SIMMS, ROBERT M., Eumolpos and the Wars of Athens , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
24:3 (1983:Autumn) p.197 

Eumolpos and the Wars of Athens 

Robert M Simms 

A NCIENT TRADITION recalled two great early wars between Ath­
ens and her neighbor Eleusis. Of these, the later was associated 
with Theseus, who captured Eleusis from the Megarians under 

Diokles and Skiron: although attested only by Megarian sources (Plut. 
Thes. 10), this conquest is perhaps related to the synoikismos of Attica 
which was regarded as Theseus' signal achievement.1 The earlier war, 
on the other hand, is much more fully attested than that of Theseus: 
it is placed in the time of Erechtheus,2 and is represented as the heroic 
defense of Athens against an invading force from Eleusis under the 
command of Eumolpos. This war too is sometimes said to have re­
sulted in the annexation of Eleusis by Athens. Scholars generally 
agree3 that these legends reflect one or more historical wars, but have 
disagreed about their number, sequence, and nature.4 The present 
study will approach these questions by a different route, viz. the com­
plex and self-contradictory legend of Eumolpos. 

We begin by cataloguing the versions (I, II, etc.) and variants (A, 
B, etc.) of this legend, combining and enlarging upon the work of 
Kern5 and Jacoby.6 Our approach will entail an attempt to attribute 
each version and suggest its age. 

1 Thuc. 2.1S.1, Philoch. FGrHist 328F107, Andron IOFI4. For a good discussion of 
scholarship on the synoikismos see R. A. Padgug, GRBS 13 (1972) 13S-S0, and see 
now S. Diamant, "Theseus and the Unification of Attica," Hesperia Suppl. 19 (1982) 
38-47. 

2 Thuc. 2.1S.1; Eur. Ion 277-82, Phoen. 8S4 and schol., Erech.; Xen. Mem. 3.5.10; 
Demaratos FGrHist 42F4; PI. Menex. 2398; Isoc. 4.68, 12.193; Oem. 60.8; Plut. Mor. 
31OD; Lycurg. Leoc. 98; Hyg. Fab. 46; Aristid. I 191 Dindorf; Apollod. Bib/. 3.1S.4-S; 
Paus. 1.27.4, 1.38.2-3; Phot. Lex. s. v. 7rap8€IJOL; Preller/Robert II 1401f; Engelmann in 
Roscher Lex. s. vv. "Erechtheus," "Eumolpos," "Hyakinthides." On Euripides' Erech­
theus (in C. Austin, Nova fragmenta Euripidea [Berlin 1968] 22-40) see U. von Wila­
mowitz, Ana/ecta Euripidea (Berlin 187S) 173-74; T. B. L. Webster, The Tragedies of 
Euripides (London 1967) 127-30; C. Austin, RechPap 4 (967) 11-62; W. M. Calder, 
GRBS 10 (1969) 147-S6; 1. C. Kamerbeek, Mnemosyne IV.23 (1970) 113-26; H. van 
Looy in Hommages ... Delcourt (Call. Latomus 114 [I970)) l1S-22; M. Treu, Chiron 
1 (1971) 115-31; C. Clairmont, GRBS 12 (971) 48S-9S. 

:l See e.g. C. Picard, RHist 166 (1931) 1 If. 
4 The war related by Solon at Hdt. 1.30 may safely be left out of account (see Padgug 

[supra n.1] 139-40). 
5 RE6 (907) 1117-20 s.v. "Eumolpos." q: Engelmann in Roscher Lex. s.v. 
6 Das Marmor Parium (Berlin 1904) 73-74. 

197 



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198 EUMOLPOS AND THE WARS OF ATHENS 

I. Eumolpos is one of the native Eleusinian basileis to· whom De­
meter reveals her Mysteries: Hymn.Hom.Cer. 149-55, 473-75 (ca 
675-600 B.C.).7 Parent(s) unnamed: if literally autochthonous (see A 

below), Eumolpos was essentially parentless.8 Soon acquires Poseidon 
as father: vase of Hieron, ca 500 B.C.;9 temple of Poseidon Pater at 
Eleusis.10 

A. Eumolpos is an autochthonous Eleusinian shepherd: Kern, Orph. 
Frag. 52. 
B. Eumolpos is a ruler (title lost) at Eleusis, founder of the Mys­
teries,ll and uOcpOv a'}'T1T7lpa {in war? If so, against Athens)12 of his 
people: poetic fragment, P. Oxy. XXXII 2622 + PSI XIV 1391, prob­
ably of Pindar, 13 and perhaps based upon a sixth-century epic origi­
na1.14 

Discussion. This version, our earliest account of Eumolpos, depicts 
him as native/autochthonous, a noble of Eleusis, and a recipient of 
Demeter's secrets. Its variants are trivial: A differs only in a 'rusti­
cating conceit' by which, after the model of Eubouleus as swineherd, 
Eumolpos becomes a shepherd and Triptolemos a cowherd. B, again, 
does not contradict, but merely develops, the notions of political 
power and access to the orgia of Demeter which are already as­
sociated with Eumolpos in the Hymn. Nor do the polemic implica-

