Aglauros (daughter of Kekrops)

Jasper van der Laanen : The daughters of Kekrops free Erichthonios, oil on copper, 55 × 73 cm

Aglauros (also Agraulos ; Greek  Ἄγλαυρος or Ἄγραυλος ) is the daughter of King Kekrops I of Athens and Aglauros in Greek mythology . She had two sisters, Herse and Pandrosus , and a brother Erysichthon . The three sisters are also called aglaurids after their mother .

There are two different variants of the death of Aglauros: When Eumolpos went to war against Erechtheus and it lasted longer, the Athenians received an oracle stating that the war could only be ended by a voluntary sacrifice. Aglauros then threw himself from the acropolis wall and died. Because she saved the city in this way, a sanctuary, the so-called Aglaureion , was consecrated to her at the place where she died. However, because of her sins (from the second legend), this was only allowed to be built below the Acropolis of Athens . From then on, the young men had to take oath of the flag when they declared their legal age and made military detention .

According to the second legend, the three sisters Aglauros, Herse and Pandrosos received a box from the goddess Athena for safekeeping. Despite being forbidden to look into the box, Aglauros and Herse opened the box in which the young Erichthonios was lying. Thereupon the two were beaten mad and threw themselves into the sea. Ovid finally has Hermes transform it into a stone with ugly spots.

Together with Ares she had the daughter Alcippe . With Hermes she is said to have had a son Keryx .

swell

1. ^ Pausanias , Journeys in Greece , 1, 2, 6.
2. ^ Philochoros , Fragmenta historicorum graecorum , 328 F 105-106.
3. Jump up ↑ Herodotus , Historien , 8, 53.
4. ^ Pausanias, Travels in Greece , 1, 18, 2.
5. ↑ Demosthenes , On the Deception , 19, 303.
6. ↑ Plutarch , Alcibiades , 15, 4.
7. ^ Hyginus Mythographus , Fabulae , 166.
8. ^ Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius , Mythorien , 2, 11.
9. ^ Ovid , Metamorphosen , II, 708-832.
10. ↑ Libraries of Apollodorus , 3, 180.
11. ^ Pausanias, Travels in Greece , 1, 38, 3.

literature

• Roscher: Aglauros 2) . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1.1, Leipzig 1886, Col. 105-107 ( digitized version ).
• Johannes Toepffer - Kurt Wachsmuth : Aglauros, Agraulos 2 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 826-830.
• Gerhard Fink : Who´s who in ancient mythology , Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1993, ISBN 3-423-30362-X
• Apollodor, The Greek world of legends, Apollodors Mythological Library , Parkland Verlag, Cologne, 1997, ISBN 3-88059-932-7
• Herodotus, Historien , Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart, 1971, ISBN 3-520-22404-6
• Pausanias, Travels in Greece , Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich, 1987, ISBN 3-7608-3678-X .

Web links

• Aglauros in the Greek Myth Index (English)