Pallas Athena, Great Mother Goddess

Pallas Athena is a representative of the highest world all-conquering power, one of the most revered goddesses of Ancient Greece, one of the twelve great Olympian gods. She was revered as the goddess of knowledge, arts and crafts; warrior maiden, patroness of cities and states, sciences and craftsmanship, intelligence, dexterity, and ingenuity.

The image of Pallas Athena arouses the genuine interest of many researchers who talk about the sacred meaning of myths about her deeds, name and attributes.

Athena stands out from the rest of the Greek pantheon. Unlike other female deities, she wears armor, holds a spear, and is accompanied by sacred animals.

The required attributes of her image are:

  • helmet(usually Corinthian - with a high comb),
  • aegis(shield), covered with goatskin and decorated with the head of Medusa the Gorgon,
  • goddess Nike as an accompaniment,
  • olive- sacred tree of the ancient Greeks,
  • owl,
  • snake.

What do these attributes mean?

Helmet and shield- These are traditional military symbols, because Athena is a warrior maiden, which many have interpreted as a symbol of equality between men and women, as well as a symbol of mastery in the art of war, since Athena is the goddess of just war.

Nika- in ancient Greek mythology, the winged goddess of victory, she often accompanies Pallas Athena, as she is a symbol of a successful result, a happy outcome of something.

Olive- a sacred tree that is a symbol of wisdom. One of the interpretations of the symbolism of this tree is given by the Neoplatonist Porfiry: “... the olive as a symbol of Divine Wisdom. This is the tree of Athena, Athena is wisdom... Being ever-blooming, the olive tree has some properties that are most convenient for indicating the paths of the soul in space... In summer, the white side of the leaves turns upward, while in winter the lighter parts turn in the opposite direction. When flowering olive branches are extended in prayers and supplications, they hope that the darkness of dangers will be turned into light... So the cosmos is governed by the eternal and ever-blooming wisdom of intellectual nature, from which a victorious reward is given to the athletes of life and healing from many hardships.”

Owl- in ancient Greek mythology, it is a symbol of wisdom and knowledge due to the fact that the natural behavior of the bird reminded the Hellenes of the lifestyle of philosophers striving for solitude, and the owl’s ability to see in the dark made it a symbol of insight.

Snake- also a traditional symbol of wisdom.

Pallas Athena appears to heroes in ancient Greek myths and helps them accomplish feats. She helps Perseus defeat the Gorgon Medusa, and Cadmus defeat the dragon and become king of Thebes. It was the warrior maiden who became the patroness of Hercules and more than once helped him in his exploits. Athena also patronizes the heroes of the Iliad and Odyssey. And there are many such examples in Greek mythology. The goddess Athena always accompanies the heroes.

Who are the heroes? “Hero” literally means “valiant man, leader” from ancient Greek. And it seems to me that the defining word here is “leader,” i.e. the one who leads other people, and you must agree that no matter how lucky and brave the ruler is, if he is devoid of wisdom, then many of his undertakings will be doomed to failure. A wise person is guided by thought, but not a chaotic one, as is often the case in our everyday life, but one based on love, in other words, deified. “A person must be able to control his thoughts” .

Let us turn to the legend about the birth of the warrior goddess.

Her birth is unusual. The most common version is told in Hesiod’s Theogony, which tells that Athena’s father was Zeus, the chief of the Olympian gods, who owns the whole world, and her mother was Metida or otherwise Metis, in ancient Greek mythology she personified wisdom and was the first wife of Zeus.

Uranus (god of the Sky) and Gaia (goddess of the Earth) predicted to Zeus that his wife would give birth to a son who would surpass him. To prevent this, when Metis became pregnant, Zeus put her to sleep with gentle speeches and swallowed her, after which Athena, who united the wisdom of her father and mother, was born from his head on the third day. Her birth was helped by the god of Fire Hephaestus and one of the Titans, the protector of people Prometheus. Hephaestus hit Zeus’s aching head with a hammer, and Prometheus took Athena (his name literally means “thinking before”, “foreseeing”).

What is a legend in allegorical terms?

