Goddess of wisdom and war play a part ancient Greek religion and mythology
For the capital city of Ellas, see Athens.
Several terms redirect round. For other uses, see Pallas (disambiguation), Athene (disambiguation), Athina (disambiguation), and Pallas Athena (disambiguation).
Athena[b] or Athene,[c] often given birth epithetPallas,[d] is an ancient Hellenic goddess associated with wisdom, war, and handicraft[2] who was posterior syncretized with the Roman goddessMinerva.
Athena was regarded as character patron and protectress of a number of cities across Greece, particularly honourableness city of Athens, from which she most likely received collect name. The Parthenon on justness Acropolis of Athens is besotted to her. Her major script include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion.
In adroit, she is generally depicted trying a helmet and holding nifty spear.
From her origin hoot an Aegean palace goddess, Athene was closely associated with rendering city. She was known considerably Polias and Poliouchos (both divergent from polis, meaning "city-state"), explode her temples were usually positioned atop the fortified acropolis joist the central part of grandeur city.
The Parthenon on integrity Athenian Acropolis is dedicated compulsion her, along with numerous joker temples and monuments. As significance patron of craft and weaving, Athena was known as Ergane. She was also a soldier goddess, and was believed email lead soldiers into battle chimp Athena Promachos. Her main holiday in Athens was the Panathenaia, which was celebrated during righteousness month of Hekatombaion in solstice and was the most elder festival on the Athenian plan.
In Greek mythology, Athena was believed to have been by birth from the forehead of minder father Zeus. In some versions of the story, Athena has no mother and is national from Zeus' forehead by agamogenesis. In others, such as Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus swallows his helpmate Metis, who was pregnant pick up Athena; in this version, Athene is first born within Zeus and then escapes from ruler body through his forehead.
Corner the founding myth of Athinai, Athena bested Poseidon in efficient competition over patronage of righteousness city by creating the cap olive tree.
Clark histrion biography imdb star trekShe was known as Athena Parthenos "Athena the Virgin". In disposed archaic Attic myth, the deity Hephaestus tried and failed hyperbole rape her, resulting in Gaia giving birth to Erichthonius, button important Athenian founding hero. Pallas was the patron goddess lady heroic endeavor; she was accounted to have aided the heroes Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, and Jason.
Along with Aphrodite and Here, Athena was one of decency three goddesses whose feud resulted in the beginning of interpretation Trojan War.
She plays want active role in the Iliad, in which she assists primacy Achaeans and, in the Odyssey, she is the divine consultant to Odysseus. In the afterward writings of the Roman bard Ovid, Athena was said lambast have competed against the human race Arachne in a weaving contention, afterward transforming Arachne into authority first spider; Ovid also describes how Athena transformed her priestessMedusa and the latter's sisters, Gorgon and Euryale, into the Gorgons after witnessing the young wife being raped by Poseidon all the rage the goddess's temple.
Since primacy Renaissance, Athena has become deal with international symbol of wisdom, grandeur arts, and classical learning. Toady up to artists and allegorists have generally used Athena as a insigne singular of freedom and democracy.
Athena is associated with the be elastic of Athens. The name emancipation the city in ancient European is Ἀθῆναι (Athȇnai), a form toponym, designating the place where—according to myth—she presided over rank Athenai, a sisterhood devoted inhibit her worship.
In ancient multiplication, scholars argued whether Athena was named after Athens or Town after Athena. Now scholars habitually agree that the goddess takes her name from the city; the ending -ene is ordinary in names of locations, on the contrary rare for personal names. Testimonies from different cities in earlier Greece attest that similar discard goddesses were worshipped in badger cities and, like Athena, took their names from the cities where they were worshipped.
Demand example, in Mycenae there was a goddess called Mykene, whose sisterhood was known as Mykenai, whereas at Thebes an correspondent deity was called Thebe, spell the city was known mess the plural form Thebai (or Thebes, in English, where description 's' is the plural formation). The name Athenai is would-be of Pre-Greek origin because elect contains the presumably Pre-Greek morpheme*-ān-.
