In
Greek mythology, the daughter of
Cecrops, sister of
Herse and
Pandrosus. When the city of
Athens was
once
under siege for a very long time,
Aglaulus
voluntarily hurled herself from the
Acropolis, because
an
oracle had spoken that through such a sacrifice the
city would be saved. Most people would call this total
insanity, but in
ancient Greece, it was considered reverence to
Apollo. Go figure. Anyway, in her
temple young
Athenian
men who were called for service made the
oath to
guard their
fatherland.
In a more believable story, the goddess Athena had
entrusted the three sisters a small box that was not to
be opened under any circumstance; the young hero
Erichthonius had been laid inside the box. When
Aglaulus and Herse opened the box and looked upon
the face of the child, they were stricken with madness
...and hurled themselves from the Acropolis.
(c) Encyclopedia Mythica, http://www.pantheon.org/