User:CabbageP/Triptolemus

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Triptolemus
Patron of the Eleusinian Mysteries Founder of Agriculture Judge of the Afterlife
Detail of Demeter gifting a chariot of winged dragons to Triptolemus
Abode	Eleusis, Elysium, Hades
Mount	Dragon-drawn chariot
Parents	Oceanus and Gaia, or Celeus and Metanira

Triptolemus /ˌtrɪpˈtɒlɪməs/ (Template:Lang-el), also known as Buzyges (Template:Lang-el), was a hero in Greek mythology, central to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Triptolemus' parentage is debated across sources

He was either a mortal prince and the eldest son of King Celeus of Eleusis and Metanira, or according to [Psuedo-]Apollodorus, Panyasis believed he was the son of Eleusis while Pherecydes believed he was the son of the divine son of Gaia and Oceanus (Ocean and Earth)

or the grandson of Hermes through Eleusis .

He was the ancestor to a royal priestly caste of the Eleusinian Mysteries, who claimed to be Buzygae (Βουζύγαι), that taught agriculture and performed secret rites and rituals, of which Pericles was its most famous descendant.

Mythology

The Abduction of Persephone (rename section)

While Demeter, in the guise of an old woman named Doso, was searching for her daughter Persephone (Kore), who had been abducted by Hades (Pluto), she received a hospitable welcome from Celeus. He asked her to nurse Demophon—"killer of men", a counterpart to Triptolemus— and Triptolemus, his sons by Metanira.

Demeter saw Triptolemus was sick and fed him her breast milk and placed him under the hot coals of a fire. Not only did this recover his strength but he grew instantly into manhood. As a gift to Celeus, in gratitude for his hospitality, Demeter secretly planned to make Demophon immortal by placing him in the flames of the hearth to strip him of his mortal flesh. With each day Demophon grew but she was unable to complete the ritual because she was discovered burying the babe in the fire.

Instead, Demeter gifted Triptolemus a chariot drawn by winged dragons and wheat, representative of the gift of agriculture. Demeter taught Triptolemus the art of agriculture and shared with him how to conduct her rites and taught him her mysteries. From Triptolemus, the rest of Greece learned to plant and reap crops as he flew across the land on his chariot wafting the wheat through the air to sow crops across the inhabitied earth. Demeter and Persephone, once restored to her mother, cared for him, and helped him complete his mission of educating the whole of Greece in the art of agriculture.

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Triptolemus is not a son of Celeus and Metanira but rather known as a king of Eleusis who served justice, and Demeter is asked to nurse their only son Demophon. Rather than nurse Demophon, Demeter anoints him with ambrosia, the food of the gods, breathes on him gently while holding him to her chest, and places him within the flames of fire during the night, all in an effort to make him immortal. Demeter is foiled in her plan in this retelling as well.

Triptolemus was equally associated with the bestowal of hope for the afterlife associated with the expansion of the Eleusinian Mysteries . (this could be removed or relocated)

Adventures of the hero (weird section; where did this information come from, needing to do further research)

When Triptolemus taught King Lyncus of the Scythians, the arts of agriculture, Lyncus refused to teach it to his people and then tried to murder Triptolemus. As punishment, Demeter turned Lyncus into a lynx. King Charnabon of the Getae also made an attempt on Triptolemus' life, killing one of his dragons to prevent his escape. Demeter intervened again, replacing the dragon and condemning Charnabon to a life of torment. Upon his death, Charnabon was placed in the stars as the constellation Ophiuchus, said to resemble a man trying to kill a serpent, as a warning to mortals who would think to betray those favoured by the gods.

Triptolemus on a 2nd-century Roman sarcophagus (Louvre Museum).

Eleusinian Mysteries

The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece".

In the archaic Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Triptolemus is briefly mentioned as one of the original priests of Demeter, one of the first men to learn the secret rites and mysteries of Eleusinian Mysteries: Diocles, Eumolpos, Celeus and Polyxeinus were the others mentioned of the first priests. According to Xenophon, Triptolemus first shares the rites of Demeter and Kore with Heracles, the traditional ancestor of the Spartan kings, and the Dioscuri, twin deities Castor and Pollux. He also states that Peloponnesus was the first place Triptolemus shared Demeter's agricultural gift.

Triptolemus' role at Eleusis is unique as he was one of the first men to learn the mystic rites and was a pupil of Demeter who was charged with bringing agriculture to humankind. Separate from the Mysteries, Triptolemus was thought to have a cult of his own. In the 5th-century bas-relief in the National Museum, Athens (illustration), which probably came from his temple, the boy Triptolemus stands between the two Goddesses, Demeter and the Kore, and receives from Demeter a golden ear of grain (now lost).

The Great Eleusinian Relief. Large Marble relief depicting a scene of young Triptolemus standing between Demeter and Persephone. Demeter is handing Triptolemus a ear of corn or of grain (now lost).

Triptolemus was given three commandments to living a simple and pious life: "Honor your parents", "Honor the gods with fruits"—for the Greeks, this includes grains—and "Spare the animals".

Triptolemus is also depicted as a young man with a branch or diadem placed in his hair, usually sitting on his chariot, adorned with serpents. His attributes include a plate of grain, a pair of wheat or barley ears and a scepter.

Celeus or the peasant Dysaules may be substituted for Triptolemus as the primordial Eleusinian recipient of the first gifts of the Mysteries.

Role as Judge of the Afterlife - new section to continue editing

Triptolemus acted as one of the judges of the afterlife following his death (Plato, Apology).

Comparative table of Triptolemus' family - Should I keep this table? Is is actually useful for the article?

Relation	Names		Sources
		Schol. on Hesiod	Orphic Frag.	Pher.	Mus.	Choe.	Pany.	Ovid	Sch. on Stat.	Apol.	Hyg.	Paus.	Serv.	Unknown
Parentage	Cheimarrhoos and Polymnia	✓
	Dysaules		✓									✓
	Oceanus and Gaia			✓	✓					✓		✓
	Rharos and daughter of Amphictyon					✓						✓
	Celeus and Metanira							✓		✓		✓
	Celeus and Polymnia													✓
	Eleusis						✓			✓
	Eleusinos (Eleusis) and Hyona								✓
	Eleusinos (Eleusis) and Cothonea										✓
	Eleusinos (Eleusis) and Cyntinea												✓
	Trochilus and Eleusinian woman											✓
Siblings	Eubuleus		✓									✓
	Cercyon (half-brother)					✓						✓
	Diogeneia											✓
	Pammerope											✓
	Saesara											✓