The Mythology of Aries

When we dive into the mythology of Aries, we need to clear up a common mix-up right away.

People often confuse two entirely different stories: the tales of "Aries the Ram" and those of "Aries the Greek god" (more commonly written as "Ares").

Let's start with Ares, the Greek god of war. He's quite different from his sister Athena, who also presides over warfare. Think of them as opposite sides of the same coin - Athena represents the calculated, strategic side of battle, while Ares embodies raw chaos and destruction. It's fascinating how the ancient Greeks split these aspects of war between siblings. You might say Athena was the mastermind general, while Ares was the berserker warrior who lived for the thrill of combat.

Ares earned quite a reputation for his bloodthirst and reckless aggression. These traits, though toned down considerably, show up in modern astrology for those born under the sign of Aries - but that's where the connection ends.

Now, about Aries the Ram - it's a group of stars that caught the Greeks' imagination because they saw the shape of a ram's head in them. This constellation plays a starring role in the epic tale of Jason and the Argonauts, who went searching for its golden fleece to prove Jason's right to rule Iolcos in Thessaly.

Despite sharing a name, the ram Aries has no connection to the god Ares. When Ares took animal form, he preferred appearing as a dog or vulture. There's that famous story where he transformed into a boar to kill Adonis, who'd caught the eye of Ares' lover Aphrodite. But you'll never find a tale where Ares becomes a ram. For Roman mythology fans, Ares and Mars are basically identical - just with different names.

Aries Mythology: The Ram that was Golden

The story of Aries the Ram kicks off with some serious family drama. King Athamas had two kids with his first wife Nephele (whose name meant "Cloud"): Phrixus and Helle. But Athamas got restless, ditched Nephele, and married Ino, daughter of Thebes' King Cadmus. Ino turned out to be quite the schemer, especially when it came to her stepchildren.

She hatched a devious plot to ruin the kingdom's corn crop by convincing local women to roast the seeds before planting. When nothing grew, nobody suspected the queen's handiwork. The desperate king sent messengers to consult the Oracle at Delphi, but Ino had already bribed them to bring back a fake message: only sacrificing Prince Phrixus would save the kingdom from famine.

The king, though heartbroken, felt he had no choice. But Nephele wasn't about to let her children die. She'd received a magical golden ram from Hermes, which she'd kept as their guardian. When the time came for the sacrifice, this remarkable creature found the children and spoke to them, offering escape on its back.

The ram carried them over land and sea, but tragedy struck during their flight. Poor Helle lost her grip and fell into the strait between Europe and Asia (now called the Hellespont or Dardanelles in her memory). Phrixus made it to safety on Colchis' shores, where King Aeetes welcomed him warmly and even offered his daughter Chalciope in marriage.

Grateful for his survival, Phrixus sacrificed the golden ram to Zeus Phyxius and gave its magnificent fleece to King Aeetes. The king had it placed in a sacred grove, guarded by a fearsome dragon that never slept. This same fleece would later become the target of Jason and his Argonauts.

Phrixus and Chalciope had four sons - Argus, Melas, Phrontis, and Cytisorus - who'd play their own small parts in the Golden Fleece saga. Zeus honored the brave ram by placing its image among the stars as the constellation Aries, where it still shines today.

The tale comes full circle with Jason's quest. When he challenged Pelias for the throne, the crafty king demanded the Golden Fleece as proof of Jason's worth. With his crew of legendary heroes aboard the Argo (including the mighty Hercules), Jason succeeded in claiming the fleece.

But Pelias wasn't done playing games. When Jason returned victorious, the king still refused to step down. That's when Medea, Jason's sorceress ally, stepped in with a gruesome trick. She convinced Pelias's daughters she could restore youth by cutting someone up and boiling them - demonstrating with a ram that seemed to work. The girls, hoping to rejuvenate their father, followed her instructions. Needless to say, it didn't end well for Pelias.

The name Aries itself traces a fascinating linguistic path: from Latin's "Aries the Ram" to Greek's "Krios the Ram" and back to the ancient Akkadian "Immeru the Sheep." Each culture added its own touch to this enduring celestial story.