Many Greek myth fans believe the film Jason and the Argonauts, made in 1963, to be one of the best movies based on Greek mythology ever made, if not the best! And I wholeheartedly agree.
I’m a massive fan of the film. So, making a tribute to the Jason and the Argonauts myth seemed like it would be a fun thing to do.
In Greek mythology, the famous story is commonly known as Jason and the Golden Fleece. It’s a classic!
Initially, the thought of creating a tribute to the Jason and the Argonauts myth made me wonder where the photographic journey would lead.
My mind flooded with thoughts such as would I find the Golden Fleece?
Maybe I’d be forced to battle against badass warrior skeletons, just like in the movie.
In the beginning, I really didn’t know what to expect.
Besides, if the Greek Gods ended up getting wind of it, anything could happen.
Jason and the Argonauts Myth
This tribute to Jason and the Argonauts myth essentially started because I wanted to do something extra memorable on the remarkable date of 22/02/22.
It turned out to be nice and sunny on that special date as fate decreed in my part of the world.
So I decided to head over to the beach to take a memorable photo with my newly refurbished SX-70 camera.
I also planned on going for a ride on a certain Ferris wheel situated pretty close to the beach for the very first time.
It was something I had always wanted to do but never got around to doing.
Being up high would allow me to take a picture overlooking a great beach, giving me a memorable souvenir for the occasion.
Jason and the Argonauts Ship – The Argo
As I walked towards the giant Ferris wheel, I noticed a ship that spoke to me. Let’s call it the Argo.
The Argo is the ship that Jason and the Argonauts sailed on during their epic quest to find the mythical Golden Fleece located at the end of the world.
In the pic below, you can see part of the Ferris wheel behind the ship.
I decided to take the photo as the wheel was in motion to see if it would turn out, and surprisingly it did to some degree.
However, the Ferris wheel does look distorted in some way compared to what it looked like in real life.
I am also slightly disappointed with the sky since it was very blue on that day. However, in the pic, the sky looks more overcast and greyish.
The breeze had two flags swaying away close to the ship, making it look like an interesting shot to take. I think the flags turned out great.
The sailing ship was my main inspiration.
It reminded me of epic adventure, discovering land by sea on long voyages, and most importantly, the Argo, a legendary ship associated with the Argonauts.
I like to think of it as a great start for my tribute to Jason and the Argonauts.
One of the best warrior films ever, The Warriors (1979), begins with a scene showing a giant Ferris wheel spinning around.
It goes like this: Sometime in the future… while you watch a “Wonder Wheel” slowly rotating in the background.
Rising to Olympus
In an early film scene of Jason and the Argonauts, Jason rises to Mount Olympus with the assistance of Hermes after the Greek God revealed his true identity to Jason.
Previous to that Hermes had secretly disguised himself as Pelias’s soothsayer.
On reflection, you could say that going on this ride was almost like being symbolically lifted to Mount Olympus.
Initially, I planned to take a Polaroid picture at the top of the Ferris wheel, but I changed my mind when I sat inside the passenger car.
During the ride, I decided to only take pictures with my Olympus camera since I knew the photos would turn out much better.
Basically, I thought it would be too hard to get a good picture with instant film.
I did tell the operator of my need for some stationary time at the top to take some photos, and they obliged.
Still, due to the clear plastic barricades plus bars all around the capsule seating area, I decided against it.
The above pic turned out to be my favorite Olympus camera shot.
You can even see the wave sculpture I took a picture of in What happened to Atlantis?
That picture inspired by Atlantis turned out to be a complete disaster. However, this one looks great.
I never spoke to Zeus, Hera, or the other Olympian Gods personally, but it didn’t matter.
The views all around were brilliant!
Message from the Gods
When the ride finished and as soon as I walked out of the passenger car, I heard a very cool song playing on the ride operator’s sound system.
It was the Duran Duran song – “Hungry like a wolf.”
Incredibly, the original music video shows a guy holding up a Polaroid photo in one of the music video scenes.
I think it proves I was on the right track. Listen to the song and see it for yourself.
The Argonauts
In the movie and the myth, Jason selects a band of heroes to go with him on the quest to find the Golden Fleece.
All of those heroes who went on the incredible ancient sea voyage became known as the Argonauts.
Could it be that these guys are somehow related to the original Argonauts?
Two Greeks and a Roman appear here, including Michael, Kosta, and Mark. We go way back!
The photo of the three of them standing in front of “Hey Jupiter” turned out slightly blurry.
I wanted to take the picture before the waiter in the background left.
The guy sitting behind the waiter wasn’t going to add much to the photo, so I rushed it! Meaning I didn’t focus the camera properly.
