Phrixus was a character in the greek mythology who created the golden fleece. His stepmother wanted her own son to be the king so she devised a plan to kill Phrixus by sacraficing him to Zeus. However, he was saved by a flying golden ram sent by his real mother. He then sacraficed the ram to Zeus and the golden fleece was created.
Family[]
Phrixus was the son of king Athamas and Nephele and brother of Helle. He was also the grandson of Aeolus, another character in greek mythology. Ino married Athamas and became Phrixus' stepmother. Phrixus' sister, Helle, died while they were flying across the sea on the golden ram sent by Nephele to save them from being sacraficed.
Powers[]
Phrixus did not have any special powers
Origin[]
The Golden Fleece is usually associated withe the story Jason and the Argonauts. However, this story begins with Phrixus. This story originated from the idea of the Golden Fleece. He was born from his father, king Athamas, and his mother, Nephele.
Myths[]
Phrixus is the beginning of the story of Jason and the Argonauts. The story starts with King Athamas who married Nephele. They had two children, Helle and Phrixus. Over time Athamas got bored of his wife and married Ino. They had two children as well. However since Phrixus was the eldest son, he would be next in line for the throne. This mad Ino angry so she devised a plan to get rid of Phrixus to gaurentee that her son would become king. So she secretly baked all the seeds for the next winter so that it would seem as though the gods were angry.
As she hoped, a group of people were sent to an oracle to seek advice. On their way back, Ino bribed the group to say that the oracle said that Phrixus must be sacraficed. The king refused to sacrafice his own son, but the people became angy and the king had to agree. Phrixus was sent to be sacraficed to Zeus but just before he was about to be sacraficed, a golden ram sent by Nephele appeared from the sky and swooped down. Phrixus and Helle climbed on the back of the ram and were never to be seen again in Boeotia.
However, over the course of the journey Helle lost her balance and was killed as she fell into a body of water which became known as Hellespont. Phrixus safely made it to Colchis where he was treated very well by the king. As a gift, Phrixus sacraficed the ram to Zeus and gave the ram's Golden Fleece to King Aeetes.
It was said that as long as the Golden Fleece remained in the city Colchis would be blessed with good fortune. To keep it safe, the fleece was placed on an oak tree with a sleepless dragon to guard it. In return for the fleece, the king allowed Phrixus to marry his daughter, Chalciope.
Interesting Facts[]
1) Helle and Phrixus were twins.
2) It is said that either Phrixus died of age in Colchis, or was killed by Aeetes in consequence of an oracle.
3) The Golden Fleece was the main treasure in another Greek myth called "Jason and the Argonauts."
4) Phrixus had four children with Chalciope in Colchis.
Citations[]
"The Flight Of Phrixus." Phrixus. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
"PHRIXUS." , Greek Mythology Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.