Here is what Herodotus writes in his historical treatise: “As for the customs of the Persians, then... They usually make sacrifices to Zeus on the tops of the mountains and call the entire firmament Zeus. That is, Herodotus associated the Persian god Ahura Mazda with the ancient Greek father of the gods Zeus.

In Mark and Elizabeth Prophet's book, The Masters and Their Abodes, it is written: “The Ascended Masters teach that the supreme God of Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda, is Sanat Kumara. The name "Ahura Mazda" means "Wise Lord" or "Lord who bestows knowledge."

In other words, Zeus (Ahura Mazda - Sanat Kumara) is the god of Reason, who, uniting with wisdom (Metis), created the daughter Pallas Athena.

Now it seems strange to us such an unusual birth of a goddess. However, in The Secret Doctrine H.P. Blavatsky, in particular, in the cited fragments from the book of Dzian, it is written: “... Will-Born Lords, aspired by the Life-Giver Spirit...”

Here is the interpretation given in the book by T.N. Mikushina on this matter:

In various ancient teachings... mention is made of the Supreme Spirits... who are “first-born” by Brahma, born of the Mind..."

In other words, thought was the fundamental principle of all things, and the Highest Lords, or Gods, were initially born precisely with the help of its life-giving power.

From this we can safely conclude that Pallas Athena is the embodiment of divine thought, divine expression of will, or spatial thought. And we know that thought is energy, and in Agni Yoga it is written that “of all creative energies, thought remains the highest,” hence the reverence of the ancient Greeks for the goddess who stands next to Zeus. “Even earthly thought can move dense objects - one can imagine all the creative power of the thought of the Higher World!”

Hence the variety of activities of Pallas Athena. She is not only a warrior goddess, but also the patroness of crafts, art, cities, a healer, a fortuneteller, a weaver, i.e. it is everywhere and in everything that requires the presence of thought.

And if we remember that legends were not given to people in vain, then we can imagine what cosmic power the goddess Athena was endowed with; she combines the wisdom of Metis, the power of fire of Hephaestus and the power of foresight of Prometheus. “Cosmic Breath is the fire of Space. All cosmic manifestations are saturated with fire, and thought... is fire.”

Pallas Athena was given many names and epithets that revealed the functions of the goddess, helping people understand her meaning: Areya - the redeemer, Bulaya - councillor, Aglavra – light-air, Poliukhos – city ​​protector, Ergana - worker - all these are names of the goddess, one way or another personifying Divine Wisdom. She was given various epithets to help understand and explain her functions.

Homer, for example, uses the epithet “Glavkopis” (Greek:), i.e. owl-eyed or light-eyed. Indeed, descriptions often emphasize the goddess’s large, shining eyes. Even in this little thing, great wisdom slips through, symbolically encrypted in ancient legends: “Fire... is noticed only in the eyes. The word does not express it, and the mark does not depict it, for its flame is in that thought that is not expressed through the bodily shell. Only the mirror of the eyes allows sparks of higher thought to pass through. Those eyes will discern sparks of cosmic rays, which crude vision will simply call the light of the sun.”

It is not surprising that for the ancient Greeks, the importance of Athena was equal to Zeus, and sometimes even surpassed him.

Let's not ignore the most famous second name of the goddess - Pallas. According to one legend, Athena received her second name when she defeated the goat-like flying giant Pallant, who wanted to commit violence against Athena when the Titans rebelled against the gods, but the goddess crushed the giant, tore off his skin and made her shield out of it.

If we decipher this allegory, we will get the following interpretation.

In man, the spiritual world and the physical world are united. When a person manifests the divine world through himself, he becomes god-like, but when he renounces God, then, plunging more and more into matter, he becomes like a beast. That is why in ancient legends (and not only in Greek) half-humans, half-beasts are most often depicted as wild, evil creatures, unable to control themselves and bringing destruction, for example, let us remember the well-known legends about centaurs or werewolves. That is why victory over the beast, i.e. carnal, part of themselves elevates these creatures (for example, the wise centaur Chiron - the teacher of heroes). Therefore, allegorically, Athena’s victory over the titan with animal traits is a victory over lower matter and its use for divine purposes.

