In Argonautica, Medea hypnotized him from the Argo, driving him mad with the keres (female death-spirits) that she raised, so that he dislodged the nail, and 'the ichor ran out of him like molten lead', exsanguinating and killing him. According to (pseudo-)Apollodorus, Talos was slain when Medea the sorceress either drove him mad with drugs, or deceived him into believing that she would make him immortal by removing the nail. As guardian of the island, Talos kept the Argo at bay by hurling great boulders at it. The Argo, transporting Jason and the Argonauts, approached Crete after obtaining the Golden Fleece. Talos had one vein, which went from his neck to his ankle, bound shut by only one bronze nail. The pseudo-Platonic dialogue Minos rationalized the myth, thrice yearly showing at each village in turn the laws of Minos inscribed on brass tablets. Talos was a brass bull who was forged by the god Hephaestus and was given to Minos.Talos was a brass man who was forged by the god Hephaestus and was given to Minos.Talos may have been a survivor from the Age of Bronze, a descendant of the brazen race ( χαλκοῦ γένους) that sprang from meliae 'ash-tree nymphs' according to Argonautica (The conception that Hesiod's men of the Age of Bronze were actually made of bronze is extended to men of the age of gold by Lucian for humorous effect).however, we have detailed images of the episode, 150 years earlier, dated to around 400 BC.' )Īccording to (pseudo-)Apollodorus, however, there were three theories regarding Talos:

Sparkes (1996), 'The most detailed treatment in literature is to be found in the Argonautica. Talos is usually said to have been made by Hephaestus at the request of Zeus, to protect Europa (consort of Zeus) from people who would want to kidnap her. The death of Talos depicted on a 5th century BCE krater now in the Jatta National Archaeological Museum in Ruvo di Puglia

Talos principle hidden islands