Jason returns with the golden Fleece on an Apulian red-figure calyx krater, ca. Apulia ( Italian: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east the Ionian Sea Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. For the Landform crater see Crater. A krater (in Greek: κρατήρ kratēr, from the Verb κεράννυμι 340–330 BC

In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece (Greek: Χρυσόμαλλον Δέρας) is that of the winged ram Chrysomallos (Χρυσόμαλλος). Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the Fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly. Jason ( Greek: Ἰάσων, Etruscan: Easun, Laz: Yason) was a late ancient Greek mythological For other uses of this term see Argonaut. In Greek mythology, the Argonauts ( Ancient Greek:) were a band of heroes Iolcos (also known as Iolkos or Iolcus, Greek: Ιωλκός was an ancient City in Thessaly, central-eastern Greece (near Thessalia redirects here For the Butterfly Genus, see Thessalia (butterfly. The story is of great antiquity – it was current in the time of Homer (eighth century BC) – and consequently it survives in various forms, among which details vary. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Thus, in later versions of the story the ram is said to have been the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and Themisto (less often, Nephele). In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" In Greek mythology, Themisto ( Greek: Θεμιστώ was the third and last wife of Athamas. In Greek mythology, Nephele (from Greek: nephos, "cloud" Latinized to Nubes) was a cloud Nymph who figured prominently The classic telling is the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes, composed in mid-third century BC Alexandria, recasting early sources that have not survived. The Argonautica ( Greek:) is a Greek Epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BCE. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια Another, much less-known Argonautica, using the same body of myth, was composed in Latin by Valerius Flaccus during the time of Vespasian. Valerius Flaccus may refer to Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Roman poet at the time of Vespasian Lucius Valerius Flaccus, name of a number of Roman Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian ( November 17 9 &ndash June 23 79) was a Roman Emperor who

Synthesised plot synopsis

Athamas the Minyan, a founder of Halos in Thessaly^[1] but also king of the city of Orchomenus in Boeotia (a region of southeastern Greece), took as his first wife the cloud goddess Nephele, by whom he had two children, the boy Phrixus and the girl Helle. Athamas is also a genus of Jumping spiders. The king of Orchomenus in Greek mythology, Athamas ( Greek According to Greek mythology, the Minyans ( Greek: Μινύες were an Autochthonous group inhabiting the Aegean region HaLo ( Ayako Hirakata) is a Japanese J-Pop Musician. Hirakata can be heard on Lori Carson 's The Finest Thing. Boeotia, Beotia, or Bœotia ( Greek: Βοιωτία - English biːˈoʊʃiə formerly Cadmeis was a region of Ancient Greece, north of the Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία In Greek mythology, Nephele (from Greek: nephos, "cloud" Latinized to Nubes) was a cloud Nymph who figured prominently In Greek mythology Phrixus (also Phryxus) was the son of Athamus, king of Boiotia and Nephele (a goddess of Clouds In Greek mythology, Helle figured prominently in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. Later he became enamored of and married Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, bringing drought upon his land when Nephele removed herself. Cadmus, or Kadmos (Κάδμος in Greek mythology, was a Phoenician prince son of Agenor and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix Ino was jealous of her stepchildren and plotted their deaths: in some versions, she persuaded Athamas that sacrificing Phrixus is the only way to end the drought. Nephele, or her spirit, appeared to the children with a winged ram whose fleece was of gold. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 ^[2] The ram had been sired by Poseidon in his primitive ram-form upon a nymph, Theophane,^[3] the grand-daughter of Helios, the sun-Titan. In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form In Greek mythology the Sun was personified as Helios (ˈhiliˌɑs ( Ἥλιος Latinized as Helius) According to Hyginus,^[4] he carried her away to an island where he made her into a ewe and enjoyed her as a ram among the flocks, where Theophane's other suitors could not distinguish the ram-god and his consort. Gaius Julius Hyginus (ca 64 BC &ndash AD 17 was a Latin author but whether a native of Spain or of Alexandria is not sure a pupil of the famous ^[5]

On the ram the children escaped over the sea, but Helle fell off and drowned in the strait now named after her, the Hellespont. See also Dardanelles Hellespont ( Turkish, Greek; ie "Sea of Helle" variously named in classical literature Hellespontium Pelagus The ram spoke to Phrixus, giving him heart,^[6] and took Phrixus, whose name means "curly"— as ram's fleece— safely on to Colchis (modern-day Georgia), on the easternmost shore of the Euxine (Black) Sea. In ancient Geography, Colchis or Kolchis ( Georgian and Laz: კოლხეთი k'olxeti; Greek:, Kolchís Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey Phrixus then sacrificed the ram to Poseidon^[7] and settled in the house of Aietes, son of Helios the sun-Titan, and lived to a ripe old age. He hung the Golden Fleece reserved from the sacrifice on an oak in a grove sacred to Ares, where it was guarded by a dragon. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin In Greek mythology, Ares ( Ancient Greek:, Μodern Greek Άρης) is the son of Zeus and Hera. The dragon is a Legendary creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide There it remained until taken by Jason. The ram became the constellation Aries. Aries ( ram, symbol, Unicode ♈ is one of the Constellations of the Zodiac.

Interpretations

The very early origin of the myth in preliterate times means that during the more than a millennium during which it was to some degree or other part of the fabric of culture its perceived significance can be expected to have passed through numerous developments, in the end losing cultural significance expressed in any ritual and passing into the stock-in-trade of poets and artisans. All extant interpretations are greatly post facto and in greater or lesser degree rationalizations that suffer from very incomplete knowledge of the culture in which it arose. Most have been effectively criticized in the archaeological literature. An attempt to construct a most plausible explanation by locating it in what is known of that culture points, interestingly, to one of the earliest proposals, namely that the Golden Fleece represents the ideas of kingship and legitimacy; hence the journey of Jason to find it, in order to restore legitimate rule to Iolcos. Iolcos (also known as Iolkos or Iolcus, Greek: Ιωλκός was an ancient City in Thessaly, central-eastern Greece (near ^[8]

Pindar employed the quest for the Golden Fleece in his Fourth Pythian Ode (written in 462 BC), though the Fleece itself is not in the foreground; when Aeetes challenges Jason to yoke the fire-breathing bulls, the Fleece is the prize: "Let the King do this, the captain of the ship! Let him do this, I say, and have for his own the immortal coverlet, the Fleece, glowing with matted skeins of gold". Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient ^[9]

Where the written sources fail, through accidents of history, sometimes the vase-painters preserve the continuity of a mythic tradition. It seems that the story of the Golden Fleece had little resonance for Athenians of the Classic age, for only two representations on Attic painted wares of the fifth century have been identified, a krater at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a kylix in the Vatican collections. For the Landform crater see Crater. A krater (in Greek: κρατήρ kratēr, from the Verb κεράννυμι The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, ^[10] In the kylix painted by Douris, ca 480-470, Jason is being disgorged from the mouth of the dragon, a detail that does not fit easily into the literary sources; behind the dragon, the fleece hangs from an apple tree. Jason's helper in the Athenian vase-paintings is not Medea— who had an untoward history in Athens as the opponent of Theseus— but Athena. For other uses see Theseus (disambiguation Theseus (Θησεύς was a Legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN.

