Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Aglaurus (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Ἄγλαυρος means 'dewfall') or Agraulus (; means 'rustic one') was an

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

princess.

Family

Aglaurus was the daughter of King Cecrops and another

Aglaurus Aglaurus (; ) or Agraulus (; ) is a name attributed to three figures in Greek mythology. *Aglaurus, the daughter of Actaeus, the first king of Attica. She married Cecrops and according to Apollodorus became the mother of Erysichthon, Agraulus, ...

, daughter of King

Actaeus In Greek mythology, Actaeus (; ), also called Actaeon, was the first king of Attica, according to Pausanias. Legend Actaeus was said to have ruled over the kingdom of Attica, named Acte ( ''Akte'') or Actica. The ancient Parian Chronicle ...

. She was the sister of

Herse In Greek mythology, Herse ( "dew") may refer to the following figures: *Herse, daughter of Selene by Zeus, see Ersa. * Herse, daughter of Cecrops. *Herse, one of the many consorts of King Danaus of Libya and mother of his daughters Hippodice an ...

Pandrosus Pandrosos or Pandrosus (Ancient Greek: Πάνδροσος) was known in Greek myth as one of the three daughters of Cecrops I, the first king of Athens, and Aglaurus, daughter of King Actaeus. Family Pandrosus' two sisters were Aglauros and ...

and possibly, Erysichthon. Aglaurus had two offspring by two different gods, Alcippe (with

Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...

) and

Ceryx In Greek mythology, Ceryx ( ''Kērux'', literally "herald") was a member of the Athenian royal family as the son of Hermes by either the princesses, Pandrosus or Agraulus. Mythology Ceryx was, like his father, a messenger. But the ''kêryx'' ...

(with

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

). There were numerous versions of her myth.

Mythology

The earliest writer to mention her is

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

in his play ''Ion'', lines 22–23 and 484–485. In Moses Hadas and John Mclean's 1960 Bantam Classics translation they have

say: :"(Athena) gave Erichthonius to Aglaurus' daughters to keep" Later, speaking of "a haunt of Pan": :"There the daughters of Aglaurus still tread the measures of their dance, on the green lawns before the shrine of

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

(Athena)" In another version of the story, as told by the '' Bibliotheca'',

Hephaestus Hephaestus ( , ; wikt:Hephaestus#Alternative forms, eight spellings; ) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes.Walter Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' 1985: III.2. ...

attempted to rape

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on the ground, impregnating

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

. Gaia did not want the infant Erichthonius, so she gave the baby to the goddess

. Athena gave the baby in a box to three women — Aglaurus and her two sisters — and warned them to never open it. Nonetheless, Aglaurus and Herse opened the box. The sight of the infant caused them both to go insane and they threw themselves off the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

, or, according to

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

, into the sea. An alternative version of the same story is that, while Athena was away bringing a limestone mountain from the Pallene peninsula to use in the Acropolis, the sisters, minus Pandrosus again, opened the box. A crow witnessed the opening and flew away to tell Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain (now

Mount Lycabettus Mount Lycabettus (), also known as Lycabettos, Lykabettos or Lykavittos (, ), is a Cretaceous limestone hill in the Greek capital Athens. At 277 meters (908 feet) above sea level, its summit is the highest point in Central Athens and pine tree ...

). Once again, Herse and Aglaurus went insane and threw themselves to their deaths from a cliff. Another legend represents Aglaurus in a totally different light.

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

was at one time involved in a long and protracted war, and an

oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

declared that the war would cease if someone would sacrifice himself for the good of his country. Agraulos (as she is spelled in this version) came forward and threw herself off the Acropolis. The Athenians, in gratitude for this, built her a temple on the Acropolis, in which it subsequently became customary for the young Athenians, on receiving their first suit of

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

, to take an oath that they would always defend their country to the last. According to

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, Mercury loved Herse but her jealous sister, whom Ovid calls Aglauros, stood between them, barring Mercury's entry into the house and refusing to move. Mercury was outraged at her presumption and turned her to stone. It is in reference to this myth that

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

places her on the second terrace of

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

, alongside

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

, to serve as God's reins against jealousy.

Worship

One of the

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or (, plural: ''demoi'', δήμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, bu ...

s (''Agraule'') derived its name from this heroine, and a festival and mysteries were celebrated at Athens in honor of her. According to

Porphyry Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to: Geology * Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material * Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...

, she was also worshiped in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, where human sacrifices were offered to her down to a very late time. Mythographers believe Aglaurus to have an origin distinct from that of her sisters, due in part to the fact that she had her own sanctuary near the

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

8.53.1
/ref> and unlike her sister Pandrosus, was more associated with young men or soldiers (''

epheboi ''Ephebos'' (; pl. ''epheboi'', ), latinized as ephebus (pl. ephebi) and anglicised as ephebe (pl. ephebes), is a term for a male adolescent in Ancient Greece. The term was particularly used to denote one who was doing military training and pr ...

'') than with infants. She was particularly associated with the festival of

called the Plynteria.

Gallery

File:Erichthonius Released from His Basket LACMA 65.37.98.jpg, ''Erichthonius Released from His Basket'' by Antonio Tempesta (1606) File:Jakob Jordaens 015.jpg, ''Daughters of Kekrops Finding Erichthonios'' by Jacob Jordaens (1640) File:Jacob-jordaens-erichtonius.jpg, ''Les Filles de Cécrops découvrant l'enfant Érichthonios'' by Jacob Jordaens (1617) File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Discovery of the Child Erichthonius - WGA20295.jpg, ''The Discovery of the Child Erichthonius'' by Peter Paul Rubens (circa 1615) File:Pierre, Jean-Baptiste Marie - Mercury, Herse and Aglauros - 1763.jpg, ''Mercury, Herse and Aglauros'' by Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (1763) File:Rubens, Peter Paul - Finding of Erichthonius - 1632-1633.jpg, ''Finding of Erichthonius'' by Peter Paul Rubens (between 1632 and 1633) File:Willem van Herp Erichthonius.jpg, ''The finding of the infant Erichthonius by Cecrops's daughters'' by Willem van Herp (circa 1650)) File:Othea's Epistle (Queen's Manuscript) 18.jpg, Aglauros refuses Mercury admittance to her sister Herse (15 century) File:Willem de Pannemaker05.jpg, ''Aglauros Changed to Stone by Mercury'' by Giovanni Battista Lodi da Cremona (circa 1550)

Notes

References

Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed. Life and works ...

, ''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.
* Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths'', Harmondsworth, London, England, Penguin Books, 1960. *Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition.'' Penguin Books Limited. 2017. *

, ''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
* 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
*

Publius Ovidius Naso Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three ...

, ''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
*

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

, ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790–1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aglaurus, Daughter of Cecrops Metamorphoses characters Princesses in Greek mythology Women of Ares Women of Hermes Mythological people from Attica Deeds of Hermes Deeds of Athena Religion in ancient Athens Metamorphoses into inanimate objects in Greek mythology