Argonautica only defended by birds. They fight off the birds and then chance upon four survivors of a shipwreck. These are the four sons of the exiled Greek hero, Phrixus, and they are also grandsons of Aetes, king of Colchis. Jason welcomes them as god-sent allies in his quest for the Golden Fleece. Approaching Colchis, the Argonauts see the eagle of Zeus flying to and from the Caucasus mountains, where it feeds on the liver of Prometheus. It glides through the air as large as another ship, disturbing the Argo's sails as it passes overhead. Soon after, the heroes enter the
Order of the Golden Fleece rescued the fleece's reputation by identifying it instead with the fleece of Gideon that received the dew of Heaven. The badge of the Order, in the form of a sheepskin, was suspended from a jewelled collar of firesteels in the shape of the letter B, for Burgundy, linked by flints; with the motto "Pretium Laborum Non Vile" ("No Mean Reward for Labours") engraved on the front of the central link, and Philip's motto "Non Aliud" ("I will have no other") on the back (non-royal knights of the Golden Fleece were forbidden to belong to any other order of knighthood). With