0:00:06.126,0:00:08.686
Hercules, [br]the strongest man alive

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with a mighty heart to match.

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Orpheus, [br]charmer of nature and master of music.

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Castor and Pollux, [br]the twin tricksters hatched from an egg.

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The Boreads, [br]sons of the North Wind

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who could hurtle through the air.

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For untold times [br]these heroes had roamed ancient Greece,

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creating new legends wherever they went.

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But none of their adventures [br]was so great as when they joined forces

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for the sake of a young man named Jason.

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Years before,

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Jason’s uncle Pelias [br]had ruthlessly usurped

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the throne of Thessaly [br]from Jason’s grandfather.

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When Jason returned [br]to his father’s stolen court,

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the cowardly king [br]set him a seemingly impossible task:

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cross the teeming seas to Colchis,

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and steal [br]the golden fleece of a flying ram

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under King Aeetes’ nose.

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If Jason retrieved the Fleece,

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Pelias promised to relinquish the throne.

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Touched by his heroic mission,

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the Gods spread Jason’s call for help,

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and soon [br]he had assembled a not-so-motley crew.

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These heroes,

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alongside countless sailors,[br]soothsayers, and rebel demigods,

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named themselves [br]the Argonauts after their sturdy ship.

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But the path ahead [br]was marked with untold terrors–

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enough to test even the fiercest heroes.

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Their first stop was Lemnos,

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an isle of women [br]who had killed all the island’s men.

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As punishment,

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Aphrodite had cursed them[br]with a sickening stench–

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but that didn’t stop Jason [br]fathering twins with the queen.

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The rest of the crew also found themselves[br]embroiled in new romances;

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until Hercules chastised them [br]for not behaving like heroes.

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Eventually, [br]they sailed on to the Mount of Bears,

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an island where a group of ancient, [br]six-armed monsters

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lived alongside the peaceful Doliones.

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While the clan welcomed [br]the Argonauts with open arms,

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the monsters surged down [br]from the mountains

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and hurled rocks at the docked ship.

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Hercules held them off single-handedly,

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before his comrades joined the fray.

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Bolstered by their victory, [br]the triumphant heroes sailed onward–

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only to be blown back [br]to the island several stormy nights later.

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In the tempest,

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the Doliones [br]thought these new arrivals invaders.

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The Argonauts were similarly unaware [br]of their surroundings,

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and fought blunderingly in the dark, [br]slaying wave after wave of foe.

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But the morning light [br]revealed a horrible truth:

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their victims [br]were none other than their previous hosts.

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Yet again,

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Jason had allowed the crew [br]to be distracted,

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this time at a terrible cost.

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Ashamed at his conduct,

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he resolved [br]to focus only on the Fleece,

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but even this haste proved ruinous.

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When Hercules’ squire [br]was abducted by a water nymph,

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Jason sailed on–

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oblivious to the absence [br]of his most powerful crewmate.

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The remaining Argonauts [br]continued their quest,

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until stopping at the sight

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of an old man [br]surrounded by a swirl of harpies.

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This was Phineas, [br]a seer cursed by Zeus

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to endure [br]old age, blindness, and endless torture

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for giving away [br]his prophecies.

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Moved by his plight, [br]the wind brothers set upon the flock,

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providing Phineas [br]with a brief respite from his punishment.

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In return,

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the seer told them how to overcome[br]the terrifying trial that lay ahead:

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the Symplegades,

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a pair clashing rocks [br]that reduced ships to splinters.

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But first,

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the Argonauts would have to maneuver [br]past the mouth of hell,

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around the island [br]of the bloodthirsty Amazons,

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and under psychedelic skies.

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These adventures cost the crew [br]both in men and morale–

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and some feared [br]they might be losing their minds.

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Upon reaching the clashing rocks, [br]the exhausted crew quaked with fear.

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But Phineas’ advice rang in their heads.

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The Argonauts released a single dove

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and sped through in its wake [br]to emerge unscathed.

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With this narrow escape,

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the Argonauts [br]finally had Colchis in their sights.

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Yet while Jason rested [br]and celebrated with his crew,

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he could feel his time [br]among them was drawing to a close.

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As the fleece gleamed in his mind,

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he knew [br]he would have to retrieve it alone.

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But he could not guess [br]that this final task

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would have the most horrible price of all.