The treacherous Pelias did not keep his word; he did not return to Jason the power of his ancestors. Jason harbored a grudge and decided to take cruel revenge on Pelias. And here Medea came to his aid. Soon an opportunity for revenge presented itself. Jason's elderly father, Eson, having learned that Medea was a great sorceress, wanted her to restore his youth to him. Jason himself asked Medea to make his father younger. Medea promised to fulfill this request if only Hecate would help her.
When the full moon came, Medea came out of the house at midnight in dark clothes, barefoot, with her hair down. Everything around was immersed in deep sleep, silent silence reigned everywhere. Medea walks silently, bathed in the light of the moon. Medea stopped where three roads converge, raised her hands and exclaimed loudly three times. She knelt down and began to whisper a spell. She conjured the night, the heavenly bodies, the moon, the earth, the winds, mountains and rivers. She called upon the gods of the forests and the night to appear to her. She prayed to the great Hecate to hear her and help her. Hecate heard her, and a chariot drawn by winged dragons appeared before Medea. For nine days and nine nights, Medea collected magical herbs and roots on this chariot in the mountains, in forests, along the banks of rivers and the sea. When she returned to Eson’s house, she erected two altars: one to Hecate, the other to the goddess of youth. She dug two holes in front of the altars and above them she sacrificed black sheep to the gloomy goddess of darkness and witchcraft, Hecate, offering her libations of honey and milk. Medea called upon the underground gods, Hades and Persephone, and begged them not to take the life of old Eson. Then she ordered Eson to be brought. With her charms she put him to sleep and put Eson on magic herbs. Medea brewed a magic potion in a copper cauldron. The potion boiled and became covered with white foam. Medea mixed the potion with a dry branch from a century-old tree. And the branch turned green, became covered with leaves, and green fruits appeared on it. Everywhere, wherever the foam of the potion dripped, flowers and herbs grew. Seeing that the potion was ripe, Medea cut old man Eson’s throat with a sword and released his old blood. Through a wide wound, she poured a magic potion into Eson’s veins. And - oh, miracle! - the old man’s hair, previously white as snow, darkened, wrinkles and senile thinness disappeared, a blush appeared on his cheeks again. Eson woke up and again saw himself young, strong and vigorous.
After Medea managed to restore Eson’s youth, she decided, by drawing up an insidious plan, to take revenge on old Pelias for deceiving Jason and not returning him power over Iolkos.
Medea persuaded the daughters of Pelias to restore their father's youth, and in order for them to believe even more in her charms, she brought a ram, slaughtered it and threw it into a cauldron with a potion. As soon as the slaughtered ram plunged into the cauldron, a frisky lamb immediately jumped out of the cauldron. Pelias' daughters marveled at this miracle and agreed to try to restore their father's youth.
Medea prepared a potion, but not the same one that she prepared to restore youth to Jason's father. There was no magical power in this potion. Medea put Pelia to sleep with her spells, brought her daughters into his bedroom and ordered them to cut their father’s throat. But the daughters did not dare.
- Cowardice! - Medea exclaimed, - quickly draw your sword, release his old blood from your father’s veins, and I will give him new blood.
The daughters of Pelias do not dare to deal a mortal blow to their sleeping father. Finally, turning away, one after another they began to strike the daughter and father with a sword. Pelias woke up, mortally wounded, he rose up on his bed and, stretching out his weakening hands to his daughters, exclaimed with a groan:
- Oh, daughters, what are you doing! What made you raise your hand against your father?
The hands of the daughters of Pelias dropped in horror. They stand pale, consciousness leaves them. Medea ran up to Pelias's bed, plunged her knife into his throat, cut his body into pieces and threw them into a boiling cauldron. A chariot drawn by winged dragons appeared in Pelias’ bedroom, and Medea disappeared on it from the eyes of Pelias’ daughters, distraught with horror.
Pelias' son, Adrastus, arranged a magnificent funeral for his father, and after the funeral, games in honor of the deceased. The greatest heroes of Greece took part in them. The referee at the games was Hermes himself. Castor, Polydeuces and Euphemus competed in chariot racing, Admetus and Pug - in a fist fight, Atalant and Peleus - in wrestling. Iphicles won the race.
But Jason failed to gain power over Iolkos. Adrastus did not allow him to stay in Iolkos; he expelled him from Iolkos for the murder of his wife Medea Pelia. Jason left his homeland and retired with Medea to Corinth.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru