Helle (mythology)

Helle
Member of the Athamantian Royal House
Phrixus and Helle (after a fresco from Pompeii)
Other namesAthamantis
AbodeAthamantis in Boeotia later Colchis
Genealogy
ParentsAthamas and Nephele
Siblings
ConsortPoseidon
Offspring

Helle (/ˈhɛli/; Ancient Greek: Ἕλλη, romanizedHéllē), sometimes also called Athamantis (Ancient Greek: Ἀθαμαντίς, "daughter of Athamas"), was a character in Greek mythology who figured prominently in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. Helle is known for giving her name to the strait of Hellespont ("sea of Helle"), into which she fell while crossing it on the back of a flying golden ram with her brother Phrixus—the same flying ram from which the Golden Fleece derived.