Erisichthon (wool of the earth, much earth) In Greek mythology, a sacrilegious person, son of Triopas and Hiscilla of Thessaly; brother of Iphimedeia, Messene, and Phorbas; father of Mestra. Mestra could take any beast form, which was a gift from her lover, Poseidon. Erisichthon would sell Mestra in one form of animal, and she would return in another. When Erisichthon cut down a sacred grove belonging to the goddess Demeter, she cursed him with an insatiable hunger, so he ate his own legs and eventually his whole body. Ovid’s Metamorphoses (book 8) tells of his fate.
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante
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