Everything about Pelias totally explained
Pelias was king of
Iolcus in
Greek mythology, the son of
Tyro, daughter of
Aleus, and of either
Poseidon or
Cretheus. His wife is recorded as either
Anaxibia, daughter of
Bias, or
Phylomache, daughter of
Amphion. He was the father of
Acastus,
Pisidice,
Alcestis,
Pelopia,
Hippothoe,
Asteropia,
Antinoe, and Medusa.
Tyro was married to
Cretheus (with whom she'd one son,
Aeson) but loved
Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances. One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus and from their union was born Pelias and
Neleus, twin boys. Tyro exposed her sons on a mountain and they were raised by a maid. When they reached adulthood, Pelias and Neleus found Tyro and killed her stepmother,
Sidero, for having mistreated her. Sidero hid in a temple to Hera but Pelias killed her anyway, causing Hera's undying hatred of Pelias. Pelias was power-hungry and he wished to gain dominion over all of
Thessaly. To this end, he banished Neleus and Pheres, and locked Aeson in the dungeons in
Iolcus. While in there, Aeson married and had several children, most famously,
Jason. Aeson sent Jason to
Chiron the
centaur, on Mount
Pelium, to be educated while Pelias, paranoid that he'd be overthrown, was warned by an
oracle to beware a man wearing one sandal.
Many years later, Pelias was holding the
Olympics in honor of Poseidon when Jason, rushing to Iolcus (by the modern city of
Volos), lost one of his sandals in the flooded river
Anaurus, while helping someone cross. In Virgil's Aeneid,
Hera had diguised herself as an old woman, whom Jason helped across the river and then lost his sandal. When Jason entered Iolcus, he was announced as a man wearing one sandal. Paranoid, Pelias asked him what he (Jason) would do if confronted with the man who would be his downfall. Jason responded that he'd send that man after the
Golden Fleece. Pelias took that advice and sent Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece.
During Jason's absence, Pelias thought the
Argo had sunk, and this was what he told Aeson and
Promachus, who committed suicide by drinking poison or were both killed directly by Pelias. While Jason searched for the Golden Fleece, Hera, who was still angry at Pelias, conspired to make him fall in love with
Medea, whom she hoped would kill Pelias. When Jason and Medea returned, Pelias still refused to give up his throne. Medea conspired to have Pelias' own daughters
(Peliades) kill him. She told them she could turn an old ram into a young ram by cutting up the old ram and boiling it. During the demonstration, a live, young ram jumped out of the pot. Excited, the girls cut their father into pieces and threw them in a pot. Pelias didn't survive. Pelias' son Acastus later drove Jason and Medea to Corinth and so reclaimed the kingdom.
Other uses
Pelias is the name of a fictional
sorcerer who appears in some of the
Conan the Barbarian fantasy adventure stories of American author
Robert E. Howard, where he assists the titular hero with his various quests. Inspired by this, a character of the same name also appears in the computer game
NetHack, if a player of the game chooses to portray a barbarian. The name of a certain Fire Emblem prince, which has thus far been romanized as "Pelleas", may also be derived from "Pelias".
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pelias'.
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