As a result, according to the Russian philosopher and philologist A.F. Losev, Athena and all her accomplishments appear before us as if they were a direct continuation of Zeus. She is the executor of his plans and will, his thought realized in action. She is like fate and the Great Mother Goddess, who is known in archaic mythology as the parent and destroyer of all living things.

Professor Z.S. wrote about the sacred significance of Pallas Athena. Shelomentseva in the essay “Athena-Sophia-Menfra”: “The Goddess on Earth, bringing Divinity to our world as Divine Grace. She was allowed by the Almighty to carry not only the wisdom of the Father, but also His plan for our earthly world. She acts as an ideologist of Divine Wisdom, as a theorist, leader and organizer. She is the Goddess of wisdom, crafts and just war and, when necessary, enters into battle, expressing with her armor her constant readiness to defend the Truth."

Today there are few who revere Pallas Athena as the goddess of Truth and divine Wisdom, who still stands guard over this world. Therefore, I would like to conclude this article with a poem dedicated to her.

Dedication

“...the whole world is God's gift to you...
to get to know yourself and the world around you.”
Pallas Athena. "Word of Wisdom"

Born in golden rain,
In the throne room is the reigning mother,
Clear-eyed, wise, strict,
Guardian of Divine Truth!

You gave harmony in art,
The beauty and peace of craft,
Justice and courage to warriors,
When trouble came.

Please accept my great gratitude
For the fact that, forgotten, into the world
Continued to defend the Truth
Think clearly and love wisely.

Zhurkova E.G.

Sources:

1. Agni Yoga / Ed. Kagan G.I., Kalzhanova G.I., Rodichev Yu.E. – Samara: Roerich Center for Spiritual Culture, 1992. – In 3 volumes.

2. Herodotus. History in nine books / Translation by G.A. Stratanovsky, ed. S.L. Utchenko. – Leningrad: Science, 1972.

3. Karchevskaya Leka. Dedication (Electronic data) / Stikhi.ru [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.stihi.ru/2015/07/15/5117, free. – Title from the screen.

4. Losev A.F. Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia in 2 volumes. – M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1980. – T. 1.

5. . – Omsk: Publishing House “Sirius”, 2008. – 166 p.

6. Porfiry. About the cave of nymphs (Electronic data) / Platonopolis [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: free. – Title from the screen.

7. Shelomentseva Z.S. Athena-Sophia-Menfra. Philosophical and cultural essay (Electronic data) / Beesona.ru [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.beesona.ru/id531/literature/, free.

2. Sri Swami Sivananda. Lord Shiva and His Worship. / Library of Vedic literature. – Penza: Golden Section, 1999 – 384 p.

If we start with Athena’s “official duties,” the list is truly amazing. She patronizes not only wisdom and war. Athena was considered the goddess of a large list of crafts: shipbuilding, weaving, spinning, making horse harness and metal products, pottery and plowing. She patronized the medicinal art and taught it to the god of medicine, Asclepius. She invented statehood and laws, taught people to cook on the hearth.

In fact, the description of what Athena gave to people and what she patronized is very similar to the gifts and areas of influence of the supreme deities or demigods - the founders of civilization among many other peoples. Why then is Zeus considered the supreme god?

Birth of Athena. Drawing on a vase

It must be said that in the Greek lands a large number of large and small deities were revered, and for a very long time not one of them was considered the main one over all the other gods. A coherent system in which each god has his own place in the huge Olympian family was the result of priests and thinkers bringing all local beliefs to a certain general form. This happened already at the time of the formation of a clear power hierarchy of society, the strengthening of statehood, and the new system of the hierarchy of gods corresponded to new ideas about how any community in the world should be structured.

So the gods got their own king. He became the god of thunder, lightning and, possibly, fair vengeance - Zeus. Along with the new role, he probably acquired new functions - exactly those that the divine reflection of the earthly king and patriarch of the family should have had.

Zeus is considered the father of Athena. According to one version of events, he swallowed the goddess of thought Metis, after which Zeus had a terrible headache. Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, split his head, and Athena and the goddess of victory Nike flew out. In another version, Metis is also absent, and Athena turns out to be the embodied thought of Zeus. Some researchers believe that such a terrifying method of birth speaks of the antiquity of the myth; others consider the version with Metis and the head of Zeus to be an attempt to reconcile and connect the lines of the official supreme god and the much more popular and significant goddess for the common people.


