Golden Ram
Divine winged ram with golden fleece that rescued Phrixus and Helle and whose skin became the legendary Golden Fleece
The Myth of Golden Ram
The Golden Ram, called Chrysomallus, was a miraculous winged ram with wool of pure gold, sent by the god Hermes or the cloud goddess Nephele to rescue her children Phrixus and Helle from their murderous stepmother Ino. Ino had sabotaged the grain harvest and bribed the Delphic oracle to demand the children's sacrifice. The ram appeared and carried both children through the sky toward Colchis. During the flight, Helle lost her grip and fell into the strait that was thereafter named the Hellespont in her memory. Phrixus arrived safely in Colchis, where King Aeetes welcomed him. In gratitude to Zeus, Phrixus sacrificed the ram and hung its golden fleece in a sacred grove, guarded by a sleepless dragon. This Golden Fleece became the object of Jason and the Argonauts' legendary quest a generation later.
Parents
Poseidon and Theophane (in some accounts)
Symbols
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Fleece of Chrysomallus
💭 conceptArtefact
The golden fleece of the divine winged ram, the object of Jason's legendary quest to Colchis
Phrixus
🗡 herosurvival
Son of Athamas who rode the golden ram to Colchis, sacrificed it, and gave its fleece to King Aeetes.
Golden Fleece
💭 conceptquest
The fleece of the golden ram Chrysomallus that carried Phrixus to Colchis, becoming the object of Jason's quest.
Pegasus
🐉 creatureFlight, heroism
Winged divine horse born from the blood of Medusa who carried Bellerophon against the Chimaera
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.
Helle
🗡 herotragedy
Daughter of Athamas who fell from the golden ram into the strait that bears her name — the Hellespont.
Hermes Kriophoros
⚡ godshepherds, sacrifice
An epithet of Hermes meaning "ram-bearer," depicting the god carrying a ram on his shoulders, an image that profoundly influenced early Christian art.
Pegasus
🐉 creatureWinged divine horse
The immortal winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa when Perseus beheaded her. Pegasus was tamed by Bellerophon and later became a constellation.
Ladon
🐉 creatureguardian, treasure
The hundred-headed serpent-dragon that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides, slain or tricked by Heracles during his eleventh labour.
Arion
🐉 creatureSpeed, divinity
Supernaturally fast divine horse born from Poseidon and Demeter, later ridden by the hero Adrastus
Griffin
🐉 creatureGuardian of treasures
A legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, the griffin combined the king of beasts with the king of birds.
Bellerophon
🗡 heroThe hero who tamed Pegasus
The Corinthian hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and slew the Chimera, but fell from heaven when he tried to reach Olympus.