The hero who captained the Argo on the quest for the GOLDEN FLEECE . He was the son of AESON and Alcimede (or Polymede). In the usual version of the myth, Aeson should have become king of Iolcus on the death of his father, Cretheus, but the throne was usurped by his half-brother, PELIAS . At Jason's birth his parents, fearing for his life, told Pelias that their baby had been born dead, then secretly sent him to Mount Pelion, to be brought up by the wise Centaur CHEIRON , the educator of so many great heroes. Pelias, meanwhile, ruled on, though he knew from an oracle that he must beware of a man, coming from the country and wearing a single sandal, by whom he was destined to die. When he grew to manhood, Jason returned to Iolcus to claim his heritage. He arrived wearing only one sandal, for he had lost the other while he was carrying the goddess HERA , disguised as an old woman, across the flooded River Anaurus. Hera hated Pelias because he had often ignored the honours due to her…