Page "Erichthonius of Athens" Paragraph 2

According to the Bibliotheca, Athena visited the smith-god Hephaestus to request some weapons, but Hephaestus was so overcome by desire that he tried to seduce her in his workshop.

Determined to maintain her virginity, Athena fled, pursued by Hephaestus.

Despite Hephaestus ' lameness, he caught Athena and tried to rape her, but she fought him off.

During the struggle, his semen fell on her thigh, and Athena, in disgust, wiped it away with a scrap of wool ( ἔριον, erion ) and flung it to the earth ( χθών, chthôn ).

As she fled, Erichthonius was born from the semen that fell to the earth.

Athena, wishing to raise the child in secret, placed him in a small box.