See U In History
Demeter and the punishment of Erysichthon
Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, walked the earth blessing the crops and being revered wherever she was.
The rituals in honor of the goddess were often performed in the woods devoted to Demeter.
In one of those, the goddess’s devotees gathered in the woods
and brought gifts to honor
the goddess who gave them so much.
All of a sudden, the ceremony was interrupted by the cries of a group of uncouth woodcutters.
- Leave these woods already.
They will provide the wood I need for my new palace.
Erysichthon shouted that he was a wealthy and powerful nobleman in the region.
Enraged, the goddess shouted:
- How can you have the effrontery to knock down these woods devoted to me?
Nobody will touch these trees, under penalty of suffering a terrible punishment.
- These woods are on my land and I will do what I want with it.
Demeter, furious with such insolence, started to summon her power.
Facing such scene, Erysichthon and his servants fled in panic.
But not before becoming
a target for the goddess’s curse.
The noble reached his palace, breathless for having run so much.
But relieved for having escaped unscathed from the goddess’s fury.
Due to his escape, Erysichthon was hungry and asked his lackeys to serve his meal.
Already at the table, the noble attacked the roast chicken
as if he had never eaten
anything in his life.
After devouring the whole chicken, he ate the rest of the food on the table.
- I want more, bring me more food.
The butler brought a whole smoked ham and, as soon as it got near the table,
the lord grabbed it by the bone and started to eat as if he was an animal.
- I want more.
His hunger appeared to have no end in sight.
The lackeys prepared a large table with all the food available.
Erysichthon continued to eat with the same voracity.
The food ended and the nobleman was still hungry.
He picked a bag of gold coins and
ordered them to bring more food.
- I want more.
The process continued for days until the whole fortune of Erysichthon ended.
Her daughter arrived and saw his ruined and hungry father.
Possessed by hunger, he sold his beloved daughter as a slave to buy more food.
His daughter prayed to Poseidon to be released from her prison.
Feeling sorry for her, the God transformed her into a donkey and so she managed to escape unnoticed.
She returned to help her father.
Who recognized her, even as a donkey.
- I'm sorry, daughter of mine, but I want more.
He then sold the donkey and managed to get a bit more money to buy food.
Poseidon, still feeling sorry for Erysichthon’s daughter,
transformed her into a butterfly and she flew away from her master and father.
Without any income and still hungry, Erysichthon went back to the woods of Demeter and prayed for forgiveness.
The goddess did not pay attention to him.
The poor man, desperate by his hunger, sat beneath a tree and started to devour his own foot.
Erysichthon spent the night eating himself.
Nothing of him remained on earth in the following morning.
