Well before the time of Jason, there lived two children, the boy Phrixos and his sister Helle, who were born of the union of King Athamas of Orchomenus and the cloud goddess Nephele. However, the King was seduced by the Queen of Thebes, Ino, and took her for his second wife. Ino, being jealous of his children, tricked Athamas into sacrificing them to the gods, as a sign of appeasement to end the long famine that was ruining their land. All of a sudden, during the sacrifice, a winged creature with a golden fleece appeared and took the two children away on its back to the far away land of Colchis. While flying over the sea, tragically Helle fell off the creature's back and drowned. The sea where Helle fell was named Hellespont after her.
The creature carried Phrixos safely to Colchis, where he later married the daughter of King Aeetes, sacrificed the creature to the gods and offered the king the Golden Fleece to give thanks for his hospitality. Sometime later, King Aeetes happened to hear a prophecy that not only foretold the loss of his kingdom to a stranger wishing to steal the Golden Fleece but also a betrayal by some member of his family. Aeetes killed Phrixos because he believed that he was the stranger man of the prophecy and nailed the Golden Fleece to a tree. He then had the tree and the Golden Fleece guarded by two fire breathing, bronze-hoofed bulls, known as the Khalkouri, and a dragon, to prevent anyone from stealing the fleece. The fleece is a symbol of authority and kingship.
It figures in the tale of the hero Jason and his crew of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the fleece by order of King Pelias, in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly. Through the help of Medea, they acquire the Golden Fleece. The story is of great antiquity and was current in the time of Homer (eighth century BC). It survives in various forms, among which the details vary.
Nowadays, the heraldic variations of the Golden Fleece are featured frequently in the Republic of Georgia, especially for Coats of Arms and Flags associated with Western Georgian (Historical Colchis) municipalities and cities, including the Coats of Arms of City of Kutaisi, the ancient capital city of Colchis.
YOU ARE READING
Greek mythology
Historical FictionThis is about all the Greek myths and monsters. Gods and goddesses too. Everything you want or need to know about every god and goddess or every mythical story is in this.
