PHRIXUS (mortal son of Athamas)

Trouble arose in his father's house when Ino plotted to cause the death of Phrixus and his sister Helle, and Athamas conspired to offer Phrixus as a sacrifice at Mount Laphystius.^1,5,6,7,8 Phrixus and Helle rode the golden ram across land and sea from Europe to Asia, fleeing the schemes of their stepmother and escaping a destined sacrifice.^{9,3,1,10,6,11} During the journey, Phrixus appeared to listen to the ram as if it were speaking, while his mother suffered sorrow over his flight.^2,10,12

Helle fell into the sea during the crossing, but Phrixus survived and continued to the region of Colchis, where he arrived as a fugitive.^{3,13,9,14,15,16} King Aeetes welcomed the young exile and gave him his daughter Chalciope as a wife, with the couple marrying without any wedding gifts being exchanged.^1,17,6 Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus in Colchis, cutting out the thighs following Greek custom and watching them burn, an act commanded by an oracle.^9,16,17 He hung the shining fleece in the temple of Ares as a dedication, though some accounts claim his attendant Crius was sacrificed and flayed instead of the ram.^18,9

Phrixus established an altar to Zeus near the spot where the ram first rested and founded the temple of Leucothea in the Moschic territory.^19,20 He lived an aged life in the home of Aeetes, becoming a father to Argus, Phrontis, Melas, Cytissorus, and Presbon.^{21,17,1,22,23} Other accounts state that Phrixus returned from Colchis, while others claim his son Presbon made the journey home instead.²⁴

The sons of Phrixus later sailed from Colchis toward Orchomenus to retrieve their father's boundless wealth, and they were driven by a storm to an island near the Mossynoeci.²⁵ These descendants forcibly gave Hypsipyle to the strangers to be carried off, and Medea fled from her father's tyranny alongside them.^26,27 The golden fleece associated with Phrixus was eventually brought back by Jason, and the fables concerning his expedition provide early evidence of the region's ancient fame.^28,29 Traces of the expedition remain in places like Sinope and the Hellespont, including a place called Phrixium midway between Colchis and Iberia.¹⁴