7 N. Richardson, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (Oxford 1974) 5-11. A terminus post 
quem for the Hymn is probably set by the date of composition of the Homeric poems, 
and especially of Hesiod's works, with which the poet of the Hymn seems to be familiar 
(Richardson 33-41). If these predecessors are to be dated in the late eighth or early 
seventh century (G. S. Kirk, The Songs 0/ Homer [Cambridge 1962] 282ff; D. H. F. 
Gray, Fifty Years {and Twelve} 0/ Classical Scholarship [Oxford 1968] 29ff; for Hesiod, M. 
L. West, Hesiod: Theogony [Oxford 1966] 40ff, Works and Days [Oxford 1978] 30-31), 
then a professional bard like the composer of the Hymn can have been familiar with 
them very shortly thereafter. Ca 675 is also the date from which obviously 'Homeric' 
themes begin to appear in Greek art (K. F. Johansen, The Iliad in Early Greek Art [Co­
penhagen 1967] 34ft). Stylistic considerations, on the other hand, militate in favor of a 
seventh- rather than sixth-century terminus ante quem for the Hymn (Richardson 11). 

B It is in fact the variety of his parents later (Poseidon, Apollo, Mousaios, Keryx; 
Deiope, Chione, Astykome) which declares the absence of an early parental tradition. 

9 CVA Brit. Mus. 4 pI. 28.2; Nilsson GGR J3 Taf. 43.1. 
10 Paus. 1.38.6, cj. G. Mylonas, Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries (Princeton 1961) 

167-69; Aristid. 22.4. 
11 Cj. also lstros FGrHist 334F22, Plut. Mor. 6078, Lucian Demon. 34. 
12 Pausanias 0.38.3) may preserve the sequel to the war of this version in his state­

ment that the Eleusinians were thereafter subject to Athens, but that Eumolpos and the 
daughters oj Keleos (cf Hymn 105ft) continued to celebrate the Mysteries at Eleusis 
(see also at n.57 infra). 

la E. Lobel ad loc.: see also U. von Wilamowitz, Pindaros (Berlin 1922) 314 n.l; H. 
Lloyd-Jones, Maia 19 (1967) 206-29. 

14 See E. Norden, P. Vergilius Maro Aeneis Buch VIa (Leipzig 1926) 5 and n.2; Lloyd­
Jones (supra n.13) 226-28. 



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ROBERT M. SIMMS 199 

tions of B represent a contradiction of anything in the main version: 
the Hymn, as is often noted, deals with a peaceful segment of the 
tradition, and the absence of polemic references is therefore hardly 
surprising. I5 The Hymn, moreover, is also notorious for its avoidance 
of all things Athenian, and whatever the reason for this trait,16 si­
lence about a war with Athens is consistent with it. It is, in short, 
unnecessary to conclude from its absence from the Hymn that war 
with Athens was absent from the lowest strata of Eleusinian legend. 

In all probablity, this version and its variants represent early stages 
of Eleusinian local tradition. The Hymn, in particular, has long been 
recognized as an early Eleusinian document,17 and variant B, as noted 
above, is best understood as only a fuller account in which the stat­
ure of Eumolpos, but not his essential attributes, has been aug­
mented: this augmentation marks B as of later date than the Hymn, 
and must reflect the growing prestige and authority of Eumolpos' 
priestly genos, the Eumolpidai, at Eleusis in the years after the 
Hymn's composition. In later times we find the Eumolpos of this 
version defended by the Eumopidai against competing Eumolpoi: 
E'YEIIOIITO BE TPEIS [EV~A7TOd. d /-LEII EK 0p~K71~ E7Tt"UTpaTEvua~, Oil 
OV 7TPOU7TOWVIITaf., Ot EV~A7TiBaf.,. d BE 'A7TOAAWIIO~ Kat 'AUTVKO/-L71<;. d 
BE Movuawv Kat a71t07T71e;.18 

II. Eumolpos is a native Thracian, who settles in Eleusis with other 
Thracians and there founds the Mysteries: Plut. Mor. 607B, 0<; EK 
0p~K71e; /-LETaUTaS E/-LV71UE Kat /-Lvli Tove; "EAA71l1ae;; schol. Soph. OC 
1053, KaTOf.,K71Uat <BE> TT,II 'EAEvULlla tUTOPOVUf., {BE} 7TPWTOII J,LEII 

, "(J '" n ~ , , E' '\ ' ~, TOVe; aVTox Ollae;, etTa ~p~Kae; TOve; /-LETa V~I\7TOV... nllEe; uE 
cfxx.Uf., Kat TOil [ = TOVTOII TOil] EV~A7TOII EVPEtll TT,II /-LV71Uf.,J!, and Tt 
B7}7TOTE Ot EV~A7TiBat TWII TEAETWII egapxovuf." gEIIOf., OIlTE~; Lucian 
Demon. 34; Paus. 1.38.3; probably the version of schol. Eur. Phoen. 
854, TOTE BE E7T1. rfj Eip7}V'{} TO: MVUT7}pur a7}/-L71TpOe; ETEAEuEII (thus 
the Mysteries predated the war); perhaps the version of the Marmor 
Parium (FGrHist 239 A 15), but with Mousaios as father of Eumolpos. 
His parents are Poseidon and Chione,19 making him paradoxically the 

15 The 7TOAE/-W<; Kat CPVA07TL<; of 265-66 are unlikely to refer to real warfare: see F. 
Creutzer in Symbolik und Mythologie der alten Volker;J IV (Leipzig 1842) 314ff; Richard­
son (supra n.7) 245-47. 