One thing you can’t see in the pic is the bright red Fiat Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari car, parked right next to me at the time when taking the photo.
The small Italian vehicle is a tribute to Ferrari.
Maybe it was a divine sign or a positive endorsement from the Greek Gods for my Jason and the Argonauts tribute.
In the film, Zeus (known as Jupiter by the Romans), watched over certain events.
I wonder whether the king of the Gods watched over us at this time. Who can say?
Talos – The Bronze Giant of Greek Mythology
When Jason and the Argonauts sailed away on the Argo ship, they first reached a mysterious island.
An island where Talos, a giant bronze man built by Hephaestus, guarded its many treasures.
In the film, Hera commanded Jason not to take anything apart from food and water from the Isle of Bronze.
In turn, Jason told Hercules and the Argonauts the same thing, not to remove anything from the island apart from food and water.
The problem was that Hercules couldn’t resist.
Hercules, the strongest Argonaut
Hercules took something from a room filled with treasure that didn’t belong to him.
As a result of the theft, Talos awakened! The giant bronze man in the film adaption of Jason and the Argonauts looked like a fierce bronze metal warrior.
Talos wanted to make all of the Argonauts pay a hefty price for what Hercules had done.
Thankfully, the Goddess Hera was still on Jason’s side, so most of the Argonauts were lucky to escape with their lives, though not everyone.
Sadly, Talos crushed Hylas when the giant bronze warrior toppled over him.
No one knew what had happened to Hylas since no one saw what happened.
Hercules became racked with guilt, so he stayed behind on the island to search for his friend.
Hylas and the Water Nymph
There’s one big difference between the movie version of Jason and the Argonauts, and the generally accepted Jason and the Golden Fleece myth.
It was a water nymph who captured Hylas in the legend.
So it wasn’t Talos that saw the disappearance of Hylas. Instead, a water nymph wanted to keep Hylas for herself.
Hera (Argo Ship) Figurehead
Most Argonauts didn’t want to leave Hercules behind when they knew that Hercules wouldn’t leave the island without first finding Hylas.
Hercules was considered to be the greatest Greek warrior of all. It’s easy to understand why the Argonauts never wanted to like leave their greatest hero behind.
However, the Argonauts were convinced to continue on with their quest to find the Golden Fleece after Jason took the Argonauts over to the Argo ship figurehead in order to hear it speak.
No one would believe it otherwise, but the Argo ship figurehead happened to be a magical mouthpiece for Hera, queen of the Gods.
Hera told the Argonauts that Hercules was fated for other adventures, so they were to continue on their quest to find the Golden Fleece without him.
The above ship figurehead once belonged to the Star of Greece ship, long ago destroyed during a violent storm at sea off the coast of South Australia.
It has an uncanny resemblance to the ship figurehead in Jason and the Argonauts.
I put in a bit of an effort to take this photo. I took a step ladder with me to the maritime museum after confirming by phone that it would be okay. The problem was that it was still too low.
So I used the top handlebar of the ladder to rest the camera on, which meant that the camera could still move ever so slightly when pressing the shutter activation button.
When I showed the photo to a guy behind the entrance ticket counter later on when departing, he mentioned that it looked ghostly. I have to agree.
Phineus and the Harpies
When the Argonauts departed from the Isle of Bronze, they made their way to the shores of a place where Phineus, the blind seer lived.
Tragically, Phineus was tortured day after day by Harpies.
It all came about due to Phineus revealing a few too many secrets of the Olympian Gods.
And because of that, Pineus obtained the wrath of Zeus (Jupiter).
Zeus sent a couple of bird-like creatures to torment Phineus as punishment.
Phineus knew the way to the Golden Fleece. So, Jason and the Argonauts needed his assistance with directions if they were to find the Golden Fleece.
Phineus knew this, but he would only assist them if they helped him get rid of his tormenters, the Harpies.
Jason and the Argonauts came up with a cunning plan to do just that.
The film scene where the Argonauts trap the two Harpies inside a temple is one of the film’s most memorable moments.
Phineus was mighty pleased as a result, so afterward, he willingly gave Jason and the Argonauts directions to make their way to the land of the Golden Fleece.
The Clashing Rocks
The gateway to the Golden Fleece was through the Clashing Rocks, also known as the Symplegades.
If Jason and the Argonauts sailed the Argo safely through the clashing rocks, they’d be well on their way to reaching the Golden Fleece.
Assistance of Triton
Incredibly, Jason and the Argonauts managed to sail through the Clashing Rocks with the powerful assistance of Triton, who was half-man, half-fish.
Everything was arranged rather quickly by a few phone calls at God speed.
Hydra (Dragon) protecting the Golden Fleece
The Hydra monster guarded the Golden Fleece in the 1963 movie version of Jason and the Argonauts.
