The Flight Of Phrixus

This page is dedicated to Gene London who for many years was Master of the Fleece.
This treasure lives forever inside my heart. I love you, Gene!

Though most people usually associate the story of the Golden Fleece with the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts, the tale actually begins with a youth named Phrixus. Phrixus was the son of King Athamas of Boeotia and his wife Queen Nephele. Athamas, who had grown tired of his bride decided to take for himself another. Though Nephele was still very much alive, the amorous king chose to wed Ino, a daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. Ino at once came to live in the palace and in due time bore her husband two children. This posed a great problem for the king's new consort.

For Athamas already had two children by his first wife; a daughter named Helle and a son named Phrixus, and because Phrixus was the eldest of the king's two boys, he was considered to be next in line to inherit the throne. Ino knew she needed to dispose of Phrixus to make way for her own son to become king of Boeotia.

Afraid to openly oppose the children of Nephele, Ino devised a plan that would guarantee the death of Phrixus without drawing any attention to herself. She secretly entered the granary and scorched all the seeds that had been set aside for the next sowing. This was to prevent the upcoming season's crops from sprouting and thereby threaten the city with starvation.

Just as Ino hoped, Athamas dispatched a group of couriers to seek advice from the Delphic Oracle. While the messsengers were away, Ino hid herself among the dark corriders of the palace and awaited their return. She then bribed the men, asking them to deceive the king with a false story. Instead of the true words of the priestess they were instructed to recite a script which Ino had written herself.

The messengers appeared before the desperate king and revealed their tale of deception. Athamas was told the corn would not grow again unless his son Phrixus was offered as a sacrifice.

At first the sorrowful king resisted, but after much pressure from the townspeople, he decided he had no other choice but to obey the Oracle. Reluctantly, Athamas led Phrixus to the alter of Zeus and prepared him for the ritual.

Just before the fatal moment a beautiful ram with fleece of gold appeared in the sky. Phrixus and his sister Helle climbed upon his back and the glorious beast flew towards the northeast, never to be seen in Boeotia again.

During the course of their journey, Helle accidently lost her balance and fell from the ram, plunging head first into the water below. In honor of her memory, the Strait has been known as the Hellespont ever since. Phrixus made it safely to Aea, the capitol of Colchis. Colchis was located at the east end of the Black Sea and was the homeland of the sorceress Medea.

He then sacrificed the ram to Zeus in a grove sacred to the god Ares, and presented the fleece to King Aeetes as a gift. It was said that as long as the fleece remained in the city, Colchis would be blessed with good fortune. To keep it safe, the fleece was hung in the branches of a great oak tree with a sleepless dragon placed at its base to act as a guardian.

Phrixus married Chalciope, a daughter of Aeetes and together they had four sons. He lived a good life in Colchis, until he finally died a very old and contented man.

Poseidon and Theophane

As to the origins of the ram, some say it was the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and Theophane. Theophane was a beautiful girl who had many admirers. Finding her irresistable and wanting the maiden all for himself, Poseidon carried Thoephane off to the Island of Crumissa. When the outraged suitors discovered where she was being kept, they took ship and sailed towards the island. Poseidon quickly changed Theophane into a ewe and all the native islanders into cattle. When the lustful sailors landed and came ashore they were confused with what they saw.

The island was completely deserted of all human life but was filled with herds of well fed cattle. Feeling hungry from their journey, the seamen decided to take advantage of their situation and proceeded to kill the herds for their dinner.

When he saw that the innocent islanders were being slaughtered, Poseidon at once changed the suitors into wolves, for the god found animals attacking animals to be a much more acceptable situation. For his final transformation, Poseidon changed himself into a ram so that he could have a sexual union with Theophane.

The product of this affair was a magical baby ram with the fleece of gold. Because he was the sire of Poseidon, this ram could both talk and fly, and was sent by Hermes to save Phrixus from being murdered by his stepmother. It is a mystery to many as to why Phrixus decided to sacrifice the ram after it saved his life, but maybe it was the will of the gods.

After the ram was offered the fleece was given to King Aeetes of Colchis. You can read more about this and Jason's quest on the page dedicated to Medea . The ram was then placed among the stars by Zeus as the constellation Aries.

Medea's Lair Of Greek Mythology © 1999-2009.