對于很多英雄來說，成功抵達(dá)金羊毛所在的國家就已經(jīng)非常幸運(yùn)了，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)過程絕對不可能一帆風(fēng)順。那么，伊阿宋上岸后又遇到了哪些考驗(yàn)，是否有貴人相助呢？最終他能夠如愿以償獲得金羊毛嗎？

Jason Tamed the Bronze Bull

King Aeetes first gave Jason a task—to tame two fire-breathing bulls. The bulls' feet were made of sharp brass and able to rip1) any man open. But Medea was ready to help. She took Jason gently aside and gave him some magic salves. If smeared2) on Jason's body， they could make him proof3) against flames and brazen hooves4). With his adroit5) steps， Jason avoided the attacks of the bulls until they were tired， then he grabbed their horns in a harness.

Seeing Jason had done the impossible， Aeetes handed him a pack of some ancient dragon teeth to sow. Thinking it was an easy task， Jason quickly sow them into the soil. No sooner than these teeth touched the ground， then they began to sprout6). But behold! They didn't grow into crops of any kind; instead， each seed grew into a fully armed warrior! It was well-known that they would attack the one who sowed them.

The king Aeetes， however， was standing far off， chuckling to himself， for though Jason was the first hero who had come to this stage of the quest， the king was sure that he would fail. But again， Medea helped Jason and suggested that he throw a stone at one of these seed men. The seed men， suspecting one another of the attack， began to fight among themselves until no seed man remained standing.

The king became silent， but he felt no despair， for he thought that finally the dragon would get rid of this annoying young man for him.

Jason Left Safely with the Golden Fleece

The Golden Fleece was guarded by a sleepless dragon in a sacred grove. Medea used a fragrant potion to lull7) the giant dragon into sleep. Before that， the eyes of the dragon had never been seen shut. Jason then quickly fetched the Golden Fleece， made his way to his Argo with Medea and her brother Absyrtus， and set sail.

The king Aeetes was angry， for he not only lost his national treasure but his dear daughter and son. He ordered his navy to pursue Argo. Medea again made a cruel decision to kill her brother Absyrtus， dismember8) him and scatter his parts on an island to delay the pursuit. The pursuing boats would have to stop to gather the parts in order to give the prince a proper burial; otherwise the soul would not rest in peace.

Jason gave the Golden Fleece to his uncle Pelias， and the ship Argos to Poseidon， who in turn made it become the constellation Argo. Zeus， thinking the ram and the dragon had also fulfilled their tasks， moved them into the sky， which in turn became Aries and Draco.

Medea's Power

When Jason and Medea returned to Jason's country Iocus， all the people came to celebrate his return and enjoy the sight of the Golden Fleece. But Jason thought it was a pity that his father Aeson was too old to come.

Medea， a constant help to Jason， resorted to her enchantment9) again. She went out with Jason's father one night， and then she prepared a pot and some magic herbs and boiled them. After all these were done， she laid Jason's father Aeson on some straw， cut open his throat， and then poured into it her magic potion. Aeson woke up as a young man again.

When the daughters of Pelias saw that Aeson was young again， they came to ask for help from Medea， because their father was also old and trembling. Medea thought it was a good chance to get rid of the king， who had just refused to give the throne back to Jason. She cheated the daughters， saying if they could lead their father into a vat10) and cut him into pieces， she would boil the vat and make the king young again. Then she put some magic potion on the eyes of the daughters so that they had the heart and courage to stab their own father. Poor king Pelias was thus murdered.

The crime was too serious and brutal. Though the people in Iocus loved Jason at the beginning， this time they would not forgive him. Pelias' son summoned his army and drove Jason and Medea to Corinth.

Jason's Betrayal

In Corinth， Medea bore Jason two sons， and they lived happily for ten years. Then Jason began to miss his homeland， so Medea offered her help once more.

