She Was The Foster Mother Of Erichthonius

As a virgin goddess, Athena never gave birth to any biological children. However, Hephaestus' son Ericthonius was raised in foster care by Athena. According to tradition, Hephaestus tried to rape Athena when she visited him at his workshop to ask for some weapons, but the goddess saved her virginity. As a result, during the attempt, his semen landed on her thigh. Out of disgust, she cleaned it off with a tuft of wool and threw it on the ground. Gaea, the goddess who represents the Earth, became pregnant as a result, giving birth to Erichthonius.

The three daughters of Cecrops, Herse, Pandrosos, and Aglauros of Athens, were entrusted with the care of the infant Erichthonius after Athena placed him in a little chest (cista), according to the geographer Pausanias. She forbade the three sisters from opening the trunk, but made no mention of its contents or its purpose. Aglauros opened the chest, possibly assisted by one of the other sisters. According to several tales, they either discovered the infant to be a serpent, a serpent protecting it, two serpents protecting it, or a serpent with legs. In Pausanias's account, the two sisters were driven insane by the contents of the chest and threw themselves off the Acropolis, dying instantaneously. However, one Attic vase painting depicts the sisters being chased by the serpent off the cliff.

One of the most significant founding figures of Athens was Erichthonius, and the tale of the Daughters of Cecrops was a religious tradition connected to the Arrhephoria festival ceremonies.