- "Ageless. Indestructible. I believe its mystical powers ensured victory to any empire that possessed it."
- ―Daan van Rooijen[src]
The Golden Fleece was an artifact sought out by Indiana Jones in 1941.
History[]
The Golden Fleece was made from Chrysomallos, a golden ram created by the goddess Hecate (disguised as the shade of Nephele) to save the children Phrixus and Helle. The ram was later sacrificed by the ancient Colchians and a huge serpent guarded the tree from which the fleece was hung. The fleece itself was ageless and indestructible, and its mystical powers ensured victory to any empire that possessed it.
Eventually Jason, along with the Argonauts, stole the fleece from the tree, returned it to Greece, and their warlike Mycenaean civilization flourished. Through deceit and betrayal, the fleece eventually slipped away from the Greeks. Over the centuries, it passed to the Romans, the Byzantines, and finally into the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
All was well until the sixteenth century, when Selim II (also known as Selim the Sot), became enraged one night at the crying of his youngest child. He proceeded to smother the child using the fleece of the ram. Desecrated, the Golden Fleece ceased to exert its magical influence which led to downfall of the Ottoman Empire. The useless fleece was forgotten, believed to be discarded in a storeroom of Topkapi Palace.
Around 1921, some Ottoman antiquities from Topkapi Palace went to auction, and an aspiring painter named Mehmed Sarper served as the official auction secretary. He created the transcript of the auction which included the ram's fleece. When the fleece didn't sell, he took it home and used the backside as a canvas for a portrait. Sarper eventually gave up on his career as an artist, opened an antique shop and put the painting up for sale.
In April 1941, Sarper was visited in his shop by Daan van Rooijen, an acquaintance, and two others, Indiana Jones and the pregnant Omphale Kiapos. While Sarper tried to exchange friendly banter, van Rooijen went straight to the point and brought up Sarper's role as the auction secretary and the ram's fleece. Sarper easily recalled the fleece and pointed out the portrait in his store. Jones took down the portrait as Sarper lamented that no one had ever wanted to buy it. Immediately, handfuls of money appeared and Sarper completed the sale, not knowing how valuable his 'canvas' was.
Hecate reunited with Chrysomallos.
While celebrating, van Rooijen revealed that he wanted the fleece for himself the whole time. After knocking Ompale and Jones out with drugs slipped into their drinks, van Rooijen fled but Jones later found him strangled to death with Jones's own whip by the Cult of Hectate. The cult proceeded to take the fleece to the Valley of Hecate where it was stabbed with the Knife of Atreus, restoring its mystic powers. At the same time, Omphale gave birth to her son and the beast that Jason sent to its hell over a millenia before was returned. Jones was able to stop it by offering the baby to Hectate herself who then destroyed the serpent. Her last action before leaving was to turn the fleece back into the ram it came from so long ago and the restored Chrysomallos ascended into Hecate's open arms.
Appearances[]
Sources[]
- The World of Indiana Jones
- Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
- Indiana Jones action figures (Pack: The Lost Wave)
- Indiana Jones World Map
