Who is erichthonius

The sight caused Herse and Aglaulus to go insane and they threw themselves off the Acropolis. Alternatively, Athena raised Erichthonius herself. An alternative version of the same story is that, while Athena was gone bringing a mountain from Pallene to use in the Acropolis, the sisters, minus Pandrosus again, opened the box.

A crow witnessed the opening and flew away to tell Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain now Mt. Once again, Herse and Aglaulus went insane and threw themselves to their deaths off a cliff. Erichthonius later became King of Athens and implemented many beneficial changes to Athenian culture. He is said to have competed often as a chariot driver in games. Zeus was said to have been so impressed with his skill that he raised him to the heavens to become the constellation of the Charioteer Auriga after his death.

Ericthonius was succeeded by his son Pandion I. The snake is his symbol, and he is represented in the statue of Athena in the Parthenon as the snake hidden behind her shield. Myths of the World Wiki Explore. Wiki Content. List of Greek mythological figures Family tree of the Greek gods Modern understanding of Greek mythology Greek mythology in western art and literature Greek mythology Portal:Greek mythology Abantiades mythology.

Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Erichthonius of Athens. Apollodorus reflects this trend as one potential variant , making Erichthonius the son of Hephaestus and the human Atthis , the daughter of the previous king Cranaus. Apollodorus also records a story of Erichthonius expelling the autochthonous Amphictyon from Athens, marrying a Praxithea, and having a son Pandion 1 Apollodorus 3.

Other examples: Erichthonius, now the son of Amphyction, kills the terrible earthy giant Asterios and celebrates by founding the Athenaia festival Schol. Aelius Aristides, 1. Even at his height in 5th century bce Athens, Erichthonius was poorly attested, lacking elaborate mythology or cult sites.

This has led to speculation about his origin. Evidence suggests that the tale can be dated to at least the 6th century bce —primarily based on images engraved on the Amyklai Throne Paus. By the early 5th century bce , Pindar and Hellanicus relate the legend at roughly the time that the story becomes popular in vase painting, with the first recorded instance appearing around bce.

The dates of these sources suggest that stories of Erichthonius must have originated in the 6th century , if not earlier Pindar fr. Euripides apparently also told the tale at some point in the mid- 5th century , in a lost play Hyginus Astronomica 2. It must be stated though that the first definite piece of evidence that puts every piece in place Hephaestus as father, rape of Athena, Erichthonius born from the earth is dated to bce , Berlin, Berlin, Antikensammlung: Ch F unless the reconstruction of the Danais is accurate.

If Erichthonius can be firmly placed in the 6th century , his mythology or even creation may have been influenced by Pisistratus , the tyrant of Athens. Even if there is reason to doubt the actual existence of an earlier, lesser Athenaea festival, this may represent an accurate memory of the tie between Pisistratus, Erichthonius, and the creation of the Panathenaea — in this scenario, Pisistratus would have invented or adopted the myth of Erichthonius as a justification for whatever changes he made while organizing the festival.

The 5th century bce logographer Hellanicus of Lesbos also told the tale Ps. To express this new need, the Athenians adapted mythological figures who proved a connection to the land of Athens all the way back into the primordial past—Erichthonius, along with many other figures of Athenian origin, could serve that role.

This was simultaneously tied up with the development of a growing sense of national identity, which similarly needed mythological figures to support it. It is the conflict between these two ideas that may have created Erichthonius, splitting him from Erechtheus. At the heart of this issue is the confusion between Erichthonius, attested only in the 6th century , and another autochthonous king of Athens, Erechtheus, who is attested as early as Homer. These details, never elaborated on in extant myths, fit very closely the tale of Erichthonius.

Given that these earth-born origins of Erechtheus largely disappear in the 5th century , around the time that Erichthonius becomes prominent, it seems possible then that Erichthonius has been split from the original Erechtheus into two functionally identical figures.

There are many speculations on the reason that these figures were split: it is sometimes described as a specific function of their cult but the general agreement is that it has to do with the conflict between earlier eupatrid claims to the land through earth-born mythological ancestors and the development of a more generalized autochthony, which made use of those same ancestors on behalf of the entire demos.

Further, tales of supernatural birth directly from the earth were seen as monstrous and old-fashioned in the 5th century. In this view, Erichthonius removes the original, now scandalous birth narrative of the composite figure—while still providing the Athenians a direct link to the land—and Erechtheus is freed to be an autonomous, traditional hero, keeping the original mythology of kingship and death.

Even after their separation, they may have functioned as differing aspects of the same figure. Despite the attractiveness of this idea, the argumentis far from conclusively settled—certainly by the 5th century , the figures are treated as distinct by the Athenians, without controversy.

In some cases, even the names of these figures are similar—as is the case with Erysichthon and Erichthonius. There are no recorded sacrifices, altars, or temples to Erichthonius, which does lend credence to the idea that he was created relatively late, in the 5th century bce.

That being said, Erichthonius has a tentative presence in Athenian cultic life, often in connection with aitiological explanations. Pausanias too knows the story but refuses to record it 1. Even Apollodorus only regards the scandalous tale as a variant. If Erichthonius is held to be a variant of Erechtheus, this greatly expands his cultic associations, tying him to the Acropolis Erechtheum. Figure 2. Red-figured pelike, c.

Erichthonius is linked to two festivals 9 : the Panathenaea and the Arrhephoria see Festivals, Greek. The Atthidographers record that Erichthonius was the founder of the Panathenaea or the earlier Athenaea , and Hellanicus and Androtion say that the games were offered in honor of him, likely implying, at the very least, a set of sacrifices FGrH a F2; FGrH F2.

If Erechtheus and Erichthonius were functionally the same figure, then the celebration of Erichthonius at the Panathenaea should likely be understood as part of a larger cycle of festivals.

According to Walter Burkert, the death of Erechtheus was commemorated at the Skira and Dipoleia festivals, marking a period of darkness and dissolution at the end of the Athenian year. In the dark of night, they metaphorically throw themselves from the Acropolis, descending down a hidden, undergroundstaircase.

Exiting into a precinct of Aphrodite or possibly traveling to the sanctuary of Aglauros, the girls leave the basket at the foot of the waiting priestess of Athena Polias without looking inside.

With the festival acting as such a clear parallel to the story of the daughters of Cecrops, it is likely that Erichthonius received honors in the surrounding sacrifices. Each of the daughters of Cecrops mentioned in Erichthonius' story, Pandrosus, Herse, and Aglauros were individually the recipients of Athenian cult. The Pandrosion was immediately adjacent to the Erechtheum on the Acropolis which is sometimes tied to Erechtheus , and the sanctuary of Aglauros was at the base of the hill, presumably where the daughters fell after their death.

Athena decided to raise him secretly and hid him in a box. Who did Athena love? Her father Zeus wanted her to married a god. Athena refused and told her father she would never get married. How do you pronounce Erichthonius? Who did Athena marry? Most ancient Greek sources e. Homer's and Hesiod's poems agree that Athena never married and never had sex. Only three goddesses don't feel sexual desire, they are Athena, Hestia and Artemis.

How do you pronounce Hephaestus? What was Athena's child's name? Erichthonius - the divine child of Athena. The name Erichthonius the "very chthonic one" , a playful interpretation of the name Erechtheus, and used in further playful interpretations, remained the name of the mysterious child [Image: The Birth of Erichthonius by Codrus]. How did Ares and Aphrodite fell in love?