A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

48 ERICHTHONIUS. ERIDANTIS.
as helmsman. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 185, ii. the Panathenaea, and to have built a temple of
896.)- When the Argonauts: took part in the fu- Athena on the acropolis. When Athena and Poneral games which Hypsipyle. celebrated at Lem- seidon disputed about the possession of Attica,
nos in honour of her father Thoas, Erginus also Erichthonius declared in favour of Athena. (Apolcontended for a prize; but he was ridiculed by the lod. iii. 14. ~ 1.) He was further the first who
Lemnian women, because, though still young, he used a chariot with four horses, for which reason
had grey hair. However, he conquered the sons he was placed among the stars as auriga (Hygin.
of Boreas in the foot-race. (Pind. 01. iv. 29, &c., P.A. I.c.; Virg. Georg. i. 205, iii. 113; Aelian,
with the Schol.) Later traditions represent our V. H. iii. 38); and lastly, he was believed to have
Erginus as a Milesian and a son of Poseidon. made the Athenians acquainted with the use of
(Apollon. Rhod. i. 185, &c.; Orph. Argon. 150; silver, which had been discovered by the Scythian
Apollod. i. 9. ~ 16; Hygin. Fab. 14; comp. Miil- king Indus. (Hygin. Fab. 274.) He was buried
ler, Orchomn. p. 179, &c. 2nd edit.) [L. S.] in the temple of Athena, and his worship on the
ERGI'NUS ('EpyTvos), a Syrian Greek, who acropolis was connected with that of Athena and
betrayed the citadel of Corinth into the hands of Poseidon. (Apollod. iii. 14. ~ 6; Serv. ad Aen. vii.
Aratus, by informing him of a secret path by 761.) His famous temple, the Erechtheium, stood
which it was accessible. For this service he re- on the acropolis, and in it there were three altars,
ceived 60 talents from Aratus. At a subsequent one of Poseid6n, on which sacrifices were offered
period he made an attempt to surprise the Peiraeeus, to Erechtheus also, the second of Butes, and the
in order to free the Athenians from the yoke of third of Hephaestus. (Paus. i. 26. ~- 6.)
Antigonus Gonatas: but failed in the enterprise, Erechtheus IL, as he is called, is described as a
which was disavowed by Aratus. (Plut. Arat. grandson of the first, and as a son of Pandion by
cc. 18-22, 33.) [E. H. B.] Zeuxippe, so that he was a brother of Butes,
ERIBOEA ('EploLa). There are three mythical Procne, and Philomela. (Apollod. iii. 14. ~ 8;
personages of this name. One was the wife of Paus. i. 5. ~ 3.) After his father's death, he sucAloeus (Hom. II. v. 385, &c.), the second the wife ceeded him as king of Athens, and was regarded
of Telamon (Soph. Ajax, 562; Pind. Isthim. vi. 42), in later times as one of the Attic eponymi. lie
and the third an Amazon. (Diod. iv. 16.) [L. S.] was married to Praxithea, by whom he became the
ERIBO'TES ('EpisG7's), the son of Teleon, father of Cecrops, Pandoros, Metion, Orneus,
was one of the Argonauts, and appears to have Procris, Creusa, Chthonia, and Oreithyia. (Apolacted as surgeon, as he is represented as attending lod. iii. 15. ~: 1; Paus. ii. 25. ~ 5; Ov. Met. vi.
on Oileus when he was wounded. (Apollon. 676.) His four daughters, whose names and
Rhod. Argon. i. 73, ii. 1040; Hygin. Fab. 14; whose stories differ very much in the different traValer. Flacc. Argon.) [W. A. G.] ditions, agreed among themselves to die all together,
ERICHTHO'NIUS ('EpLXOgvos). 1. There if one of them was to die. When Eumolpus, the
can be little doubt but that the names Erichthonius son of Poseidon, whose assistance the Eleusinians
and Erechtheus are identical; but whether the had called in against the Athenians, had been
two heroes mentioned by Plato, Hyginus, and killed by the latter, Poseidon or an oracle demandApollodorus, the one of whom is usually called ed the sacrifice of one of the daughters of ErechErichthonius or Erechtheus I. and the other Erech- theus. When one was drawn by lot, the others
theus II., are likewise one and the same person, as voluntarily accompanied her in death, and ErechMiiller (Orchonm. p. 117, 2d edit.) and others think, theus himself was killed by Zeus with a flash of
is not so certain, though highly probable. Homer lightning atthe request of Poseidon. (Apollod. iii.
(II. ii. 547, &c., Od. vii. 81) knows only one 15. ~ 4; Hygin. Fab. 46, 238; Plut. Parall. Gr.
Erechtheus, as an autochthon and king of' Athens; et Rom. 20.) In his war with the Eleusinians, he
and the first writer who distinguishes two person- is also said to have killed Immaradus, the son of
ages is Plato. (Crit. p. 110, a.) The story. of Eumolpus. (Pans. i. 5. ~ 2; comp. AGRAULOS.)
Erichthonius is related thus: When Hephaestus According to Diodorus (i. 29), Erechtheus was an.
wished to embrace Athena, and the goddess re- Egyptian, who during a famine brought corn to
pulsed him, he became by Ge or by Atthis, the Athens, instituted the worship of Demeter, and
daughter of Cranaus, the father of a son, who had the- Eleusinian mysteries.
either completely or only half the form of a ser- 2. A son of Dardanus and Bateia. He was the
pent. Athena reared this being without the know- husband of Astyoche or Callirrhog, and father of
ledge of the other gods, had him guarded by a Tros or Assaracus, and the wealthiest of all mortals,
dragon, and then entrusted him to Agraulos, Pan- for 3000 mares grazed in his fields, which were so
drosos, and Herse, concealed in a chest, and for- beautiful, that Boreas fell in love with them. He
bade them to open it. (Hygin. Poet. Astr. ii. 13.) is mentioned also among the'lkings of Crete. (Hom.
But this command was neglected; and on opening II. xx. 220, &c.; Apollod. iii. 12. ~ 2; Dionys,
the chest and seeing the child in the form of a ser- i. 62; Ov. Fast. iv. 33 Serv. ad Aen. viii. 1. 30;
pent, or entwined by a serpent, they were seized Strab. xiii. p. 604.) [L. S.]
with madness, and threw themselves down the ER1'DANUS ('Hp[iavos), a river god, a son of
rock of the acropolis, or, according to others, into Oceanus and Tethys, and father of Zeuxippe. (Hethe sea. The serpent escaped into the shield of siod. Tieog. 338; Hygin. Fab. 14.) He is called
Athena, and was protected by her. (Apollod. iii. the king of rivers, and on its banks amber was
14. ~ 6; Hygin. Fab. 166; Pans. i. 2. ~ 5, 18. ~ 2; found. (Virg. Georg. i. 482; Ov. Mlet. ii. 324.) In
Eurip. Ion, 260, &c.; Ov. Met. ii. 554.) When Homer the name does not occur, and the first writer
Erichthonius had grown up, he expelled Amphic- who mentions it is Hesiod. Herodotus (iii. 15)
tyon, and usurped the government of Athens, and declares the name to be barbarous, and the invenhis wife Pasithea bore him a son Pandion. (Apol- tion of some poet. (Comp. Strab. v. p. 215.) The
lod. 1. c.) He is said to have introduced the wor- position which the ancient poets assign to the
ship of Athena, to have.instituted the festival of river Eridanua differed at different times. [L. S.]