Boeotia
A Mycenean kingdom on the eastern Bay of Corinth, Boeotia is where the golden ram whose fleece now hangs in the Grove of Ares originated, when it sprung from the ocean to save Boeotia’s twin prince and princess, Phrixus and Helle. Though located in the same cultural and political sphere as the Argonauts’ homelands, Boeotia has a much longer history of politics, culture, and religion, for its ruling dynasty was established by a cadet house of the Colchian royal family centuries before the city-states of Mycenae and Thessaly were even established.
Like the rest of the lands west of Colchis that now make up Greece, Boeotia’s climate is much more moderate, pleasant, and varied than the swamps and plains of Colchis, with multiple mountain ranges, rivers, and lakes.
Iolcus
A rising Greek city in Magnesia, near Mount Pelion on the eastern coast of Thessaly. Iolcus is the birthplace of Jason, the captain of the Argo and the rightful heir to the throne. Just before Jason’s mother was to give birth, his father King Aeson was overthrown by his stepbrother, Pelias, who still rules the city more than two decades later. After Aeson was overthrown and imprisoned by Pelias, Jason’s mother arranged for her newborn son to be smuggled out of the city.
Iolcus is one of the larger and more prosperous cities in Thessaly, but compared to the lands of Boeotia and Colchis, Iolcus is still a backwater. However, the temperate climate and varied geography provides Iolcus with resources and appeal that Colchis lacks, as Thessaly is a land of many springs, coves, and beaches, with plentiful access to lots of pleasant climates/topographies, with different species of trees ranging from beach, oak, maple, chestnut, olive, apple, pear, and plane trees.
SETTINGS
Colchis
One of the oldest dominions of the time, Colchis has a long history of advanced agriculture, metalworking, and urbanization, and has been a center of culture and politics since before the Myceneans and Thelessians had histories of their own to remember. The capital city of Colchis, Aea, is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the known world, perhaps the oldest; its foundations were laid by some of the first men and women to venture out from humanity’s birthplace in the Fertile Crescent to the lands that would become Colchis and beyond. Aea was a center of trade, culture, and learning before the Myceneans and Thessalians had built their first true towns, let alone anything that could be called a city, and the reigning dynasty of Colchis is the longest continuing royal bloodline known to anyone within Aea’s sphere of influence.
Because of its long history, Aea is the traditional center of worship for the old gods of Mount Othrys, also known as the Titans. Even after the Titans’ fall from rulership of the heavens, Aea remains one of a dwindling number of lands where the pantheon of Mount Othrys reigns supreme; as such, the city is the home of the largest temples in the known world dedicated to the Titans, and the only city with a permanent temple devoted solely to the worship of Hecate, the goddess of primal femininity and the thresholds between spaces.
The most recent monument to the Titans to be raised in Aea is the Temple of Hyperion Nova, a colossal golden step pyramid topped by an enormous eternal flame that can be seen from miles outside the city. The Temple of Hyperion Nova was built according to the demands of those Titans who survived their defeat at the hands of Olympus, so that King Aeetes of Colchis could father a son with a water nymph who would bear The Hyperion Nova, a mortal prince with, ‘the blood of the sun and the sea,’ who will ascend to be Hyperion reborn and reestablish the might of the Titans in the heavens and on the Earth.
By the time Jason arrives in Colchis, the center of political, cultural, and religious power has been shifting to the west for generations, and Colchis has long been in decline as a political and cultural power. Despite the turmoil, Colchis remains one of the most politically, economically, and culturally important realms in the world, for Colchis is still the bridge between the lands of the west and the faraway lands of Asia in the east. Colchis’ advanced agricultural techniques, long history of urbanization, and the legendary skill and artisanship of its metalworkers and smiths have also ensured that though Colchis is a fading power, it is still wealthy and prosperous enough that it is not yet in terminal decline… until Jason and the Argonauts arrive on a mission from foreign gods to take Colchis’ greatest national treasure.
Borders and Territory
Colchis’ western border is located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea [in modern day Georgia], opposite the Mycenean kingdoms from which the Argonauts hail.
Northern border: Greater Caucuses
Southern border: The lesser Caucuses, Kardeniz Mountains (“Eastern Black Sea Mountains”)
Western border: The Black Sea
Eastern border: Likhi Range
Geography and Climate
Mild humid climate, temperate rainforest (degraded in the plain region), wetlands along the coast of the Colchis Plain. Subalpine and alpine meadows in mountainous regions, swampy and humid in the Phasis Valley.
The Colchian capital of Aea is located inland on the Phasis River, near the center of Colchian territory. Due to its location on the river, the city has a swampy, humid climate, but the surrounding plains are much more pleasant. To the east and northeast, the city is surrounded by the Northern Imereti foothills; to the west and south, the Colchis Plains; and to the north, the Samgurali range.
Colchis Plains: Ample grazing land and homeland of the famed Phasis horses.
