On Unbelievable Stories (43)

They say that Medeia made old men young again by boiling them. But no-one can prove that she made anyone young: if she boiled someone, she surely killed them.

Something like this happened. Medeia was the first to discover black and red dyes. She made the hair of old men seem black and auburn: by applying dyes she changed white hair into black and auburn. …[*] Medeia was the first to discover that steam baths were beneficial for people. She ran baths in secret for those who wanted them, and made them swear an oath not to mention it to anyone, to prevent any of the physicians from finding out. The name of this bathing technique was ‘boiling’. People who had these baths became healthier and more relaxed. For this reason, and because they saw her with a cauldron and fire, they believed that she was boiling people. Pelias, a frail old man, died in the bath. And from this the myth arose.