16 See F. Walton, HThR 45 (952) 114. 
17 L. R. Farnell, Cults o.l the Greek States III (Oxford 1907) 154; 1. H. Oliver, Hesperia 

4 (935) 26; Walton (supra n.16). 
18 Phot. s. v. EV/-WA7TtSat; cf also [stros F22. 
19 Schol. Phoen. 854. This implies that the birth story as recounted in Apollod. 3.15.4 

holds good for this version as well as for version III (infra). 



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200 EUMOLPOS AND THE WARS OF ATHENS 

great-grandson of Erechtheus!20 Later, his son Immarados (Ismaros: 
Apollod. 3.15.4) leads a united Eleusinian-Thracian force against Ath­
ens and is defeated and slain by Erechtheus.21 After the battle a 
treaty is concluded whereby Athens gains political hegemony over 
Eleusis but leaves the Mysteries under Eleusinian control. Eumolpos 
remains at Eleusis as hierophant, together with the daughters of 
Keleos as priestesses (Paus. 1.38.3). 
A. Eumolpos himself leads the attacking force, faces Erechtheus (0 
VEWTEPOt;;: schol. Phoen. 854, cf Paus.1.38.2), and dies. Immarados 
also participates, and is slain by Erechtheus (schol. Phoen.; implied in 
contradiction by Paus.). 
B. Eumolpos is only the first foreigner to be initiated (schol. Phoen.). 

Discussion. I have chosen, for reasons which will shortly become 
clear, to accept Pausanias' insistence that his is the etymos logos, and 
have called this version II. Pausanias sets out the version in a strongly 
Athenian context (1.27.4), and recommends it to 'A8T1Vau,JV OUOL Ta 
apxaw LuauLv, i.e., those familiar with Athenian local tradition. There 
is in fact one visible record of this tradition with which it fully concurs, 
viz., the location of the relevant tombs. Eumolpos' tomb is in Eleusin­
ian territory (Paus. 1.38.2); thus, in accordance with the conventions of 
heroic burial, he cannot have fought and died before the citadel of 
Athens, but must have remained at Eleusis. Immarados, on the other 
hand, is buried on the Acropolis north slope, in the city Eleusinion: 
thus it is he who died at the hands of his opponent, and the context of 
the battle, moreover, was religious as well as political, that is, it in­
volved the Mysteries. To Pausanias, his version must have seemed 
confirmed by the monuments he saw-thus his vehemence in promot­
ing it-and this congruence of artifacts and legend is a powerful indica­
tion that the version does in fact represent Athenian local tradition. 

In version II the conflict between Athens and Eleusis comes to the 
fore, but with astonishing changes from version I: the inclusion of 
Thracians and the transformation of Eumolpos from Eleusinian na­
tive to Thracian immigrant with Athenian antecedents. Apart from 
their origins, nevertheless, the Eumolpoi of this version and version 
IB are effectively identical: both found the Mysteries, rule at Eleu-

20 The genealogy through Chione is Eumolpos-Poseidon - Chione-Boreas -
Oreithyia-Erechtheus (Apollod. 3.15.4, schol. Phoen. 854). Ancient mythographers 
felt the chronological difficulty of this genealogy: to solve it, the Euripides scholion 
invented a VEWTf.P0<; 'EpEX8EV<; to fight Eumolpos, and Philochoros F 11 made Eumol­
pos a contemporary of Oreithyia. 

21 Paus. l.5.2, l.27.4, l.38.3, 2.14.2; tomb of Immarados on Acropolis north slope in 
city Eleusinion, Clem. AI. Protr. 3.45.1; cf schol. Phoen. 854, schol. II. 18.483. 



SIMMS, ROBERT M., Eumolpos and the Wars of Athens , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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ROBERT M. SIMMS 201 

sis,22 and preside over warfare against Athens. The whole Thracian 
aspect of version II, in fact, arguably enters via Immarados, whose 
name is non-Greek,23 and is only with difficulty grafted into the 
legend.24 The core, or unattested original *11, of version II, therefore, 
may be nothing more than the Athenian form of version IB, and 
should be considered contemporaneous with it,25 Version II itself will 
have originated at some later time (see infra). About I1A the most 
that can be said is that it is no earlier than II: Pausanias characterizes 
it as a modern confusion, but nothing prevents it from having arisen 
virtually simultaneously with II. 

III. Eumolpos is a native Thracian, who lives for a time at Eleusis­
returning afterward to Thrace as king-and ultimately leads a large 
Thracian force to support Eleusis' invasion of Athens, but is defeated 
and slain by Erechtheus. His son Immarados is also killed (schol. I/. 
18.483), or dies before the battle (Apollod. 3.l5.4). His parents are 
Poseidon and Chione.26 He has nothing to do with the Eleusinian 
Mysteries, which do not yet exist: these are founded by a later gener­
ation homonym (Eur. Erech. fr.65.100f): 
A. in the second subsequent generation, by Eumolpos son of Deiope 
(Istros F22) and Mousaios (?) (Jacoby [supra n.6]); cf. the second 
generation Eumolpos of Andron F l3. 
B. in the fifth subsequent generation, by Eumolpos son of Mousaios 
and Deiope.27 

22 The positing, in version II, of Immarados as leader of the Eleusinian-Thracian 
force implies that his 'father' Eumolpos was ruler at Eleusis. 

2a See E. Maass, Hermes 23 (1888) 617. 
24 See the contortions of Apollod. 3.15.4. 
25 This is not to claim that there was no still earlier form of II at Athens, correspond­

ing in some respects to the plain Eleusinian version I. 
26 Eur. Erech., esp. frr.39, 50.46-50, 57, 60, 63, 65 Austin; cf Lycurg. Leoc. 98; 

Demaratos F4; Apollod. 3.15.4; Hygin. 46; schol. II. 18.490; Isoc. 4.68, 12.193; Lucian 
Anach. 34; Strab. 8.7.1. 

27 Andron F 13; Akestodoros FHG II 464; (/ Erym. Magn. 393.28. The earliest attesta­
tion for Mousaios as father of an Eumolpos is a Meidias vase of ca 400 S.C.: G. M. A. 
Richter, AJA 43 (939) Iff; (/ Suda S.v. Mov(Taw~ [DK 2A1], (?) PI. Resp. 363c [DK 
2A5aL Paus. 10.5.6 [DK 2s111. Except for the Marmor Parium (A15 [DK 2A8]), all 
ancient references to Mousaios as father of Eumolpos may be assigned to the variants 
of version III: that is, the Eumolpos whom he fathers is invariably the Mystery-found­
ing later-generation descendant of the Thracian Eumolpos. Mousaios' Thracian dress 
on the Meidias vase, therefore, must be due to his position in the Thracian's line of 
descent, or, at any rate, to some other cause (see, e.g., n.37 infra) than a direct rela­
tionship with the original Thracian Eumolpos-whose father, in any case, is Poseidon. 
The fact that he fathers, without exception, the Mystery-founder/first hierophant 
suggests strongly that a shared musical interest formed the basis for his association 
with Eumolpos. Jacoby (supra n.6) would separate the second-generation Eumolpoi of 
Andron and Istros (III A), because Andron's is expressly called a descendant of the 



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202 EUMOLPOS AND THE WARS OF ATHENS 

Discussion. Euripides' Erechtheus (ca 422 B.C.) is the earliest attes­
tation of this version. Here, as in version II, Eumolpos is Thracian, 
not Eleusinian: uniquely to this version, however, he has little to do 
with Eleusis, and nothing at all to do with the Mysteries-indeed, the 
telete is still unknown. Version III is also distinguished from I and II 
in its concentration upon the Thracian, rather than the Eleusinian, 
component of the forces opposed to Erechtheus: our sources in fact 
scarcely mention Eleusinians.28 Third, this version is silent about the 
aftermath, for Eleusis, of the Athenian victory: the enemy is simply 
driven out of Athenian territory.29 While this would be a plausible 
outcome for the unsuccessful invasion of a distant enemy, we might 
well expect a sequel in the case of an aggressor so near Athens as 
Eleusis.30 From its earliest source, I conclude that version III is of 
Athenian provenance. Its peculiarites, noted above, suggest a history 
of development: as version II seemed essentially Eleusinian in con­
tent, with a Thracian veneer, so version III seems primarily Thracian, 
with only tangential Eleusinian involvement. Two stages of develop­
ment can be inferred,31 the first (*111) a legend of a purely Thracian 
invasion led by Immarados, which was beaten off with no further 
consequences, and the second (III) incorporating Eumolpos and the 
Eleusinians, but with Eumolpos usurping the role of Thracian com­
mander from Immarados-who is retained as a son or brother.32 

This version has often been treated as a relatively late 'answer' to 
the difficulties posed by, e.g., version 11,33 and many scholars make 

Thracian and is not said to have founded the Mysteries, while Istros' is called 0 .c11]W-
7rrJ<; ri/<; Tpt1TTOAEf.WV and the Mystery-founder. These differences, which I believe are 
only apparent (see in/ra), do not seem to justify a separation of the two Eumolpoi: that 
they occupy the same generation argues, in my view, for their essential identity (the 
ElIWt of Istros seem to have held Triptolemos a contemporary of the Thracian Eumol­
pos, reasoning nominally from the Homeric Hymn, although, as will be seen, this Eu­
molpos and that of the Hymn really have nothing in common but their name). 

