The situation of the Acropolis, dominating the surrounding plain and possessing easy communication with the sea, favoured the formation of a relatively powerful state - inferior, however, to Tiryns and Mycenae; the myths of Cecrops, Erechtheus and Theseus bear witness to the might of the princes who ruled in the Athenian citadel, and here we may naturally expect to find traces of massive fortifications resembling in some degree those of the great Argolid cities.
It may be due partly to the natural conformation of the rock and the differences of level, partly to the necessity of enclosing within a single building several objects of ancient sanctity, such as the mark of Poseidon's trident and the spring that arose from it, the sacred olive tree of Athena, and the tomb of Cecrops.
The construction of the building at this southwestern corner shows that there was some sacred object that had to be bridged over by a huge block of marble; this we know from inscriptions to have been the Cecropeum or tomb of Cecrops.
The half-serpent Cadmus brought knowledge of mines, agriculture, and the " Cadmean " letters, while Cecrops inculcated laws and ways of life and was the first to establish monogamy.
In the later story, Erichthonius (son of Hephaestus and Atthis or Athena herself) was handed over by Athena to the three daughters of Cecrops - Aglauros (or Agraulos), Hen and.