Bob Dylan And Medea

by Larry Fyffe

Before Odysseus makes his sea voyage, Jason makes his.

Jason’s uncle usurps the Greek throne that belongs to Jason’s father. To protect him from the usurper, Jason is hidden away by his mother. Because the usurper doesn’t honour goddess Hera, she enlists Aphrodite to help Jason regain his royal rights.  Aphrodite is said by some to be the daughter of the Olympian Zeus and the Titan goddess Dione – the Titans being possessed of little compassion.

The usurper has tricks of his own up his sleeve, and tells Jason he’ll give up the throne, but first Jason has to embark on sea voyage in quest of the Golden Fleece, a symbol of royal power – the final guard thereof being a dragon – that is, if you make it that far without getting yourself killed.

As a countermove, on the daughter of the ruler of the realm where the Fleece is kept, Aphrodite has her son Cupid cast a spell that makes her fall madly in love with Jason. The daughter, Medea, is herself a possessor of magic powers – she’s a sorceress.

She causes the dragon to fall into a deep sleep; Jason grabs the royal emblem and agrees to take Medea back home with him. She even arranges the death of her own brother to help Jason escape, and then, lo and behold, she arranges the usurper’s death!

Jason fails to regain the throne immediately; he leaves Medea and their children; marries into other royalty; tells Medea to blame the whole mess on Aphrodite.

Needless to say, a bad idea all round … you don’t fool with an enchantress, nor with Aphrodite, let alone with the wife of Zeus. A lonely life of depression awaits Jason after Medea rides off in her dragon-drawn chariot. Who among us would say that he doesn’t deserve it?

A metonymical twist is given to the mythological tale in the poem below:

The fleece of this goat and even
That gold one which cost such pain
To Jason's not worth a 'sou' towards
The tresses which I take
(Guillaume Apollinaire: The Beastiary Of Orpheus' Procession)

Likewise, in the following song lyrics, there’s a sexual shift away from the golden fleece of the ram being a sacrifice to the God of Thunder; apparently, Johnny’s in the basement mixing up the mythologies:

First we wash our feet near the immortal shrine
And our shadows meet, and then we drink the wine
I see the hungry clouds up above your face
And then tears roll down, what a bitter taste
And then you drift away on a summer's day where the wildflowers bloom
With your golden loom
(Bob Dylan: Golden Loom)

Medea becomes the consort of a Greek king whose son Theseus had been a member of Jason’s crew; he marries Phaedra. Aphrodite casts a spell on Phaedra that causes her to fall in love with Theseus’ son by a previous union because the son rejects Aphrodite’s sexual advances.

Now there’s a story ripe for burlesque:

Well, Phaedra with her looking glass
Stretching out upon the grass
She gets all messed up, and she faints
That's 'cause she's so obvious, and you ain't
I wanna be your lover, baby, I wanna be your man
I wanna be you lover, baby, I don't wanna be hers
I wanna be yours
(Bob Dylan: I Wanna Be Your Lover)

In the lyrics below, the mythology of Medea is deconstructed – an enchantress she may be, but an aristocrat she ain’t:

With your sheets like metal, and your belt like lace
And your deck of cards missing the jack and the ace
And your basement clothes, and your hollow face
Who among them can think he could outguess you?
(Bob Dylan: Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands)

Jason and Medea – in one format or another, it’s a mythological story that never dies:

Was that the thunder that I heard?
My head is vibrating, I feel a sharp pain
Come sit by my side, don't say a word
Oh, can it be that I am slain?
(Bob Dylan: Romance In Durango ~ Dylan/Levy)

https://youtu.be/-NBWMK0CV0Y

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