Erechtheus

Erechtheus (also Erechtheus II ; Greek  Ἐρεχθεύς , "earth shaker ") is the son of Pandion and Zeuxippe in Greek mythology . He became King of Attica after the death of his father , while his twin brother Butes became the chief priest of Athena . His sisters were Prokne and Philomela .

With his wife Praxithea he became the father of the sons Kekrops , Orneus , Thespios , Metion , Sikyon , Pandoros , Alkon and Eupalamos as well as the daughters Prokris , Krëusa , Oreithyia , Chthonia , Protogeneia , Pandora and Merope .

Myths

When the Thracian Eumolpos invaded Attica (according to other sources, Erechtheus was warred by the Eleusinians and by Eumolpos, whom they called to help), Erechtheus received the prophecy from the oracle that he would win if he sacrificed one of his daughters.

He then sacrificed the youngest (or oldest) daughter, whereupon the rest of them killed themselves. Thereupon he struck the enemy, and Eumolpos fell. But he himself was killed by Poseidon , the father of Eumolpos (or killed by Zeus at the request of Poseidon ). After Pausanias , it was not Eumolpos but his son Immarados who fell from Erechtheus' hand. Erechtheus also fell in this war.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Kekrops .

Homer calls Erichthonios Erechtheus, therefore the older Erichthonios is also called Erechtheus I and the later Erechtheus as Erechtheus II. An Attic phyle was named after him Erechtheis .

literature

• Richard Engelmann : Erechtheus . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1.1, Leipzig 1886, Col. 1296-1300 ( digitized version ).
• Karl Kerényi : The mythology of the Greeks , Vol. 1: The stories of gods and mankind . dtv, Munich 1994. ISBN 3-423-30030-2 .
• Michael Grant , John Hazel: Lexicon of ancient myths and figures . dtv, Munich 2004. ISBN 3-423-32508-9 .
• Robert von Ranke-Graves : Greek Mythology - Sources and Interpretation . rororo, Hamburg 2001. ISBN 3-499-55404-6 .
• Apollodor : The Greek world of legends. Apollodor's Mythological Library , translated by Christian Gottlob Moser and Dorothea Vollbach. Parkland Verlag, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-88059-932-7 .
• Pausanias : Traveling in Greece . Artemis Verlag, Zurich and Munich 1987, ISBN 3-7608-3678-X .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Libraries of Apollodor 3.193.
2. ↑ Pausanias 1.5.3; 7.1.2; 2.25.5; 9.26.6; 2.6.5.
3. ↑ Libraries of Apollodor 3.15, 1.
4. ↑ Scholion to Apollonios of Rhodes , Argonautika 1, 97.
5. ↑ Diodorus 4.76.1.
6. ↑ Suda , keyword Παρθένοι , Adler number: pi 668 , Suda-Online ; Photios 397.7; Michael Apostolios 14.7.
7. ↑ Plutarch , Theseus 19.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Library of Apollodorus 3.203.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Libraries of Apollodorus 3.204.
10. ↑ Pausanias 1.5.2.
11. ↑ Pausanias 1.38.2.

predecessor	Office	successor
Pandion	King of Attica	Cecrops II.