You’ve probably heard of an old story called “Jason and the legendary golden fleece” at some point in your travels—it’s a wild one—a mixture of mythical gods, mystery, legend, and lore with a few anthropological truths sprinkled in for good measure. Not only did it take place in the western portion of modern-day Georgia, but elements of the tale hint at a little-known fact about this little known-country: The ancient Georgians invented gold mining.

And so, the story begins in ancient Greece with Jason’s father, king of the island of Iolcus. His father was unjustly dethroned by Jason’s uncle, setting up the main motive for young Jason as he comes of age: He must regain his father’s stolen kingdom. Meanwhile, Pelias, the nasty uncle, was forewarned by a wise old man, an oracle as they were called, that Jason would someday seek revenge. Pelias decided to send Jason on a ridiculously impossible mission, one that could never be completed and would probably get Jason killed: Go to the country of Georgia, or Colchis as it was called back then, and rescue the legendary golden fleece. The fleece was the hide of a mythical golden ram that Zeus, the most powerful god of all, had presented to the ruler of Georgia as a gift. The legend is, without a doubt, a nod to a real-life fact that Georgia is the oldest gold-mining culture on earth.

So Jason had a ship built by a fellow named Argus. Argus names the ship after himself. The Argo attracts a talented crew, including the legendary Hercules, and they nickname themselves the “Argonauts.” Jason and his Argonauts make their way to western Georgia over the treacherous Black Sea, where they land and meet the king. Jason asks the king, Aeëtes, to hand over the golden fleece. The king says, “sure, but I have several impossible tasks for you to perform first,” thus ensuring he will remain the owner of the treasure.

Jason, meanwhile, picks up a girlfriend, the king’s daughter, who is named Medea. This area of Georgia became quite well-known for healing, and the word “medicine” is actually traced back to this woman Medea. So when the dad, Aeëtes the king, instructs Jason to plow the land using two oxen with fire spewing from their nostrils and sow the earth with teeth from a dragon he gives Jason, the king fails to mention that sowing the dragon teeth will spawn a large army of warriors excited about attacking Jason and his crew. Medea steps in with invincibility ointments and tells Jason to throw a large rock into the center of the warriors. The warriors, unable to identify the source of the rock, attack each other and Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts all slip away in the chaos, taking the golden fleece back to Greece.

Jason presents the treasure to his uncle, he’s made king, and they all live happily ever after.

Until Jason is unfaithful with a princess and Medea kills all their children and banishes herself from the land... then... whoever was left lived happily ever after.