Celeus ( ) or Keleus () was the king of Eleusis in Greek mythology, husband of Metanira and father of several daughters, who are called Callidice, Demo, Cleisidice and Callithoe in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter,[line 109 ff] and Diogeneia, Pammerope and Saesara by Pausanias.[Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 1.38.3]
Mythology
In the
Hymn to Demeter, Celeus was one of the original priests of Demeter, one of the first people to learn the secret rites and mysteries of Demeter's cult the Eleusinian Mysteries. Diocles,
Eumolpos,
Triptolemus and
Polyxeinus were the others of the first priests.
While Demeter was searching for her daughter, having taken the form of an old woman called Demeter, she received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the king of Eleusis in Attica. He asked her to nurse Demophon, his youngest son by Metaneira. As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make Demophon immortal by burning his mortal spirit away in the family hearth every night. She was unable to complete the ritual because Metaneira walked in on her one night and interfered with the process.[ Homeric Hymn to Demeter 5.233-291; Apollodorus, 1.5.1; Hyginus, Fabulae 147] Instead, Demeter chose to teach Triptolemus, the other son of Celeus (though he was ascribed different parentages as well), the art of agriculture and, from him, the rest of Greece learned to plant and reap crops.[Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.646; Fasti 4.508-560] He flew across the land on a winged chariot while Demeter and Persephone cared for him, and helped him complete his mission of educating the whole of Greece on the art of agriculture.[Apollodorus, 1.5.2; Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 7.18.2-3]
Celeus was killed by Erichthonius in a war with Athens. His mourning daughters were afterwards transformed into doves by Demeter.
Robert Graves suggested that Celeus' name can mean ‘burner’ as well as ‘woodpecker’ or ‘sorcerer’.
Notes
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Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
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Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
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The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
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Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
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Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
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Ovid, Fasti translated by James G. Frazer. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
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Publius Ovidius Naso, Fasti. Sir James George Frazer. London; Cambridge, MA. William Heinemann Ltd.; Harvard University Press. 1933. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
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Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
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Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
