Introduction
Pelias overthrew his half-brother Aeson to take the throne of Iolcos. Warned by an oracle to beware a man wearing one sandal, he grew alarmed when the grown Jason — who had lost a sandal crossing a river — arrived to claim his birthright.
Family
- No further family relationships recorded in this tree.
A Plan That Backfired
Rather than confront Jason directly, Pelias set him the task of retrieving the Golden Fleece from Colchis, expecting the voyage to kill him. Jason instead returned with both the Fleece and Medea. Medea took her revenge on Pelias by tricking his own daughters into believing they could rejuvenate their aged father by cutting him up and boiling the pieces — a trick that killed him permanently.
As with all figures of Greek heroic legend, sources diverge on many particulars; the account above follows the most widely transmitted classical tradition.