She summoned her dragon chariot. Jason saw his wife become a withered woman. Her enchantment and the scaly11) dragon made him grow pale and cold with fear. He called Medea， but Medea， in a harsh voice， told him to stand aside. Jason suddenly felt tired of Medea. He thought she was someone who could help him when he was in trouble， but not a lovely maiden to whom he could talk to tenderly. So， when Medea was busy gathering herbs to help him return， he noticed the loveliness of another one—Glauce， the princess of Corinth.

When Medea knew what had happened， she sought revenge.

Medea's Revenge

While Jason was preparing his marriage with Glauce， Medea， who had been abandoned with her children， didn't become wild with anger; instead， she was calmly preparing a garment for the bride.

When the wedding day approached， Medea ordered her maid to send her present， a beautiful garment， to Glauce， saying it was only a token12) of congratulation from Jason's former wife. Jason was deeply touched. The bride， happy to see the beautiful garment， was eager to try it on. But the moment Glauce put it on， it began to burn her skin and she was dying of great pain. People immediately realized that Medea had already soaked the garment in her poisonous potion. Seeing his daughter burning with pain， the king Creon came to tear the garment away， but his flesh was torn off too. In a very short time， both the father and the daughter died.

Yet this was not all Medea did to Jason. She killed Jason's two sons to further his pain. Then she summoned her chariot， flew to Athens and married the king Aegeus， becoming the stepmother of another great hero—Theseus. As for Jason， since he had broken his vow to love Medea forever， Hera did not favor him any longer. Finally， he died lonely， under the crush of his own ship Argo， which had once brought him glory， and now， doom.

伊阿宋馴服銅牛

國王埃厄忒斯首先分配給了伊阿宋一項(xiàng)任務(wù)——馴服兩頭噴火的公牛。這兩頭公牛的蹄子由尖銅制成，足以把任何人踢得皮開肉綻?？墒敲赖襾喴呀?jīng)準(zhǔn)備好要幫忙了。她把伊阿宋輕輕拉到一邊，給了他一些具有魔力的藥膏。如果伊阿宋把藥膏涂抹到自己身上，就能不怕火燒和銅蹄。只見他步伐靈活地閃躲著兩頭牛的攻擊，直到兩頭牛都精疲力竭，然后伊阿宋便抓住它們的角，給它們套上了牛具。

埃厄忒斯見伊阿宋完成了這項(xiàng)常人無法完成的任務(wù)，就又遞給他一包古代傳下來的龍牙要他播種。伊阿宋覺得這項(xiàng)任務(wù)簡直就是小菜一碟，于是很快就把它們種到了土壤里。哪知這些龍牙一接觸土壤，很快就開始發(fā)芽了。不過看??！它們并沒有長成任何一種莊稼，而是每顆種子都長成了一名全副武裝的勇士！眾所周知，他們會攻擊播種他們的那個(gè)人。

此時(shí)國王埃厄忒斯正遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地站在一邊竊笑，因?yàn)楸M管伊阿宋是第一個(gè)能進(jìn)入這個(gè)階段的英雄，但國王知道他一定會失敗。然而美狄亞再一次幫助了伊阿宋。她建議他朝這些種子武士的其中一個(gè)扔石頭。這些種子武士們都互相懷疑是對方攻擊了自己，開始窩里斗，直到一個(gè)不剩地都倒下了。

國王沉默了，但他并沒有絕望，因?yàn)樗雷詈缶摭垥嫠暨@個(gè)討厭的年輕人。

伊阿宋帶著金羊毛安然離開

在一片圣林中，一頭不眠不休的巨龍守護(hù)著金羊毛。美狄亞用一種芳香藥劑引誘巨龍進(jìn)入了夢鄉(xiāng)，而在此之前，還沒有人看見過這頭巨龍閉上眼睛。伊阿宋迅速取回金羊毛，和美狄亞以及她的弟弟阿布敘爾托斯一起回到阿爾戈號航船上，揚(yáng)帆起航。