Euhemeristic attempts on the part of readers whose own cultural background dismisses the mythic fleece as a fanciful object have interpreted the Golden Fleece "realistically" as reflecting some actual cultural object or alleged historical practice grounded in economics: for example, in the twentieth century it was suggested that the story of the Golden Fleece signified the bringing of sheep husbandry to Greece from the east;^[11] in other readings more schooled in mythology it would refer to golden grain,^[12] or to the sun. Euhemerus (Εὐήμερος (working late fourth century BC was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Animal husbandry, also called Animal science, stockbreeding or simple husbandry, is the agricultural practice of breeding ^[13]

Another interpretation rests on references in some versions to purple or purple-dyed cloth. The purple dye extracted from snails of the Murex and related species was highly prized in ancient times, and clothing made of cloth dyed with it was a mark of great wealth and high station (hence the phrase “royal purple”). Murex is a Genus of medium to large sized Predatory tropical sea Snails These are carnivorous marine Gastropod The association of gold with purple is thus natural and occurs frequently in the literature. ^[14]

A more widespread interpretation relates it to a method of washing gold from streams that is well attested (but only from c. 5th century BC) in the region of Georgia to the east of the Black Sea. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Sheep fleeces, sometimes stretched over a wood frame, would be submerged in the stream, and gold flecks borne down from upstream placer deposits would collect in them. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Placer mining (pronounced "plass-er" refers to the mining of alluvial deposits for Minerals This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast The fleeces would then be hung in trees to dry before the gold was shaken or combed out. Alternatively, the fleeces would be used on washing tables in alluvial mining of gold or even on washing tables at deep gold mines. "Gold mine" redirects here See Goldmine for other uses of the term ^[15] Judging by the very early gold objects from a range of cultures, washing for gold is a very old human activity.

The following are the chief among the various explanations that have been offered, with notes on sources and major critical discussions:

1. It represents royal power.
   1. Marcus Porcius Cato and Marcus Terentius Varro, Roman Farm Management (“A Virginia Farmer” (1918), Roman Farm Management, The Treatises of Cato and Varro, Done into English, with Notes of Modern Instances on-line text)
   2. Braund, David (1994), Georgia In Antiquity, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. Marcus Porcius Cato may refer to Cato the Elder (circa 236 BC - 149 BC born Marcus Porcius Priscus and then nicknamed Cato' Marcus Porcius Marcus Terentius Varro (116 BC &ndash 27 BC also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman 21-23
   3. Popko, M. (1974) “Kult Swietego runa w hetyckiej Anatolii” [“The Cult of the Golden Fleece in Hittite Anatolia”], Preglad Orientalistyczuy 91, pp. 225-30 [In Russian]
   4. Newman, John Kevin (2001) “The Golden Fleece. Imperial Dream” (Theodore Papanghelis and Antonios Rengakos (eds. ). A Companion to Apollonius Rhodius. Leiden: Brill (Mnemosyne Supplement 217), 309-40)
   5. Otar Lordkipanidze (2001), “The Golden Fleece: Myth, Euhemeristic Explanation and Archaeology”, Oxford Journal of Archaeology 20, pp. 1-38 [1]
2. It represents the flayed skin of Krios (‘Ram’), companion of Phrixus. In Greek mythology, Crius ( Kreios (Κρεῖος the "Ram" was one of the Titans in the list given in Hesiod 's Theogony In Greek mythology Phrixus (also Phryxus) was the son of Athamus, king of Boiotia and Nephele (a goddess of Clouds
   1. Diodorus Siculus 4. 47; cf. scholia on Apollonius Rhodius 2. 1144; 4. 119, citing Dionysus’ Argonautica
3. It represents a book on alchemy.
   1. Palaephatus (fourth century BC) ‘On the Incredible’ (Festa, N. Palaephatus (Παλαιφατος is the name of four literary persons in Suidas, who however seems to have confounded different persons and writings (ed. ) (1902) Mythographi Graeca III, 2, Lipsiae, p. 89
4. It represents a technique of writing in gold on parchment.
   1. Haraxes of Pergamum (c. first to sixth century) (Jacoby, F. (1923) Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker I (Berlin), IIA, 490, fr. Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, better known as FGrHist or FGrH ( Fragments of the Greek Historians) is a collection 37)
5. It represents a form of placer mining first practiced in Georgia.
   1. Strabo (first century BC) Geography I, 2, 39 (Jones, H. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. L. (ed. ) (1969) The Geography of Strabo (in eight volumes) London on-line text)
   2. Tran, T (1992) "The Hydrometallurgy of Gold Processing", Interdisciplinary Science Reviews (UK), 17, pp. 356-365
   3. "Gold During the Classical Period" [2]
   4. Shuker, Karl P. N. (1997), From Flying Toads To Snakes With Wings, LLewellyn
   5. Renault, Mary (2004), The Bull from the Sea, Arrow (Rand)
   6. refuted in: Braund, David (1994), op. Mary Renault (pronounced Ren-olt ( 4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983) born Mary Challans, was an English Writer cit. , p. 24, and Otar Lordkipanidze (2001), op. cit.
6. It represents the forgiveness of God
   1. Müller, Karl Otfried (1844), Orchomenos und die Minyer, Breslau
   2. refuted in: Bacon, Janet Ruth (1925), The Voyage of the Argonauts, London: Methuen, p. Karl Otfried Müller ( August 28, 1797 &ndash August 1, 1840) was a German scholar and Philodorian, or admirer of ancient 64 ff, 163 ff
7. It represents a rain cloud.
   1. Forchhammer, P. W. (1857) Hellenica Berlin p. 205 ff, 330 ff
   2. refuted in: Bacon, Janet Ruth (1925), op. cit.
8. It represents a land of golden grain.
   1. Faust, Adolf (1898), Einige deutsche und griechische Sagen im Lichte ihrer ursprünglichen Bedeutung. Mulhausen
   2. refuted in: Bacon, Janet Ruth (1925), op. cit.
9. It represents the spring-hero.
   1. Schroder, R. (1899), Argonautensage und Verwandtes, Poznań
   2. refuted in: Bacon, Janet Ruth (1925), op. cit.
10. It represents the sea reflecting the sun.
    1. Vurthiem, V (1902), “De Argonautarum Vellere aureo”, Mnemosyne, New Series, XXX, pp. 54-67; XXXI, p. 116
    2. Mannhardt, in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, VII, p. Wilhelm Mannhardt ( March 26, 1831, Friedrichstadt - December 25, 1880, Danzig) was a German scholar and Folklorist 241 ff, 281 ff
    3. refuted in: Bacon, Janet Ruth (1925), op. cit.
11. It represents the gilded prow of Phrixus’ ship.
    1. Svoronos, M. (1914), in Journal International d’Archéologie Numismatique, XVI, pp. 81-152
    2. refuted in: Bacon, Janet Ruth (1925), op. cit.
12. It represents a breed of sheep in ancient Georgia.
    1. Ninck, M. (1921), “Die Bedeutung des Wassers im Kult und Leben der Alten,” Philologus Suppl 14. 2, Leipzig
    2. Ryder, M. L. (1991) "The last word on the Golden Fleece legend?" Oxford Journal of Archaeology 10, pp. 57-60
    3. Smith, G. J. and Smith, A. J. (1992) “Jason's Golden Fleece,” Oxford Journal of Archaeology 11, pp. 119–20
13. It represents the riches imported from the East.
    1. Bacon, Janet Ruth (1925), op. cit.
14. It represents the wealth or technology of Colchis.
    1. Akaki Urushadze (1984), The Country of the Enchantress Medea, Tbilisi
    2. Colchis [3]
    3. Colchis, Land of the Golden Fleece [4]
15. It was a covering for a cult image of Zeus in the form of a ram.
    1. Robert Graves (1944/1945), The Golden Fleece/Hercules, My Shipmate, New York: Grosset & Dunlap
16. It represents a fabric woven from sea silk. Robert Graves (24 July 1895 &ndash 7 December 1985 was an English Poet, Translator and Novelist. Sea silk is an extremely fine rare and valuable fabric produced from the long silky filaments or Byssus secreted by a gland in the foot of several bivalve mollusks
    1. Verrill, A. Hyatt (1950), Shell Collector’s Handbook, New York: Putnam, p. 77
    2. Abbott, R. Tucker (1972), Kingdom of the Seashell, New York: Crown Publishers, p. 184
    3. History of Sea Byssus Cloth [5]
    4. Mussel Byssus Facts [6]
    5. refuted in:
       1. Barber, Elizabeth J. W. (1991), Prehistoric textiles : the development of cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with special reference to the Aegean, Princeton, N. J.  : Princeton University Press
       2. McKinley, Daniel (1999), “Pinna And Her Silken Beard: A Foray Into Historical Misappropriations,” Ars Textrina 29, pp. 9-29
17. It represents trading fleece dyed murex-purple for Georgian gold.
    1. Silver, Morris (1992), Taking Ancient Mythology Economically, Leiden: Brill [7]

