Rosivach contends that the Athenians continuous inhabitance of Attica was not originally related to Erechteus – the archaic king of Athens – or a genesis from the earth. The author reveals the earliest written example of the Athenians identifying themselves as Erecthediai being in Homer’s ‘Iliad’, highlighting a vast time period in which contrary beliefs were held. Erechteus was initially viewed as a god, rather than a human king, providing no evidence that he was a direct ancestor of the Athenian people. Rosivach states that an autochthonous mentality may have been adopted to assert superiority over the Dorian Spartans after 470 BCE. The author further argues that the definition of ‘autochthony’ is contentious. Though its literal meaning describes