丟了國寶，又賠上了一雙可愛的兒女，埃厄忒斯國王非常生氣，他下令海軍追擊阿爾戈號航船。美狄亞這次又做出了一個(gè)兇殘的決定——?dú)⒌糇约旱挠H弟弟阿布敘爾托斯，然后將他肢解，再把肢體碎塊扔到一個(gè)島上來延緩追擊。追擊他們的船只不得不停下來收集肢體的各個(gè)部分，只為了能給王子一個(gè)體面的葬禮，否則王子的靈魂就無法得到安息。

伊阿宋把金羊毛交給了他的叔叔珀利阿斯，把船獻(xiàn)給了海神波塞冬，波塞冬就把阿爾戈號航船升到天上變成了南船座。宙斯認(rèn)為山羊和巨龍都已經(jīng)完成了自己的使命，就把它們也置于天空，它們分別變成了白羊座和天龍座。

美狄亞的法力

美狄亞和伊阿宋回到自己的祖國俄爾卡斯時(shí)，全國的人民都來歡迎他歸來并一睹金羊毛的風(fēng)采?？墒橇钜涟⑺胃械竭z憾的是，他的父親因?yàn)槟昀象w衰不能前來。

伊阿宋一直以來的好幫手美狄亞，又再一次使用了她的魔法。一天晚上，她和伊阿宋的父親來到戶外，然后準(zhǔn)備了一口大缸和一些神奇的草藥，接著把草藥煮了。一切準(zhǔn)備就緒后，她把伊阿宋的父親埃宋扶到稻草上躺下，然后把他的喉嚨割開，再把魔藥倒進(jìn)他的喉嚨里面。埃宋醒來后，發(fā)現(xiàn)自己又變成了年輕人。

當(dāng)珀利阿斯的女兒們看到埃宋返老還童時(shí)，就來到美狄亞面前請求她幫忙，因?yàn)樗齻兊母赣H現(xiàn)在也已經(jīng)是風(fēng)燭殘年了。美狄亞想既然國王剛剛拒絕把王位還給伊阿宋，那么這可是個(gè)除掉他的好機(jī)會。她騙這些女兒們說，要是她們能把她們的父親引到一個(gè)大甕里，并把他切成碎片，她就煮沸大甕，讓老國王返老還童。接著她就把魔藥涂到這些女兒們的眼睛上，以便她們狠下心刺殺自己的親生父親?？蓱z的珀利阿斯國王就這樣被殺害了。

這次的罪過太過嚴(yán)重、太過殘忍了。雖然俄爾卡斯的國民最初很喜歡伊阿宋，但這次他們卻不能寬恕他。珀利阿斯的兒子召集軍隊(duì)把伊阿宋和美狄亞趕到了科林斯。

伊阿宋的背叛

在科林斯，美狄亞為伊阿宋生了兩個(gè)兒子，他們一起幸福地生活了十年。后來伊阿宋開始懷念故土，于是美狄亞又一次主動提出幫他。

她招來了龍車。伊阿宋親眼目睹自己的妻子變成一個(gè)干癟的女人。她的魔法和披鱗的巨龍嚇得他面色蒼白，不寒而栗。他呼喚著美狄亞，但美狄亞卻用粗啞的聲音讓他站到一邊。突然之間，伊阿宋對美狄亞感到了厭倦。他想，危難時(shí)，她倒是能幫助他，可她卻不再是那個(gè)他可以溫柔對話的少女了。于是，在美狄亞為了幫助他返回故土而收集藥草的時(shí)候，他注意到了另一個(gè)女人——科林斯的公主格勞刻的可愛之處。

當(dāng)美狄亞知道發(fā)生的一切事情后，她便開始尋求報(bào)復(fù)。

美狄亞的報(bào)復(fù)

當(dāng)伊阿宋正籌備著和格勞刻的婚禮時(shí)，美狄亞和兩個(gè)孩子卻被拋棄到了一邊，她并沒有因此惱羞成怒，而是鎮(zhèn)定自若地為新娘準(zhǔn)備著嫁衣。

