- Pelias
Pelias was king of
Iolcus inGreek mythology , the son ofTyro , daughter ofAleus , and of eitherPoseidon orCretheus . His wife is recorded as eitherAnaxibia , daughter of Bias, orPhylomache , daughter ofAmphion . He was the father ofAcastus ,Pisidice ,Alcestis ,Pelopia ,Hippothoe ,Asteropia , Antinoe, and Medusa. [ [http://www.maicar.com/GML/Pelias1.html Greek Mythology Link (Carlos Parada) - Pelias 1] ]Tyro was married to
Cretheus (with whom she had one son,Aeson ) but lovedEnipeus , 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 andNeleus , 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 ofThessaly . To this end, he banished Neleus and Pheres, and locked Aeson in the dungeons inIolcus . While in there, Aeson married and had several children, most famously,Jason . Aeson sent Jason toChiron thecentaur , on Mount Pelium, to be educated while Pelias, paranoid that he would be overthrown, was warned by anoracle 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 would send that man after theGolden 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 andPromachus , 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 withMedea , 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 did not 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 authorRobert 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 gameNetHack , 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".References
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