Chalciope
Chalciope was a princess in
Greek mythology, daughter of King
Aeetes of
Colchis, sister of
Medea and wife of
Phrixus.
Phrixus, son of Athamus and
Nephele, along with his twin
Helle, were hated by their stepmother,
Ino. Ino hatched a devious plot to get rid of the twins, roasting all the towns 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 to lie and tell the others that the oracle required the sacrifice of Phrixus. Before he was killed though, Phrixus and Helle were rescued by a flying golden ram sent by Nephele, their natural mother. Helle fell off the ram and died, but Phrixus survived all the way to Colchis, where King Aeetes took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughter, Chalciope, in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus gave the king the
golden fleece of the ram, which Aeetes hung in a tree in his kingdom.
In Greek mythology, Chalciope was the second wife of Aegeas and a daughter of Rhexenor. She bore him no heirs.