婚禮那天到了，美狄亞讓女仆把她準(zhǔn)備的禮物——一條精美的裙子，送去給格勞刻，還說這是她作為伊阿宋的前妻的一點(diǎn)心意。伊阿宋大為感動。新娘看到這么漂亮的裙子也非常高興，于是迫不及待地穿上了它?？筛駝诳虅倓偞┥夏菞l裙子，它就開始灼燒她的皮膚，眼看著新娘就要死于劇痛。人們立刻意識到美狄亞一定用她的毒液浸泡過那條裙子。看著自己的女兒正遭受灼燒的痛苦，國王刻里昂走過來想把裙子從她的身體上撕扯下來，但是他自己的皮膚也被撕扯掉了。短短的時(shí)間內(nèi)，父女倆雙雙死去。

然而，美狄亞對伊阿宋的報(bào)復(fù)還遠(yuǎn)不止這些。為了讓伊阿宋感到更加痛苦，她還殺死了伊阿宋的兩個(gè)兒子。隨后，她招來了龍車，飛往雅典。在那里，她嫁給了國王埃勾斯，成了另一位英雄——忒修斯的繼母。而伊阿宋呢，由于他背叛了永遠(yuǎn)愛美狄亞這個(gè)誓言，赫拉也不再眷顧他。最終，他被自己的船——阿爾戈號航船壓死了。阿爾戈號航船曾經(jīng)帶給他榮耀，而這一次卻帶給了他滅亡。

文化鏈接

1. Medea：美狄亞。希臘神話中著名的兩大女巫之一，是另一個(gè)著名的女巫喀耳刻的侄女。她的故事是希臘古典悲劇家歐里庇得斯的《美狄亞》的藍(lán)本。

2. Colchis：柯爾奇斯國?，F(xiàn)在的格魯吉亞共和國(Georgia)。

3. The Land of Golden Fleece：金羊毛之國。如今是澳大利亞的別稱，因?yàn)檠蛎珵榘拇罄麃啂砹司薮蟮慕?jīng)濟(jì)效益，因此該國的羊毛被稱為“金羊毛”。

4. Aries：白羊座。它位于雙魚座和金牛座之間，是黃道十二星座之一。星相上，它的守護(hù)神為戰(zhàn)神Mars，屬于陽性星座，所以一般認(rèn)為該星座的男生最具有陽剛氣質(zhì)。

5. Draco：天龍座。形狀彎彎曲曲，像個(gè)反寫的“S”，從大熊座和小熊座之間一直盤繞到了天琴座附近，巨龍的頭就位于天琴座旁邊。只要連接夏季星座天琴座和天鷹座中的織女星和牛郎星，向北延伸到它們間距的三分之一處，就可以看見巨龍的頭了。

Vocabulary

1.rip [rIp] vt. 撕；撕破

2.smear [smIE(r)] vt. (用黏或膩的東西)涂抹；涂上(油、油脂、油漆等)

3.proof [pru:f] adj. 不能穿透的；耐……的；能防……的；常與介詞against連用。

4.hoof [hu:f] n. (馬等有蹄動物的)蹄，其復(fù)數(shù)形式為hoofs或hooves。

5.adroit [E5drCIt] adj. 靈巧的

6.sprout [spraut] vi. (種子、植物)發(fā)芽，抽芽

7.lull [lQl] vt. (用溫和的聲音或撫愛)使安靜；使靜下入睡

8.dismember [dIs5membE(r)] vt. 分割……的肢體

9.enchantment [In5tFB:ntmEnt] n. 魔法；法術(shù)；妖術(shù)

10.vat [vAt] n. (染色、釀酒、鞣革等所用的)大桶；大盆；甕，缸

11.scaly [5skeIlI] adj. 具鱗的，由鱗覆蓋的；多鱗的

12.token [5tEukEn] n. 表示；標(biāo)志；象征；記號