Ancient region on the Black Sea.
Now the western part of the Republic of Georgia, Colchis was in Greek mythology the home of Medea and the destination of the Argonauts . Historically, it was colonized by Milesian Greeks with the support of the native Colchians, whose ethnic composition is unclear. After the 6th century BC it was nominally controlled by Persia; it passed to Mithradates VI Eupator , the king of Pontus, in the 1st century BC and later came under Roman rule.