| Aglaurus | |
|---|---|
Princess ofAthens | |
 Mercury and Herse from the series “Götterlieben” (Prinmaking), Hamburg. | |
| Abode | Athens |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Cecrops I andAglaurus |
| Siblings | Herse,Pandrosus, andErysichthon |
| Consort | Ares,Hermes |
| Offspring | Alcippe,Ceryx |
InGreek mythology,Aglaurus (/əˈɡlɔːrəs/;Ancient Greek:Ἄγλαυρος) orAgraulus (/əˈɡrɔːləs/;Ἄγραυλος) was the daughter of theAttic kingCecrops I andAglaurus, the daughter ofActaeus. By the godAres, she was the mother ofAlcippe.
Aglaurus was the daughter of KingCecrops and anotherAglaurus, daughter of KingActaeus. She was the sister ofHerse,Pandrosus and possibly,Erysichthon. Aglaurus had two offspring by two different gods,Alcippe (withAres) andCeryx (withHermes). There were numerous versions of her myth.[1]
The earliest writer to mention her isEuripides in his playIon, lines 22–23 and 484–485. In Moses Hadas and John Mclean's 1960 Bantam Classics translation they haveEuripides say:
Later, speaking of "a haunt ofPan":
In another version of the story, as told by theBibliotheca,Hephaestus attempted to rapeAthena but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on the ground, impregnatingGaia. Gaia did not want the infantErichthonius, so she gave the baby to the goddessAthena. 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 theAcropolis,[2] or, in theFabulae, into the sea.[3]
An alternative version of the same story is that, while Athena was away bringing a limestone mountain from thePallene 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 (nowMount Lycabettus). 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 was at one time involved in a long and protracted war, and anoracle 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 ofarmor, to take an oath that they would always defend their country to the last.[4]
According toOvid,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.[5] It is in reference to this myth thatDante places her on the second terrace ofPurgatory, alongsideCain, to serve as God's reins against jealousy.
One of theAtticdemes (Agraule) derived its name from this heroine, and a festival and mysteries were celebrated at Athens in honor of her.[6] According toPorphyry, she was also worshiped inCyprus, where human sacrifices were offered to her down to a very late time.[7] Mythographers believe Aglaurus to have an origin distinct from that of her sisters, due in part to the fact that she hadher own sanctuary near theAcropolis,[8] and unlike her sister Pandrosus, was more associated with young men or soldiers (epheboi) than with infants. She was particularly associated with the festival ofAthena called thePlynteria.[9]
The Agraulia (ἀγραυλία) was a festival celebrated by the Athenians in honour of Agraulos.[10]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Agraulos".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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