28 Were it not for a comment [ ... EV 'Ept:1x8« EvpL1Ti[oov] (P.Oxy. VI 853.x.2) on 
Thuc. 2.15.1 'EAt:vuillwt I-UT' Ev~A7TOV, we should have no idea from the surviving 
fragments of Erechtheus that Eleusinians were involved at all: for Thracians, on the 
other hand, see frr.54.46-49, 57 ("barbarians"), 60.4-5, 65.13 ("barbarians"); Lycurg. 
Leoc. 98. 

29 Cf Lycurg. Leoc. 98, TOv.. E7Tt<TTpaTt:vo~vov<; EK ri/ .. )(wpa .. EgE/3aAe [0 'Epe)(-
8ev.,], quoting from Erechtheus. 

30 Pausanias (2.14.2) does assert that a treaty was concluded before the war was 
fought out, but he writes in the context of another version (II): see also n.57 infra. 

31 These stages were first seen by J. Toepffer, Attische Genealogie (Berlin 1889) 43; 
cf Eitrem, RE 9 (914) 1107 s.v. "Immarados"; Jacoby ad FGrHist 328F13 (p.284); 
Richardson (supra n.7) 198. 

32 Schol. II. 18.483; Paus. 1.5.2, 1.38.3; Apollod. 3.15.4; schol. Phoen. 854 (brother). 
33 Kern (supra n.5) 1120; L. Pearson, The Local Historians of Attica (Philadelphia 

1942) 154. 



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ROBERT M. SIMMS 203 

Euripides himself its originator.34 On the contrary, so extreme an 
alteration -comparable, let us say, to making Electra the daughter of 
Aigisthos-would hardly have been possible for any dramatist, and 
Euripides' main interests, in any case, lay elsewhere.35 As a solution 
of difficulties, moreover, the version is an abject failure.36 I think it 
almost certain that even version Ill's final form predates Euripides: 
nor is there any compelling reason, in my view, to assign it to the 
fifth, rather than some earlier, century. Its original form *In is likely 
to be extremely ancient (see infra). 

I have now characterized our two Athenian versions (II, III) of Eu­
molpos as hybrids, each containing a Thracian and an Eleusinian ele­
ment. Version II added a Thracian aspect, I think, to an original (*11) 
which dealt strictly with Eleusis, while version III added Eumolpos and 
Eleusinians to an original (*110 dealing solely with Thracians. In both 
cases, Eumolpos himself has undergone a major change of character. 
Other scholars, both ancient and modern, have noted the transforma­
tion of Eumolpos in these versions, and have suggested 'innocent' 
processes by which it could have been eft'ected:37 these explanations, 
however, all lack a driving mechanism, a factor which could have pro­
pelled, not merely permitted, the manifestly violent and 'unnatural' 
transformations and conflations observed in the myths. This motive 
force, I think, can only have been deliberate intent, and its source is 
readily identifiable, from the versions' provenance, as Athenian. 

Why, then, and when, would the Athenians have found it profit­
able38 to manipulate their legend of Eumolpos so as finally to produce 

:14 Toepffer (supra n.31) 43, Richardson (supra n.7) 198. 
35 Jacoby ad FGrHisf 328 nos. 20ff (p.277 n.9) believes that Euripides' 'alterations' in 

fact reflect Athenian local tradition. (r. also E. Ermatinger, Die atfische Autochthonen­
sage (Berlin 1897) 85ff. 

36 Even the famous query of schol. OC 1053, ri· B..q7iOTE 0;' EV~l..7ii&xt rwv TEl..fTWV 
E~apxOVU"L, ~EVOt OVTE" which this version purportedly answers by separating the Thra­
cian invader from the Mystery-founder, is hardly satisfied when the Mystery-founder 
still remains in the Thracian's line of descent. 

:17 Strabo (10.3.17) wrote that, as all music was considered Thracian or Asiatic in 
origin, so great legendary musicians, e.g. Orpheus, Mousaios, Thamyris, and Eumol­
pos, tended to be taken for Thracians also. In modern times, Toepffer (supra n.31) 36ff 
has suggested that Eumolpos was attracted into the Thracian realm of Orpheus ef a/. 
through a common association with music and mysteries, and was thus available for 
Euripidean innovation. 

38 That mythology was commonly used as a political tool is well known: W. S. Fer­
guson, Hesperia 7 (1938) 16-17; M. P. Nilsson, AlP 59 (1938) 392. A case in point is 
the Eleusinian attempt to appropriate Keryx, eponym of the Kerykes, by making him 
the son of Eumolpos. The Kerykes themselves derived him from Hermes and Aglau­
ros, an early divinity of the Athenian Acropolis (Paus. 1.38.3). This is, incidentally, 
another indication that the Kerykes were in fact an exclusively Athenian institution 
(Ferguson 42; suspected by Padgug [supra n.ll 145-46). 



