Cecrops was the ruler of an ancient kingdom known as Attika and he is credited as the founder of Athens. This particular ruler was half man and half fish or serpent. Cecrops was supposedly born out of the Earth and this great king of Athens was a cultural hero who didn’t fight great battles or conquer vast lands. Cecrops taught the Athenians about marriage, literature and how to properly bury their dead. The actual founding of Athens is lost in the mist of times. It does not show up in recorded history until the 7th century BC when it had already existed for a long time. The legend of Cecrops places it’s founding as early as the 11th century BC which is where it is placed on the Biblical Timeline Chart.
Cecrops has an unusual beginning even for a mythological creature. Cecrops was born from an apparent rape attempt on the goddess Athena. One day Athena visited a smith shop to obtain some weapons. The owner of this shop was Hephaestus the god of smiths. When Hephaestus saw Athena he was overcome by lust to the point that he wanted her immediately.
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Since Athena was a virgin she did not succumb to his desires. She then fled away from Hephaestus who was chasing after her.
Hephaestus was a god who had a deformity that didn’t allow him to move well, but he eventually caught up with Athena. He was so worked up from his desire for her that when he caught her some of his semen fell onto her leg. Athena managed to get away from Hephaestus and when she realized that his semen was on her she wiped it off of her body in disgust. When Hephaestus’ semen had hit the ground Cecrops sprang up from the Earth.
No one knew about Cecrops, but Athena and she raised Cecrops in secrecy. She placed him inside of a box. After she placed the boy in a box she then gave it to the daughters of King Cecropia. Eventually, two of the princesses were overcome with curiosity and opened the box. Once the box was opened and its contents revealed the girls were shocked by what they saw. They happened to see a little baby boy that was half man and half reptile or fish. The princesses then went insane and committed suicide or they were killed by the baby snake. Either way, they died after seeing Cecrops in his infant form.
After this incident, Athena took Cecrops and had him live on a rocky hill called Acropolis. According to some versions of the myth, Athena made this hill for Cecrops by constructing it from rocks she found in the Pallini Sea. Cecrops eventually grew into adulthood and by this time he was ready to rule Cecropia.
Cecropia was the name of the king of Attica and the city he ruled (Cecropia)would eventually become Athens. One day Athena and Poseidon were arguing about who was going to name the city. They decided to settle the heated debate by giving divine presents to the people of Cecropia and they told Cecrops that he had to choose one of their gifts that he thought was best. The city would then be named after Athena or Poseidon.
Poseidon struck then struck the ground and water came out of the Earth. This was his gift to the people of Cecropia. Athena then hit the ground with a staff and an olive tree sprung up from the Earth. The tree represented food, wisdom and peace. That was Athena’s gift to the people of Cecropia.
Cecrops had to think about whose gift was the best and it took him a long time to decide. He eventually drank some of the water that Poseidon created, but it was bitter. After tasting the water, he decided that Athena’s gift was the best. He also claimed that the area of Cecropia had plenty of springs but not that many olive trees. So Athena won the contest and Cecropia was named Athena. Athena placed Cecrops on the throne as king and gave him wisdom on matters of life, society, and civil administration. She also taught him how to perform religious ceremonies to the gods and she was the chief deity in the city. He then taught the Athenians how to be civilized and cultured. Poseidon was angry that he lost the contest and cursed the city by giving it constant water shortages throughout its history.