CecropsKekrops

A mythical, snake-like being who was thought to be the first king of the city of Athens; his name became synonymous with Attika (Attica).

Gaia (Earth) and Hephaistos (Hephaestus) had a son named Erikhthonios; Gaia gave the infant Erikhthonios to Athene (Athena) for protection; Athene put Erikhthonios in a chest and gave it to the three daughters of Kekrops to guard, with the admonition that they never open the chest; as you can imagine, the women could not resist opening the chest; when they beheld the snake-like appearance of Erikhthonios, they went mad and threw themselves from the rocky plateau of the Akropolis (Acropolis) at Athens.

It’s one of the mysteries of Greek mythology as to why three women, whose father was snake-like, would be driven mad by the snake-like appearance of Erikhthonios; perhaps they were driven mad not by his appearance but because they disobeyed Athene and were punished for their effrontery.