Erechtheus

This article is about the son of Pandion I and Zeuxippe. For his grandfather that he was named after, see Erichthonius of Athens.

Erechtheus (Ancient Greek: Ἐρεχθεύς) was the son of King Pandion I of Athens. He succeeded his father as king. He had many sons including Metion and Orneus. When Erectheus died, Xuthus his son in law chose, Cecrops II, to be king. Metion and Orneus exiled Cecrops II and Metion ruled over Athens. However, Pandion II (son of Cecrops II) succeeded Metion upon the latter's death.

Origin[]

The origin of this second Erectheus was for ancient authors to give a historicizing genealogy and fill the gap between the mythical kings of Athens. Scholars believe that Erechtheus was the earliest king of Athens as evident by the city's origin story as Poseidon's salt water spring was called the "Sea of Erechtheus" implying that Erechtheus was an earlier figure and only using Cecrops I as am explanation for the contest.

The name Erichthonius is carried by a son of Erechtheus, but Plutarch conflated the two names in the myth of the begetting of Erechtheus. Early Greek texts do not distinguish between Erichthonius and Erechtheus, but by the fourth century BC, during Classical times, they are distinct figures.

Mythology[]

His reign was marked by the war between Athens and Eleusis, when the Eleusinians were commanded by Eumolpus, coming from Thrace. An oracle declared that Athens' survival depended on the death of one of the three daughters of Erechtheus. Perhaps this means the three unmarried daughters. In one version it is Chthonia, the youngest, who is sacrificed. In another, it is both Protogeneia and Pandora, the two eldest, who offer themselves up. In any case the remaining sisters (excepting Orithyia who had been kidnapped by Boreas), or at least some of them, are said to kill themselves. The story of the unfortunate daughters of Erechtheus is comparable to those of the daughters of Hyacinthus of Lacedaemon, and of the daughters of Leos.

In the following battle between the forces of Athens and Eleusis, Erechtheus won the battle and slew Eumolpus, but then himself fell, struck down by Poseidon's trident. According to fragments of Euripides' tragedy Erechtheus, Poseidon avenged his son Eumolpus' death by driving Erechtheus into the earth with blows of his trident.

The ending lines of Euripides' tragedy were recovered in 1965 from a papyrus fragment. They demonstrate for the scholar Burkert that "the founding of the Erechtheum and the institution of the priestess of Athena coincide." Athena resolves the action by instructing Erichtheus' widow Praxithea:

“	...and for your husband I command a shrine to be constructed in the middle of the city; he will be known for him who killed him, under the name of 'sacred Poseidon'; but among the citizens, when the sacrificial cattle are slaughtered, he shall also be called 'Erechtheus'. To you, however, since you have rebuilt the city's foundations, I grant the duty of bringing in the preliminary fire-sacrifices for the city, and to be called my priestess.	”
–Peter Bing's English rendering of Burkert's translation of Erechtheus, Euripides

In the Athenian king-list, Xuthus, the son-in-law of Erechtheus, was asked to choose his successor from among his many sons and chose Cecrops II, named for the mythic founder-king Cecrops. Thus Erechtheus is succeeded by Cecrops II, his brother, according to a fragment from the poet Casto. But according to Pseudo-Apollodorus he was succeeded by his son.

Family[]

Erechtheus was father, by his wife Praxithea, of sons: Cecrops, Pandorus, Metion and of six daughters, the eldest was Protogeneia, Pandora, Procris, Creusa, Oreithyia and Chthonia. Sometimes, his other mentioned children were Orneus, Thespius, Eupalamus, Sicyon, and Merope.

According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, Erechtheus II had a twin brother named Butes who married Erechtheus' daughter Chthonia, the "earth-born". The brothers divided the royal power possessed by Pandion, Erechtheus taking the physical rule but Butes taking the priesthood of Athena and Poseidon, this right being passed on to his descendants.

Hellenic Genealogy in Greek mythology

Deucalionides