Phasis River: Swampy and humid.
Poli: A city on the western coast of Colchis, where Jason and the Argo entered the Phasis River and the lands of Colchis.
Resources and Industry
Natural resources: gold, iron, timber, honey, salt
Grains: millet, wine, some wheat
Animals/livestock: horses, waterfowl
Industries: Bronze production, metalwork
Products: Belts, bracelets, bearings, statuettes, waterfowl, and other luxury exports to both the east and west.
Weapons: Axes, sickles, short spears, flat axes, bow-shaped/cylindrical axes.
The Journey of the Argo (So Far)
The Argo departed from the city of Iolcus in Thessaly, and traveled east across the Black Sea along the coasts of Greece and Asia Minor [Turkey]. It then entered the River Phasis at the Colchian city of Polis and continued east upriver to the capital, Aea.
The Golden Fleece
The Golden Fleece is the enchanted wool and hide from the Golden Ram, a divine creature created by the gods and later sacrificed in their honor. Since the sacrifice of the Golden Ram, the presence of the fleece in the royal orchard of Colchis has symbolized the gods’ blessings upon the land and their continued favor towards the ruling dynasty.
The Golden Fleece came to Colchis with two youths named Phrixus and Helle, the twin children of King Athamas of Boeotia. Phrixus and Helle fled their father’s household to escape their stepmother, Ino, who schemed to have them killed so that her husband Athamas would favor her children instead. The twins fled from their father’s home and were pursued by armed men, who had been sent by Ino to ambush them on the road. The siblings only escaped when Helle summoned a golden winged ram sent by their mother, the goddess Nephele. The golden ram bade both siblings to climb on its back and then carried the twins away into the sky, though Helle lost consciousness from blood loss during the escape and fell into the sea to her death; Phrixus silently cursed the golden ram for allowing his sister to perish and resolved himself to sacrifice the beast once it had brought him to safety.
BACKGROUND
The winged ram carried Phrixus to the land of Colchis, which was ruled by his uncle King Aeetes. Phrixus presented himself before the king and told the story of Ino’s treachery and Helle’s death, and Aeetes quickly granted the young prince sanctuary under the rights of xenia. In gratitude, Phrixus sacrificed the golden ram to Zeus and gave the fleece to Aeetes, who hung it in the Grove of Ares inside the palace gates.
The Doom of Aeetes
Not long after Aeetes received the golden fleece from Phrixus, an oracle predicted that if the fleece were ever to leave Colchis, “the sons of Aeetes” would never rule again; furthermore, the oracle predicted Aeetes’ downfall would come at the hands of his own kin. At first, Aeetes believed the prophecy referred to his brother, Perses, whom he exiled for scheming to usurp the throne. But Aeetes soon grew wary of Phrixus, for the youth showed no desire to return to Boeotia or claim his father’s crown. Aeetes began to fear that Phrixus intended to usurp the throne of Colchis, or else was scheming to involve Colchis in a costly and destructive war with Boeotia that would threaten the futures of both Aeetes’ line and his brothers’.
At first, Aeetes resisted the urge to eliminate Phrixus, for he feared what the gods would do if he slew his own kin while a guest in his home. On the eve of a festival to honor the goddess Artemis, however, Aeetes’ eldest child, Medea, sacrificed a bull and read the signs in its entrails, which foretold that Aeetes would be forever haunted by his decision to give Phrixus shelter. Certain that this was a warning from the gods that Phrixus was indeed scheming his downfall, on the day of the festival Aeetes took Phrixus on a hunt from which the latter never returned.
Now, years after the murder of Phrixus, Aeetes regrets his actions and fears that the prophecy of his downfall is punishment from the gods for the murder of his kin. Aeetes now fears his entire family, especially his only son, Absyrtus, who has grown into an arrogant and temperamental man whose pride prevents him from feeling any responsibility to atone for his family’s actions or to justify their rulership in the eyes of the gods.
Just before the Argonauts arrive, Aeetes receives word that Perses has returned to Colchis at the head of a Scythian army much larger than his own. When Jason presents himself before the Colchian court, Aeetes sees a potential hope that can save Colchis from the Scythians, but also another potential threat sent by the gods to fulfill the prophecy of Aeetes’ doom.
Now, years after the murder of Phrixus, Aeetes regrets his actions and fears that the prophecy of his downfall is punishment from the gods for the murder of his kin. Aeetes now fears his entire family, especially his only son, Absyrtus, who has grown into an arrogant and temperamental man whose pride prevents him from feeling any responsibility to atone for his family’s actions or to justify their rulership in the eyes of the gods.
Just before the Argonauts arrive, Aeetes receives word that Perses has returned to Colchis at the head of a Scythian army much larger than his own. When Jason presents himself before the Colchian court, Aeetes sees a potential hope that can save Colchis from the Scythians, but also another potential threat sent by the gods to fulfill the prophecy of Aeetes’ doom.