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Stories of different heroes slaying dragons and becoming gods have been told as long as we can remember, and yet even in our modern day lives, very little has changed about them. Heroes appear vastly different on the surface, but their tales of adventure all follow the same general guideline. Instead of being branches of stories that come from different trees, they actually form more like a spider web, interlacing and overlapping many times. Even as far back as Greek mythology, we can see this general instruction book being used to create mystifying and memorable tales. In the story, “Jason and the Golden Fleece”, a young boy named Jason who undergoes an adventure spun around family betrayal, prophesies, and of course, overwhelming peril. While on his journey, he faces many of these recognizable heroic themes. From the day of his departure, through the entire journey he faces, and even closing the ties with a conclusion, he will be walking the very same footsteps as heroes throughout time.
All grand adventures come with a call that lures the hero in like an enchanting song. Jason is no exception to this rule. He wants nothing more then to earn back his rightful kingdom from his cousin, Pelias. When he visits the town and confronts the man, Pelias strikes him a deal, “The dead Phrixus bids us back the Golden Fleece and thus bring us back his spirit to his home… Do you go upon this quest, and I swear with Zeus as a witness that I will give up the kingdom and the sovereign rule to you”(119.) With this new challenge in mind, Jason quickly accepts the challenge and prepares himself for the journey ahead. Many similar heroes follow this same path, being pulled into a story by a dangerous sense of desire. However, in return for a treasure made of royalty and gold, a hero still must look death right in the face throughout their tale. One of the roughest bumps in the road is actually the first conflict a hero must overpass, because it snaps reality into the fearless. Soon after they left the first island, a young lad by the name of Hylas became hopelessly attracted to a sea nymph and fell into a deadly trap. As he was drawn to the water, “she threw her arms around his neck and drew him down into the depths and he was seen no more… he did not come back, and finally the ship had to sail without him”(120). Hylas acted foolishly in such a situation, being taken in by her beauty and loosing his life as a result. This early conflict acts as a wake-up call, telling both the readers and the characters themselves that is it now too late to turn back from the risks they have taken.
After the adventure has traveled a lengthy past, the climax of it all comes near. Heros are often visited by a goddess or other high power, and this goes just as planned for Jason. Knowing that the king’s challenge would be too much for him, he calls upon the help of Medea, and she, “told him how to use the charm and that when it was sprinkled on his weapons it would make them as well as himself invincible for a day”(124). Medea’s assistance serves as a great help for Jason when he does enter the climatic final stage, and it is essential for the tale to continue on smoothly. This is a common theme in many myths because they often serve as a last minute help. When she comes back later to help him, he finds a sacred grove where he, “lifted the golden wonder from the tree it hung on”(126). At the end of his tale, he is able to receive the treasure that he fought so achingly for. It is the most important moment in all heroic stories, for it shows the scene where a hero has succeeded in their dreams and wins the object they had risked everything for. It is essitinail to any story.
As the end of a seemingly timeless adventure nears, the hero must return to his or her home. This concept of returning back to thier land is actually complicated and comes in parts. As Jason begins the journey back him, he faces yet another conflict as, "Next came Crete-- where they would have landed but... Talus lived there, the last man left of the ancient bronze race, a creature made of all bronze except one ankle where alone he was vulenerable"(127). Even after he has recieved the Fleece, he comes into contact with another threat on his way back. This is a common archetype in stories due to the fact it keeps the interest
Freedom to live, "Upon reaching Greece they disbanded, each hero going to his home, and Jason with Medea took the Golden Fleece to Pelias."

Sum up statments, obv.