In
Greek mythology, Cecrops II (;
Ancient Greek: Κέκροψ, Kékrops; gen.: Κέκροπος) was the legendary or semi-legendary seventh king of
Athens and in whose reign the deeds of
Dionysus and
Perseus occurred.
[1]
Family
Cecrops was the son of
Pandion I, king of
Athens
[2]
[3] and possibly the
naiad
Zeuxippe, and thus brother to
Erechtheus,
Butes,
Procne,
Philomela and
Teuthras.
[4] In some accounts, his parents were identified to be King Erechtheus and the naiad
Praxithea and thus he was brother to
Pandorus,
Metion,
[5]
Protogeneia,
Pandora,
Procris,
Creusa,
Orithyia and
Chthonia.
[6] His other possible siblings were
Orneus,
[7]
Thespius,
[8]
Eupalamus,
[9]
Sicyon
[10] and
Merope.
[11]
Cecrops married
Metiadusa, daughter of Eupalamus (his brother
[9] or a son of Metion
[12]), by whom he became the father of his heir,
Pandion II.
[13]
Mythology
After
Poseidon having destroyed Erechtheus and his house during the war between Athens and
Eleusis, Cecrops being the eldest of the dead king's children, succeeded to the throne.
[12] He was chosen by the appointed judge Xuthus, his brother-in-law, who was accordingly banished from the land by the rest of the sons of Erechtheus.
[14]
After ruling for 40 years,
[15] he was ousted by
Metion and
Pandorus, and fled to
Aegilia or Aegialea where he would die.[
citation needed]
Cecrops was succeeded in Athens by his son
Pandion II (though Pandion II has also been said to be his nephew, the son of Erechtheus[
citation needed]).
Notes
-
^
Eusebius,
Chronography
66
-
^
Pausanias,
9.33.1
-
^ Cecrops was identified as the brother of Erechtheus and thus, the son of Pandion I as cited in
Jerome,
Chronicon
B1347 & Eusebius, Chronography
66
-
^
Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v.
Thespeia
-
^
Apollodorus,
3.15.1
-
^
Suida, s.v.
Maidens, Virgins
-
^
Pausanias,
2.25.6;
Plutarch, Theseus 32.1; Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v.
Orneiai
-
^
Diodorus Siculus,
4.29.2
- ^
a
b Diodorus Siculus,
4.76.1
-
^ Pausanias,
2.6.5, citing
Hesiod (
Ehoiai fr. 224) for
Erechtheus
-
^ Plutarch, Theseus 19.5
- ^
a
b Apollodorus,
3.15.5
-
^ Apollodorus,
3.15.1; Pausanias,
1.5.3
-
^ Pausanias,
7.1.2
-
^ Jerome, Chronicon
B1347
References
-
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. ISBN 0-674-99135-4.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Greek text available from the same website.
-
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.
-
Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, Lives with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Greek text available from the same website.
-
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.
ISBN
0-674-99328-4.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
- Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
-
Stephanus of Byzantium, 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.
-
Suida, Suda Encyclopedia translated by Ross Scaife, David Whitehead, William Hutton, Catharine Roth, Jennifer Benedict, Gregory Hays, Malcolm Heath Sean M. Redmond, Nicholas Fincher, Patrick Rourke, Elizabeth Vandiver, Raphael Finkel, Frederick Williams, Carl Widstrand, Robert Dyer, Joseph L. Rife, Oliver Phillips and many others.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.