What is the story behind the Golden Fleece myth? And how is it related to gold mining? Come dive into this ancient story and learn one thing you probably didn't know about gold.

The true story behind the Myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece

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The significance of gold in mythology and many ancient cultures is a no-brainer. 

gold has been a symbol of power and immortality

, which is why kings fought wars over it. You could also cover your palace with gold, recast it into a crown, or trade with it and get more stuff. 

gold has long been a symbol of anything you may want in this world

, or at least that’s what one famous Greek myth says.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you like a bit of history and mythology mixed in with your gold, please listen to the 

What is the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece? 

Jason is a hero of Greek mythology who fought some of the mightiest beasts of his time for one thing: 

Yes, you read that right: it's a fleece made of gold, or a golden sheepskin rug 🐑 , whatever you want to call it.

We know, it sounds a bit weird, but wait for it! There’s actually 

 of why it specifically had to be a golden fleece and not, say, a chest full of

, which was once stolen from his father by his half-uncle Pelias. It looks like it wasn’t a problem for King Pelias to give up the throne… 

as long as Jason fetched him the Golden Fleece

As you might expect, the Golden Fleece was not something you could easily pick up at your local store. It was held in 

, an ancient region at the eastern end of the Black Sea.

The statue of Princess Medea holding the golden fleece that Jason and his Argonauts retrieved from a dragon-guarded garden in Colchis

Brave and fearless, Jason accepted the challenge and put together a very impressive team of heroes, known as 

, to go on the quest with him aboard the 

Legend has it, the whole trip lasted around 40 days and was full of thrills and spills. Here’s what (supposedly) happened along the way in a nutshell:

The first island that Jason and the Argonauts land on is 

, an island populated only by women 💃. The highlight of this visit? Well, Jason and his Argonauts manage to repopulate the island. 

🐻. Jason and the Argonauts fight the army of King Cyzicus, who ends up dead.

. Jason and the Argonauts are seduced by some beautiful water nymphs 🧜♀️ and end up losing Hylas, a companion of Heracles. Heracles goes nuts, allegedly forcing the Argonauts to leave him behind.

. Jason and the Argonauts fight King Amycus, who called out one of the Argonauts, Polydeuces, for a boxing match 🥊. Obviously, Amycus doesn’t make it out alive, because… 

, where Jason and the Argonauts save King Phineus from the Harpies, an interesting breed of half-birds 🐦 half-women. These particularly nasty creatures even stole and pooped on literally any food poor Phineus attempted to eat. But 

, Zetes and Calais, the sons of the North Wind, came to his rescue.

 The Sympleglades is a pair of clashing rocks 🪨  that smash together whenever a ship sails through them. Luckily, Phineus tells Jason the trick to getting past the stones: let a bird fly through them first. Nice.

🌊 near the end of their journey, Jason and the Argonauts meet the sons of Phrixus, the guy who had brought the Golden Fleece to Colchis in the first place. Here’s how it went down: Phrixus owned a winged 

), and decided to sacrifice it to Zeus. He then offered the golden fleece to Aeetes, King of Colchis, who put it in a grove where it remained, guarded by a 

And as Jason and his merry men finally landed on the shore of Colchis, they discovered 

they had to deal with more than just the dragon

To retrieve the Golden Fleece, Jason had to:

1) yoke a pair of fire-breathing bulls 🐂, 

2) plow a field with the above-mentioned fire-breathing bulls, 

4) kill the undead armed men who would sprout from the earth.

You would think this is too much for one man to handle. But, as if by destiny, love was there to save the day ♥️.  Apparently, 

, had a thing for Jason and really wanted him to win.

Jason holds the golden fleece and Princess Medea stands next to him

She gave him an ointment that protected him from the fire of the bulls and concocted a sleeping potion that Jason cast into the eyes of the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece.

Jason got the Golden Fleece, successfully reclaimed the throne of Iolcus, and married Medea (

spoiler alert: he later dumped her for another woman

But what does it really mean, and what's the deal with the Golden Fleece? 🐑 

Is Jason and the Golden Fleece a true story?

quite literally, and refers to a specific method of extracting gold with sheepskins.

The true story behind the Argonauts' adventure: 

The wealthy kingdom of Colchis is now known as Svaneti, a mountainous region in northwest Georgia, which is apparently very, very rich in gold.

The map showing early Georgian states of Iberia and Colchis that had great economic and cultural importance during the 15th century BCE.

According to scientists, ancient villagers in Svaneti 

used sheepskins to trap the tiny flecks of gold in rivers 

, turning them into “golden fleeces”. 

 that the Argonauts' adventures may have been based on a real journey to get the secrets of… 

you can still find Golden Fleeces on your own today, 

as locals continue using this gold extraction method.

But if you don't want to deal with a dragon, 

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