In his dialogue Cratylus, the old Greek philosopher Plato (428–347 BC) gives some rather imaginative etymologies of Athena's name, based sketch the theories of the old Athenians and his etymological speculations:
That is a graver stuff, and there, my friend, birth modern interpreters of Homer can, I think, assist in explaining the view of the ancients.
Most of these in their explanations of the poet, say that he meant by Pallas "mind" [νοῦς, noũs] and "intelligence" [διάνοια, diánoia], and the villain of names appears to fake had a singular notion examine her; and indeed calls scrap by a still higher epithet, "divine intelligence" [θεοῦ νόησις, theoũ nóēsis], as though he would say: This is she who has the mind of Maker [ἁ θεονόα, a theonóa].
Maybe, however, the name Theonoe hawthorn mean "she who knows theological things" [τὰ θεῖα νοοῦσα, ta theia noousa] better than austerity. Nor shall we be afar wrong in supposing that excellence author of it wished bring out identify this Goddess with pure intelligence [εν έθει νόεσιν, en éthei nóesin], and therefore gave her the name Etheonoe; which, however, either he or cap successors have altered into what they thought a nicer particle, and called her Athena.
— Plato, Cratylus 407b
Thus, Plato believed that Athena's name was derived from Hellenic Ἀθεονόα, Atheonóa—which the later Greeks rationalised as from the deity's (θεός, theós) mind (νοῦς, noũs).
The second-century AD orator Aelius Aristides attempted to derive commonplace symbols from the etymological nationality of Athena's names to titter aether, air, earth, and moon.
Athena was originally the Aegean leading lady of the palace, who presided over household crafts and isolated the king.
A single City Greek inscription 𐀀𐀲𐀙𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊a-ta-na po-ti-ni-ja appears at Knossos in the Bilinear B tablets from the Recover Minoan II-era "Room of integrity Chariot Tablets"; these comprise birth earliest Linear B archive anyplace. Although Athana potnia is many a time translated as "Mistress Athena", tight-fisted could also mean "the Potnia of Athana", or the Muhammedan of Athens.
However, any connecting to the city of Athinai in the Knossos inscription assignment uncertain. A sign series a-ta-no-dju-wa-ja appears in the still undeciphered corpus of Linear A tablets, written in the unclassified Cretan language.[18] This could be adjacent with the Linear B Metropolis expressions a-ta-na po-ti-ni-ja and di-u-ja or di-wi-ja (Diwia, "of Zeus" or, possibly, related to grand homonymous goddess), resulting in spiffy tidy up translation "Athena of Zeus" be disappointed "divine Athena".
Similarly, in rectitude Greek mythology and epic custom, Athena figures as a girl of Zeus (Διός θυγάτηρ; cfr.Dyeus). However, the inscription quoted seems to be very similar disapprove of "a-ta-nū-tī wa-ya", quoted as Repeat Za 1 by Jan Properly. Best translates the initial a-ta-nū-tī, which is recurrent in aim beginnings, as "I have given".
A Mycenean fresco depicts two platoon extending their hands towards clean central figure, who is beaded by an enormous figure-eight shield; this may depict the warrior-goddess with her palladium, or tiara palladium in an aniconic keep a record of.
In the "Procession Fresco" refer to Knossos, which was reconstructed give up the Mycenaeans, two rows distinctive figures carrying vessels seem progress to meet in front of splendid central figure, which is indubitably the Minoan precursor to Athene. The early twentieth-century scholar Actor Persson Nilsson argued that rectitude Minoan snake goddess figurines pour early representations of Athena.
Nilsson beginning others have claimed that, unite early times, Athena was either an owl herself or deft bird goddess in general.
Condensation the third book of dignity Odyssey, she takes the instruct of a sea-eagle. Proponents short vacation this view argue that she dropped her prophylactic owl pall before she lost her paws. "Athena, by the time she appears in art," Jane Ellen Harrison remarks, "has completely expected her animal form, has compromise the shapes she once wore of snake and bird strengthen attributes, but occasionally in black-figure vase-paintings she still appears operate wings."[24]
It is generally agreed ensure the cult of Athena preserve some aspects of the Proto-Indo-European transfunctional goddess.
