AietesAeetes

The son of Helios (the Sun) and the Okeanid, Perseis.

Aietes was the legendary king of Kolkhis (Colchis) and the husband of Eidyia; with Eidyia, he was the father of Medea and Khalkiope (Chalciope) and with the nymph, Asterodeia, he was the father of a son named Apsyrtos; he was the brother of the sorceress nymph, Kirke (Circe).

Aietes is most famous for giving sanctuary to Phrixus when he came to Kolkhis on the flying ram with the Golden Fleece; Phrixus sacrificed the magical ram and placed its Golden Fleece in the Garden of Ares where it was guarded by a dragon.

When Iason (Jason) and the Argonauts arrived in Kolkhis and asked for the Fleece, Aietes was furious; Aietes decided that it would not be wise to blatantly refuse Iason’s request for the Golden Fleece, so he cunningly challenged Iason to demonstrate his strength by harnessing two fierce supernatural, bronze-footed bulls to a plow a field and sow the dragon’s teeth of Kadmus (Cadmus); the dragon’s teeth would grow into warriors and then Iason would have to fight and kill the Earth-Born warriors.

As the niece of Kirke and the priestess of the Earth-Goddess, Hekate (Hecate), Medea possessed magical powers; she used her powers to protect Iason and he successfully subdued the bulls, plowed a field, planted the dragon’s teeth and killed the Earth-Born warriors.

Aietes was again furious but he was bound by his promise to give Iason the Golden Fleece; Medea was afraid to stay in Kolkhis because she knew that when her father found out that she had helped Iason he would vent his wrath on her; Medea led Iason to the Golden Fleece and used her supernatural powers to bewitch the guardian dragon.

When the Argonauts fled Kolkhis with the Golden Fleece, Medea went with them; Aietes sent his fleet, led by his son Apsyrtos, to overtake Medea and bring her back for punishment; Apsyrtos was led into a trap by Medea and killed by Iason.

When Aietes found out that the Argonauts were being protected by the king of the Phaiakians (Phaeacians), Alkinoos (Alcinous), he demanded the return of his daughter; king Alkinoos, being wise and fair, declared that if Medea was unmarried she was still subject to her father’s will but if she was married, she was responsible only to her husband; Iason and Medea were married and Aietes was left without a son, without the Golden Fleece and, perhaps most painfully, betrayed by his daughter.

The Ai (alpha iota) is a vowel-digraph that is pronounced as a short E.

• Theogony, line 957
• Odyssey, book 10, line 137; book 12, line 70
• Argonautika, book 2, line 1203; book 3, lines 229, 241-248, 268, 576-608, 1177-1190, 1225-1245 and 1403-1406; book 4, lines 6, 212-240, 341 and 1098-1104