Many people know the sad tale of Jason, mythic hero and leader of the Argonauts. His story dates back to the third century. Jason completes a seemingly impossible mission and retrieves the Golden Fleece for King Pelias. But then after this glory fades, Jason's life gets worse as time goes on. He betrays his wife Medea, who slays their children. And it just keeps getting worse from there.

This myth is pure drama. READ asked our students readers if they thought Jason got what he deserved. And so we thank these fine students who wrote us to say they thought this dude asked for his sorry lot.

I think that Jason did somewhat deserve what happened to him. He left Medea (although she wasn't very nice) for another woman, just for power. He went against his promise to her even after she helped him get the fleece. I think he has what some cultures call Tall Poppy Syndrome. This means that the "tallest poppy", or the person that is overly proud of their achievements, gets "picked off" first because everyone notices it. After getting the Golden Fleece, Jason said, "I wonder what adventure is next?" He felt like a great explorer who could do anything, while Medea's help was the only thing that got him out alive and let him get the fleece. In the end, the plow of the Argo fell on him, the ship that made him who he was and started Jason's great life, ended it. I feel that Jason did somewhat deserve his harsh fate, but maybe to a lesser extent.

-Amy I., Grade 8

I think that the bad things happened to Jason because he abused his power. He worked very hard to gain the power, but then once he had the power, he thought it was okay to be above the law by plotting to murder his brother-in-law. Once he did that, he brought more problems when his wife decided to murder again. All of these actions had consequences that lead to more death and left Jason alone in the end. He also died alone and that was an acceptable punishment considering all of the pain he had caused others during his reign.

-Makenna Basore, Grade 7

Well said, Makenna and Amy!