Jason is the leader of the Argonauts in Greek mythology, the hero who sailed aboard the Argo to Colchis at the eastern edge of the known world to obtain the Golden Fleece — a magical ram's skin guarded by a sleepless dragon in the sacred grove of Ares. With the help of the sorceress Medea, who provided him with magical protections and counsel, Jason yoked the fire-breathing bulls, sowed the dragon's teeth, defeated the armed warriors who sprang from the earth, and drugged the guardian dragon to seize the prize.

In the Atalanta Fugiens, Jason appears as one of Maier's three archetypes of the alchemist, alongside Hercules and Ulysses. The discourse of Emblem XLIV names these three as 'the masters of art' whose trials exemplify the suffering and persistence required to complete the Great Work. Jason is specifically described as 'the physician with subtle stratagem' who acquired the Golden Fleece 'thanks to Medea's advice, that is to say thanks to the advice of Ratio and Theoretica' — making Medea an allegory for theoretical knowledge applied to practical ends.

The Golden Fleece quest connects most directly to Emblem XXV, whose motto declares: 'The Dragon does not die, if it is not killed by its brother and sister, i.e. Sol and Luna.' In the discourse, Maier recounts that to capture the Golden Fleece, the Dragon had first to be killed, and that many attempted this in vain because they were not well enough armed. Jason succeeded because he received 'pictures of Sol and Luna' — alchemical knowledge of the solar and lunar principles — on Medea's advice. The Dragon was conquered by the Sun and the Moon together.

De Jong traces the alchemical interpretation of the Golden Fleece legend to at least the tenth century, and Maier's own treatment in the Symbola Aureae Mensae develops the connection in detail (De Jong, pp. 308-309). Maier cites Ammianus's report that the Colchians were descendants of the Egyptians, and Diodorus's identification of them as Egyptian colonists who settled near the Black Sea to exploit metal mines. The Golden Fleece, in Maier's reading, is literally a book written on hides that discusses the manner in which gold could be made chemically. Robertus Vallensis had already established this interpretation, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Opus Aureum de Auro further developed the mythological-alchemical connection.

The figure of Jason also appears in discussions of Emblem XLIX, where the ox-hide and sheepskin imagery invokes both the Ovidian narrative and the Golden Fleece simultaneously. Maier states that Sol hands the Philosophical Child to Vulcan and to the artist to perfect it, just as Achilles and Jason were given to Chiron the centaur for their education — connecting the alchemical process to the classical tradition of heroic pedagogy.

Alchemically, Jason represents the adept who combines practical skill (the physician's craft, the stratagem), theoretical knowledge (Medea's counsel), and divine aid (the gods' gifts) to overcome the guardian forces of the prima materia and extract the golden treasure. The Golden Fleece itself encodes the philosopher's stone or the perfected tincture — the prize that sits at the end of a dangerous quest through unknown waters.

For a general reader, Jason illustrates Maier's conviction that the alchemical quest, like the Argonautic expedition, requires a combination of courage, intelligence, and the right guidance. No single quality suffices; the adept must be physician, strategist, and hero simultaneously.

Meanings Across Registers

De Jong shows that alchemical terms operate simultaneously across material, medical, spiritual, and cosmological dimensions.

Alchemical

The Argonaut whose Colchian quest De Jong and Maier read as a complete alchemical voyage: the dragon-guarded Fleece is the Stone, the Argo the vessel, Medea's drugs the necessary preparations.

Medical

The physician-hero who undertakes the long therapeutic journey, mastering exotic remedies and obstacles to retrieve the supreme medicament that ordinary practice cannot reach.

Spiritual

The disciplined ego embarking on a guided voyage through unconscious waters; the heroic seeker whose success requires both personal courage and a counsellor's secret knowledge.

Cosmological

The solar hero traversing the eastern horizon to seize the celestial fleece in the dawn of Aries; the annual itinerary of the Sun reread as quest narrative.