GOLDEN-Fleece, in the ancient mythology, was the skin or fleece of the ram upon which Phryxus and Hella are supposed to have swam over the sea to Colchis; and which being sacrificed to Jupiter, was hung upon a tree in the grove of Mars, guarded by two brazen-hoofed bulls, and a monstrous dragon that never slept; but was taken and carried off by Jason and the Argonauts.
Many authors have endeavoured to show that this fable is an allegorical representation of some real history, particularly of the philosophers stone. Others have explained it by the profit of the wool trade to Colchis, or the gold which they commonly gathered there with fleeces in the rivers. See ARGONAUTS.