Jason led the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos in Thessaly, whose throne had been seized by his half-brother Pelias. An oracle warned Pelias about a dangerous man wearing one sandal, and Jason later arrived at court with only one sandal after crossing a river.
Pelias sent Jason on what he expected to be an impossible mission: retrieving the Golden Fleece from distant Colchis. Jason assembled a company of heroes called the Argonauts, named after their ship, the Argo. Their famous members included Heracles, Orpheus, Castor, Polydeuces, and Peleus, though lists vary by ancient source.
In Colchis, King Aeetes imposed seemingly impossible tasks. Medea, the king's daughter and a powerful sorceress, helped Jason yoke fire-breathing bulls, defeat warriors born from dragon's teeth, and put the sleepless dragon guarding the fleece to sleep. Jason's leadership is central to the myth, although Medea's aid is indispensable.