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In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ((ギリシア語:χρυσόμαλλον δέρας) ''chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the gold-hair〔χρυσόμαλλος, ''Chrysomallos' or 'Khrysomallus'.〕 winged ram, which was held in Colchis. The fleece is a symbol of authority and kingship. It figures in the tale of the hero Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the fleece by order of King Pelias, in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly. Through the help of Medea, they acquire the Golden Fleece. The story is of great antiquity and was current in the time of Homer (eighth century BC). It survives in various forms, among which the details vary. ==Plot== Athamas the Minyan, a founder of Halos in Thessaly〔Strabo, ix.5.8.〕 but also king of the city of Orchomenus in Boeotia (a region of southeastern Greece), took as his first wife the goddess Nephele. They had two children, the boy Phrixus (whose name means "curly"—as in ram's fleece) and the girl Helle. Later Athamas became enamored of and married Ino, the daughter of Cadmus. When Nephele left in anger, drought came upon the land. Ino was jealous of her stepchildren and plotted their deaths: in some versions, she persuaded Athamas that sacrificing Phrixus was the only way to end the drought. Nephele, or her spirit, appeared to the children with a winged ram whose fleece was of gold.〔That the ram was sent by Zeus was the version heard by Pausanias in the second century CE (Pausanias, ix.34.5).〕 The ram had been sired by Poseidon in his primitive ram-form upon Theophane, a nymph〔''Theophane'' may equally be construed as "appearing as a goddess" or as "causing a god to appear" (Karl Kerenyi, ''The Heroes of the Greeks'').〕 and the granddaughter of Helios, the sun-god. According to Hyginus,〔Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 163〕 Poseidon carried Theophane to an island where he made her into a ewe, so that he could have his way with her among the flocks. There Theophane's other suitors could not distinguish the ram-god and his consort.〔Karl Kerenyi ''The Gods of the Greeks'', (1951) 1980:182f〕 Nepheles' children escaped on the winged ram over the sea, but Helle fell off and drowned in the strait now named after her, the Hellespont. The ram spoke to Phrixus, encouraging him,〔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. 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)〕 and took the boy safely to Colchis (modern-day Georgia), on the easternmost shore of the Euxine (Black) Sea. There Phrixus sacrificed the winged ram to Poseidon, essentially returning him to the god.〔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, rescuer of fugitives.〕 The ram became the constellation Aries. Phrixus settled in the house of Aeetes, son of Helios the sun god. He hung the Golden Fleece preserved from the sacrifice of the ram on an oak in a grove sacred to Ares, the god of war and one of the Twelve Olympians. The golden fleece was defended by bulls with hoofs of brass and breath of fire. It was also guarded by a never sleeping dragon with teeth which could become human soldiers when planted in the ground. The dragon was at the foot of the tree on which the fleece was placed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Golden Fleece」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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