Ascalabus, a son of Misme. When Demeter

Demeter

In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...

 on her wanderings in search of her daughter Persephone

Persephone

In Greek mythology, Persephone , also called Kore , is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld; she was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld....

 came to Misme in Attica, the goddess was received kindly, and being exhausted and thirsty, Misme gave her something to drink (a kykeon

Kykeon

Kykeon was an Ancient Greek drink made mainly of water, barley and naturally occurring substances. It was used at the climax of the Eleusinian Mysteries to break a sacred fast, but it was also a favourite drink of Greek peasants.Kykeon is mentioned in Homeric texts: the Iliad describes it as...

). As the goddess emptied the vessel at one draught, Ascalabus laughed at her, and ordered a whole cask to be brought. Demeter indignant at his conduct, sprinkled the few remaining drops from her vessel upon him and thereby changed him into a lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

. For different legends respecting what happened to Demeter on her arrival in Attica, see Baubo

Baubo

Baubo is an old woman in Greek mythology who jested with Demeter when she was mourning the loss of her daughter Persephone.In his Greek Myths, Robert Graves writes that Demeter was the guest of King Celeus in Eleusis...

, Iambe

Iambe

Iambe in Greek mythology was a Thracian woman, daughter of Pan and Echo and a servant of Metaneira, the wife of Hippothoon. Others call her a slave of Celeus,king of Eleusis...

, and Metaneira.