Erechtheus (ĕrĕk`thēəs), in Greek mythology, king of Athens. On the advice of an oracle he sacrificed one of his daughters during the battle between the Athenians and the Eleusinians. This enabled him to win the battle, but Poseidon later destroyed him and all his house. Erechtheus is often confused with Erichthonius Erichthonius (ĕrĕkthō`nēəs), in Greek mythology, son of Hephaestus and Athena, half man and half serpent.
..... Click the link for more information. , his grandfather. Both were associated with the worship of Athena; one or the other is said to have built a temple which was the forerunner to the Erechtheum Erechtheum (ĭrĕk`thēəm) [for Erechtheus ], Gr. Erechtheion, temple in Pentelic marble, on the Acropolis at Athens.
..... Click the link for more information. built in the 5th cent. B.C., and to have established the Panathenaea (see Athena Panathenaea, which was celebrated annually at Athens. It included athletic and musical contests, poetic recitations, and sacrifices. At the end of the festivities a grand procession carried a richly embroidered peplos to the Acropolis as a present to Athena.
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Erechtheus

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.

Erechtheus

inventor of chariots. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 91]

See : Inventiveness