The king of Boeotia Afamant had a wife of unprecedented beauty. In addition, she was very smart and educated, bore the name Nefela (the goddess of the clouds). The family lived happily and raised children: the girl Gella and the boy Frix. Unfortunately, the people of Boeotia disliked Nefela. The husband had to part with his wife. From tears about a destroyed family and separation from children, Nefela turned into a cloud and began to travel through the sky, watching from above her family. Thus begins the myth of the Golden Fleece - one of the most famous in the world. The legend of valor, honor and love.
In this article, you will read a summary of the Golden Fleece myth. For a complete description of all the exploits and adventures of the team of Argonauts, not a whole book is enough.
The new wife of the king
The ruler had to marry again, for he had no right to remain a bachelor. As a wife, he took the beautiful, but prudent Princess Ino. The new spouse did not like children from their first marriage and decided to bring them to light. The first attempt was to send the children to the mountain pasture. The road there was very dangerous, but the children returned unscathed. This made the woman even more angry.
She began to slowly convince her husband that the gods want him to sacrifice Gella and Frix, otherwise the whole country would face hunger. In order to convince her husband that she was right, she forced the maids to fry the seeds that were stocked for seedlings. Naturally, after such processing, not a single spikelet appeared on the field. The king was very saddened by this.
The country was on the verge of disaster, Afamant decided to find out the fate of the oracle of Delphi and sent messengers to him. And here Ino provided everything, she intercepted the people and bribed them with gifts and gold. They were ordered to tell her husband that he should sacrifice Gella and Frix, so that he would turn away the trouble from his people. Afamant did not know the place of grief, but nevertheless decided to take a terrible step for the sake of the country's population.
At this time, unsuspecting children were amusing themselves in a pasture with sheep. Here, among other animals, they saw a ram with sparkling wool. According to Greek myths, the golden fleece is a precious animal skin. They approached him and heard: “Children, your mother sent me to you. You are in danger, I have to save you from Ino by sending to another country where you will feel good. Sit down on my back. Phrix will hold on to his horns tightly, and Gella - behind her brother’s back. You can’t look down only, otherwise there will be severe dizziness. "
The death of Gella
The ram carried the children under the very clouds. What happened next in the Golden Fleece myth? They rushed through the sky to the north, and then grief happened ... The little girl was very tired of holding her hands to her brother and let them go. Nefela's daughter flew right into the waves of the raging sea. It was not possible to save the baby. The goddess mourned her child for a long time. Now this place is called the Dardanelles Strait, and earlier, thanks to the myth of the Golden Fleece, the strait was called the Hellespont - the Sea of Gella.
The boy brought the animal to the distant northern Colchis, where King Eet was already waiting for him. He raised the boy as a native, pampered him and gave him a wonderful education. When Frix matured, he gave his beloved daughter to Halkiopa as his wife. The spouses lived soul to soul, and they had four boys.
Aries, as the unusual ram was called, Eet sacrificed to Zeus. And he placed the hide on an old oak tree. Hence the name of the myth - the "Golden Fleece". The foretellers warned the king that his reign is not in danger while this wool is on a tree. Eet ordered to put a dragon to him, who never slept.
At the same time, Ino gave birth to Afomantha still children. Later they created a port in Thessaly called Iolk. The grandson of King Boeotia ruled in this area. His name was Eson. His half-brother Pelius staged a coup and overthrew a relative. Eson had a son, Jason, who was also the heir, and he was in danger. Fearing that the boy might be killed, his father hid him in the mountains, where he was guarded by the wise centaur Chiron. Every modern person has the name Jason associated with the myth of the Golden Fleece.
The child lived at the centaur for 20 long years. Chiron taught him the sciences, grew up strong and strong. Jason possessed the basics of healing and excelled in martial arts.
Leader of the Argonauts - Jason
When the guy turned 20 years old, he decided to return his father’s power to his own hands. He appealed to Pelius with a demand to return to him the throne of his father. He allegedly agreed, but decided to destroy the guy by cunning. He told him about the golden rune, which brought good luck and blessings to the descendants of Afamant. According to the insidious plan of Pelia, Jason was supposed to die in this expedition.
Jason began to assemble a team. Among his loyal friends were:
- Hercules
- Theseus;
- Castor;
- Polydeuvk;
- Orpheus and others.
