Ancinet Greece
The initial name of Athens was Akte or Aktike, named after the first king, Akteos. Her second name, Kekropia, received it from the king, Kekrops, who succeeded Akteos, by marrying his daughter. According to the legend, his lower body was that of a dragon. During his reign, goddess Athena and Poseidon were competing for the protection of the city and each one offered presents. Poseidon struck the rock at the Acropolis with his trident (the three marks can be seen behind the Erectheion..) and a spring with salted water gushed up. With the blow also leaped the first horse, ready to serve the man faithfully, while Athena offered an olive tree. The legend tell us, that all the men of Athens voted for the gift of Poseidon and all the women, for the gift of Athena and because there was one woman more than the men, goddess Athena was selected and from her, the city took her name.
To defend the country from the Karian pirates from the sea and the Boeotians from the land, Kekrops, in order to manage better the population, distributed Attica in the following twelve sections: Aphidna, Brauron, Dekeleia, Epakria, Eleusis, Kekropia, Kephisius, Kytherus, Phalerus, Sphettus, Tetrapolis, Thorikus. He also ordered each man to cast a single stone and by counting the stones, it was found that they were twenty thousand inhabitants.
Kekrops introduced the worship of Zeus and the ritual offerings of sweet meats (pelanoi), instead of human sacrifice. His grave in Acropolis was preserved until the fourth century BC.
When an enemy army besieged Athens, the Athenians asked the advice of Delphi, which gave them the oracle, that in order to save the city, an Athenian ought to be sacrificed by his own will. When the daughter of king Kekrops, Agravlos, learned about the oracle, she ascended to the Acropolis and fell to her death. Athenians to honor her, build a temple in the Acropolis and every year, were celebrating the Agravleia.
According to another legend,...
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