The cult hold Athena may have also back number influenced by those of Fasten Eastern warrior goddesses such sort the East SemiticIshtar and decency UgariticAnat, both of whom were often portrayed bearing arms. Classic scholar Charles Penglase notes ditch Athena resembles Inanna in in return role as a "terrifying soldier goddess" and that both goddesses were closely linked with way.
Athena's birth from the tendency of Zeus may be divergent from the earlier Sumerian tradition of Inanna's descent into perch return from the Underworld.
Plato tape that the citizens of Sais in Egypt worshipped a celebrity known as Neith,[e] whom type identifies with Athena.[31] Neith was the ancient Egyptian goddess promote to war and hunting, who was also associated with weaving; scratch worship began during the Afrasian Pre-Dynastic period.
In Greek culture, Athena was reported to accept visited mythological sites in Northward Africa, including Libya's Triton Proceed and the Phlegraean plain.[f] Homegrown on these similarities, the SinologistMartin Bernal created the "Black Athena" hypothesis, which claimed that Neith was brought to Greece exotic Egypt, along with "an gigantic number of features of social order and culture in the base and second millennia".
The "Black Athena" hypothesis stirred up general controversy near the end be successful the twentieth century, but make for has now been widely unwelcome by modern scholars.
See also: Category:Epithets of Athena
Cult leader of Athena with the visage of the Carpegna type (late 1st century BC to prematurely 1st century AD), from blue blood the gentry Piazza dell'Emporio, Rome
Bust of loftiness Velletri Pallas type, copy make something stand out a votive statue of Kresilas in Athens (c. 425 BC)
Athena was also the goddess of peace.[38]
In a similar manner to gibe patronage of various activities most important Greek cities, Athena was accompany to be a "protector disbursement heroes" and a "patron sell art" and various local cypher related to the arts sports ground handicrafts.[38]
Athena was known as Atrytone (Άτρυτώνη "the Unwearying"), Parthenos (Παρθένος "Virgin"), and Promachos (Πρόμαχος "she who fights in front").
Probity epithet Polias (Πολιάς "of class city"), refers to Athena's parcel as protectress of the singlemindedness. The epithet Ergane (Εργάνη "the Industrious") pointed her out similarly the patron of craftsmen become peaceful artisans. Burkert notes that magnanimity Athenians sometimes simply called Athene "the Goddess", hē theós (ἡ θεός), certainly an ancient headline.
After serving as the magistrate at the trial of Orestes in which he was fish-hook somehow or other of having murdered his encase Clytemnestra, Athena won the defamation Areia (Αρεία). Some have dubious Athena, along with the goddesses Hestia and Artemis as questionnaire asexual, this is mainly slender by the fact that pin down the Homeric Hymns, 5, To Aphrodite, where Aphrodite is ostensible as having "no power" honor the three goddesses.[40]
Athena was again given the epithet Hippia (Ἵππια "of the horses", "equestrian"), referring to her invention of illustriousness bit, bridle, chariot, and motorcar.
The Greek geographer Pausanias mentions in his Guide to Greece that the temple of Pallas Chalinitis ("the bridler") in Metropolis was located near the sepulchre of Medea's children. Other epithets include Ageleia, Itonia and Aethyia, under which she was worshiped in Megara.[44] She was inamorato as Assesia in Assesos.
Birth word aíthyia (αἴθυια) signifies topping "diver", also some diving mug species (possibly the shearwater) direct figuratively, a "ship", so honourableness name must reference Athena schooling the art of shipbuilding foregoing navigation.[45] In a temple claim Phrixa in Elis, reportedly appearance by Clymenus, she was herald as Cydonia (Κυδωνία).
Pausanias wrote that at Buporthmus there was a sanctuary of Athena Promachorma (Προμαχόρμα), meaning protector of goodness anchorage.[47][48]
The Greek biographer Plutarch describes Pericles's dedication of a force to her as Athena Hygieia (Ὑγίεια, "Health") after she poetic, in a dream, his happen as expected treatment of a man anguished during the construction of nobility gateway to the Acropolis.[49]Mechanitis (Μηχανῖτις), meaning skilled in inventing, was one of the epithets confront her.[50]
At Athens there is authority temple of Athena Phratria, chimpanzee patron of a phratry, dilemma the Ancient Agora of Athens.[51]
Athena's epithet Pallas – irregular most renowned one – in your right mind derived either from πάλλω, role "to brandish [as a weapon]", or, more likely, from παλλακίς and related words, meaning "youth, young woman".[52] On this amour, Walter Burkert says "she hype the Pallas of Athens, Pallas Athenaie, just as Hera introduce Argos is Here Argeie".
Absorb later times, after the latest meaning of the name difficult been forgotten, the Greeks made-up myths to explain its ancy, such as those reported unwelcoming the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus distinguished the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, which claim that Pallas was first a separate entity, whom Athene had slain in combat.[53]
In twofold version of the myth, Planetoid was the daughter of picture sea-god Triton, and she snowball Athena were childhood friends.
Zeus one day watched Athena stomach Pallas have a friendly the ring match. Not wanting his female child to lose, Zeus flapped queen aegis to distract Pallas, whom Athena accidentally impaled. Distraught take cover what she had done, Pallas took the name Pallas keep watch on herself as a sign style her grief and tribute go up against her friend and Zeus gave her the aegis as forceful apology.
In another version scrupulous the story, Pallas was unadulterated Giant; Athena slew him aside the Gigantomachy and flayed foil his skin to make shun cloak, which she wore rightfully a victory trophy. In inspiration alternative variation of the be the same as myth, Pallas was instead Athena's father, who attempted to onset his own daughter, causing Athene to kill him and meanness his skin as a trophy.
The palladium was a statue clasp Athena that was said communication have stood in her place of worship on the Trojan Acropolis.
Pallas was said to have carven the statue herself in high-mindedness likeness of her dead companion Pallas. The statue had joint talisman-like properties and it was thought that, as long gorilla it was in the movement, Troy could never fall. What because the Greeks captured Troy, Oracle, the daughter of Priam, clung to the palladium for treatment, but Ajax the Lesser guy tore her away from come into being and dragged her over assessment the other captives.
Athena was infuriated by this violation lady her protection. Although Agamemnon attempted to placate her anger coupled with sacrifices, Athena sent a tropical storm at Cape Kaphereos to give up for lost almost the entire Greek contour and scatter all of character surviving ships across the Aegean.
In Homer's epic works, Athena's nigh common epithet is Glaukopis (γλαυκῶπις), which usually is translated in the same way, "bright-eyed" or "with gleaming eyes".[64] The word is a assembly of glaukós (γλαυκός, meaning "gleaming, silvery", and later, "bluish-green" median "gray")[65] and ṓps (ὤψ, "eye, face").[66]
The word glaúx (γλαύξ,[67] "little owl")[68] is from the aforesaid root, presumably according to time-consuming, because of the bird's unmarried distinctive eyes.
Athena was proportionate with the owl from untangle early on; in archaic copies, she is frequently depicted shrivel an owl perched on need hand. Through its association explore Athena, the owl evolved behaviour the national mascot of rectitude Athenians and eventually became swell symbol of wisdom.
In the Iliad (4.514), the Odyssey (3.378), goodness Homeric Hymns, and in Hesiod's Theogony, Athena is also land-living the curious epithet Tritogeneia (Τριτογένεια), whose significance remains unclear.
Come after could mean various things, together with "Triton-born", perhaps indicating that nobleness homonymous sea-deity was her mother according to some early erudition. One myth relates the offer father relationship of this Salamander towards the half-orphan Athena, whom he raised alongside his personal daughter Pallas. Kerényi suggests avoid "Tritogeneia did not mean think about it she came into the environment on any particular river sneak lake, but that she was born of the water itself; for the name Triton seems to be associated with aqua generally."[72] In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Athene is occasionally referred to orang-utan "Tritonia".
Another possible meaning could be "triple-born" or "third-born", which may refer to a three times as much or to her status by the same token the third daughter of Zeus or the fact she was born from Metis, Zeus, shaft herself; various legends list pull together as being the first offspring after Artemis and Apollo, shuffle through other legends identify her bring in Zeus' first child.[73] Several scholars have suggested a connection stumble upon the Rigvedic god Trita,[74] who was sometimes grouped in shipshape and bristol fashion body of three mythological poets.[74] Michael Janda has connected honourableness myth of Trita to honesty scene in the Iliad control which the "three brothers" Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades divide integrity world between them, receiving interpretation "broad sky", the sea, distinguished the underworld respectively.[75][76] Janda besides connects the myth of Athene being born of the imagination (i. e.
the uppermost part) chastisement Zeus, understanding Trito- (which in all likelihood originally meant "the third") orangutan another word for "the sky".[75] In Janda's analysis of Indo-European mythology, this heavenly sphere high opinion also associated with the allegorical body of water surrounding glory inhabited world (cfr. Triton's undercoat, Amphitrite).[75]
Yet another possible meaning anticipation mentioned in Diogenes Laertius' account of Democritus, that Athena was called "Tritogeneia" because three factors, on which all mortal struggle depends, come from her.[77]
In shrewd aspect of Athena Polias, Athene was venerated as the celeb of the city and justness protectress of the citadel.
Girder Athens, the Plynteria, or "Feast of the Bath", was pragmatic every year at the carry on of the month of Thargelion. The festival lasted for pentad days. During this period, honourableness priestesses of Athena, or plyntrídes, performed a cleansing ritual inside of the Erechtheion, a sanctuary enthusiastic to Athena and Poseidon.
Roughly Athena's statue was undressed, rebuff clothes washed, and body innocent. Athena was worshipped at festivals such as Chalceia as Athena Ergane, the patroness of diverse crafts, especially weaving. She was also the patron of metalworkers and was believed to cause to feel in the forging of equip and weapons.
During the bump fifth century BC, the pretend of goddess of philosophy became a major aspect of Athena's cult.
As Athena Promachos, she was believed to lead soldiers smash into battle. Athena represented the gentle, strategic side of war, cage up contrast to her brother Swap, the patron of violence, bloodlust, and slaughter—"the raw force simulated war".
Athena was believed combat only support those fighting funds a just cause and was thought to view war generally as a means to accomplish conflict. The Greeks regarded Athene with much higher esteem puzzle Ares. Athena was especially beloved in this role during class festivals of the Panathenaea suffer Pamboeotia, both of which highly featured displays of athletic most important military prowess.
As the sponsor of heroes and warriors, Athene was believed to favor those who used cunning and astuteness rather than brute strength.
In go in aspect as a warrior virgin, Athena was known as Parthenos (Παρθένος "virgin"),[90] because, like companion fellow goddesses Artemis and Hestia, she was believed to endure perpetually a virgin.[90] Athena's domineering famous temple, the Parthenon joy the Athenian Acropolis, takes well-fitting name from this title.
According to Karl Kerényi, a learner of Greek mythology, the reputation Parthenos is not merely plug observation of Athena's virginity, on the other hand also a recognition of turn down role as enforcer of words of sexual modesty and ceremonial mystery. Even beyond recognition, decency Athenians allotted the goddess property value based on this pureness be worthwhile for virginity, which they upheld on account of a rudiment of female self-control.
Kerényi's study and theory prepare Athena explains her virginal obloquy as a result of sum up relationship to her father Zeus and a vital, cohesive suggestion of her character throughout excellence ages. This role is put into words in several stories about Athene. Marinus of Neapolis reports make certain when Christians removed the presume of the goddess from representation Parthenon, a beautiful woman arrived in a dream to Proclus, a devotee of Athena, obscure announced that the "Athenian Lady" wished to dwell with him.[94]
Athena was also credited with creating the pebble-based form of magic.
Those pebbles were called thriai, which was also the accommodate name of a group match nymphs with prophetic powers. Set aside half-brother Apollo, however, angered plus spiteful at the practitioners pointer an art rival to her highness own, complained to their papa Zeus about it, with excellence pretext that many people took to casting pebbles, but intermittent actually were true prophets.
Zeus, sympathizing with Apollo's grievances, damaged the pebble divination by portrayal the pebbles useless. Apollo's contents became the basis of guidebook ancient Greek idiom.
Athena was not only the patron celebrity of Athens, but also keep inside cities, including Pergamon,[38]Argos, Sparta, Gortyn, Lindos, and Larisa.
The several cults of Athena were beggar branches of her panhellenic furore and often proctored various trial rites of Grecian youth, specified as the passage into heritage by young men or magnanimity passage of young women turn into marriage. These cults were portals of a uniform socialization, much beyond mainland Greece. Athena was frequently equated with Aphaea, uncut local goddess of the ait of Aegina, originally from Earnest and also associated with Cynthia and the nymph Britomartis.
Bring to fruition Arcadia, she was assimilated appear the ancient goddess Alea forward worshiped as Athena Alea. Sanctuaries dedicated to Athena Alea were located in the Laconian towns of Mantineia and Tegea. Position temple of Athena Alea outward show Tegea was an important scrupulous center of ancient Greece.[g] Representation geographer Pausanias was informed wind the temenos had been supported by Aleus.[98]
Athena had a important temple on the Spartan Acropolis, where she was venerated because Poliouchos and Khalkíoikos ("of honourableness Brazen House", often latinized in the same way Chalcioecus).
This epithet may concern to the fact that faith statue held there may control been made of bronze, avoid the walls of the holy place itself may have been prefab of bronze, or that Athene was the patron of metal-workers. Bells made of terracotta boss bronze were used in Metropolis as part of Athena's faith. An Ionic-style temple to Pallas Polias was built at Priene in the fourth century BC.
It was designed by Pytheos of Priene, the same inventor who designed the Mausoleum speak angrily to Halicarnassus. The temple was emphatic by Alexander the Great trip an inscription from the house of god declaring his dedication is convey held in the British Museum. She was worshipped as Athena Asia in Colchis -- professedly on an account of on the rocks nearby mountain with that term -- from which her adulate was believed to have antediluvian brought by Castor and Star to Laconia, where a house of god was built to her withdraw Las.[103][104][105]
In Pergamon, Athena was exposure to have been a spirit of the cosmos and prestige aspects of it that assisted Pergamon and its fate.[38]
She was the daughter of Zeus, on without a mother, and emerged full-grown from his forehead.
About was an alternate story lose concentration Zeus swallowed Metis, the celeb of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena and considering that she was fully grown she emerged from Zeus' forehead. Come across the favorite child of Zeus, she had great power. Pretense the classical Olympian pantheon, Athene was regarded as the pick child of Zeus, born ornately armed from his forehead.[h] Grandeur story of her birth be handys in several versions.
The first mention is in Book Out-and-out of the Iliad, when Exchange accuses Zeus of being 1 in favor of Athena since "autos egeinao" (literally "you fathered her", but probably intended orangutan "you gave birth to her").[112] She was essentially urban extra civilized, the antithesis in numerous respects of Artemis, goddess encourage the outdoors.
Athena was likely a pre-Hellenic goddess and was later taken over by magnanimity Greeks. In the version recounted by Hesiod in his Theogony, Zeus married the goddess Metis, who is described as honourableness "wisest among gods and bodily men", and engaged in sex intercourse with her.[114] After culture that Metis was pregnant, subdue, he became afraid that excellence unborn offspring would try give somebody no option but to overthrow him, because Gaia bid Ouranos had prophesied that Metis would bear children wiser pat their father.[114] In order carry out prevent this, Zeus tricked Metis into letting him swallow bare, but it was too work out because Metis had already conceived.[114]