Colchian Dragon
creatureThe Colchian Dragon was an enormous, ever-wakeful serpent that guarded the Golden Fleece in the sacred grove of Ares in Colchis.
The Myth
King Aeëtes of Colchis hung the Golden Fleece on an oak tree in a grove sacred to Ares and set this unsleeping dragon to guard it. When Jason and the Argonauts arrived to claim the fleece, the dragon's eternal vigilance made theft impossible by force. Medea brewed a potion from herbs sacred to Hecate and sprinkled it on the dragon's eyes, finally putting the sleepless creature into a deep slumber. Jason seized the fleece while it slept.
Parents
Typhon (or Gaia)
Children
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
The English word "dragon" descends from the Greek drakon — which originally meant "sharp-sighted one," reflecting this creature's defining trait of unwavering vigilance.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth: