Helle (; ), or Ellie, sometimes also called (, "daughter of Athamas"), was a character in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

who figured prominently in the story of

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

and the

Argonauts The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after it ...

. Helle is known for giving her name to the strait of

Hellespont The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey t ...

("sea of Helle"), in which she fell while crossing it along with her brother

Phrixus In Greek mythology Phrixus (; also spelt Phryxus; means "standing on end, bristling") was the son of Athamas, king of Boeotia, and Nephele (a goddess of clouds). He was the older brother of Helle (mythology), Helle and the father of Argus (Gree ...

Mythology

, son of King

Athamas In Greek mythology, Athamas (; ) was a Boeotian king. Apollodorus1.9.1/ref> Family Athamas was formerly a Thessalian prince and the son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. He was the brother of Salmoneus, Sisyph ...

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

and the half-

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

Nephele In Greek and Roman mythology, Nephele (; ; corresponding to Latin ''nebula'') is the name of two figures associated with clouds, sometimes confused with each other, who figures respectively in the stories of Ixion and in the story of Phrixus and ...

, 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 the town's crop seeds so they would not grow. The local farmers, frightened of famine, asked a nearby oracle for assistance. Ino bribed the men sent to the

oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

to lie and tell the others that the oracle 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 the

(which was subsequently named after her) and either drowned or was rescued by

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

and turned into a sea-goddess, but Phrixus survived all the way to

Colchis In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the ...

, where King Aeetes took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughter,

Chalciope Chalciope (; ), in Greek mythology, is a name that may refer to several characters. * Chalciope, daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis and wife of Phrixus. *Chalciope, daughter of Rhexenor (or of King Chalcodon of Euboea) and the second wife o ...

, in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus gave the king the golden fleece of the ram, which Aeetes placed in a consecrated grove, under the care of a sleepless dragon. With the Greek god Poseidon, Helle was the mother of the giant

Almops Almops () was, in Greek mythology, a giant son of the god Poseidon and the half-nymph Helle. He was the brother of Paeon (called "Edonus" in some accounts). It is from Almops that the now-obsolete name for the region of Almopia and its inhabita ...

and Paeon (called Edonus in some accounts).

Notes

References

* Bell, Robert E., ''Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary''. ABC-Clio. 1991. . Princesses in Greek mythology Family of Athamas Mythological Boeotians {{greek-myth-royal-stub