PELIAS (mythical king of Iolcus)

Pelias had married Anaxibia, daughter of Bias, though some accounts name his wife as Phylomache, daughter of Amphion.³ Their children included Acastus, Alcestis, Pisidice, Iphidamas, and Eurydamas, with Alcestis considered the most beautiful of his daughters.^{9,13,3,14,15,16,17,18,5} He was the brother of Neleus and Aeson, the latter being the father of Jason.^1,10,19

Trouble began when Pelias received an oracle predicting his death by a man wearing one sandal, a prophecy that left his heart cunning and frozen with fear.^5,20,21,22 Fearing that his brother and nephew would attempt to seize the kingdom, he sought to do away with all waiting for the throne.^19,23 When Jason arrived, Pelias addressed him as a stranger and asked about his origin and parentage.²² Based on Jason's suggestion, Pelias assigned him the task of retrieving the Golden Fleece from Colchis, a distant eastern location.^5,24 He devised this dangerous voyage secretly hoping Jason would die during the expedition, yet he publicly urged the quest and promised to supply everything needed for the journey.^20,19,25,26 Pelias sent Jason and the ship Argo from Iolcus, though he prevented Nestor from joining the crew.^27,28,29

Medea, described as a bane to the house of Pelias, promised to slay him using cunning.^30,23 She demonstrated her magic by turning a boiled ram into a live lamb to convince Pelias of her powers, and he was filled with amazement, regarding her with great approval.^31,32 Medea deceived Pelias's daughters into killing their father by promising to restore his youth, instructing them to kill him with swords to drain his old blood.^31,33,34 Alcestis refused to participate in the killing, but the other daughters, commanded by Medea for Jason's benefit, carried out the deed.^33,35,36 Pelias was dismembered and boiled in a cauldron, and his life could not be restored.^{4,37,27,38,33}

The Mantineans claimed his daughters fled to their city to escape the scandal surrounding his death.³⁹ A funeral games event was held in honor of Pelias, where contests such as a chariot race took place.^14,40 Though he had controlled an army and important cities, his end was marked by the cunning of a foreign woman and the betrayal of his own blood.^23,30,35,36