Triptolemus

Triptolemus
Patron of the Eleusinian Mysteries Founder of Agriculture Judge of the Afterlife
Detail of Demeter gifting a chariot of winged dragons to Triptolemus
Abode	Eleusis, Elysium, Hades
Mount	Dragon-drawn chariot
Parents	Oceanus and Gaia, or Celeus and Metanira

Triptolemus /ˌtrɪpˈtɒlɪməs/ (Greek: Τριπτόλεμος, romanized: Triptólemos, lit. 'Tripartite warrior'), also known as Buzyges (Greek: Βουζύγης, romanized: Buzyges, lit. 'Bull-hitcher'), was a hero of Eleusis in Greek mythology, central to the Eleusinian Mysteries and is worshipped as the inventor and patron of agriculture^[1][2]. Triptolemus is credited with being the first to sow seed for cultivation^[3] after being taught by Demeter and is credited for the use of oxen and the plough^[4]. Xenophon claims that Peloponnesus was the first place Triptolemus shared Demeter's agricultural gift^[5] while Pausanias claims the Rharium plane near Eleusis was the first place to be sown for crops.^[6]

Triptolemus is depicted as a young man with a branch or diadem placed in his hair, usually sitting on his chariot, adorned with serpents. His attributes include a plate of grain, a pair of wheat or barley ears and a scepter.^[7]