athamas ruled in boeotia and had a complicated family life, several details of which are known to have played part in the "catalogue". his first children were phrixus and helle, whose mother was nephele. in what was the first episode of the argonautic saga, she gave her children a ram with a golden fleece upon which they fled the intrigues of their stepmother ino according to other sources. athamas was driven mad by the gods, perhaps because he took the young dionysus into his household, and slaughtered his and ino's son learchus; ino herself jumped into the sea with their son melicertes and became the sea-goddess leucothea. at some point before his marriage to ino, athamas had sired leucon and schoeneus by themisto, and leucon's daughters peisidice, euippe and hyperippe were given extended group treatment in the "catalogue".