Chalciope (; ), in Greek mythology, was a Colchian princess as the daughter of King Aeëtes.Apollonius Rhodius, 2.1149; Scholia ad loc, 2.1122 with Herodorus as the authority; Apollodorus, 1.9.1; unnamed on Pausanias, 9.34.8; Hyginus, Fabulae 3 & 254; Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 22. Acusilaus, Hesiod and Hesychius referred to her as Iophossa (Ιoφώσσης)Hesychius, s.v. Ἰοφῶσσα; Scholia ad Apollonius Rhodius, 2.1122 & 2.1149 while according to Pherecydes, she was called Euenia (Εύηνίαν).Scholia ad Apollonius Rhodius, 2.1149
Family Chalciope's mother was the Oceanid Idyia,Apollonius Rhodius, 3.243 compare with Apollodorus, 1.9.23 and her siblings were the witch MedeaApollodorus, 1.9.23; Hyginus, Fabulae 3,14 & 21 and Absyrtus. She married Phrixus by whom she had the following sons:
Argus, Phrontis, Melas and CytisorusApollonius Rhodius, 2.1155-1156 with scholia ad 2.1122; Apollodorus, 1.9.1 or Argus, Phrontides, Melas and CylindrusHyginus, Fabulae 3 (erroneously referred to Cytisorus as "Cylindrus"), 14 & 21 or Argos, Phrontis, Melias, Sorus, Katis and HellenTzetzes ad Lycophron, 22. some authors added Presbon.Scholia ad Apollonius Rhodius, 2.1122 with Epimenides adding Presbon to the usual list of the four sons of Chalciope and Phrixus; Pausanias, 9.34.8 where Chalciope was mentioned as the unnamed daughter of Aeetes Chalciope's marriage and family was recounted by her son Argus to Jason in the following lines:Apollonius Rhodius, 2.1147-1156
Mythology Chalciope supposedly persuaded Medea to help Jason because her sons were rescued in the island of Dia by the Argonauts after they were shipwrecked.Hyginus, Fabulae 3, 14 & 21
The following recounts the encounter between Chalciope and her sons after their rescue by the heroes of the Argo:Apollonius Rhodius, 3.256-267
When Aeetes was dethroned and banished by his brother Perses, Chalciope expressed great filial devotion and stayed by her father's side,Hyginus, Fabulae 254 even though he had killed her husband Phrixus whom he mistakenly feared to drive him away from his kingdom.Hyginus, Fabulae 3; compare with Apollonius Rhodius, 2.1150-1151 where Phrixus was implied to have died of old age
Notes
References Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1921. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius: the Argonautica, translated by Robert Cooper Seaton, W. Heinemann, 1912. Internet Archive. Hyginus, Gaius Julius, Fabulae, in The Myths of Hyginus, edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. Online version at ToposText. Tzetzes, John, Lycophronis Alexandra. Vol. II: Scholia Continens, edited by Eduard Scheer, Berlin, Weidmann, 1881. Internet Archive.