Aeson and Alcimede were the parents of Jason. To protect their son from the usurper Pelias, they staged his death and secretly sent him to be raised by Chiron on Mount Pelion.
⚠ Apollodorus names Jason's mother as Polymede; Apollonius Rhodius and other sources call her Alcimede.
Pelias usurped the throne of Iolcus from his half-brother Aeson after the death of their father Cretheus. Pelias imprisoned or subjugated Aeson and later forced him to suicide in some traditions.
Acastus's father Pelias usurped the throne from Aeson. After Medea killed Pelias, Acastus became king of Iolcus and expelled Jason, perpetuating the conflict between the two royal lines.
Aeson's son Jason joined the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece and restore Aeson's stolen kingship. Acastus, son of the usurper Pelias, also sailed as an Argonaut despite his father's opposition.
Aeson secretly sent his infant son Jason to Mount Pelion to be raised by Chiron, protecting the boy from the usurper Pelias. Chiron educated Jason until he was old enough to reclaim his father's throne.
The quest for the Golden Fleece was set in motion by the usurpation of Aeson's throne. Pelias sent Jason to retrieve the fleece as a condition for returning the kingship that rightfully belonged to Aeson's line.
Jason's father Aeson was imprisoned by the usurper Pelias. When Jason returned with the Golden Fleece, Medea rejuvenated the aged Aeson with her magic, boiling herbs in a cauldron and restoring his youth.
⚠ The rejuvenation of Aeson is attested in Ovid's Metamorphoses 7.162-293 and Apollodorus 1.9.27, but some traditions have Aeson dying before Jason's return.
Medea rejuvenated the aged Aeson by draining his blood and filling his veins with a magical potion of rare herbs, restoring Jason's father to the strength of his youth.
⚠ Ovid's Metamorphoses 7.159-293 describes the rejuvenation at length, while the Nostoi fragment (fr. 6 Bernabé) and some later accounts say Aeson was already dead before Medea arrived.
The Voyage of the Argo was ultimately caused by the usurpation of Aeson's throne. Pelias sent Aeson's son Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece, expecting him to perish and end any challenge to his rule.
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