| Helle | |
|---|---|
Boeotian princess and Eponym ofHellespont | |
| Member of the Athamantian Royal House | |
 Phrixus and Helle (after a fresco from Pompeii) | |
| Other names | Athamantis |
| Abode | Athamantis inBoeotia laterColchis |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Athamas andNephele |
| Siblings | |
| Consort | Poseidon |
| Offspring | |
Helle (/ˈhɛli/;Ancient Greek:Ἕλλη,romanized: Héllē), sometimes also calledAthamantis (Ancient Greek:Ἀθαμαντίς, "daughter of Athamas"), was a character inGreek mythology who figured prominently in the story ofJason and theArgonauts. Helle is known for giving her name to the strait ofHellespont ("sea of Helle"), into which she fell while crossing it on the back of a flying golden ram with her brotherPhrixus—the same flying ram from which theGolden Fleece derived.
Phrixus—son of KingAthamas ofBoeotia and thenymphNephele—along with his younger sister, Helle, were hated by their stepmother,Ino. Ino hatched a devious plot to get rid of the children, roasting all of the town's crop seeds so that they would not grow. The local farmers, frightened of famine, asked a nearbyoracle for assistance. Ino bribed the men sent to the oracle, such that they would lie and tell the others that the oracle had required the sacrifice of Phrixus.
Yet, before he was killed, Phrixus and Helle were rescued by a flying golden ram sent by Nephele, their natural mother. For reasons unknown, Helle fell off the ram into theHellespont (which was subsequently named after her); there she either drowned, or was rescued byPoseidon[citation needed] and turned into a sea-goddess. Phrixus, however, survived all the way toColchis (now a region on the coast of modern Georgia). There, KingAeetes took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughterChalciope in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus gave the king theGolden Fleece of the ram, whichAeetes placed in a consecrated grove, under the care of a sleepless dragon.
With the Greek god Poseidon, Helle was the mother of the giantAlmops andPaeon (called Edonus in some accounts).[1][2]
.jpg) | This article relating to a royal inGreek mythology is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |