In
Greek mythology, Nephele (from
Greek: nephos, "cloud") was the goddess of Clouds who figured prominently in the story of
Phrixus and
Helle. She married
Athamus but he divorced her for
Ino. Greek myth also has it that Nephele is the cloud whom
Zeus created in the image of
Hera to trick
Ixion, since he tried to rape the goddess. Ixion and Nephele gave birth to the
Centaurs which were helped by their own mother during their struggle against
Heracles.Phrixus, son of Athamas 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 into the
Hellespont (which was named after her, meaning Sea of Helle) and drowned, 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.
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[Greek] A nymph, the first wife of Athamas, and mother of Phrixus and Helle. When she was driven away by her husband, she protected her children against the threats of their stepmother Ino.