Fleece of Chrysomallus
The golden fleece of the divine winged ram, the object of Jason's legendary quest to Colchis
The Meaning of Fleece of Chrysomallus
The Fleece of Chrysomallus — the famous Golden Fleece — was the hide of a miraculous winged ram with wool of pure gold, sent by the gods to rescue the children Phrixus and Helle from their murderous stepmother Ino. Chrysomallus (Golden-Fleeced) carried the siblings through the air from Boeotia toward the kingdom of Colchis on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. During the flight, Helle lost her grip and fell into the strait that thereafter bore her name — the Hellespont. Phrixus arrived safely in Colchis, where King Aeëtes welcomed him. In gratitude, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus and hung the golden fleece in a sacred grove of Ares, where it was guarded by a sleepless dragon. The fleece remained there until Jason and the Argonauts arrived a generation later, sent on what was meant to be a suicide mission by the usurper Pelias. With the help of the sorceress Medea, Aeëtes's own daughter, Jason drugged the dragon, seized the fleece, and fled. The Golden Fleece has been interpreted as a symbol of kingship, alchemical gold, or the actual practice of using sheepskins to trap alluvial gold from river beds in the Caucasus region.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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Golden Fleece
💭 conceptquest
The fleece of the golden ram Chrysomallus that carried Phrixus to Colchis, becoming the object of Jason's quest.
Golden Fleece
💭 conceptThe prize sought by Jason and the Argonauts
The fleece of a golden-wooled ram, hung in a sacred grove in Colchis and guarded by a sleepless dragon. Its recovery was the object of Jason's legendary voyage.
Golden Ram
🐉 creatureFlight, rescue, sacrifice
Divine winged ram with golden fleece that rescued Phrixus and Helle and whose skin became the legendary Golden Fleece
Phrixus
🗡 herosurvival
Son of Athamas who rode the golden ram to Colchis, sacrificed it, and gave its fleece to King Aeetes.
Quest for the Golden Fleece
💭 conceptNarrative
Jason's expedition aboard the Argo to retrieve the golden fleece from the distant land of Colchis
Golden Bough
💭 conceptArtefact
A magical branch of gold that granted the living safe passage into and out of the underworld
Bellerophon and Chimera
💭 conceptNarrative
The hero's aerial battle against a fire-breathing monster while riding the winged horse Pegasus
Armour of Achilles
💭 conceptArtefact
Two sets of divinely forged armour worn by the greatest Greek warrior, both crafted by Hephaestus
Midas Touch
💭 conceptWealth, greed, unintended consequences
The ability to turn everything to profit, from King Midas who wished that all he touched would become gold.
Prometheus Bound
💭 conceptpunishment, defiance
The punishment of Prometheus, chained to a rock in the Caucasus where an eagle devoured his regenerating liver daily for giving fire to humanity.
Perseus and Medusa
💭 conceptNarrative
The hero's quest to slay the mortal Gorgon and his ingenious use of divine gifts to accomplish the impossible
Net of Hephaestus
💭 conceptArtefact
An unbreakable golden mesh forged to trap the gods Ares and Aphrodite in their adulterous embrace