< Cecrops, father of Erysichthon >
1 Origin
Cecrops was born in Boeotia in 1596 BC.
Cecrops' ancestor was Ogygus, who is said to be the ancestor of the Athenians.
Ogygus was the king of Ectenes.
At one time the name Ectenes was synonymous with the people of Boeotia.
Ectenes lived in the north of the land that would later become Thebes.
2 Family
Cecrops married Agraulus, daughter of Actaeus.
Cecrops had a son, Erysichthon.
Cecrops had a daughter, Herse.
Cecrops had daughters, Agraulus and Pandrosus.
3 Others
3.1 Emigration to Egypt
In 1580 BC, due to the outbreak of plagues and pressure from other tribes, some of the Ectenes left and others migrated to other places.
Cecrops' father migrated to the Nile Delta in Egypt and founded Sais.
Cecrops migrated with his father from Boeotia to Egypt.
3.2 Diphyes
Cecrops was called Diphyes, which means "two-formed" because he spoke another language besides Greek. It means "speaking two languages".
It is assumed that the "other language" that Cecrops spoke was the Phoenician language.
The Greeks who lived in the Nile Delta had a connection with Phoenicia, which was on the sea route from Greece to Egypt. Their relationship can be inferred from the following four things.
1) Cecrops' daughter Herse married into Tyre in Phoenicia.
2) Phoenix, the son of Agenor, married Perimede, the daughter of Oeneus, who is thought to be a descendant of Herse.
3) Phoenix became king of Tyre.
4) The Agenor family, who were driven out of Egypt, moved to Sidon near Tyre.
3.3 Emigration from Egypt to Attica
In 1562 BC, Cecrops, attempting to return to Greece from Egypt, landed at Myrrinous, a coastal area about 25 km north of Cape Sunium in Attica.
Colaenus, who lived at Myrrinous, migrated to Messenia and founded Colonides on the western peninsula at the entrance to the Gulf of Messenia.
Cecrops married Agraulus, daughter of Actaeus of Athmoneis.
3.4 Founding of Cecropia
In 1561 BC, Cecrops founded Cecropia and became the first king of Athens.
Cecrops later founded Eleusis and Athens on the Triton River near Alalcomenae in Boeotia.
3.5 Death of Erysichthon
Erysichthon, the son of Cecrops, died on the voyage to Attica after completing the rituals in Delos. He was buried in Prasiae, just south of Myrrinous.
Erysichthon built the temple of Apollo in Delos, and the Athenians had a long history of ties with Delos.
3.6 Death of Cecrops
In 1511 BC, Cecrops died of old age and was buried in the Acropolis of Athens.
