BRITISH SCHOOL Jason Versus the Spartoi an Art Deco-style male nude warrior standing before the emerging Spartoi, oil on canvas 76 x 63cm, unframed The Trial of the Spartoi was the second challenge set by King Aeetes to Jason in order for him to win the Golden Fleece, which Jason and the Argonauts sail to Colchis to recover in order for Jason to stake his claim as the rightful king of Iolcus. In the myth, King Aeetes plants the teeth of a dragon into the ground, from which an army immediately grows out (Spartoi emanates from the Greek word speíro, which means 'to sow'). Jason cunningly defeats the emerging threat with the help of Medea who instructs him to throw a stone into the army. Unable to tell where the stone comes from, the Spartoi turn on, and defeat, each other.