Terracotta Column Krater (bowl for Mixing Wine and Water)
Obverse, Jason about to seize the Golden Fleece, the stern of the Argo at the right. Reverse, woman between two youths
Jason led the Argonauts, a band of adventurers who set out on the ship Argo to steal the magical golden fleece of a ram, which was preserved in Kolchis on the Black Sea. With the help of the gods and the sorceress Medea, Jason was able to take the fleece from a grove protected by a dragon. Here, with Athena beside him, he reaches for the fleece. A companion prepares to board the ship.
The basis of the legend of the Golden Fleece is probably the ancient practice of extracting alluvial gold by causing the deposits in a stream to wash over a fleece, thereby catching the gold-bearing material in the curly pelt.
Attributed to the Orchard Painter
The Met
