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The Death of Pelias

Also called: Daughters of Pelias, Peliades

A legend handed down over the centuries.

A Greek myth told by Apollodorus, Ovid and others. When Pelias refused to give up the throne even after the Argonauts returned, Medea boiled an old ram in a cauldron and brought it out a lamb — and so tricked Pelias’ daughters into killing their father. Jason and Medea were driven from Iolcus to Corinth.

Medea and Pelias beside the cauldron — Attic red-figure vase, 5th century BC
Medea and Pelias beside the cauldron — Attic red-figure vase, 5th century BC

ArchaiOptix · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

This Greek myth is told in Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and elsewhere. Even with the fleece brought home, Pelias would not give back the throne, and is said to have driven Jason’s parents to their deaths. Before Pelias’ daughters, Medea cut up an old ram, boiled it with herbs, and brought it forth a young lamb.

Hoping to restore their father’s youth, the daughters cut up and boiled Pelias as Medea instructed — but she left out the herbs. So Pelias died, and his son Acastus drove Jason and Medea out of Iolcus. In Corinth, where they went next, Euripides’ tragedy Medea takes up the story.

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Themes that include this event

  • Heroes of Greek Myth1400 BC – 1900

    Perseus and Medusa, the labours of Heracles, Jason and the Golden Fleece, Theseus and the Minotaur, the wings of Icarus, Oedipus and Antigone — the heroes of Greek myth, alongside the real sites of Tiryns, Knossos and Thebes, the first performance of a tragedy, and the sculptures and paintings their stories inspired