ERECHTHEUS, in Greek legend, a mythical king of Athens, sometimes identified with Erichthonius, oftener distinguished from him. According to Homer, who knows nothing of Erich thonius, he was the son of the earth, brought up by Athena, with whom his story is closely connected. In the later story, Erich thonius, son of Hephaestus and Ge (Earth), was handed over by Athena to the three daughters of Cecrops—Aglauros (or Agrau los), Herse and Pandrosos—in a chest, which they were forbidden to open. Two of them disobeyed the injunction, and when they saw the child (which had the form of a snake, or round which a snake was coiled) they went mad with fright, and threw them selves from the Acropolis (or were killed by the snake). Athena herself then undertook the care of Erichthonius, who, when he grew up, drove out Amphictyon and took possession of the king dom of Athens. Here he established the worship of Athena, insti tuted the Panathenaea, and built an Erechtheum. The Erechtheus of later times was supposed to be the grandson of Erechtheus Erichthonius, and was also king of Athens. When Athens was attacked by Eumolpus (q.v.) victory was promised Erechtheus if he sacrificed one of his daughters. Eumolpus was slain and Erech theus was victorious, but was himself killed by Poseidon, the father of Eumolpus, or by a thunderbolt from Zeus. The contest be tween Erechtheus and Eumolpus formed the subject of a lost tragedy by Euripides. The name Erichthonius (perhaps "good earth") and his connection with snakes may indicate that he is an earth-god.
See Eurip., frag. 925 (Nauck), Ion, 20, 268, 1427; Antigonus, hist. mirab., 12 ; Ovid, Met., ii. 755 ; Apollodoros, iii., i88. Hyginus, Poet. ast ron. ii. 13 ; Pausanias i. 2. 5. 8 ; E. Ermatingen, Die attische Autoch thonensage (1897) ; B. Powell, in Cornell Studies, xvii. (1906), Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, i. 270; Frazer's Pausanias, ii. 169 and the mythological dictionaries.