According to Homer, Erichthonios is the son of Hephaestus and Gaia the Earth. In love with Athena, Hephaestus tries to possess her while she refuses any union. When he almost holds her, she manages to escape but the god ejaculates on one of the thighs of the goddess who wipes it with a woolen cloth that she throws on the ground. The Earth, Gaia, thus fertilized gives birth to Erichthonios, name which explains the circumstances of his birth. Its name means: “that of the tribal land”. Gaïa entrusts the child to Athena who takes it in and raises it.
