In Greek mythology, Herse was an Athenian princess, daughter of King Cecrops and Aglaurus daughter of Actaeus, sister of Aglauros and Pandrosus. With her sisters she was entrusted with the infant Erichthonius; in Apollodorus she and Aglauros open the basket and leap from the Acropolis. Ovid instead has her desired by Hermes (Mercury), while Envy-poisoned Aglauros blocks the way and is turned to stone. Distinct from Herse/Ersa daughter of Selene and from the Danaid consort of Danaus.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Herse (daughter of Cecrops)" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Erichthonius and the basket
Athena placed the earth-born infant Erichthonius in a willow basket and charged Cecrops' three daughters never to look inside. Apollodorus and related strands have Herse and Aglauros disobey; seeing the child intertwined with a snake, they go mad and leap from the Acropolis. Pandrosus alone obeys. Shrines for Herse and Aglauros stood on the rock; the tale was linked to the Arrhephoria ("Festival of the Dew Carriers").
An alternate telling has a crow report the opening to Athena, who drops the limestone mountain that becomes Mount Lycabettus in her rage — again driving the sisters to suicide.
II.Hermes and Aglauros
Ovid's Metamorphoses Book 2 gives a different close: Herse and Pandrosus obey Athena, while Aglauros looks. Later Hermes falls in love with Herse at an Athenian festival; Aglauros bargains for gold to carry his message, then, poisoned by Envy at Athena's command, bars the door and is turned into a black marble statue. Hermes' union with Herse yields Cephalus (and, in some notices, Ceryx).
Atlas id herse-cecrops is only the Cecropid princess — not Selene's daughter Ersa/Herse, and not the obscure Danaid mother named Herse.