Painting by René-Antoine Ouasse

The plot with the giant Pallas can probably be considered closer to the original birth story. At least the story of the goddess killing her father - a cruel old god trying to rape his daughter - logically parallels the story of Zeus, who rebelled against his father Kronos, who devoured his own children. When people's ideas about what is good and bad change, stories appear about how new deities kill old ones who are too wild and ferocious.

By the way, in another story with Pallas, his daughter turns out to be Athena’s playmate Nick. Perhaps Nike and Athena were originally sisters and killed their rapist father together. Either way, they are portrayed as inseparable.

Defender of women

Athena has a difficult relationship not only with Zeus. Firstly, it partially duplicates both his functions and the functions of some other gods, for example, Ares, the god of war, and Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths and crafts. Secondly, she constantly competes with Ares and Poseidon, the god of the oceans, and invariably emerges victorious from the confrontation with them. But Poseidon is the brother of Zeus, the king of the gods. Athena is shown to be virtually his equal in strength.


One of Athena's constant opponents is the god of the seas Poseidon

The most famous myth about their confrontation is the dispute over who will become the patron of the city of Athens. It is usually known in this form: the gods decide to see who can give people a more valuable gift. Poseidon sticks a trident into the ground, and a spring gushes out of the rock. Athena stabs the spear and it turns into an olive tree. But the spring contains salty sea water instead of fresh water. Poseidon's gift is declared useless, and Athena wins. The city is named after her.

There is another version of this myth. When it is the Athenians' turn to vote for the gods, all the men choose Poseidon and all the women choose Athena. There are one more women than men. The goddess wins. Enraged, Poseidon causes a flood that nearly wipes out the city. As punishment, Athenian women are forever deprived of the right to vote, citizenship, and the right to pass on their name (like patronymic) to their children.

Athena was depicted in royal robes and armor

This myth shows, first of all, how popular Athena was among women. And not without reason. She patronized not only weaving and spinning. People approached her with requests to help get pregnant or save her from rape (who else?). For example, the Trojan princess Cassandra prayed to Athena for the latter. Athena could not help her, but took revenge by depriving the rapist of his mind. Athena herself in myths cleverly avoids rape. Father Zeus gives her as a wife to Hephaestus in payment for weapons for the gods. Hephaestus tries to take Athena by force, but she fights off and runs away.

Goddess of beauty and fertility

Another feature of Athena that is often forgotten is beauty and power over beauty. She participates in stories where her beauty is challenged. For example, during the famous trial of Paris, she competes equally with the main female goddess Hera and the goddess of beauty and love Aphrodite (by the way, the wife of Hephaestus). During the celebrations, a tall and at the same time very beautiful hetaera was chosen to portray Athena. Athena herself also bestows beauty and youth on Odysseus and Penelope when Odysseus returns home. She patronizes them and acts as a lover to a couple. So researchers have every reason to believe that the image of Aphrodite could be separated from the image of Athena. Hence the “common” husband.

Is the image of a goddess of both love and war surprising? No. It's not even unique. The ancient Akkadian goddess Ishtar, for example, combines these qualities. Only, unlike Ishtar, the goddess of war Athena and her favorites Odysseus and Achilles avoid war in every possible way. Odysseus finds a way to prevent war over the wedding of Helen the Beautiful, for example. True, he still has to participate in the war because of her next marriage.

Rebecca Guay. Athena

We can judge the antiquity of Athena as a deity by the fact that she has animal attributes: she is associated with owls and snakes. She has “owl eyes” (that is, sparkling), she is depicted together with an owl. She conceives a snake son from Hephaestus (although she bears the conceived Gaia), on her shield is the head of a Gorgon with snake hair, Virgil describes her armor as covered with snake scales.

Snakes are a very archaic symbol of both fertility and connection with the afterlife. In addition, psychoanalysts interpret goddesses with snakes or snake attributes as female matriarchs who have tamed or appropriated the aggressive masculine principle. On Crete, an island where Athena was especially revered, many very ancient figurines of a female deity with snakes in her hands are found. Perhaps the Cretan snake goddess is related to Owl-Eye! It is significant that women in Crete led an active social life.

