Pelias’s Family Tree

About Pelias →

Family

• Poseidon(parent),Tyro(parent),Neleus(sibling)— Consort

  Poseidon took the form of the river god Enipeus to lie with Tyro, who bore him the twins Pelias and Neleus, founders of Iolcus and Pylos.

• Acastus(child)

  Acastus was the son of King Pelias of Iolcus. After Medea tricked Pelias's daughters into killing their father, Acastus assumed the throne and hosted elaborate funeral games in Pelias's honor.

Enemy of

• Aeson

  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.

• Jason

  Pelias usurped the throne of Iolcus from Jason's father Aeson. When Jason arrived to claim his birthright, Pelias sent him on the quest for the Golden Fleece, expecting him to perish.

Slain by

• Medea

  Medea tricked the daughters of Pelias into killing their father by promising she could rejuvenate him in a magic cauldron. She gave them the wrong herbs, and Pelias died.

Associated with

• Jason,Medea

  Jason fled to Corinth with Medea after Pelias's murder, settling there for ten years. When he abandoned Medea for Princess Glauce, the resulting tragedy destroyed both families and ended Jason's glory.

• Admetus

  Pelias, king of Iolcus, set an impossible bride-price for his daughter Alcestis: yoking a lion and a boar to a chariot. With Apollo's help, Admetus accomplished the task and won Alcestis's hand.

• Argonauts

  The Argonauts' quest was set in motion by Pelias, who sent Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece expecting him to perish. When the Argonauts returned, Medea tricked Pelias's daughters into killing him.

• Glaucus of Corinth

  Glaucus of Corinth competed in the funeral games held for King Pelias of Iolcus, where his maddened mares overturned his chariot and devoured him. Hyginus records this event in Fabulae 273.

• Golden Fleece

  Pelias sent Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece from Colchis, expecting the impossible quest to kill his rival. The fleece represented the legitimacy Pelias had stolen from Jason's father Aeson.

• Pythia

  The Pythia warned Pelias to beware a man wearing one sandal. When Jason arrived at Iolcos having lost a sandal crossing the river Anauros, Pelias recognized the fulfillment of the oracle and sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece.

• Voyage of the Argo

  Pelias sent Jason on the Voyage of the Argo, believing the quest for the Golden Fleece would be a suicide mission that would eliminate his rival for the throne of Iolcos.