The area around the Rheitoi once fell under the legendary Crocon’s realm, referred to as the “kingdom of Crocon.” In Athenian lore, hailing from the Skambonidai deme (whose precise location within the Themistoclean Walls of Athens is still debated), Crocon is depicted as a mythic ruler married to Saisara, daughter of Eleusis’ King Celeus. However, Eleusinian traditions identify Crocon as Triptolemus’s son, making him Celeus and Metaneira’s grandson. The etymology of ‘Crocon’ likely stems from “krokoun,” associated with the binding of woollen threads around initiates’ hands and feet. Upon the Eleusinian Mysteries’ procession reaching the Rheitois, the local Krokonidai genos performed the “krokosis”, tying saffron-coloured wool around the initiates’ right wrists and left ankles, symbolising unity with Demeter. This time-consuming ritual offered a respite before continuing to Eleusis. With nightfall, torches lit the procession, amplifying its festive and mystical aura.
In Pausanias’s time, no remnants of Crocon’s palaces or tomb remained. Nearby, however, stood the tomb of Eumolpus, Poseidon and Chione’s son (daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia, and Erechtheus’ granddaughter). Eumolpus, originally from Thrace, sought to claim Athens, linked to his father Poseidon. In the ensuing battle between Athenians and Eleusinians (backed by Thracians), Erechtheus killed Eumolpus and his son Immarados, solidifying Eleusinian subjugation under Athens but leaving to the Eleusinians the control over the Mysteries, tied to Eumolpus and Celeus’s daughters.
Just past Eumolpus’s tomb, there were shrines dedicated to Hippothoon and Zarex. Hippothoon was the Hippothontis tribe’s hero and believed son of Poseidon and Alope, King Cercyon of Eleusis’s daughter. Notably, Cercyon, a notorious warrior and robber, was also a son of Poseidon, making him and Hippothoon half-brothers in mythic lore. His fearsome reputation, particularly for ensnaring passersby in his “wrestling pit”, persisted until his defeat by Theseus.
Alope, Cercyon’s daughter, mirrored her father’s infamous actions. Upon the birth of her son, she deserted him. Fortuitously, the child was nurtured by a mare and discovered by shepherds. Learning of his grandson’s survival, Cercyon imprisoned Alope and abandoned the child yet again. But divine favour ensured the child’s safety, as shepherds again found and cared for him. After slaying Cercyon, Theseus encountered Hippothoon who claimed his grandfather’s domain. Theseus recognized him as a demigod and his potential half-brother, and gave him control.
Zarex, regarded as Chiron the centaur’s grandson, was known for his training in music under Apollo. While Pausanias perceived Zarex as a mere mortal from Laconia who settled in Eleusis, some suggest he might have been an Athenian local hero.