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204 EUMOLPOS AND THE WARS OF ATHENS 

versions II and III? To answer this, let us recapitulate the effects of 
the change. First, it made Eumolpos, the Mystery-founder, and his 
genos, the priesthood of Eleusis, foreigners to Eleusis. Second, it 
gave Eumolpos genealogical ties with Athens. Such effects suggest an 
Athenian attempt, several instances of which have been collected by 
Nilsson,39 to draw a foreign hero out of his proper sphere and attach 
him to Athens for the purpose of acquiring a foreign possession 
associated with that hero. Here, the desired possession can only be 
the Mysteries, an Eleusinian institution in which the Athenians began 
to take interest during the seventh century - perhaps even as early as 
the Hymn to Demeter.40 By the early sixth century this interest had 
evidently progressed so far that the Athenians were stopping at noth­
ing in their campaign to, in Ferguson's words, "give ... Athenians a 
worthy share in the celebration and administration of the telete. "41 

This was the time of Solon, whose manipulation of Salaminian heroes 
for political purposes is notorious; 42 and it is possible that the impetus 
for alteration of the legend of Eumolpos was his. Whether or not his 
goal, as Nilsson once thought,43 was the complete transfer of the 
Mysteries to Athens, the famous annual procession of the Eleusinian 
hiera to and from Athens-which looks very much like the partial 
satisfaction of just such a goal-was apparently in place by ca 550 
B.C.44 The revised legend itself, of course, was even more successful: 
it became canonical, and was Tn apxa'ia for Pausanias some seven 
hundred years later (version II supra). We may therefore tentatively 
date the basic Athenian manipulations of the Eumolpos story to the 
early years of the sixth century B. C., 45 although further developments 
may have continued for some time thereafter. These manipulations 
produced, either directly or indirectly, versions II and III. 

Can anything now be said about the peculiar conflation of the two 
original legends (*11, *lIn which produced our versions II and III? In 
part the conflations may have been random, haphazard and 'unrea-

39 Cults, Myths, Oracles and Politics in Ancient Greece (Lund 1951) 29-31, 56-65. 
40 Walton (supra n.16) thinks that the Hymn's silence about Athens signifies a pro-

test against Athenian claims upon the Mysteries. 
41 Ferguson (supra n.38) 42. 
42 Nilsson (supra n.39) 27-29. 
43 Jdl 31 (1916) 314. 
44 Under Peisistratos the Telesterion at Eleusis was greatly enlarged, and the main 

entrance to the sanctuary was changed to face Athens and the Sacred Way: Mylonas 
(supra n.lO) 77ff, 103ff. Formal administrative oversight, under the archon basileus, 
may have been achieved much earlier (Padgug [supra n.ll 143-44). 

45 The date of the Homeric Hymn is a terminus post, as its Eumolpos is not yet the 
developed figure whose appropriation would be valuable for propaganda; while ca 550 
may be taken as the tempus ante. 



SIMMS, ROBERT M., Eumolpos and the Wars of Athens , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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ROBERT M. SIMMS 205 

sonable': there is however one feature that warrants closer inspection. 
In the 'vulgate' tradition of Eumolpos, his confrontation with Athens 
takes place in the time of Erechtheus; yet, oddly enough, in no 
version or variant of the tradition, early or late, is any Eumolpos 
actually contemporary with this antagonist. Version I, of course, does 
not name contemporaries at Athens, but version II's Eumolpos bat­
tles Erechtheus only at the expense of a genealogy which places him 
in the third generation after his enemy. Among the multiple Eumol­
poi of version III, the first, who fights Erechtheus, is down-dated 
three generations by his genealogy, while the others postdate Erech­
theus by, respectively, two and five generations. These observations 
alone should raise a question about the relative chronology of Eumol­
pos: in all cases, he is imperfectly synchronized with Erechtheus, 
seeming rather to 'belong' either 2-3 or 5 generations later. 

The fifth-generation Eumolpos, however, may be a later develop­
ment. His genealogy first appears in Andron of Halikarnassos, a 
fourth-century46 historian. It has often been noted47 that this Eumol­
pos corresponds to Theseus in the Athenian king list as it stood in 
the fourth century: 

Eumolpos I 
Keryx 
Eumolpos II 
Antiphemos 
Mousaios 
Eumolpos III (Mystery-founder) 

Erechtheus 
Kekrops II 
Pandion II 
(Metionidaj) 
Aigeus 
Theseus 

This Athenian list, however, is the expansion of an earlier list, cur­
rent until the end of the fifth century, 48 which contained only Aigeus 
between Erechtheus and Theseus. It is possible that the names Anti­
phemos/Mousaios/Eumolpos III represent a corresponding, and con­
sequent, expansion of the Eumolpid list, and that Eumolpos II was 
the opposite number to Theseus in the earlier, shorter lists: 

