In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Ceryx or Keryx (English translation

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: "herald") was a son of Hermes

Hermes

Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...

 and either Pandrosus

Pandrosus

Pandrosus was a figure in Greek mythology, and a daughter of Cecrops, sister to Herse and Aglauros....

 or Agraulus

Aglaulus, daughter of Cecrops

Aglaulus or Agraulos was in Greek mythology the daughter of Cecrops and Aglaulus, daughter of Actaeus. She had two offspring by two different gods, Alcippe and Ceryx...

. He was, like his father, a messenger of the gods.

According to Pausanias, he was the youngest son of Eumolpus

Eumolpus

In Greek mythology, Eumolpus was the son of Poseidon and Chione. According to Apollodorus, Chione, daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia, pregnant with Eumolpus by Poseidon, was frightened of her father's reaction so she threw the baby into the ocean...

, one of the first priests of 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...

 at Eleusis and a founder of the Eleusinian Mysteries

Eleusinian Mysteries

The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance...

.

He founded the two families of high priests in Eleusis: the Kerykes

Kerykes

The Kerykes were one of the sacred Eleusinian families of priests that ran the Eleusinian Mysteries during the Hellenic era. They popularized the cult and allowed many more to be initiated into the great secrets of Demeter and Persephone. Starting about 300 BC, the state took over control of the...

 (or Kerukes

Kerukes

In Athens, the Kerukes were an ancient family of traditional priests said to be descended from Hermes through Ceryx....

, a family of priests in Athens) and the Eumolpidae

Eumolpidae

The Eumolpidae were a family of priests at Eleusis who maintained the Eleusinian Mysteries during the Hellenic era. As hierophants, they popularized the cult and allowed many more to be initiated into the secrets of Demeter and Persephone....

.