Modern Connections

Brooks Brothers uses the Golden Fleece as its logo. Brooks Brothers is the oldest surviving men's clothier in the United States, founded in 1818

In Donald Barthelme's The Dead Father, the group is on a pilgrimage to seek what the Dead Father thinks is the Golden Fleece. Donald Barthelme ( April 7, 1931 – July 23, 1989) was an American author of short fiction and Novels He also However, they are really just taking the Dead Father to be buried.

In God of War II for the PlayStation 2, the Golden Fleece is an item that Kratos can use after defeating a Cerberus creature that has slain Jason. God of War II is a Hack and slash action-adventure Video game and the sequel to the 2005 game God of War for the PlayStation In the game the Fleece is depicted as a golden armguard with a ram's head carved into it and is used to counter attacks and reflect projectiles.

The 3 Inches of Blood song "The Hydra's Teeth" is about the quest for the Golden Fleece. 3 Inches of Blood is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2000

References

1. ^ Strabo, ix. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. 5. 8.
2. ^ That the ram was sent by Zeus was the version heard by Pausanias in the second century CE (Pausanias, ix. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus 34. 5).
3. ^ Theophane may equally be construed as "appearing as a goddess" or as "causing a god to appear" (Karl Kerenyi, The Heroes of the Greeks). One of the founders of modern studies in Greek mythology, Károly (Carl Karl Kerényi ( January 19, 1897 &ndash April 14 1973
4. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae, 163
5. ^ Karl Kerenyi The Gods of the Greeks, (1951) 1980:182f
6. ^ Upon the shield of Jason, as it was described in Apollonius' Argonautica, "was Phrixos the Minyan, depicted as though really listening to the ram, and the ram seemed to be speaking. A minyan (מנין lit to count number; pl minyanim) in Judaism refers to the Quorum required for certain religious As you looked on this pair, you would be struck dumb with amazement and deceived, for you would expect to hear some wise utterance from them with this hope you would gaze long upon them. " (Richard Hunter, tr. Apollonius of Rhodes: Jason and the Golden Fleece, (Oxford University Press) 1993:21)
7. ^ In essence this act returned the ram to the god, though in the surviving literary source, Apollonius' Argonautica ii, the ram was sacrificed to Zeus Phyxios, rescuer of fugitives.
8. ^ Interpretation #1
9. ^ Translation in Nigel Nicholson, "Polysemy and Ideology in Pindar 'Pythian' 4. 229-230" Phoenix 54. 3/4 (Autumn-Winter 2000:191-202) p. 192.
10. ^ Vatican 16545. Gisela Richter published the Metropolitan Museum's krater in "Jason and the Golden Fleece", American Journal of Archaeology 39 (1935); Cynthia King, "Who Is That Cloaked Man? Observations on Early Fifth Century B. C. Pictures of the Golden Fleece", American Journal of Archaeology 87. 3 (July 1983:385-387).
11. ^ Interpretation #12
12. ^ Interpretation #8
13. ^ Interpretation #10
14. ^ Interpretation #17
15. ^ Interpretation #5

See also

• Jason
• Aeetes
• Medea
• Apsyrtus
• Argonauts
• Order of the Golden Fleece
• Golden Fleece Award
• The Sea of Monsters
• Placer mining
• Gold mining

External links

• The Project Gutenburg text of The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles