Editing Celeus (section)

== Mythology ==
In the [[Homer]]ic Hymn to Demeter, Celeus was one of the original priests of Demeter, one of the first people to learn the secret rites and mysteries of Demeter's cult the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. [[Diocles (mythology)|Diocles]], [[Eumolpos]], [[Triptolemus]] and [[Polyxeinus]] were the others of the first priests.

While [[Demeter]] was searching for her daughter, having taken the form of an old woman called [[Demeter|Doso]], she received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the king of Eleusis in [[Attica, Greece|Attica]]. He asked her to nurse [[Demophon of Eleusis|Demophon]], his youngest son by Metaneira. As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make Demophon immortal by burning his mortal spirit away in the family hearth every night. She was unable to complete the ritual because Metaneira walked in on her one night and interfered with the process.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Demeter'' 5.233-291; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 1.5.1; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' 147</ref> Instead, Demeter chose to teach [[Triptolemus]], the other son of Celeus (though he was ascribed different parentages as well), the art of agriculture and, from him, the rest of Greece learned to plant and reap crops.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 5.646; ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' 4.508-560</ref> He flew across the land on a winged chariot while Demeter and [[Persephone]] cared for him, and helped him complete his mission of educating the whole of Greece on the art of agriculture.<ref>Apollodorus, 1.5.2; Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 7.18.2-3</ref>

Celeus was killed by [[Erichthonius of Athens|Erichthonius]] in a war with [[Athens]]. His mourning daughters were afterwards transformed into doves by Demeter.

[[Robert Graves]] suggested that Celeus' name can mean ‘burner’ as well as ‘woodpecker’ or ‘sorcerer’.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graves|first=Robert|title=The Greek Myths - The Complete and Definitive Edition|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|year=2017|isbn=9780241983386|pages=95}}</ref>