Characters in the Argonautica

Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the Greek pantheon. He is a sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus.

Aphrodite (, ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. Aphrodite's major symbols include seashells, myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was c

thumb|right|360px|Iris (on the left) with Zeus and Hera, east frieze of the Parthenon, [[British Museum.]]

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; ) is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (; ), she is traditionally the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, her brother Helios and the mortal Endymion. In post-classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate and

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") and Phaethon ("the shining"). Helios is often depicted in art with a radiant crown and driving a horse-drawn chariot through the sky. He was a guardian of oaths and also the god of sight. Though Helios was a relatively minor deity in Classical Greece, his worship grew more prominent in late antiquity thanks to his identification with several major solar divinities of the Roman period, partic

In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece, and descended into the underworld to recover his lost wife, Eurydice.

In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished pharmakís, a worker in pharmakeía (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high priestess of the goddess Hecate. She is a mythical granddaughter of the sun god Helios and a niece of Circe, an enchantress goddess. Her mother may have been Idyia.

thumb|upright=1.25|Jason, between the jaws of the dragon which guards the Golden Fleece, is saved by [[Athena. The fleece hangs from a tree behind them. Attic kylix, 480–470 BC, attributed to Douris.]]

thumb|Gathering of the Argonauts, Attica|Attic red-figure [[krater, 460–450 BC (Louvre G 341)]] The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, Argo, named after its builder, Argus. They were sometimes called Minyans, after a prehistoric tribe in the area.

Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associated with crossroads, night, light, magic, witchcraft, and the Moon. Her earliest appearance in literature was in Hesiod's Theogony in the 8th century BCE as a goddess of great honour with domains in sky, earth, and sea. She had popular followings among the witches of Thessaly, and an important sanctuary among the Carians of Asia Minor in Lagina. The earlies

Greek mythical siblings

creatures half bird and half woman who lured sailors by the sweetness of her song

<!--

Greek god, messenger of the sea

the personification of the rainbow in ancient Greek religion and mythology

In Greek mythology, Chiron, also Cheiron or Kheiron, (; or , , , or ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs".

thumb|Scylla as a maiden with a Cetus (mythology)|kētos tail and dog heads sprouting from her body. Detail from a red-figure bell-crater in the Louvre, 450–425 BC. This form of Scylla was prevalent in ancient depictions, though very different from the description in Homer, where she is land-based and more dragon-like.

thumb|Henry Fuseli's painting of Odysseus facing the choice between Scylla and Charybdis, 1794–1796 Charybdis (; , ; , ) is a sea monster in Greek mythology. Charybdis, along with the sea monster Scylla, appears as a challenge to epic characters such as Odysseus, Jason, and Aeneas. The descriptions of Greek mythical chroniclers and Greek historians locates her in the Strait of Messina.

thumb|upright|Detail of Greek mosaic with Peleus and Clotho, [[Paphos Archaeological Park]]

Phaethon (; , ), also spelled Phaëthon, is the son of the Oceanid Clymene and the sun god Helios in Greek mythology.

king of Pherae in Thessaly, in Greek mythology

thumb|Bust of Meleager, Roman copy after a Greek original of ca. 340-330 BC

thumb|Pelias sends forth Jason, in an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church.

thumb|Hylas and nymphs from a mosaic in [[Roman Gaul (3rd century)]]

thumb|280px|The marriage of Telamon and Hesione or Hesione's farewell to her brother [[Priam under the attention of Heracles and Telamon on the right, detail of fresco from the triclinium of the House of Octavius Quartio at Pompeii]]

Aeëtes ( ; , ), or Aeeta, was the ruler of the eponymous realm of Aea in Greek mythology, a wondrous realm which from the fifth century B.C.E. onward became identified with the kingdom of Colchis east in the Black Sea. The name comes from the ancient Greek word (, "eagle").

