Abstract

A people living in the valley of the Phasis River at the eastern end of the Euxine (Black) Sea, in modern-day Georgia (BA 88 A2). In Greek myth, Colchis was ruled by Aeëtes, father of Medea (cf. 7.62) and keeper of the Golden Fleece, the object of the expedition of Jason and the Argonauts (1.2; 7.193). The Colchians were said to be Egyptians, because of their dark skin and curly hair, circumcision, and linen manufacturing (2.104-5). They paid tribute to the Persian Empire (3.97) and fought in Xerxes’ invasion force in 480 B.C.E. (7.79).