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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
AbodeEleusis, Elysium, Hades
MountDragon-drawn chariot
ParentsOceanus and Gaia, or Celeus and Metanira

Triptolemus /ˌtrɪpˈtɒlɪməs/ (Greek: Τριπτόλεμος, romanized: Triptólemos, lit. 'Tripartite warrior'), also known as Buzyges (Greek: Βουζύγης, romanized: Buzyges, lit. 'Bull-hitcher'), was a hero of Eleusis in Greek mythology, central to the Eleusinian Mysteries and is worshipped as the inventor and patron of agriculture[1][2]. Triptolemus is credited with being the first to sow seed for cultivation[3] after being taught by Demeter and is credited for the use of oxen and the plough[4]. Xenophon claims that Peloponnesus was the first place Triptolemus shared Demeter's agricultural gift[5] while Pausanias claims the Rharium plane near Eleusis was the first place to be sown for crops.[6]

Triptolemus is 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.[7]

Mythology

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Origin of Triptolemus' Agricultural Gifts

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Triptolemus' first introduction to Demeter is during Demeter's search for her daughter following the abduction of Persephone. While Demeter, in the guise of an old woman[8] named Doso[9], was searching for her daughter Persephone (Kore), who had been abducted by Hades (Pluto)[10], she received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the King of Eleusis. 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.[11] Not only did this recover his strength but he grew instantly into manhood.[11] 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.[12] With each day Demophon grew but she was unable to complete the ritual because she was discovered burying the babe in the fire.[12]

Triptolemus and Persephone, tondo of a red-figure Attic cup

Instead, Demeter gifted Triptolemus a chariot drawn by winged dragons or serpents[13] and wheat, representative of the gift of agriculture.[12] Demeter taught Triptolemus the art of agriculture and shared with him how to conduct her rites and taught him her mysteries.[14] 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[12]. Demeter and Persephone, once restored to her mother, cared for him, and helped him complete his mission of educating the whole world in the art of agriculture.[15]

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[14], and Demeter is asked to nurse their only son Demophon[16]. 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.[16] 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.[17]

Spreading the Art of Agriculture

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Marble relief of Triptolemus, Demeter, and Persephone at the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis, Greece

Triptolemus traveled to Scythia on his dragon drawn chariot to teach King Lyncus and the Scythians the art of agriculture. Bearing the gifts of Demeter, he scattered seeds across Scythia so the realm may yelid a large harvest of good food[18]. Lyncus grew envious of Triptolemus and his gift of agriculture, so he planned to murder Triptolemus while he slept, hoping that he coud recieve the praise for the harvest instead. Before Lycus could enact his plan he was twarted by Demeter who turned him into a lynx as punishment and sent Triptolemus back into the sky in her chariot.[18]

Triptolemus also traveled to the kingdom of Getae where he intended to continue to spread the art of agriculture and share grain with the people. The king of Getae, Charnabon (also spelt Carnabon) made an attempt at Triptolemus' life, seized him and ordering one of the chariot dragons to be killed keep Triptolemus from escaping. Again Demeter came to Triptolemus' rescue, returning the chariot to him and replacing the lost dragon.[19]

Traveling from Attica, Triptolemus went to the city of Patrae located near the river Peirus and the river Glaucus. The land was ruled by Eumelus, who was said to be indiginous to the land, and he was king over few subjects.[20] Triptolemus shared with him cultivated corn and taught him how to found a city, which Eumelus named Aroe from the tilling of soil or fertile land.[20] The son of Eumelus, Antheias, attempted to sow the seed of agriculture himself by using the dragon drawn chariot while Triptolemus slept, but Antheias fell from the car and was killed.[20] Eumelus and Triptolemus then founded another nearby city and named it Antheia for his lost son.[20]

Triptolemus is credited with teaching the cultivation of crops to the Pelasgian later known as the Arcadians. He taught Arcas, the son of Callisto and the King of Pelasgia (later Arcadia) following the death of Nyctimus.[21]

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

Eleusinian Mysteries

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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".[22]

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 driver of horses, the mighty Eumolpos, Celeus leader of peoples, and Polyxeinus were the others mentioned as some of the first priests.[14] According to Xenophon, Triptolemus first shares the rites of Demeter and Persephone with Heracles, the traditional ancestor of the Spartan kings, and the Dioscuri, twin deities Castor and Pollux.[5] Celeus or the peasant Dysaules may be substituted for Triptolemus as the primordial Eleusinian recipient of the first gifts of the Mysteries.[23]

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[17] as he had a temples dedicated to him in Athens and Eleusis.[3][6] It is said that temples and alters were erected in his honor because he gave the people food by cultivation and shared with them the way to not only live but to live well.[2] 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".[17]