In Greek mythology, Augeas (or Augeias, , ), whose name means "bright", was king of Elis and father of Epicaste. Some ancient authors say that Augeas was one of the Argonauts. He is known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country and had never been cleaned, until the time of the great hero Heracles. The derivative adjective augean came to signify a challenging task, typically improving or fixing something that is currently in a bad condition.

thumb|300px|Odysseus at the Court of Alcinous by [[Francesco Hayez. The blind minstrel Demodocus is playing the harp.]]

thumb|Winged "" armed with a stone. Obverse of silver Ancient drachma|didrachma from [[Phaistos, Crete ( 300/280–270 BC) (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)]] In Greek mythology, Talos, also spelled Talus (; , Tálōs) or Talon (; , Tálōn), was a man of bronze who protected Crete from pirates and invaders. Despite the popular idea that he was a giant, no ancient source states this explicitly.

thumb|241x241px|The Golden Fleece by Herbert James Draper (1904) In Greek mythology, Absyrtus (Ancient Greek: Ἄψυρτος) or Apsyrtus was a Colchian prince and the younger brother of Medea. He was involved in Jason's escape with the golden fleece from Colchis.

Acastus (; ) is a character in Greek mythology. He sailed with Jason and the Argonauts, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar.

thumb|Calaïs et Zétès délivrent Phinée des Harpies ("Calais and zetes rescuing Phineus from the Harpies") by Bernard Picart.

mythical brother of Ida, son of Aphareus

thumb|250px|Phineus with the Boreads.

thumb|The Harpy Celaeno (1902) by Mary Pownall, at the [[Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow]] In Greek mythology, Celaeno (; , lit. 'the dark one', also Celeno or Kelaino, sometimes Calaeno) was the name of several figures.

thumb|Hypsipyle saving Thoas (king of Lemnos)|Thoas. In Greek mythology, Hypsipyle () was a queen of Lemnos, and the daughter of King Thoas of Lemnos, and the granddaughter of Dionysus and Ariadne. When the women of Lemnos killed all the males on the island, Hypsipyle saved her father Thoas. She ruled Lemnos when the Argonauts visited the island, and had two sons by Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. Later the women of Lemnos discovered that Thoas had been saved by Hypsipyle and she was sold as a slave to Lycurgus, the king of Nemea, where she became the nurse of the king's infant son Ophelte

In Greek mythology, Euphemus ( or ; ) was counted among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts, and was connected with the legend of the foundation of Cyrene.

In Greek mythology, Oileus or Oïleus (; Oī̈leús) was the king of Locris, and an Argonaut.

son of Aphareus, husband of Marpessa, argonaut in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Talaus (; ) was the king of Argos and one of the Argonauts. He was the son of Bias (or Perialces) and Pero. His wife was Lysimache, daughter of Abas (also known as Eurynome, Lysippe or Lysianassa, daughter of Polybus). He was the father of Adrastus, Aristomachus, Astynome, Eriphyle, Mecisteus, Metidice, and Pronax.

person in Greek mythology, wife of Alcinous

thumb|right|280px|Amycus punished, red-figured Lucanian [[hydria, end of 4th century BC, Cabinet des Médailles]]

In Greek mythology, Tiphys (; Ancient Greek: Τῖφυς Tîphus) was the helmsman of the Argonauts.

mythological Greek character, builder of Argo

mythical son of Hermes

mythological figure, daughter of Aetes

mythical character

son of Lykourgos, Greek mythological figure

Menoetius or Menoetes (; ) was a name that refers to three distinct persons from Greek mythology:

Polyxo (; Ancient Greek: Πολυξώ Poluxṓ) is the name of several figures in Greek mythology:

mythical Greek hero

In Greek mythology, Macris ( a reference to the elongated shape of Euboea) also called Nysa (), is a daughter of Aristaeus who reared the goddess Hera in her youth, before incurring the wrath of the goddess and being banished by her.

Greek mythical character, King of the Doliones

In Greek mythology, the name Echion (, genitive: , derived from ) referred to five different beings:

character from Greek mythology, son of Zeus or Poseidon

thumb|right|350px|Jason taming the Khalkotauri in a painting by Jean François de Troy Khalkotauroi (, from ), also known as the Colchis Bulls, are mythical creatures that appear in the Greek myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

Amphidamas (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιδάμας) was the name of multiple people in Greek mythology:

Phlias () or Phlius or Phliasus was the son of Dionysus and Ariadne, and husband of Chthonophyle in Greek mythology. A native of Araithyrea in Argolis, he is mentioned as one of the Argonauts.