Legendary god-king of Athens.
According to Homer 's Iliad , he was born from the earth and raised by Athena , who established him in her temple at Athens. Later tradition associates him with a huge snake that was thought to live in the temple. In a lost play by Euripides , Erechtheus sacrificed his daughter Chthonia to ensure a victory in war, and as punishment was destroyed by either Poseidon or Zeus .