Eumolpos I 
Keryx 
Eumolpos II (Mystery-founder )49 

46 Pearson (supra n.33) 87. 

Erechtheus 
Aigeus 
Theseus 

47 Jacoby (supra n.6) 74-75; Lloyd-Jones (supra n.13) 213. 
48 Its alteration, probably after 406, was the work of Hellanikos of Lesbos: see 

FGrHist 323aF27 and Jacoby ad lac., Pearson (supra n.33) 4-17. 
49 In the expanded list of Andron, of course, Eumolpos II cannot found the Mys­

teries, for that task has passed to the added Eumolpos III (cf the second-generation 
Mystery-founding Eumolpos of Istros F22). The expansion of the Eumolpid list must 
have followed closely upon Hellanikos' elaboration of the Athenian list, and it is this 



SIMMS, ROBERT M., Eumolpos and the Wars of Athens , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
24:3 (1983:Autumn) p.197 

206 EUMOLPOS AND THE WARS OF ATHENS 

Jacoby50 believed that these 'extra' Eumolpoi were mere projections 
into the time of Theseus designed to account for the tradition that 
Eumolpos had initiated Herakles into the Mysteries. It has been 
pointed out, however, that no form of the Eumolpos legend actually 
achieves synchronism with Erechtheus, but that in every case Eumol­
pos remains, by birth, a contemporary of Theseus, and is only im­
perfectly and with difficulty engaged with Erechtheus. Thus it is the 
'Erechthean' Eumolpos, not the 'Thesean', who is a projection. 

Are there other traces of Eumolpos in the time of Theseus? In­
deed there are. Diokles, an Eleusinian basileus in the Hymn to De­
meter (153, 474, 477), is archon at Eleusis when the city is taken by 
Theseus (Plut. Thes. 10). Triptolemos, another associate of Eumolpos 
in the Hymn (153, 474, 477), also appears with Herakles and the 
Dioskouroi,51 all contemporaries of Theseus.52 Two minor figures of 
Eumolpos' war with Erechtheus, Skiros and Phorbas,53 are found, 
likewise, in connection with Theseus.54 Lastly, to repeat, there is the 
tradition that Eumolpos initiated Herakles into the Mysteries.55 

In this context, it is proper to stress the Megarian tradition that 
Theseus attacked and captured Eleusis, especially as Diokles is com­
mon to both this tradition and the Eleusinian account of Eumolpos.56 
Authors such as Thucydides (2.15.1), moreover, assume that Eleusis 
participated in the synoikismos attributed to Theseus. Our 'Thesean' 
Eumolpos, then, is likely to have presided over warfare with Ath­
ens.57 Furthermore, he is the founder of the Mysteries.58 This is, in 

expansion which may have brought Mousaios into the Eumolpid line: it may, in fact, 
be no coincidence that our earliest attestation of Mousaios as father of an Eumolpos is 
dated to ca 400 B.C. (see supra n.27), shortly after Hellanikos' work on the Athenian 
kings. 

50 Supra n.6, and ad FGrHist lOF13; cj. Lloyd-Jones (supra n.13) 213. 
51 Xen. Hell, 6.3.6; mid-sixth-century vase (Nilsson GGR J3 860). 
52 It is conceded that no extant source assigns the main event of the Hymn, the 

arrival of Demeter at Eleusis, to the time of Theseus, and that one source, the Marmor 
Parium (AI2-IS) synchronizes this event with Erechtheus (cj. also schol. Aristid. III 
S5 Dind., which follows the Marmor). Because, however, almost all ancient references 
to Demeter's activities at Eleusis treat them in solely an Eleusinian context, our evi­
dence is quite limited. The Marmor's testimony, on the other hand, simply follows in 
the train of version II, the 'vulgate' version of Eumolpos. 

53 Paus. 1.36.4; Hellanikos FGrHist 323aF3, schol. Phoen. 854. 
54 Skiros: Philoch. Fill; Phorbas: see ad FGrHist 334F31 (nn.4-5). 
55 Apollod. 2.5.2; P.Oxy. 2622 + PSI 1391. 
56 On Megara see E. Meyer, RE IS (931) I 52ff; K. Hanell, Megarische Studien 

(Lund 1934) 40ff; Jacoby ad FGrHist 484-87; R. P. Legon, Megara (Ithaca/London 
1981). Though Ot MEyapo8EII avyypacf>e,s often polemized against hostile Athenian 
tradition, one is hardly justified in dismissing their testimony on that account alone. 

57 In version II (Paus. 1.38.3, 2.14.2) the account of the war's conclusion appears to 
have been transferred with Eumolpos into the time of Erechtheus: we hear that the 



SIMMS, ROBERT M., Eumolpos and the Wars of Athens , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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ROBERT M. SIMMS 207 

short, none other than the Eumolpos of version IB and the original 
version *11. 

