Phrixos, Helle and the Golden Ram


Phrixos and Helle were the children of King Athamas of Boeotia and were hated by their jealous stepmother Ino, who tricked Athamas into thinking he had to sacrifice Phrixos to save the country. Just as Athamas was about to do so, the children’s mother, the nymph Nephele, snatched Phrixos away and helped him and Helle escape onto the back of a golden ram. Though Phrixos survived and lived a long life, Helle lost her balance after they’d been flying for a while and fell to her death.

Detail

65 cm x 80 cm
oil on canvas
2009