When Pelias saw Jason he got very much frightened because once a prophecy had warned him he would lose his life from the “one sandaled”. In order to protect himself, Pelias set Jason an impossible feat: to bring back the Golden Fleece from the divine forest of Ares in Colchis. To accomplish this, Jason needed to pass the Black Sea between Colchis and Thessaly and, once there, to take the Golden Fleece away from its fierce guarding dragon.

The journey would be long and the mission tedious and of great difficulty, so Jason needed to find a strong ship and brave shipmates. Goddess Athena, who was helping Hera, ordered from the shipwright Argos a fast ship with fifty oars; Athena herself was observing Argos’ work. The spectacular ship was named after his builder, "Argo".

The comrades that were chosen for the journey took the name Argonauts. All of them were volunteers and were exceptionally strong and brave warriors. Among them were the semi-god Heracles, Theseus and Orpheus.