In Greek mythology, Medus was the son of Medea. His father is generally agreed to be Aegeas, although Hesiod states that Jason fathered him and Cheiron raised him. Medus was driven from Athens to Colchis with his mother. Medea's father Aeetes was the former king of Colchis, and Aeetes's brother Perses ruled after his death; by some accounts Aeetes was murdered by Perses. Perses imprisoned Medus to protect his throne from any potential claimants. To free him, Medea impersonated a priestess and demanded he be given to her for sacrifice to appease the gods, as a plague was at the time being visited upon Colchis. Perses agreed, and was subsequently killed by the sacrificial blade in the hands of either Medus or his mother. Medus thus came to rule, and when he conquered a neighboring land it was named Media in honor of either Medus or Medea.