And maybe the Athenians once did too. And the myth about the dispute between Athena and Poseidon was needed to establish as a matter of course the deprivation of the citizens of Athens from their civil rights. In any case, one day the Greek gods lost to Christianity, and the temples of Athena, including the famous Parthenon, were destroyed by people and time.

Athena is the daughter of Zeus, born in an unusual way. Zeus met with the daughter of Ocean Metis; when she turned out to be pregnant, Zeus swallowed her up, since she predicted that after her daughter she would give birth to a son who would become the ruler of the sky. But Zeus himself was such a ruler and therefore did this. After some time, Zeus felt a terrible pain in his head and, in order to get rid of it, ordered Hephaestus to hit his head with an ax. Hephaestus obeyed. He cut the head of the Thunderer, and Athena came out from there in full warrior clothes with a spear in her hand and an iron helmet on her head. Beautiful and majestic, she stood before the amazed Zeus, her eyes shining with wisdom.


Athena is the goddess of wisdom and just war, the goddess of organized war, military strategy and wisdom, one of the most revered goddesses of Ancient Greece, one of the twelve great Olympian gods. Also, goddess of knowledge, arts and crafts; warrior maiden, patroness of cities and states, sciences and craftsmanship, intelligence, dexterity, and ingenuity. Unlike other female deities, she uses male attributes - she is dressed in armor and holds a spear in her hands. She is given honors after Zeus and her place is closest to Zeus. Along with the new functions of the goddess of military power, Athena retained her matriarchal independence, manifested in her understanding as a maiden and protector of chastity. The ancient zoomorphic past of the goddess is indicated by her attributes - a snake and an owl. Homer calls Athena the "owl-eyed" and "variegated snake." Among the indispensable attributes of Athena - the aegis - is a shield made of goatskin with the head of the serpent-haired Medusa, which has enormous magical power and frightens gods and people.

Although the cult of Athena was widespread throughout mainland and island Greece (Arcadia, Argolis, Corinth, Sikyon, Thessaly, Boeotia, Crete, Rhodes), she was especially revered in Attica, in Athens (the name of the city of Athens was associated by the Greeks with the name of the patron goddess of the city) .

Agricultural holidays were dedicated to her: procharisteria (in connection with the germination of bread), plintheria (the beginning of the harvest), arrephoria (giving dew for crops), callinteria (ripening of fruits), scirophoria (aversion to drought). During these celebrations, the statue of Athena was washed, and the young men took an oath of civil service to the goddess.



Appearance and symbols of the goddess

  • Huge blue (according to some sources, gray) eyes, luxurious brown hair, majestic posture - this description already says that she was a real goddess.
  • Athena is usually depicted everywhere with a spear in her hand and in armor. Despite her natural grace and beauty, she was surrounded by masculine attributes.
  • On her head you can see a helmet with a fairly high crest, and in her hands she always has a shield, which is decorated with the head of the Gorgon.
  • Athena is the goddess of wisdom, so she is always accompanied by the corresponding attributes - a snake and an owl.

The Myth of the Flute

As we have already said, Athena is credited with creating many things, including the flute. According to myth, one day the goddess found a deer bone and created a flute from it. The sounds that such an instrument made gave Athena incomparable pleasure. She decided to show off her invention and skill at the table of the gods. However, Hera and Aphrodite began to openly laugh at her. It turned out that while playing the instrument, Athena’s cheeks swell and her lips protrude, which does not add to her attractiveness. Not wanting to look ugly, she abandoned the flute and cursed in advance whoever would play it. The instrument was destined to find Marcia, who could not avoid the later terrible punishment from Apollo.

The goddess Athena is already mentioned in the monuments of Cretan-Mycenaean writing of the 14th-13th centuries. BC e. (the so-called Linear B), discovered at Knossos. In them she is called the protector goddess of the royal palace and the nearby city, an assistant in battle and a giver of the harvest; her name sounds like "Atana". The cult of Athena spread throughout Greece, traces of it remain even after the victory of Christianity. Above all, she was honored by the Athenians, whose city still bears her name.



