Jason As Known As The Hero

Journeys of heroes in the myths usually fits the cycle of the hero. This cycle that is developed by Joseph Campbell is similar to the circle of life and these are the reasons.

Birth/Home: He was born as a son of a king, Ioclus. Later on, Jason’s uncle, Pelias, stole the authority from Ioclus, and ruled the kingdom and trapped the king in to a prison. Pelias thought that it's better to kill Jason now. So, Jason’s mother had to hide Jason from Pelias. If Pelias found where Jason was, he would definitely send someone to kill him.

Call to Adventure: Jason had angers for Pelias from his childhood. When he grew older, he asked for his throne back. Pelias ordered Jason to bring him the Golden Fleece, then the kingdom would be his.

Elixir: In order to get his throne back, he had to get The Golden Fleece, which was Jason’s elixir. The Golden Fleece was what he was reaching for, it was his goal, and he remembered that during his journey.

Helpers: The helpers of Jason were the Argonauts in the myth. The Argonauts were a group of heroes, even Hercules and Atalanta were one of them. It would have been impossible for Jason to accomplish his quest of getting The Golden Fleece without them.

Crossing the Threshold: To accomplish his quest and get The Golden Fleece, Jason and his helpers, the Argonauts had to pass the ocean. Then, they landed on the kingdom of King Aeetes. It was a harsh sailing in the ocean, they struggled with the waves. Also they had to go through the large rocks that stopped the sailing.

Helpers/amulet: Chiron and Jason's sword was Jason's helpers and amulets. Chiron and the sword made Jason strong and gave Jason hope to accomplish the quest.

Tests: Jason and the helpers/Argonauts went through plenty of tests. For examples, the harsh sailing with waves and rocks in the ocean, the fire breathing bulls which were on his way, and the dragon who were guarding the Golden Fleece. After each test, it made Jason and the Argonauts stronger and led to the accomplishment of getting to Golden Fleece.

Climax/Final Battle: The climax was during Jason’s final battle on the quest when the Argonauts went almost into the underworld, and also he fought with Medea. He used Chiron’s sword, and took over Medea. The Argonauts managed to get out of the underworld and Jason could accomplish his quest and get the Golden Fleece.

Return/Flight: Jason and the Argonauts returned back to kingdom, waiting for the moment when he takes back the throne from Pelias.

There are countless versions of the myth of Jason and The Argonauts. For instance, in one of the versions of myth, it said that Medea was a witch who fell in love with Jason and followed him during his journey. In another version, Aphrodite appears in the myth puts a spell on Medea, and she falls in love with Jason and follows him and helps him accomplish the quest. Also, I saw the cartoons. In that, Medea is vicious, she uses bad magic to stop Jason from accomplishing his quest. In some myth Jason was quite weak, and he got helped mainly from the Argonauts. In the cartoon, Jason is a strong hero who has courage. He acts conversely different in these two versions of the myth. I don't think there is a right version of the myth. The storytellers like to change the myth, and I think comparing different versions of the myth is an interesting thing to do.

Some people believe that the myth of Jason and the Argonauts was true. There is a lot of evidence supporting that belief. However we can't be sure if the Gods exist, it could be just a boy on a journey. These are the evidences that are from the movie on Jason during class.

• Mt. Pelion exists, it's where Jason went on his journey


• This myth took place during Trojan war, which really happened.


• Bronze Age Palace of Jason


• Artifacts found


• Making boats in ancient techniques, Jason's boat could have been made that way


• Island of Lemnos, Greece, place of the first quest


• Jason and Argonauts wanted to go to the Black Sea


• They went to Istanbul


• Scared cave-drawings of Jason


• Georgia means 'Land of the Golden Fleece'

The myth of Jason and the Argonauts is about a mighty hero, Jason, who reached for his goals and did things that were impossible for us. There is countless versions of the myth and evidences saying that the myth is true. It could be possible that the myth is true. The myth comes from ages ago, we never know the real answer.

Image URL: http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/thumbnail/223292/1/Jason-And-The-Argonauts-1925.jpg

Compliment Guys

This is a journey because it’s a mission to the compliment guys. Missions are journeys because there are steps for the accomplishments and there are always obstacles in missions and journeys.

These guys are heroes because one simple compliments that they say to people can change the person’s mood for the day. I think that a compliment for 2 second everyday is worth more than getting a car.I am sure that compliment guys think the same way as me and that’s why they do it. I find this surprising because one small thing can change a lot. These heroes do small things but they change a lot of people’s days.

At first, Some people thought that they were not sincere because they thought that the compliment guys were teasing people and not being honest and maybe making the people’s days worse. However, as the compliment guys kept doing it for a while. The people figured out that they were sure about the compliments and the compliments made their days start or end better and happier.

This says that small things such as simple, continuous compliments can change the human nature. When humans get a big present, they can feel the happiness for a short amount of time. Though, a continuous, small happiness will last for a long time.

