Aries – The Ancient Greek Myth Behind the Zodiac Sign

Ram – Symbol of the zodiac sign Aries

The Zodiac Sign of Aries

March 21 – April 19

The Greek myth associated with the zodiac sign of Aries is that of the Golden Fleece; the Chrysomallus (best known from the story of Jason and the Argonauts), a flying ram which saved Phrixus and Helle, children of the Boeotian king, Athamas, from being killed by their wicked stepmother, Ino.

(Read the whole story further down in this post)

Aries (Latin for ram), is a constellation of stars, which when seen from Earth by the ancient Greeks looked to them like the shape of a ram’s head.

It is a fire sign and the first astrological sign in the zodiac, the beginning of the astrological year.

Aries and Musca Borealis as depicted in Urania’s Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825.

1^st sign of the zodiac

March 21 – April 19

Symbol: Ram

Element: Fire

Ruling planet Mars

The Ancient Greek Myth Behind the Zodiac Sign of Aries:

Phrixus, Helle and The Golden Fleece

Phrixus and Helle escape on Chrisomallos, the Golden Fleece

King Athamas of Orchomenus in Boeotia, a region of southeastern Greece and his wife, Nephele, a cloud nymph and minor goddess of the skies, with their twin children; Phrixus and Helle, lead a happy life together.

However, as time passes, Nephele spends more and more time gazing towards the heavens, remembering her happy days there, maybe she just wasn’t meant to be an earthling.

Eventually she can take it no longer and as sad as it makes her to leave her husband and children behind, Nephele returns to the skies; the clouds are calling her home.

Athamas and Nephele

King Athamas has barely time to grieve before a maiden appears at the palace gates, seeking refuge, announcing that she is Ino, princess of Thebes, the daughter of Cadmus, who has been banished from her city by Hera (Juno) Greek goddess of women and marriage.

King Athamas wastes no time, here’s his chance; a new wife and mother for his children and so he proposes marriage to Ino who eagerly accepts, this is the answer to all her problems too.

All is well until Ino gives birth to her first child, when jealousy of the twins, Phrixus and Helle, sets in, after a second and then third child, the jealousy has turned to hatred.

Things come to a head when King Athamas, who has grown old and weary, declares Phrixus, now a handsome youth, to be his heir and successor.

Ino is beside herself with jealousy, she had visions of her own son becoming heir and so she devises an intricate plot to be rid of Phrixus once and for all, leaving the path towards successor, open for her son.

When it was time for the corn to be sown, Ino demanded her slaves roast all the grain which had been saved for sowing, rendering it dry and lifeless.

The farmers, knowing nothing of this, planted the grain as usual and though the rains watered the earth and the sun gave its warmth, not a single blade of wheat was to be seen.

Facing a famine and not knowing what to do, the locals, as was the way in those days, begged King Athamas to send someone to seek guidance from the Oracle at Delphi, where surely, they would receive an answer as to why this catastrophe had befallen them and be advised of what to do.

Priestess of Delphi (1891) by John Collier, showing the Pythia sitting on a tripod with vapor rising from a crack in the earth beneath her

This is exactly the outcome Ino had wanted, it was Ino herself who had sent her loyal servant to Delphi beforehand ; promising him all he wished for under the sun, if he returned with only the answer she herself had contrived.

And so it was, Ino’s servant returned, crying and wailing;

‘We are doomed, dear king, we are doomed, the gods are raging over your decision to place Phrixus on the throne of Orchomenus, never again will the earth bear sustenance unless the son of Nephele is sacrificed to the god Zeus on Mount Laphystium!’.

‘Never!’ exclaimed King Athamas ,’ I will die myself before harming even a hair of my son’s head’.

Athamas made Ino swear his subjects should not hear of this reply from the oracle and to make sure her servant would not spill the beans, cut his throat.

‘As you wish husband’ answered Ino complacently, while all the time running through the next step of the plan in her head.

Unbeknown to Athamas, Ino spread word throughout the palace about what had gone down at Delphi and how their king was ignoring their plight.

The citizens of Orchomenus gathered in the square and even though they were all fond of Phrixus and no one wished to see him dead, they worried the oracle may have spoke the truth and if action was not taken, they were all condemned to starve to death.

As they pondered on their dire situation, a voice was heard above the crowd, it was Biadice, an aunt of Phrixus, who had married one of his father’s brothers, having once had her advances towards Phrixus rejected, a woman scorned, she now saw her moment for revenge and shouted to the people gathered in the square;

‘Phrixus is not the man you think; he’s not all sweetness and life, he disrespected me, not only as his aunt but as a woman when he made crude and lustful advances towards me, this is why the gods demand his father to sacrifice him to Zeus’.

Her accusations were, of course, not true but at this point the people were so desperate they would accept anything which brought about a solution to their problem and demanded Phrixus be offered to Zeus in return for fertile ground and abundant crops.

The angry crowd gathered before the palace gates, demanding King Athamas act like a man and do as the oracle asked of him.

Ino saw King Athamas dithering, undecided and intervened, telling her husband to face the facts, the fate of the people lied with him.

Ino, who after her death was worshiped as a goddess Leucothea, the white goddess.

With a heavy heart, seeing no other way to fix things, King Athamas relented; his son must pay the price for his dastardly behavior against Biadice, which in turn, had brought his kingdom of Orchomenus to the brink of disaster.

The next day at first light, Phrixus, with his sister Helle, who would not forsake him, was escorted to Mount Laphystium where he was laid upon the sacrificial alter.

As the priest raised his arm, ready to plunge the knife into Phrixus’ heart, a cloud appeared out of nowhere, blotting out the sun.

The crowd which had gathered on Mount Laphystium, turned their faces to the sky to see what had caused this sudden darkness.

There sitting upon the cloud, accompanied by a ram with a golden fleece was Nephele, come to save her children in their hour of need.

As the cloud drifted downwards, off jumped the golden ram alighting next to Phrixus; Nephele called to her son;

‘Quick, jump upon his back, the ram will take you to Colchis, the land of Aeëtes, son of Helius, he will protect you, in return, sacrifice the ram to Zeus and make him a gift of its golden fleece ‘.

Phrixus on the golden ram and Helle, BY Theofilos, Greek painter.

As the cloud bearing his mother rose away towards the heavens, Phrixus grabbed his sister, pulling her up behind him on the ram’s back, who swiftly bore them away to Colchis and safety.

All went smoothly until they reached the narrow channel linking the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara; there a storm broke out, bringing with it a ferocious wind.

Phrixos and Helle. Ancient roman fresco found in Pompeii, now in the Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Helle was terrified and though she was weak and exhausted, clung on to Phrixus with the little strength she had left but the raging wind was too much her; she lost her grip and fell from the ram’s back.

Helle hurtled towards the angry sea below where she was lost forever but her name lived on; the narrow strait where she met her death has been known as the Hellespont ever since (The Dardanelles also known as Strait of Gallipoli).

Hellespont, ancient name of the narrow passage between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Today, it is known as Dardanelles. (Ancient Greece map)

At last the Ram set Phrixus down in front of Aeëtes’ palace in Colchis, where Aeëtes himself awaited them and lead them inside, where Phrixus proceeded to tell him their tragic story and of how his dear sister Helle had fallen from the ram’s back and died.

Remembering his mother’s last words to him, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave its golden fleece to Aeëtes, who, enchanted with such a fine gift, hung it from a thousand-year old oak tree in the sacred grove of Ares, where it was guarded day and night by a fire – breathing dragon who never slept.

The Golden Fleece, said to have magical powers, brought miraculous changes to Colchis; wealth and abundance flowed and Aeëtes himself became the richest of kings and his army the most feared in the world.

The Golden Fleece (of the Greek myth) is a symbol of authority and kingship.

As a reward for its bravery and in memory of the Golden Ram, Zeus placed a constellation of stars in the sky whose shape was that of a ram’s head and named it Aries.

Aries Constellation

Personality Traits of Aries

Aries the ram!

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and rightly so; Aries people love to be number one!

A few keywords which describe them are; bold, ambitious, passionate, independent, competitive, loyal, smart and impulsive.

They have a magnetic character, hard to resist.

Aries Traits

(Courtesy of Ganeshaspeaks.com)

Aries Positive Traits

Aries traits

Strong Leadership

You are a natural-born leader and know how to take charge of others. You possess a strong leadership trait which helps you to be a winner in all your undertakings. You thrive in the position of power. Aries don’t just sit around all day waiting for an opportunity to knock on their door. You go out and make your luck and destiny.

Amazing Self Confidence

Your self-confidence always inspires the people around you. This confidence

even persists in tight situations. Aries are extremely independent creatures and have your strong opinion. You stick to your ideas and opinions and seldom welcome suggestions from others. You prefer to be a pioneer and do things in your own way rather than following others.

Positive Energy

Aries being a first zodiac sign, have a lot of positive energy. You are energetic and dynamic because you belong to a fire sign ruled by Mars. You are enthusiastic and optimistic in a tight situation. You would not sit and waste time cribbing about the situation. Instead, you come up with an alternative plan to be executed. You have no time for dwelling on your losses and mistakes in unwanted situations. Aries knows that sometimes bad things happen and people do face unwanted and unstoppable situations. You have a strong belief that sitting and worrying is not going to change situations. Instead, you focus on your goals and aspirations and try to overcome hurdles coming in the path of success.

Bravery

Aries are incredibly strong, ultra-resilient, and one of the bravest signs of the zodiac. You rise to the challenge and tackle things head-on. You are not afraid to take risks in life to get yourself to the top of the pack. You remain brave in tight situations and during the downfalls of life.

Creativity

Aries always explore ways to do something different. Creative Aries means that natives can have an extremely hard time coping with dull and repetitive tasks. You can not stand to do the same thing every single day. You would rather prefer artistic tasks.

Aries Negative Traits

Aries traits

Selfishness

One of the negative traits that Aries have is a concern for self-advancement. When it comes to winning, Aries can get up to anything. If you say you will do it means you will stick to it no matter what comes in your way. You would put extra effort into work and pull and push your strength and reserved energy to accomplish your desired goals. You are at times insensitive to the emotions of others as you feel that you have more knowledge and capabilities than anyone around.

Attention Seeking

Aries individuals are attention seekers. You actually, demand it. You would easily get irritated when you don’t have it. You always want to be the center of attraction for everything. You always want to do things better than others and complete tasks efficiently and before time. If you are facing shortcomings and hurdles in tasks you will not hold the hand of others. You would rather fight with the situation and put your extra energy to accomplish your goals efficiently and on time. You will use your skills and enthusiasm to be a winner in all the situations of life. But sometimes your personal relationships get ignored and work-life balance gets affected.

Outbursts of Anger

Aries is one of the short-tempered signs out there. It won’t take much to irate you and cause an outburst of your anger. The biggest problem of Aries is that you don’t know how to deal with their anger. You get angered when things don’t happen in the way you want or if someone finds fault in your work. You would never welcome suggestions of others in your way of work.

Lack Of Patience

Patience doesn’t come easily to you. The natives want everything at the very moment they desire it, without any delays. You are not able to keep calm and wait for the results. You easily get bored with the monotonous things and switch over to the other, leaving them unfinished. You won’t sit and analyze the shortcomings in the way of success. You would execute an alternative plan without giving a second thought to it.

Impulsive Behaviour

Arians have impulsive behavior. You have a tendency to make a quick decision and don’t waste time analyzing it. You soon realize it wasn’t the best option. Most of the time, you don’t think of various aspects of the matter and don’t consider the point of view of your fellow mates. You just think of the end results and make a conclusion.