Who is Erechtheus?

Definition of the glossary term Erechtheus

Mar 4, 2006 Robin Fowler

Definition of the glossary term Erechtheus

Erechtheus was an indigenous (and mythical) founder and king of Athens, whose mother was Gaia, or Mother Earth. He was raised to adulthood by Athena.

According to an oracle, the survival of Athens depended on the sacrifice of one of his daughters. He sacrifices one, Chthonia, and the other two, Protogeneia and Pandora, kill themselves. Upon his death (according to mythology, he was killed by Poseidon's trident), he was made divine, and his palace, located on the Acropolis, was made into a temple (the first temple on the Acropolis by some accounts). He was worshipped as one of the original patron gods of Athens.

The Erechtheion, located on the Athenian Acropolis, was named for him.

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