| Nephele | |
|---|---|
Cloud nymph | |
| Member of the Athamantian Royal House | |
 | |
| Abode | Thessaly, thenBoeotia |
| Parents | Formed from a cloud byZeus |
| Consort | Ixion,Athamas |
| Offspring | Centaurus,Phrixus andHelle |
InGreek andRoman mythology,Nephele (/ˈnɛfəliː/;Ancient Greek:Νεφέλη,romanized: Nephélē,lit. 'cloud, mass of clouds';[1] corresponding toLatinnebula) is the name of two figures associated with clouds, sometimes confused with each other, who figure respectively in the stories ofIxion and in the story ofPhrixus andHelle.[2]
Nephele was the name of a minor goddess ofclouds andrain; she was created byZeus—viaparthenogenesis andapotheosis—sculpted from a cloud in the image ofHera, all in order to deceive Ixion after the latter had violated Zeus'Xenia attempting to force himself on Hera.[3] Hera told Zeus of Ixion's attempt and, in order to test him, Zeus made a cloud in the image ofHera, which Ixion later assaulted, an act for which he was punished by Zeus.[4] As the immortal creation of an immortal being, Nephele's creation could not be undone, and her assault by Ixion left her pregnant. Nephele later gave birth to a monstrous son, which she raised and namedCentaurus.[5]
Nephele is also the name of theOceanid who marriedAthamas, and by him was the mothers of twins: a son,Phrixus, and a daughter,Helle.[3] Athamas then divorced her forIno, who hatched a devious plot to get rid of the twins, roasting all the town's crop seeds so they would not grow. The local farmers, frightened of famine, asked a nearbyoracle for assistance. Ino bribed the men sent to the oracle to lie and tell the others that the oracle required the sacrifice of Phrixus. Before he could be killed, though, Phrixus and Helle were rescued by aflying golden ram sent by their natural mother Nephele.
Phrixus and Helle were instructed to not look down to Earth for the duration of their flight.[citation needed] Helle, though, did look down, and fell off the ram into theHellespont (which was named after her, meaningSea of Helle) and drowned. Phrixus survived all the way toColchis, where KingAeëtes took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughter,Chalciope, in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus gave the king theGolden Fleece of the Golden Ram, which Aeëtes hung in a tree in his kingdom. The Golden Fleece would later be taken byJason and hisArgonauts.
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