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Triptolemus, a MythSource painting
Greek

Triptolemus

01Identity

Triptolemus in Greek tradition

Triptolemus carries the seed entrusted to him by Ceres, who sends him out to make cultivation possible across fallow and worked land. Two dragons draw the light chariot in which he travels through the air. The gifts, he says, will bring food and harvest to the fields. Later, a host welcomes him but grows jealous of the benefit he brings and wants credit for it. While Triptolemus sleeps, the host attacks him. Ceres changes the attacker into a lynx and sends Triptolemus on his way again.

SourceThe Metamorphoses of Ovid, Ceres sends Triptolemus to teach cultivation, printed pp. 186–187

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02The myths

The myths of Triptolemus

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Ceres sends Triptolemus to teach cultivation

Demeter yokes two dragons to her chariot and flies to Triptolemus with seeds entrusted to her. She orders him to scatter them across fallow ground and land returned to cultivation. Her gift is not simply a packet to keep: it gives the youth a task that carries him across the earth and sky.

Triptolemus later arrives at a foreign ruler's home and explains who he is. He says that the sky has carried him, rather than a ship or a road, and that the seeds will bring harvest and wholesome food. The host welcomes him, but envy takes hold. Wanting to claim the benefit for himself, he waits until Triptolemus is overcome with sleep and attacks him with a sword.

Demeter intervenes before the blow can kill the traveller. The attacker becomes a lynx, while the goddess sends Triptolemus back into the air to guide her sacred dragons. The story leaves him continuing the journey with the work still before him: to sow what she has entrusted to him and carry the promise of food to other fields.

Ceres sends Triptolemus to teach cultivation, a MythSource painting of the scene

2 sources· checked 2026-10-01

  1. 1The Metamorphoses of OvidT1
  2. 2The Metamorphoses of OvidT1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Triptolemus, each on that figure’s page.