Judge of the Afterlife

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Socrates names Triptolemus as one of the judges in the afterlife along with three sons of Zeus, Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus.[24] Each of the judges had their own roles in the afterlife: Aeacus was the doorkeeper and judged the deceased of Europe[25], Rhadamanthus was the Lord of Elysium and judged the deceased of Asia[26], and Minos was to be the deal breaker if any indeceasion was reached. Triptolemus was said to have rule over the deceased who were initated into the mysteries.[27]

Parentage

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Triptolemus' parentage is highly 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).[12] Multiple other parentage combinations have been mentioned by other authors as seen in the comparative table. Triptolemus was said to be 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.[28]

Comparative Table of Triptolemus' Parentage and Siblings According to Different Sources
Relation Names Sources
Schol. on Hesiod[29] Orphic Fragment[3] Pherecydes of Athens Musaeus of Athens Choerilus[3] Panyasis Ovid Sch. on Statius Pseudo-Apollodorus[12] Hyginus[13] Pausanias[3] Servius Athenians[3]
Parentage Cheimarrhoos and Polymnia ✓
Dysaules ✓ ✓
Oceanus and Gaia ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Rarus and daughter of Amphictyon ✓ ✓
Celeus ✓ ✓
Celeus and Metanira ✓ ✓ ✓
Celeus and Polymnia
Eleusis ✓ ✓
Eleusis and Hyona ✓
Eleusis and Cothonea ✓
Eleusis and Cyntinea ✓
Trochilus and Eleusinian woman ✓
Siblings Eubuleus ✓ ✓
Cercyon (half-brother) ✓ ✓
Diogeneia ✓
Pammerope ✓
Saesara ✓

References

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  1. ^ "Plato, Laws, Book 6, section 782b". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  2. ^ a b "Epictetus, Discourses, book 1, Of progress or improvement". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Pausanias, Description of Greece, Attica, chapter 14". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  4. ^ "Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK VII. 1 MAN, HIS BIRTH, HIS ORGANIZATION, AND THE INVENTION OF THE ARTS., CHAP. 57. (56.)—THE INVENTORS OF VARIOUS THINGS. 1 We here enter upon the third division of Pliny's Natural History, which treats of Zoology, from the 7th to the 11th inclusive. Cuvier has illustrated this part by many valuable notes, which originally appeared in Lemaire's Bibliotheque Classique, 1827, and were afterwards incorporated, with some additions, by Ajasson, in his translation of Pliny, published in 1829; Ajasson is the editor of this portion of Pliny's Natural History, in Lemaire's Edition.—B". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  5. ^ a b "Xenophon, Hellenica, Book 6, chapter 3". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  6. ^ a b "Pausanias, Description of Greece, Attica, chapter 38". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  7. ^ "TRIPTOLEMUS (Triptolemos) - Greek Demi-God of Sowing, Milling & the Eleusinian Mysteries". www.theoi.com. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  8. ^ "Hymn 2 to Demeter, line 87". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  9. ^ "Hymn 2 to Demeter, line 118". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  10. ^ "Hymn 2 to Demeter, line 40". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  11. ^ a b William Godwin (1876). "Lives of the Necromancers". p. 37.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Apollodorus, Library, book 1, chapter 5". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  13. ^ a b Hyginus. Grant, Mary (ed.). "Fabulae". topostext.org. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  14. ^ a b c "Hymn 2 to Demeter, line 449". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  15. ^ Siculus, Diodorus (1939). "The Library of History, Book V, 47-84". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  16. ^ a b "Hymn 2 to Demeter, line 213". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  17. ^ a b c Kerenyi, Karl (1967). Eleusis; archetypal image of mother and daughter. Translated by Manheim, Ralph (3rd, Translated from the original manuscript of the author ed.). New York, NY: Bollingen Foundation. pp. 120–130. ISBN 9780691019154.
  18. ^ a b "P. Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses, Book 5, line 572". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  19. ^ Hyginus. Grant, Mary (ed.). "Astronomica Book 2". topostext.org. no. 34. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Retrieved 2024-06-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ a b c d "Pausanias, Description of Greece, Achaia, chapter 18". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  21. ^ "Pausanias, Description of Greece, Arcadia, chapter 4". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  22. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica
  23. ^ "Pausanias, Description of Greece, Corinth, chapter 14". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  24. ^ Plato. "Apology". classics.mit.edu. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. The Internet Classics Archive. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  25. ^ "Apollodorus, Library, book 3, chapter 12". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  26. ^ "Homer, Odyssey, Book 4, line 554". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  27. ^ Atsma, Aaron J. "MINOS, RHADAMANTHYS & AEACUS - The Judges of the Dead of Greek Mythology". www.theoi.com. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  28. ^ Bloch, René (Berne) (2006-10-01), "Buzygae", Brill’s New Pauly, Brill, retrieved 2023-07-27
  29. ^ Scholia on Hesiod, Works and Days, 1, p. 28
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