Eumolpos

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Eumolpos ( Greek  Εὔμολπος , the beautiful singing ) is in Greek mythology a Thracian king who immigrated to Eleusis , son of Poseidon and Chione , distinguished as a warrior, priest of Demeter and singer.

myth

When Chione was pregnant by Poseidon, she kept this a secret from her father Boreas , gave birth to Eumolpos in secret and threw him into the sea. Poseidon received him and took him to Ethiopia to his daughter Benthesikyme , who raised him. He married a daughter of the king of Ethiopia. But since he assaulted his wife's sister, he was banished. So he returned with his son Immarados (who is named in the library of Apollodor Ismaros ) to his native Thrace.

Immarados married a daughter of Tegyrios , king of Thrace. Since either Immarados or Eumolpos, there are various traditions, wanted to overthrow Tegyrios, both were expelled from the country and so ended up in Eleusis. How Eumolpos came to the throne of Thrace is also told differently: either Immarados died and Eumolpos was able to return and received the throne from Tegyrios, or Tegyrios forgave Eumolpos on his deathbed and gave him rulership.

When a war broke out between the Eleusinians and Athens, Eumolpos gave the former aid, but was slain by Erechtheus with Immarados and their ally Phorbas . According to other tradition, only his son Immarados fell and Eumolpos himself concluded a settlement with the Athenians, according to which Erechtheus should rule Athens as king, but Eumolpos and the daughters of Keleos ( Diogeneia , Pammerope and Saisara ) should preside over the service of Demeter to Eleusis. Hence, Eumolpos was ascribed the introduction of the Eleusinian Mysteries and writings on them were written under his name.

The successor to the priestly ministry is said to have become Keryx , either a younger son of Eumolpos or the son of Aglauros . Among the descendants of Eumolpos, the Eumolpids , and the descendants of Keryx, the Keryks, the dignity of the hierophant in Eleusis became hereditary.

According to Alexandrian poets , Eumolpos was also Heracles' teacher in music and in the mysteries. Heracles was particularly interested in the mysteries in order to get to Hades and get the hellhound Kerberos from there . According to Hyginus Mythographus , he won the prize at the funeral games for Pelias in song (for the flute play of Olympos).

swell

  1. ↑ a b Library of Apollodor , 3, 201.
  2. ^ Pausanias , Travels in Greece , 1, 5, 2.
  3. ↑ a b Pausanias, Travels in Greece , 1, 38, 3.
  4. ^ Libraries of Apollodorus , 2, 122.

literature

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