I think that we need more people like these to make out daily journey more rewarding. As I said before, these compliment guys creates happiness, a slight grin or a laughter. Surprisingly, this starts or ends our day(daily journey) happier and this gives energy for the day.

These guys are actually improving people’s health. According to the article of Benefits of Laughter, laughter can reduce food cravings to increase one’s start of the pain. Laughter help people heal more quickly than other things.
Since, compliments make people happy and make them laugh, the people’s health is really improving.

This picture makes me smile because, the unicorns are cute and they are all smiling. For me, when something/someone laughs or smiles, I feel like laughing too. Some people might think that that is a stupid thing to do, but it’s human nature that is what everyone does. Laughter can spread around everywhere to everyone.

The best compliment that anyone has ever given to me was “I like your smile.” This was powerful compliment to me because it kept making me smile. I want to smile because everyone likes my smile. A smile starts my day happier. Who would want to see everyone depressed in the beginning of the day? A slight grin can make things happier for everyone.

Heroes and their journeys teach us about human nature. From their mistakes of acting and thinking, we can learn what we shouldn't do (being too greedy, not thinking about others) and what we should do (think deeper, make others happy (smile or laugh)!).

picture URL: http://www.maniacworld.com/Charlie-The-Unicorn.jpg

Orphan Boy & Pandora

The African myth, Orphan boy and Greek myth, Pandora demonstrate to us that curiosity can lead change that is either good or bad. In Orphan Boy, the old man couldn't resist the curiosity, so he stalked the Orphan Boy and lost his trust and the world received punishment. Also in Pandora, when she accidentally opened the box, all the evilness comes out of the box and the world gets in danger. Though, there is something else that came out of Pandora's box,Hope. Hope made the world better, it gave people happiness. Also, if there was no curiosity, there wouldn't be any inventions in the past and there would be no development. Therefor, curiosity can sometimes be good and bad.

My Name

It’s simple, easy to pronounce, adorable but humorous. So a lot of girls and even boys have my name in Korea. However, the meanings are all different because it can be written in variety of Chinese letters. To figure out the meanings of Korean letters, you have to write them in Chinese letters. My name means wealthy, beautiful pearls. I’ve never thought that I am rich (lack of allowance) or pretty yet. It’s probably my parents’ the high expectations on me of perfection.

Although, my name doesn’t sound so unique or rare, there is something special about my name. It perfectly matches my characteristics. I am more of a ‘Thinking of you’ person than ‘Think of me”. I am not self-centered, I concern about other’s feelings. If I had to be a self centered person, I should have a super vision to identify other’s thinking and feelings. In my opinion, that’s why I think I was named You Jin.

My parents gave me the name, You Jin, because my mom personally liked ‘Jin’. In Korea, a lot of brothers and sisters have similar names. So, my sister was named Ye Jin, that’s why I had to be named You Jin.

For me, I personally like name that is strange, like Joviwa or Zeseta. Well, I was born in Korea, so there is not even a single chance that I could be named Joviwa or Zeseta. Though, my name sounds so vivid, hygienic and clear like a pearl, but Joviwa or Zeseta sounds like a mixture of something. My everlasting name is jammed on to me, and I should blissfully walk ahead with it, slowly.

Pic URL: http://tropic-island.net/polynesia-tahiti-moorea/images/black-pearls-tahiti-tortle.jpg

Common Elements in Creation Myth

“The roots that clutch” T.S. Elliot. Themes of supreme creators, explanations of natural phenomena and the separation of world parents are at the center of many creation myths, which is amazing because the creation myths are from different parts of the world. “All men have need of the Gods” Homer. In the creation myths of China and Maya, there are supreme creators/Gods named Phan Ku and Tepeu who created every feature on the earth. This is strange because Maya (Central America) and China are in the different side of the world but have similar elements in their creation myths. In the myth of the Maori and the Chinese and also a lot of other creation myths have explanations of natural phenomena. For example, Phanku sacrificed himself to make natural landscape in Chinese myth. Another example is that the separation of the sky and earth god created natural phenomena in the Maori myth. This is unusual because China and New Zealand couldn't assemble in the past but they share the same themes in the creation myth. The myth of the Maori and Africa share the common theme of the separation of the world’s parents. In these creation myths, the sky god and earth god are separated to complete the earth. There is no possibility that Africans and New Zealanders have met in the past but they include a common topic, which is surprising. The creation myths from different countries have endured over time and have unexpected common themes. Creation myths will last so on through time and be part of the religions or the future. “Myth is, after all, the never ending story” Joan D. Vinge.

Pic URL: http://mythprojects.wikispaces.com/file/view/yggdrasil.jpg

Picture and Quote of Journeys

I chose this picture and this quote for representing the journeys because they perfectly match the meaning of the journey. In the picture, there is a door inside a door and it seems like there is no end. However, the quote says, “Joy is found in doing “. A lot of people find that the track is more absorbing than the end in most of the journeys. This quote and the pictures give us the true meaning of journey: the path of the journey is more valuable than the destination of it.