Thus the martial aspect of these versions can be defined as an 
Eleusinian defense, under Eumolpos, against Athenian aggression 
under Theseus. This legend of conflict, however, is essentially inde­
pendent of these protagonists, and will, in particular, have long ante­
dated its association with the 'developed' Eumolpos-ruler and Mys­
tery-founder-of version Is and *11 ca the later seventh century. 
Before this time, it is uncertain what, if any, direct connection ex­
isted (in either Athenian or Eleusinian legend) between the earlier, 
less prominent Eumolpos and the war.59 For Eleusis, version I has 
been assumed to include the war: for Athens, I shall refer to the 
early martial tradition, in its uncertain relationship with Eumolpos, as 
version *11 M. 

It is also uncertain at what time Theseus was associated with this 
adventure against Eleusis.60 Ultimately, however, the attack-legend 
was suppressed at Athens, and the imputation fostered that Theseus' 
synoikismos had proceeded without violence. This suppression was 
probably incidental to the Solonian manipulation of Eumolpos, but its 
own rationale is not far to seek: pure aggression was simply incom­
patible with the character of a national hero who, especially in the 
sixth century,61 was deliberately modeled as "the Athenian youth 
educated in the palaestra," who "puts down highwaymen and rob­
bers, enemies of a peaceful and civilized life. "62 

The historicity of Erechtheus, of course, is no more assured than 
that of Eumolpos or Theseus. I propose, therefore, only that Athens' 
earliest traditions included two wars, an earlier and unsuccessful 
invasion of the city by Thracians63 which was associated with Erech­
theus (*111), and a later, successful Athenian attack upon Eleusis 

war was ended before being "fought through," that a treaty specified Eleusis' annexa­
tion by Athens, and that Eumolpos and the daughters of Keleos remained at Eleusis. 

58 In fact all Eumolpoi-excepting only the patent Immarados-surrogate of version 
III-participate in the foundation of the te/ete. 

59 See supra n.25. 
60 For the relatively late construction of most of Theseus' legend, see most recently 

Diamant (supra n.1) 38. 
61 See R. Conner, "Theseus in Classical Athens," The Quest for Theseus (London 

1970) 143-47. 
62 Nilsson (supra n.39) 55. 
63 Legends of Thracian incursions into central Greece were not confined to Athens, 

but are known also from Boeotian Orchomenos (Diod. Ath. FGrHist 372F39), Phocis 
(Thuc. 2.29.3), and elsewhere. N. Hammond, Migrations and Invasions in Greece and 
Aqjacent Areas (Park Ridge 1976) 136 and n.26, thinks they may refer to a time "be­
fore the Trojan War." 



SIMMS, ROBERT M., Eumolpos and the Wars of Athens , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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208 EUMOLPOS AND THE WARS OF ATHENS 

associated with Theseus and Eumolpos (*IIM-*IO. This compound 
martial tradition is the progenitor of versions II and III, which have 
been shown, at least vestigially, to mirror it. Version *IIM (= the 
Eleusinian version 0 must long predate its appearance in the Homeric 
Hymn, and a date in the Geometric period or earlier is also likely for 
version *111. The rise of *11, in turn, was contemporaneous with that 
of IB at Eleusis, and subsequent to the Hymn: the late seventh cen­
tury may be suggested exempli gratia. The revisions which produced 
II and III, finally, were assigned supra to Solonian times, the early 
sixth century. 

In light of these conclusions about the early martial tradition of 
Athens, one is tempted-however unwisely-to speculate about His­
tory.64 As a basis for discussion, I shall only summarize the results of 
recent research. Finds on and near the Athenian Acropolis suggest 
that the city faced and withstood a siege near the end of the thir­
teenth century B.C.,65 and Diamant66 has shown that a Mycenaean 
date for the Athenian synoikismos is unlikely. In the Dark Ages there 
is evidence that Athens recovered more rapidly from its decline than 
did other areas, and some overall organization of the Athenian econ­
omy is observable as early as the Proto-geometric period.67 In this 
and the Early Geometric period, ca 1050-875, large numbers of 
weapons appearing in Attic burials are thought by Kurtz and Board­
man6B to indicate a renewal of martial activity.69 Thus the archaeologi­
cal evidence is at least compatible with the notion of two early wars 
of the type, and in the order, analyzed here.70 

THE EMMA WILLARD SCHOOL 
April, 1983 

64 Speculation is perhaps most justified when, as here, the tradition concerns warfare. 
65 O. Broneer, Hesperia 2 (I 933) 329ff, 4 (1935) 109ff. In these years a secret spring 

was brought into use beneath the Acropolis: Broneer, Hesperia 7 (I938) 168ff, 8 
(1939) 317-433. The nymph of this spring, Aglauros, was in one later tradition (Phi­
loch. F 105) associated with the war of Erechtheus. 

66 In Quest (supra n.61) 41-45. 
67 Diamant (supra n.1) 45-47. 
68 D. Kurtz and 1. Boardman, Greek Burial Customs (Ithaca 1971) 39-40. 
69 Many of Padgug's arguments (supra n.1) will support a date in the Dark Ages for 

the Athenian takeover of Eleusis. 
70 I should like to express my thanks to the anonymous referee of GRBS for many 

helpful suggestions concerning this paper.