However, in the Jason and the Golden Fleece myth, a dragon (or a watchful serpent) guarded the Golden Fleece.
Inside the South Australian Museum, I discovered what looked like a Hydra’s head, including a rare skull. The Hydra’s teeth were also on display.
I brought my tripod over to help take this photo since I knew the room had little natural light.
But as I was about to take the shot, a museum staff member came out of nowhere to tell me that no tripods were allowed in the museum. Who knew?
Luckily, a glass cabinet was situated very close to where I needed it, at just the right height and distance away, which I successfully used as a steady base for my camera.
I think the photo turned out well. It was pretty dark inside the room, and I didn’t use a flash, so I’m happy with the pic.
You can even see a reflection of the Hydra’s head on the glass wall, making it look somewhat like a multi-headed Hydra.
Classic quote from the guy who fixed my camera:
“Boy-oh-boy does it highlight just how many issues SX-70s can have. Yours ended up being like the mythical Hydra. Removing one issue yielded two more. Fortunately, the beast has been slain now.”
Skeleton Warriors in Jason and the Argonauts
After Jason killed the multi-headed Hydra, the land’s ruler created a skeleton army by planting Hydra’s teeth into the ground.
In the movie, Jason and a couple of the Argonauts had to fight a small army of skeleton warriors before they could return home with the Golden Fleece.
There are some great Peplum movies (Sword and Sandal films) to watch with classic fight scenes.
One of the best has to be the fantastic sword fighting scene showing Jason and the Argonauts battling against skeletons.
So how did my tribute to Jason and the Argonauts end?
It ended rather bizarrely, as you can see for yourself.
While inside the Art Gallery of South Australia, one of the Art Galleries in Adelaide with Greek Myth Art, I noticed a skeleton sitting on display.
Finding a skeleton isn’t an easy task, so it seemed like the perfect ending to my Jason and the Argonauts myth tribute.
But as you can see, it looks much more like f*cking Hades, God of the Underworld, than it does a skeleton.
That’s because I didn’t have anything to rest my camera on.
I kept my finger on the button when taking the picture, but nothing came out straight away.
It took about three seconds for something to come out due to the lack of lighting.
As you can imagine, I obviously moved the camera slightly during that time when holding it, which caused the blur.
So a picture meant to show a skeleton came out looking more like Hades.
It was the first shot I had ever taken completely indoors, and I learned a lot from it.
The lesson is that a story, a Greek myth, or even a tribute, can all end in Hades (the Underworld), even if you want nothing to do with Hades.
The Odyssey or Jason and the Argonauts?
I seriously thought about changing the tribute dedication after seeing Hades in the above picture.
Visiting Hades happened in The Odyssey myth, but it never happened in Jason and the Golden Fleece myth.
The Odyssey is a classic Greek myth that tells the story of Odysseus and his adventurous ten-year journey home to Ithaka after the Trojan War.
Here are some of the best movies based on the Odyssey.
I highly recommend watching The Odyssey (1997), if you haven’t seen it already.
The film stars Armand Assante and it has a memorable scene of Hades – the Underworld.
I decided to keep it as a Jason and the Argonauts myth tribute in the end.
Talos and Hercules never appeared in The Odyssey. If I changed it, what would I have done with those pictures?
Coincidence at the Sea
I never want to go to Hades (unless it’s for a day trip and I come back safely), so I’m definitely not going to end this Jason and the Argonauts myth tribute with a pic of Hades.
Instead, I’d like to end my tribute to Jason and the heroes by looking at the Ferris wheel from a completely different perspective.
Something happened to me here when I was standing at this very spot.
As I was standing around, an oldish guy walking on the jetty came over to me and asked me a question. But I had no idea of the answer.
We talked some more, and when I asked him where he was from, he told me that he came from the naval town of Portsmouth in the UK. What are the odds?
Jason and the Argonauts went on a mythical naval voyage on a ship called the Argo.
Then a guy shows up from a famous town in the UK known for its shipbuilding, while I had been thinking about the myth.
A bit later on in the day, I came back to the same spot and took this picture, so my tribute would come full circle.
I knew it would be a much better ending.
And, of course, it’s way better than ending a tribute with thoughts of Hades, God of the Underworld.
Jason and the Argonauts Summary
Here you can see all of the Polaroid pictures taken in this series.
Every Polaroid picture was taken with my newly refurbished non-sonar model camera.
I had to manually focus by using a dial on the camera before taking each shot. It definitely made things a bit more challenging!
And no, I didn’t find the Golden Fleece. But that was never going to happen in this Jason and the Argonauts myth tribute.
If only I had the guidance of Hera!
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