer on a quest" and is reflected in words like astronaut, cosmonaut, aeronaut and aquanaut. In fact, it is very popular to use naut (from the Greek ναυτίλος "nautilus" meaning "sailor") as a suffix to just about any word, implying being a voyager of that given subject, e.g. bikenaut.

Jason and the Argonauts

in popular culture

The classic 1963 movie — Jason and the Argonauts.

Some of my earliest childhood memories is the awe I felt watching this movie and others like Sinbad and Indian Jones. There was also a made for TV movie in 2000 "Jason and the Argonauts" that was not so good. And there is news of a movie to be released in 2013 "Argonauts". No doubt it will be an eyeball extravaganza, but will the story inspire our inner adventurer? Or will it go awry like the reinterpretation of so many other remakes? Here is a clip from the popular skeleton fight scene.

Jason and the Argonauts in classical music

Medea's Dance of Vengeance composed by Samuel Barber and premeiring in 1956. In one anticlimatic ending to the myth, Jason's wife, the enchantress Medea, seeks her revenge when Jason leaves her by murdering his children.

Jason and the Argonauts in video games

The band of mythical warriors have inspired billions of people, and movies, mini-series, radio serials, books and more.

Rise of the Argonauts isone of many video games featuring Jason and his band of heroes. It is a fantastic RPG video game with graphics that make the classic movie look a bit silly.

Jason and the Argonauts play football

If you are a football fan you already know about the Canadian Toronto Argonauts. Above is their team mascot Jason; and on the right, you see Jason's boat, the Argo, which was blessed by the goddess Athena to be indestructable, made into a tacky football logo.