The first sign of the zodiac is represented by the Ram. In mythology, the Ram has always been courageous and enterprising, a lively, energetic animal able to bound over obstacles and rocky terrain.
The story of the Ram begins in ancient Greece with a king named Athamus who ruled the province of Boetia. Athamus married a woman called Nephele, and they had two beautiful children, a son and daughter they named Phrixus and Helle.
After a time, Athamus grew tired of Nephele and deserted her. He took a second wife, Ino, and they had two sons. Ino was a jealous and conniving woman who hated her stepchildren Phrixus and Helle, and set about plotting their deaths.
The first thing she did was convince the women of her country to roast the corn before planting it. This effectively cancelled out the crops that year. Famine swept the land. The king sent a messenger to the Oracle at Delphi to find out what caused the crop failure. Apparently, it never occurred to him to ask the women who planted the crops, but this is the sort of oversight of which some modern political leaders are also guilty.
Ino managed to bribe the king’s messenger to return from Delphi and tell the king that the crops would not grow again until the lives of his children Phrixus and Helle were sacrificed to the god Jupiter. The gullible king planned to have his son and daughter killed in order to save his people.
A quick shift now to Phrixus and Helle, who were tending their sheep. In their flock was a Ram with golden fleece. This Golden Ram had been given to their mother Nephele as a present from the god Hermes (Mercury). Nephele, getting wind of what evil was afoot, begged the Ram to save her children. The Ram spoke with the voice of a man to warn Phrixus and Helle of their danger, then told them to climb onto his back. Then he flew with them across the sea.
Unfortunately, as they were crossing the strait that divides Europe and Asia, Helle grew dizzy and faint and slipped off the Ram’s back. She fell into the sea and drowned. To this day, the strait into which she fell is named after her, the Hellespont.
Her brother Phrixus, however, was carried safely to the land of Colchis. This put an end to the plot of the villainous Ino, though it does not seem to have done much to relieve the famine or to have brought King Athamus to his senses.
Rather ungratefully it would seem, Phrixus killed the Golden Ram as a sacrifice to Jupiter, who in turn placed the Ram’s likeness among the stars in heaven to honor him for his heroism.
The story of the Ram begins in ancient Greece with a king named Athamus who ruled the province of Boetia. Athamus married a woman called Nephele, and they had two beautiful children, a son and daughter they named Phrixus and Helle.
After a time, Athamus grew tired of Nephele and deserted her. He took a second wife, Ino, and they had two sons. Ino was a jealous and conniving woman who hated her stepchildren Phrixus and Helle, and set about plotting their deaths.
The first thing she did was convince the women of her country to roast the corn before planting it. This effectively cancelled out the crops that year. Famine swept the land. The king sent a messenger to the Oracle at Delphi to find out what caused the crop failure. Apparently, it never occurred to him to ask the women who planted the crops, but this is the sort of oversight of which some modern political leaders are also guilty.
Ino managed to bribe the king’s messenger to return from Delphi and tell the king that the crops would not grow again until the lives of his children Phrixus and Helle were sacrificed to the god Jupiter. The gullible king planned to have his son and daughter killed in order to save his people.
A quick shift now to Phrixus and Helle, who were tending their sheep. In their flock was a Ram with golden fleece. This Golden Ram had been given to their mother Nephele as a present from the god Hermes (Mercury). Nephele, getting wind of what evil was afoot, begged the Ram to save her children. The Ram spoke with the voice of a man to warn Phrixus and Helle of their danger, then told them to climb onto his back. Then he flew with them across the sea.
Unfortunately, as they were crossing the strait that divides Europe and Asia, Helle grew dizzy and faint and slipped off the Ram’s back. She fell into the sea and drowned. To this day, the strait into which she fell is named after her, the Hellespont.
Her brother Phrixus, however, was carried safely to the land of Colchis. This put an end to the plot of the villainous Ino, though it does not seem to have done much to relieve the famine or to have brought King Athamus to his senses.
Rather ungratefully it would seem, Phrixus killed the Golden Ram as a sacrifice to Jupiter, who in turn placed the Ram’s likeness among the stars in heaven to honor him for his heroism.