Jason at Eeta
The Argonauts woke up early in the morning. At the council they decided that Jason must go with the sons of Frix to the king Eet and ask him to give the fleece to the Argonauts, if the proud king refuses, then only then resort to force.
With the staff of peace, Jason went to the palace to Eet. A thick cloud covered Jason and his companions with the goddess Hera, so that the inhabitants of Colchis do not offend the heroes. When the heroes approached the palace of Eet, the cloud parted, and they saw the palace of Eet. Majestic was this palace. Its walls were high with many towers reaching into the sky. A wide gate decorated with marble led to the palace. Rows of white columns glittered in the sun, forming a portico.
Everything that was in the palace of Eet, all the rich decoration was made to him by Hephaestus in gratitude for the fact that the father of Eet, the sun god Helios, he carried off Hephaestus, exhausted in the battle with the giants, from the Phlegrean fields in his golden chariot. Many palaces surrounded the courtyard. In the most luxurious lived King Eet with his wife, in the other - his son Absirt; for the beauty, the Colchians called Absirt Phaeton (shining). In the other halls lived the daughter of Eet Halkiope, the wife of the deceased Frix, and the youngest daughter of Eet Medea, the great sorceress, the servant of the goddess Hecate.
When Jason and his companions entered the courtyard at the palace of Aeetes, Medea came out of her halls. She was on her way to visit Halkiope. Medea cried out in amazement when she saw the strangers. At her cry Chalciope came out and saw her sons. Rejoicing at their return, Chalciope ran up to them. She hugs and kisses her sons, whom she never thought to see again. At the noise, Eet also came out. He calls strangers to his palace and orders his servants to prepare a sumptuous feast. While Jason was exchanging greetings with Eet, he descended from the high Olympus on his golden wings Erot. Hiding behind a pillar, he pulled the string of his bow and took out a golden arrow. Then, invisible to everyone, Eros stood behind Jason and shot his arrow straight into Medea's heart. An arrow pierced her heart, and she immediately felt love for Jason.Jason went with his companions to the palace of Aeetes. There the king of Colchis invited them to lie down at the banquet table. During the feast Argos told Eet about how he and his brothers were shipwrecked, how the stormy waves threw them on the island of Aretiada and how the Argonauts found them there, dying of hunger. Argos also said why Jason and the heroes had come to Colchis. As soon as Z heard that Jason wanted to get the golden fleece, his eyes flashed with anger and he frowned menacingly. He does not believe that heroes have sailed for the golden Fleece, he thinks: did the sons of Phrixus plan to seize power over the whole of Colchis and brought Greek heroes with them for that purpose? Eet reproaches Jason, he wants to drive him out of the palace and threatens him with execution. Angry speeches were about to fly off the lips of Telamon in response to the king's threats, but Jason stopped him. He tries to calm Eet, assures him that they sailed to Colchis only for the fleece, and promises the king to serve any service, to fulfill any assignment, if the king gives him the golden fleece as a reward. Eet thought about it. Finally, having decided to ruin Jason, he said to him:
- OK, you will get the fleece, but first fulfill my next assignment: plow the field dedicated to Ares, my iron plow, and harness copper-legged, fire-breathing bulls to the plow; sow this field with dragon teeth, and when armored warriors grow out of dragon teeth, fight them and kill them. If you do this, you will get a fleece.
Jason did not immediately answer Eet, finally said:
- I agree, Eet, but you also fulfill your promise, because you know that I cannot refuse to fulfill my assignment, since by the will of fate I have already arrived here, in Colchis.
Having said this, Jason and his companions left.