Georgia – the land of the Golden Fleece

One of the reasons why is it a good idea to visit Georgia is that you can follow the trace of Argonauts. A famous Greek myth about Argonauts is about west Georgia.

It was a powerful Colchis Kingdom (Kolkheti), where the king was Aeëtes. Argonauts arrived exactly there to take a Golden Fleece. Most of the territory that is mentioned in the legend is real and described in a correct way.

Colchis was a very rich country. They owned a Golden Fleece. It was Aries that had a golden wool and on this Fleece, it was written how to obtain the gold through the river’s sand. The Kingdom of Colchis (Egrisi by the Georgian sources) was a great kingdom of West Georgia. In ancient Greek mythology, Colchis is mentioned as the home country of Aeëtes and Medea. Medea was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, Georgia. She was a gifted healer.

The provinces of the kingdom of Colchis…

The ancient region included Abkhazia, Samegrelo, Svaneti, Racha, Imereti, Guria, Adjara and several more provinces. The name “Colchis” was firstly mentioned by Aeschylus who was an ancient Greek tragedian and by the Greek lyric poet - Pindar. The earlier writers were mentioning Colchis as Aea (Aia).

Also, in Greek sources, there was mentioned the river Phasis that is now Rioni. What about the most famous cities now they are renamed, but you can see their original and modern names: Phasis (Poti), Dioscuris (Sokhumi), Apsaros (Gonio), Archaeopolis (Nokalakevi), and Cyta (Kutaisi).

Argonauts in Georgia…

According to the reliable sources, we can assume that in XVII century BC, there was established a very powerful Colchis Kingdom, that had a lot of wealth and knowledge as I have already mentioned above. This was the main reason why Argonauts traveled there to explore a Golden Fleece and Colchis’s wealth. King Aeëtes’ daughter Medea fell in love with Jason, so Argonauts not only managed to take the Golden Fleece, but they also took Medea with them.

Many films and cartoons are made that are connected to the famous Argonauts. Of course, it is a little bit difficult to exactly follow their path. However, you can still visit the places that are described in the myth. For example, you can visit Poti, Kutaisi, the river Rioni and etc. One more fact that is interesting is that the location of city Phasis is still not founded, so it is a very controversial topic for the researchers even today.

Poti Sea Port

Poti, Georgia

Gonio Fortress

Gonio, Géorgie