Cecrops I
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Cecrops (
Etymology and form
According to Strabo, the name of Cecrops is not of Greek origin.[4] It was said that he was born from the earth itself (an autochthon) and was accordingly called a γηγενής (gēgenḗs "native"), and described as having his top half shaped like a man and the bottom half in serpent or fish-tail form. Hence he was called διφυής (diphuḗs, "of two natures").[5] Diodorus rationalized that his double form was because of his double citizenship, Greek and barbarian.[6] Some ancients referred the epithet διφυής to marriage, of which tradition made him the founder.
Family
Apparently Cecrops married
Cecrops was the father of three daughters:
Mythology
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/C%C3%A9crops_Meyers.png/220px-C%C3%A9crops_Meyers.png)
Culture hero
Cecrops was represented in the Attic legends as the author of the first elements of civilized life such as marriage, the political division of Attica into twelve communities, and also as the introducer of a new mode of worship. He was said to have been the first who deified Zeus, and ordained sacrifices to be offered to him as the supreme Deity. Cecrops was likewise affirmed to have been the first who built altars and statues of the gods, offered sacrifices, and instituted marriage among the Athenians, who, before his time, it seems, lived promiscuously. Pausanias tells us that he forbade the sacrificing of any living creatures to the gods, as well as any sort of other offering, only allowing cakes (πέλανοι) formed into the shape of an ox with horns, called by the Athenians Pelanous, which signifies an ox. He is likewise said to have taught his subjects the art of navigation; and, for the better administration of justice and intercourse among them, to have divided them into the four tribes called Cecropis, Autochthon, Actea, and Paralia. Some likewise make him the founder of the areopagus.[8][9]
The Acropolis was also known as the Cecropia in his honor. The Athenians are said to have called themselves Cecropidæ, during the reigns of the five following kings, in his honor.
Patronage of Athens
During his reign which lasted for 50 years,
A rationalistic explanation of the fable was propounded by the eminent Roman antiquary Varro. According to him, the olive-tree suddenly appeared in Attica, and at the same time there was an eruption of water in another part of the country. So king Cecrops sent to inquire of Apollo at Delphi what these portents might signify. The oracle answered that the olive and the water were the symbols of Athena and Poseidon respectively, and that the people of Attica were free to choose which of these deities they would worship. Accordingly, the question was submitted to a general assembly of the citizens and citizenesses; for in these days women had the vote as well as men. All the men voted for the god, and all the women voted for the goddess; and as there was one more woman than there were men, the goddess appeared at the head of the poll. Chagrined at the loss of the election, Poseidon flooded the country with the water of the sea, and to appease his wrath it was decided to deprive women of the vote and to forbid children to bear their mother's names for the future.[14]
The Athenians said that the contest between Poseidon and Athena took place on the second of the month Boedromion, and hence they omitted that day from the calendar.[15]
Multiple Cecrops
The name of Cecrops occurs also in other parts of Greece, especially where there existed a town named Athenae, such as in
See also
Notes
- ^ Apollodorus, 3.14.1; Tzetzes, Chiliades 5.638 ff; Parian Chronicle, Marmor Parium 2–4 as cited in Apollodorus, 3.14.1, f.n.1
- ^ "Cecrops | King of Athens, Founder, Mythical Creature | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ Pausanias, 8.2.1; Strabo, 9 p. 397; Eustathius ad Homer, p. 1156
- ^ Strabo, 7.7.1 "Moreover, the barbarian origin of some is indicated by their names—Cecrops, Codrus..."
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, 1.28.7
- ^ Apollodorus, 3.14.2; Pausanias, 1.2.5
- ^ Pausanias, 8.2.1; Eustathius ad Homer, p. 1156
- ^ as cited in Strabo, p. 397: f.n. 49, "Thus only eleven names are given in the most important MSS., though "Phalerus" appears after "Cephisia" in some (see critical note on opposite page). But it seems best to assume that Strabo either actually included Athens in his list or left us to infer that he meant Athens as one of the twelve."
- Chronography
- ^ Herodotus, 8.55.1; Pausanias, 1.24.5 & 1.26.5; Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.70 ff.; Hyginus, Fabulae 164; Lactantius Placidus ad Statius, Thebaid 7.185
- ^ Scriptores rerum mythicarum Latini, ed. Bode, i. pp. 1, 115 (First Vatican Mythographer 2; Second Vatican Mythographer 119)
- ^ Strabo, 9.1.6 & 13
- ^ Varro in Augustine, De civitate Dei 18.9 as cited in Apollodorus, 3.14.1: f.n. 2
- ^ Plutarch, De fraterno amore 11 & Quaest. Conviv. ix.6.
- ^ Pausanias, 9.33.1; Strabo, 9.2.18 p. 407
- ^ Apollodorus, 3.15.1; Pausanias, 1.5.3
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, 1.29.1; Scholia ad Aristophanes, Plutus 773
- ^ Müller, Orchom. p. 123; Thirlwall, Greece i. p. 66
- ^ Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Cecrops"
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
References
- Antoninus Liberalis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Burkert, W. Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual (Baltimore, 1993)
- Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
- Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Euripides, The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 1. Ion, translated by Robert Potter. New York. Random House. 1938. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Euripides, Euripidis Fabulae. vol. 2. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Herodotus, The Histories with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920. Online version at the Topos Text Project. Greek text available at Perseus Digital Library.
- John Tzetzes, Book of Histories, Book V-VI translated by Konstantinos Ramiotis from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826. Online version at theio.com.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Cecrops"
- Strabo, The Geography of Strabo. Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Strabo, Geographica edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.