Editing Eumolpus

{{Short description|Greek mythological character}}
{{about|the king of Thrace|the genus of beetles|Eumolpus (beetle)|the character in the Satyricon|Satyricon#Principal characters}}

{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Eumolpus
| deity_of = King of [[Thrace]]
| member_of = 
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| other_names = 
| affiliation = 
| cult_center = 
| abode = Thrace and later [[Eleusis]]
| consort = (1) [[Daeira]]<br>(2) [[Selene]]
| parents = [[Poseidon]] and [[Chione (daughter of Boreas)|Chione]] or<br>[[Apollo]] and [[Astycome]]
| siblings = 
| offspring = (1 [[Immaradus]]<br>(2) [[Musaeus of Athens|Musaeus]]; [[Ceryx]]; ?[[Phorbas]]
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| Roman_equivalent = 
| Etruscan_equivalent = 
}}In [[Greek mythology|Greek Mythology]], '''Eumolpus''' ({{IPAc-en|j|u|ˈ|m|ɒ|l|p|ə|s}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: Εὔμολπος ''Eúmolpos'', "good singer" or "sweet singing", derived from εὖ ''eu'' "good" and μολπή ''molpe'' "song", "singing") was a legendary king of [[Thrace]]. He was described as having come to [[Attica]] either as a bard, a warrior, or a priest of [[Demeter]] and [[Dionysus]].

==Family==
Eumolpus was the son of [[Poseidon]] ([[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] in Roman tradition) and [[Chione (daughter of Boreas)|Chione]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Classical Dictionary|year = 1831|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYuNyzOxyAkC&q=eumolpus+thracian+king&pg=PA289}}</ref> In the legend he is described as neither Greek, nor Thracian or Roman, but [[Libya]]n and a native of [[North Africa]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Atlantis|isbn = 9780875867731|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5gqK02IXlUC&q=eumolpus+thracian+king&pg=PT104|last1 = Sweeney|first1 = Emmet John|year = 2010| publisher=Algora }}</ref> though his mother Chione is said to be a Thracian princess.<ref>{{cite book|title=Interpretations of Greek Mythology (Routledge Revivals)|isbn = 9781317800248|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VyoiAwAAQBAJ&q=chione+thracian+princess&pg=PA202|last1 = Bremmer|first1 = Jan N.|date = 18 March 2014| publisher=Routledge }}</ref> An alternative genealogy also stated that Eumolpus was born to the god Apollo and the [[nymph]] [[Astycome]].<ref>[[Photius]], ''Lexicon'' s.v. ''Eumolpidai''</ref> He was the father of [[Immaradus|Immarados]] by the [[Oceanids|Oceanid]] [[Daeira]].<ref>[[Clement of Alexandria]], ''Exhortations'' [https://topostext.org/work/215#3.4 45.1]</ref>

== Mythology ==

=== Early years ===
According to the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]],<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.15.4 3.15.4].</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 1.38.2</ref> Chione, daughter of [[Anemoi#Boreas|Boreas]] and the heroine [[Oreithyia]], pregnant in secret with Eumolpus by Poseidon, was frightened of her father's reaction so she threw the baby into the ocean after giving birth to him. Poseidon however, looked after him and brought him to shore in [[Aethiopia (Classical Greek term)|Ethiopia]], where [[Benthesikyme]], a daughter of Poseidon and [[Amphitrite]], raised the child as their own. When he grew up, Eumolpus married one of Benthesikyme's two daughters by her Ethiopian husband. Eumolpus however, loved a different daughter and made an attempt upon her chastity, and was banished because of this. He went to [[Thrace]] with his son [[Ismarus (mythology)|Ismarus]] (or Immaradus) who was married to the daughter of King [[Tegyrios|Tegyrius]]. Later on, Eumolpus was discovered in a plot to overthrow King Tegyrios and was obliged to take flight and fled to [[Eleusis]] where he formed a friendship with the Eleusinians.

In Eleusis, Eumolpus became one of the first priests of [[Demeter]] and one of the founders of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]].<ref name="Hom_Hymn_Dem_147_474" /> When Ismarus died, Tegyrios sent for Eumolpus to return to Thrace, they made peace and Eumolpus inherited the Thracian kingdom.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.15.4 3.15.4].</ref> During a war between [[Athens, Greece|Athens]] and Eleusis, Eumolpus sided with Eleusis and came with a numerous band of Thracians.

=== War with Athens ===
The traditions about this Eleusinian war, however, differ very much. According to some, the Eleusinians under Eumolpus attacked the Athenians under Erechtheus, but were defeated, and Eumolpus with his two sons, [[Phorbas]] and [[Immaradus]], were slain.<ref>Thucydides. ii. 15; Plutarch. ''Menex.'' p. 239; [[Isocrates]], ''Panathenaicus'' [https://topostext.org/work/84#193 193]; [[Plutarch]], ''Parallela minora'' 20; Scholia ad [[Euripides]], ''[[The Phoenician Women|Phoenissae]]'' 854.</ref> Pausanias relates a tradition that in the battle between the Eleusinians and Athenians, Erechtheus and Immaradus fell, and that thereupon peace was concluded on condition that the Eleusinians should in other respects be subject to Athens, but that they alone should have the celebration of their mysteries, and that Eumolpus and the daughters of Celeus should perform the customary sacrifices.<ref>Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 1.38.3</ref> His son, [[Immaradus]], was killed by King [[Erichthonius I of Athens|Erechtheus]]. In some sources, Erechtheus having killed Eumolpus, Poseidon asked [[Zeus]] to avenge his son's death. Zeus killed Erechtheus with a lightning bolt or Poseidon made the earth open up and swallow Erechtheus. According to Hyginus,<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#46 46]; compare: [[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]'' 7, p. 321</ref> Eumolpus came to Attica with a colony of Thracians, to claim the country as the property of his father, Poseidon.

