Phryxus (also spelt Phrixus; Phrixos means “standing on end, bristling”) was the son of King Athamas of Boeotia and Queen Nephele, a cloud nymph. He was the twin brother of Helle and the father of Argus, Phrontis, Melas and Cytisorus by Chalciope (Iophassa), daughter of Aeetes, king of Colchis (modern-day south-east coastal region of the Black Sea).
Phryxus and Helle were hated by their stepmother Ino, who plotted to eliminate them to secure her own children’s claim to the throne. To save the siblings, their mother Nephele provided them with the golden-fleeced ram Chrysomallos. The ram could fly and carried Phryxus and Helle away to safety. However, during their journey, Helle fell off the ram’s back and drowned in the strait between Europe and Asia, which later became known as the Hellespont, meaning the Sea of Helle (now Dardanelles). Phryxus continued the journey and eventually reached the land of Colchis, where he sacrificed the ram to Zeus and presented the Golden Fleece to King Aeetes.
See Golden Fleece.
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