Erichthonius in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Erichthonius

8 passages from 5 ancient authors that tell of Erichthonius, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Explore the intriguing tale of Erichthonius, the serpent-child of Greek mythology, and his connection to the city of Athens, Athena, and the Cecropidae family. For the story in one place, read our article on Erichthonius.

Homer (1)

Homer, Iliad 20.156–258Achilles and Aeneas exchange wordsAeneas and Achilles meet between the armies, and Achilles asks why Aeneas has come out to fight him, reminding him that he once chased him down Mount Ida after taking his cattle. Aeneas answers that he will not be frightened by words, and tells his descent from Dardanus through Tros, Ilus and Laomedon, saying that Zeus gives men strength as he wills.

Apollodorus (1)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.14.1–8Cecrops, Athena and Poseidon, and the early kings of AthensCecrops, a son of the soil, is the first king of Attica, and in his reign Athena and Poseidon contend for the land and the gods award it to Athena. The section covers Cecrops's daughters, Cephalus, Cinyras and Adonis, the kings Cranaus, Amphictyon and Erichthonius (born from Hephaestus's seed), the gift of wine to Icarius and Erigone's death, and ends with Pandion and the story of Procne, Philomela and Tereus.

Euripides (2)

Euripides, Ion 987–1047Third episode: Creusa plans to poison Ion with Gorgon's bloodCreusa tells of the war of the earth-born, of how Athena slew the Gorgon and wears its skin on her aegis, and of how Athena gave Erichthonius two drops of the monster's blood, one that kills and one that heals. She says that she wears the poisonous drop in a golden bracelet, and that it is to be put in the cup of the boy at the feast, in Delphi rather than Athens. She gives the bracelet to the Old Servant, who goes to do the deed.
Euripides, Ion 255–310First episode: Creusa tells Ion of Athens and her ancestryIon asks why Creusa weeps, and she gives her name and tells him that she is the daughter of Erechtheus of Athens, whose family springs from Erichthonius, born from Earth. She tells how Athena gave the infant to the daughters of Cecrops to guard, how they opened the chest and died, and how she herself, of her father's children, alone survived. She says that her husband, Xuthus, a foreigner who won her by helping Athens in war, has come with her to ask the oracle about children.

Pausanias (3)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.2.1–6Athens: from Piraeus to the Ceramicus, tomb of Antiope, early kingsEntering Athens from Piraeus, Pausanias notes the tomb of the Amazon Antiope, the ruins of Conon’s walls and the graves of Menander and a cenotaph of Euripides, which leads him to poets at royal courts. Inside the gate he describes the building for the processions, a temple of Demeter with statues attributed to Praxiteles, the colonnades to the Ceramicus and the sanctuary of Dionysus with clay images of Amphictyon feasting the gods. He ends with the first kings of Athens, from Actaeus and Cecrops to Cranaus, Amphictyon and Erichthonius.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.18.1–9Athens: Dioscuri, Prytaneum, temple of Ilithyia and the OlympieumPausanias describes the sanctuary of the Dioscuri with paintings by Polygnotus and Micon, the precinct of Aglaurus and the story of Erichthonius’ chest, the Prytaneum, a sanctuary of Serapis and the temple of Ilithyia. He then turns to the sanctuary of Olympian Zeus, completed by Hadrian: the colossal image, the cleft where the flood waters of Deucalion’s time drained away, the statue of Isocrates, and Hadrian’s other buildings, including a temple of Hera and Panhellenian Zeus and a library.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.5.1–5Athens: the Rotunda and the eponymous heroes of the tribesNear the Council House is the Rotunda, where the presidents sacrifice, and above it stand statues of the heroes who gave their names to the Athenian tribes, among them Hippothoon, Antiochus, Ajax, Leos, Erechtheus, Aegeus, Oeneus and Acamas. Pausanias distinguishes two kings called Cecrops and two called Pandion, and tells of Pandion’s exile at Megara and of Tereus, Procne and Philomela. He adds the later tribes named after Attalus, Ptolemy and the Emperor Hadrian, and mentions Hadrian’s benefactions.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (1)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 2.94–182Memnon comes to TroyMemnon arrives with a host of Aethiopians and is welcomed by Priam, who pledges him in the golden cup that Hephaestus made and that passed down through the kings of Troy. Memnon goes to his rest. On Olympus Zeus tells the gods that tomorrow's battle will cost many lives and that none of them may intervene.