In distant Hellas, where the heavens touched the earth, the thunderer Zeus created from pure ether a wondrous nymph Nephele — a cloud maiden, light as the morning mist, and shining like the silver of the moon.
She descended to the mortal king of Boeotia Afamante and became his wife. From their union were born two beautiful children: the brave son Phrixus and the gentle daughter Helle. But the king's passion waned, like a flame in the rain. He rejected Nephele and took as his wife the treacherous Ino, daughter of the Theban Cadmus.
The stepmother hated her stepchildren with fierce hatred. To ruin them, she devised an evil plan: she persuaded the women of the kingdom to roast all the seeds before sowing. The land remained barren, and hunger engulfed the country. Then Ino bribed the messengers to the Delphic oracle, and they returned with a false prophecy: the disaster would cease only when Phrixus and Helle were sacrificed to Zeus on Mount Laphystius.
When the children, crowned with mourning wreaths, were led to the altar, Nephele, seeing the impending disaster from the heavens, tore through the clouds with an angry cry. At her plea, Hermes sent the miraculous winged ram Chrysomallus with a fleece of purest gold, shining brighter than the sun.
The children jumped onto the back of the wonderful beast and soared upwards. The drum of the wind roared in their ears, the clouds parted, revealing the abyss below. They flew east, to distant Colchis.
But over the turbulent strait, Helle, blinded by fear, looked down — at the foamy crests and black waves. Dizziness gripped her, her fingers loosened, and she fell into the abyss. Since then, the sea has been called Hellespont — the sea of Helle.
Phrixus, clinging to the golden fleece, flew to Colchis. King Aeëtes accepted him as a son and gave him his daughter Chalciope in marriage. In gratitude to the gods, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus Phyxius and hung the golden fleece on the sacred oak in the grove of Ares. There, it was guarded by a sleepless dragon with blazing eyes. This fleece became a symbol of royal power and attracted heroes — up to the expedition of the Argonauts led by Jason.
Moral:
In the flight to new ATH, do not look back at the red candles and panic dumps below — one moment of weakness, and you will drown in the ocean of liquidation. Hold on tightly to your golden fleece and fly further, to the Colchis of your goals! 🚀
