Phrixus

hero

Φρίξος

survival

Son of Athamas who rode the golden ram to Colchis, sacrificed it, and gave its fleece to King Aeetes.

The Myth

He rode a flying golden ram across the known world — and his sister Helle fell to her death along the way. Phrixus and Helle were children of King Athamas and the cloud-goddess Nephele. Their stepmother Ino engineered a false oracle demanding their sacrifice, but Nephele sent the golden ram Chrysomallus to save them. After Helle fell at the Hellespont, Phrixus continued alone to Colchis. He sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave the fleece to King Aeetes, who hung it in a grove guarded by a dragon. Aeetes married Phrixus to his daughter Chalciope. Phrixus's ghost later appeared to Jason in a dream, beginning the quest.

Parents

Athamas, Nephele

Symbols

golden ramsacrificeColchis

Fun Fact

Phrixus's ghost appearing to Jason mirrors how Patroclus's ghost drives Achilles back into the Trojan War.

Explore Further

Helle

hero

Daughter of Athamas who fell from the golden ram into the strait that bears her name — the...

Achilles

hero

The greatest warrior in the Greek army at Troy, nearly invulnerable thanks to being dipped in the...

Aeetes

hero

King of Colchis, son of Helios, father of Medea, and guardian of the Golden Fleece who set...

Ino

hero

Theban princess who raised the infant Dionysus, was driven mad by Hera, and leaped into the sea to...

Jason

hero

The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece. Jason's...

Patroclus

hero

Patroclus was Achilles' closest companion whose death in borrowed armour at Hector's hands was the...

Colchis

place

Colchis was a kingdom at the eastern edge of the Greek world, on the shore of the Black Sea in...

Golden Fleece (Origin)

concept

The fleece of the golden ram Chrysomallus that carried Phrixus to Colchis, becoming the object of...

Trojan Horse

concept

The hollow wooden horse used by the Greeks to infiltrate and destroy Troy. Devised by Odysseus, it...

Trojan War

concept

The Trojan War was the central event of Greek mythology — a ten-year siege of Troy by a Greek...

Zeus

god

Supreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...

Zeus (King)

god

Zeus was the king of the Olympian gods, ruler of the sky, wielder of the thunderbolt — the supreme...