Eleusis lost the battle with Athens but the [[Eumolpides]] and [[Kerykes]], two families of priests to Demeter, continued the Eleusinian mysteries. Eumolpus' youngest son, [[Herald-Keryx]] who succeeded him in the priestly office, founded the lines.

=== Other feats ===
Mythology regards Eumolpus as the founder of the Eleusinian mysteries, and as the first priest of Demeter and Dionysus; the goddess herself taught him, [[Triptolemus]], [[Diocles (mythology)|Diocles]], and [[Celeus]], the sacred rites, and he is therefore sometimes described as having himself invented the cultivation of the vine and of fruit-trees in general.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to [[Demeter]]'' 476</ref><ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'' 7.53</ref><ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 10.93</ref>

Eumolpus was an excellent musician and singer; he played the [[aulos]] and the [[lyre]].  He won a musical contest in the funereal games of [[Pelias]]. Eumolpus was regarded as an ancient priestly bard, poems and writings on the mysteries were fabricated and circulated at a later time under his name. One hexameter line of a Dionysiac hymn, ascribed to him, is preserved in Diodorus.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' 1.11</ref><ref>[[Suda|Suida]], ''Suda Encyclopedia'' s.v.</ref> The legends connected him also with Heracles, whom he is said to have instructed in music, or initiated into the mysteries.<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' 273</ref><ref>[[Theocritus]], ''[[Idyll]]s'' 24.108</ref><ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.12 2.5.12].</ref>

According to [[Diogenes Laërtius]] Eumolpus was the father of [[Musaeus of Athens|Musaeus]].<ref name="Diogenes Laërtius Lives Introduction" /> Lastly, according to [[Philochorus]], Eumolpus was the father of the legendary poet [[Musaeus of Athens|Musaeus]] by the [[List of lunar deities|lunar goddess]] [[Selene]].<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dmusaeus-bio-2 s.v. Musaeus (literary 1)];  [[Philochorus]] ''[[Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller|FHG]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=y5pxAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA416 fr. 200] ([[Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller|Müller]]) [= Scholia on [[Aristophanes]]'s ''[[The Frogs|Frogs]]'' 1033].</ref>

The tomb of Eumolpus was shown both at Eleusis and Athens.<ref>Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 1.38.2</ref> The difference in the traditions about Eumolpus led some of the ancients to suppose that two or three persons of that name ought to be distinguished.<ref>[[Hesychius of Alexandria|Hesychius]] ''s.v.'' Eumolpidai</ref><ref>Scholia on [[Sophocles]], ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'' 1051</ref><ref>Photius, Lex. ''s. v.'' Eumolpidai</ref>

==Legacy==
[[Vinzenz Brinkmann]] and [[Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann]] have identified a 5th-century bronze statue called [[Riace bronzes|Riace B]] as being a representation of Eumolpus.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brinkmann |first1=Vinzenz |last2=Koch-Brinkmann |first2=Ulrike |date=2019-12-31 |title=The experimental reconstruction of the bronze warriors of Riace as part of the Frankfurt "Liebieghaus Polychromy Research Project" |url=http://journals.openedition.org/techne/2707 |journal=  Technè|issue=48 |pages=120–132 |doi=10.4000/techne.2707 |s2cid=226784786 |issn=1254-7867|doi-access=free }}</ref>  The fingers of the well-preserved statue indicate that the figure was originally carrying a bow and arrow, typical of Thracian warriors.

==Notes==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Hom_Hymn_Dem_147_474">''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=HH+2+147 147], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=HH+2+474 474].</ref>
<ref name="Diogenes Laërtius Lives Introduction">[http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlintro.htm  Diogenes Laërtius, Lives Introduction]</ref>
}}

==References==
*''Anonymous'', ''The [[Homeric Hymns]] and Homerica'', with an English translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, Massachusetts.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. {{ISBN|0-674-99063-3}} [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138;layout=;loc=1.1;query=toc &nbsp;]
*[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*Graves, Robert. ''The Greek Myths''. Volume 1, Penguin Books, Revised Edition (1960), Reprinted 1986.
*[[Plutarch|Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus]], ''Moralia'' with an English Translation by Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1936. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0219 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0217 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. {{ISBN|0-674-99328-4}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.  [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Strabo]], ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D2 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0137 Greek text available from the same website].
*[[Clement of Alexandria|Titus Flavius Clemens]], ''Exhortation against the Pagans'' translated by Butterworth, G W. Loeb Classical Library Volume 92. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1919. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ClementExhortation1.html Online version at theio.com]
*[[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]]. ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology|A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology]]''. ''[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DE%3Aentry+group%3D11%3Aentry%3Deumolpus-bio-1 s.v. Eumolpus.]'' London (1848)

[[Category:Musicians in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological kings of Thrace]]
[[Category:Children of Apollo]]
[[Category:Children of Poseidon]]
[[Category:Consorts of Selene]]
[[Category:Libyan characters in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Mythology of Heracles]]
[[Category:Attic mythology]]
[[Category:Eleusinian mythology]]
[[Category:Primordial teachers]]