TRIPTOLEMUS (promulgator of agriculture at Eleusis)

Demeter taught Triptolemus the sacred mysteries and instructed him to sow the corn she had given him.^6,7 His mother, Metanira, gave him a chariot drawn by winged dragons and wheat for his mission, enabling him to waft through the sky.¹ He was commanded to share the gift of corn with men everywhere and to instruct others in the labor of sowing.⁷ Triptolemus traveled through the sky in his dragon-drawn vehicle to sow the entire inhabited earth with wheat.^1,8 He brought gifts from Demeter intended to provide harvests and food, scattering seeds in both fallow and previously cultivated ground.⁸ The Athenians claim he was the first person to sow seed for cultivation, and some accounts credit him with teaching the use of oxen and the plough.^4,9

During his journey, he traveled from Attica to the region of Patrae, where he received cultivated corn from the aboriginal king Eumelus.¹⁰ He named a newly founded city Aroe after tilling the soil and learned how to establish a city during this visit.¹⁰ He and Eumelus jointly established a city named Antheia, which was named in honor of Eumelus's son.¹¹ While Triptolemus slept, the youth Antheias attempted to drive his car and sow seed, though Orphic verses state that the sowing of seed was Demeter's reward to Triptolemus and Eubuleus.^11,5 He also wandered through the region of Cilicia during his search.¹²

The youth traveled through the air over Europe and Asia to reach Scythia.⁸ In Scythia, Triptolemus entered the house of the local king, Lyncus, who attacked him with a sword while he slept.⁸ Demeter transformed the attacker into a lynx during the assault, and Triptolemus was sent again to drive her chariot through the air.⁸ He taught Arcas the method for growing agricultural crops, possessing the knowledge of cultivating them.¹³ Triptolemus is identified as an Eleusinian figure, and he gave the gift of grain to Eleusis, a location associated with the grain gift.^14,15

A temple dedicated to him exists above the Enneacrunos spring in Athens, and the Eleusinians maintain a temple in his honour.^16,17 A festival is celebrated in his honour on Mount Casius, and a threshing-floor bearing his name is displayed at the site along with an associated altar.^12,17 He is listed among those who received instruction in the mysteries, and Choerilus claims he was the brother of Cercyon.^2,5 Triptolemus is identified as the father of the colonizer Gordys.¹⁸ According to Orphic verses, Triptolemus gave Demeter information about her daughter, while Panyasis claimed that Demeter came to Triptolemus.^5,1