[Greek heroic] Erechtheus the First, known as Erechtheus or Erechthonios (not to be confused with Erechthonius the Second, believed to be the son of Pandion and the nymph Zeuxippe), he was, according to legend, an early king of Athens. Thought to be the son of the goddess Gaia, Erechtheus - the "earth-born king of Athens" (ref: Iliad) - was raised by Athena, the patron of Athens, as her own child. Erechtheus was worshipped, together with Athena on the Acropolis after he gained divine honors during his life. He was also associated in his lifetime with Poseidon, god of the sea, and Cecrops, a mythical king of Athens who was half man and half snake. The snake was also the sacred animal of Erechtheus, and opinion is divided as to whether Cecrops and Erechtheus were actually one and the same person. Others say that Cecrops was the son of Erechtheus. Erechtheus had two daughters, Creusa and Procris, who married Cephalus. According to legend, Erectheus resided atop the Acropolis in his palace. Some...
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[Greek heroic] Erichthonius - the Athenian mythical king According to the tradition the parents of Erichthonius were Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithies and Gaia, the goddess of the earth. Apollodoros was describing a story about Hephaestus and his strange encounter with Athena, when he tried to rape her. He was not successful, but from sperma-impregnated earth Erichthonius was born. Because Gaia did not like such a situation, she did not want this child and so Athena took care of Erichthonius. She brought him within a closed basket into the sanctuary of the Athenian Acropolis and insisted to her priestesses - Aglauros, Herse and Pandrosos, the daughters of the first Athenian king Cecrops - not to open the basket. Once, when Athena was absent, while bringing from the peninsula Pallena a mountain for the Acropolis, her orders were broken. Pausanias noticed, that Pandrosos obeyed, but her sisters were curious and opened the chest or basket with Erichthonius. Unfortunately, one crow saw th...
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