The οrigins of the Athenians

Stratiki, Kerasia A. (2025) The οrigins of the Athenians. ACTA ANTIQUA ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE, 65 (3-4). pp. 441-466. ISSN 0044-5975

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Abstract

The cult of Greek heroines and heroes owes its origins and its existence over the centuries to the birth and organization of the Greek city as a community organized around well-defined social rules. The heroic cult answers the question of the origins of the πόλις: the autochthonous heroes, direct descendants of the land of the πόλις, are those who best personify the rights of citizens over their country, but also the royal origins of the Greek πόλις, since the first members of the city are also the first kings of this one. The myth and cult of these primordial heroes authenticate the rights of the Greeks over their homeland. The most characteristic examples of this idea are that of Cecrops and Erichthonius, the autochthonous heroes of Athens.

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