Triptolemus

For the moth, see Hemeroplanes triptolemus.
"Buzyges" and "Dysaules" redirect here. For the insect genera, see Buzyges (butterfly) and Dysaules (mantis).
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
Greek deities
series
Chthonic deities

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]

  1. ^ "Plato, Laws, Book 6, section 782b". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  2. ^ "Epictetus, Discourses, book 1, Of progress or improvement". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  3. ^ "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. ^ "Xenophon, Hellenica, Book 6, chapter 3". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  6. ^ "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.