1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
TRIPTOLEMUS, in Greek mythology, the inventor of agriculture, first priest of Demeter, and founder of the Eleusinian mysteries. His name is probably connected with the " triple ploughing" (rpls, iroXeic), recommended in Hesiod's Works and Days and celebrated at an annual festival. It may be noted that in some traditions he is called the son of Dysaules (possibly identical with diaulos, the " double furrow " traced by the ox), and that, according to the Latin poets (e.g. Virgil, Georgics, i. 19), he is the inventor …
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- Vol. 27, pp. 292-292