The ship, which was ordered to build for them, was called "Argo". Hence the expression "Argonauts". Patronesses of the travelers were the goddess Athena and Hera. To the singing of Orpheus, the ship set off to face the dangers.
The myth of the Argonauts swimming in Colchis
Argo's first stop was on the island of Lemnos. The area had an interesting story. There were practically no men here, as their wives killed them. The unfortunate ones paid for numerous treason. The formidable queen Gipsypila knocked them out for a crime.
The Argonauts descended to the earth and for some time had fun with the beauties, feasted and rested. Having plenty of fun, they remembered their mission and followed on.
The next stop of travelers was on the Kizik Peninsula (Propontis, Sea of Marmara). The local ruler received the Argonauts well. In gratitude for this, they helped him defeat the six-armed giants who lived nearby and attacked the inhabitants of Kizik.
According to the myth of the Golden Fleece, the next refuge of the Argonauts was the area in the region of Mysia. Nymphs lived in this place. The river beauties liked Gilas, who was very handsome. They lured him to their abyss. Hercules set off in search of a friend and fell behind Argo. The sea king Glavk intervened in the situation. He told Hercules that he had a mission: he needed to accomplish 12 feats in the service of the ruler of Eurystheus.
Clairvoyant from Thrace
Arriving in Thrace, travelers met the former king of the area of Phineus. He was a clairvoyant, whom the gods punished for their predictions. They blinded him and sent harpies, winged midday, half birds to his house. They took away any food from the unfortunate person. Argonauts helped him cope with evil spirits. The clairvoyant for this revealed to them the secret of how to pass between the rocks that converge. He also said that Athena will help them to get the golden fleece.
Below you see an illustration to the myth of Ancient Greece “Golden Fleece”.
Further, the Argonauts came to the island of Arethia, where they were attacked by Stiffali birds. By coincidence, these terrible creatures drove Hercules from Greece. The birds had bronze feathers, from which warriors covered themselves with shields.
Argonauts get the golden fleece
Finally, the Argonauts arrived in Colchis. As stated in the myth of the Golden Fleece, getting a precious hide was almost impossible. Then Aphrodite came to the rescue. She aroused in the heart of Medea, the daughter of Eet, an ardent passion for Jason. The girl in love and led the Argonauts to the king.
Medea was a sorceress, and if not for her abilities, then Jason would have died. At an audience with the king, the leader of the Argonauts asked Eet to give him the golden fleece in return for any service. The ruler was angry and came up with a very difficult task for Jason. According to his plan, the main argon, was supposed to die, fulfilling it. Iason was supposed to plow the field of the god of war Ares with the help of fire-breathing bulls. On it, the argonaut was supposed to plant the teeth of a dragon, and Jason had to kill the soldiers who grew from them.
The task was beyond the power of anyone, and Jason could have died if it weren’t for the witch in love. Medea took the Argonaut to the temple and gave him a miraculous ointment. She made any warrior invulnerable.
Tricks of Medea
Jason took advantage of Medea's gift and received dragon teeth from Eet. The king’s bulls nearly killed the head of the Argonauts, but he was helped by Polydeus and Castor, two strongman brothers. Together, they harnessed the bulls to the plow and plowed the field. There appeared warriors in armor, which grew out of teeth. Before the battle, Medea advised her lover to throw a stone at the crowd of warriors. Not understanding who did this, they began to attack each other. So gradually they destroyed themselves. Those who remained, finished off with his sword Jason.
King Eet was struck by Jason's victory and realized that his daughter had helped him. Medea realized that the entire team of Argonauts and she was in danger from an angry father. At night, she led her lover behind the golden fleece. She put the dragon to sleep with the help of her witching potion. The head of the Argonauts got a precious fleece, and they, together with Medea and the team, went to Greece.
Thus ends the myth of the Golden Fleece about Ancient Greece. There is a whole series of legends about Jason, which shows the connection between Ancient Greece and the Caucasus. For example, Colchis is modern western Georgia. In a mountainous country there is also a legend that gold was washed from rivers here, dipping a sheep’s skin in water. Particles of precious metal settled on his coat. The content of the Golden Fleece myth should be known to every educated person.