Since time immemorial, festivities were held in Athens in honor of the birth of the goddess - Panathenaia (they occurred in July - August). In the middle of the 6th century. BC e. The Athenian ruler Pisistratus established the so-called Great Panathenaea, which took place every four years and included competitions for musicians, poets, speakers, gymnasts and athletes, equestrians, and rowers. Small Panathenaias were celebrated annually and more modestly. The culmination of these celebrations was the offering of gifts from the Athenian people to the goddess, most notably a new robe for the ancient cult statue of Athena in the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis. The Panathenaic procession is masterfully depicted on the frieze of the Athenian Parthenon, one of the authors of which was the great Phidias. In Rome, celebrations in honor of Minerva took place twice a year (in March and June).

Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom, military strategy and crafts. She was a majestic warrior and the only Olympian goddess to wear armor. The visor of her helmet was thrown back so that her beauty would not be hidden from prying eyes. She often led battles in military conflicts and dealt with everyday issues during periods of peace. She was depicted with a spear in one hand and a bowl (or spindle) in the other.

The goddess adhered to chastity and remained celibate, and devoted her existence to the protection of selected Athenian heroes, her city of the same name. The Greeks doubly revered her for the fact that:

  • she gave them a bridle so they could tame horses;
  • inspired shipbuilders in their craft;
  • taught plowmen to cultivate the land, use rakes, and harness an ox to a yoke;
  • taught the Athenians to drive a chariot.

A special gift to Athens from a warlike woman was an olive tree. She was known for her excellent planning and strategic thinking abilities. Practicality has become the hallmark of a wise woman. She had a very strong will, and her intellect prevailed over her emotional manifestations. Townspeople often met the goddess on the streets of the city.

Versions of origin

According to the Homeric hymn, she came to the Greek mainland, leaving her father's home in Crete. She then began to rule Athens, the main city of the ancient world, while maintaining the symbolism of her ancient personality. Greek myth tells of a contest between Athena and Poseidon, god of the sea. Both wanted to rule the city of Athens, and neither would give in to the other. But a vote was arranged and citizens gathered to cast their votes.

However, the men did not want to stick to this vote count. They passed three new laws:

  • prohibiting women from voting;
  • deprives women of citizenship;
  • forcing fathers to name their children.

The story of her birth was also changed to an unknown story about a girl born from the head of the main Olympian god Zeus. That's why the girl's genesis looks so masculine. Thanks to her noble origins, she found a place on Olympus.

There is another story that shows this beauty in a different light. It says that our heroine was the daughter of Pallas, a winged giant who tried to rape her - his virgin daughter. She became enraged and killed him, then skinned him to make a shield and cut off his wings.

Therefore, she never communicated with men, remaining a virgin forever. Oddly enough, she had one son. Hephaestus once tried to take possession of a warrior, impressing her with his artistic abilities. Although she escaped from her pursuer, some of his seed fell on her thigh. This led to the birth of Erichthonius, who remained forever outside the sight of the goddess. In Greek mythology, the story of Hephaestus differs slightly from the above and says that the warrior goddess raised this son.

Deity symbols

The goddess, because of her wisdom, is often symbolized by the owl and snake, which are found in the famous Parthenon Temple, built especially for Athena.

  • A charming owl appears on early Athenian coins as an alternative image to the goddess herself. In some images she sits on the shoulder of the goddess or flies above her. The owl suggests that her strength is so great that the enemy needs to keep this in mind and keep the situation under control, fearing the owner of such warlike potential.
  • The snake is a symbol of protection for grain stored for the winter, otherwise it would feed mice. The snake’s ability to shed its skin and renew it is known: this implies a connection with rebirth. The statue of the beauty with the image of a snake conveyed a powerful message of protective power and justification of the hopes of those who entered the temple in her name.
  • Armor and weapons are also symbols of beauty. Very often she appeared wearing a helmet, while carrying a shield and a spear. Researchers have noted that with the growth of private property, previously peace-loving goddesses began to appear as goddesses of war. As land began to fall to wealthier citizens, mostly men, the goddess took on a new role as protector of the city and guardian of wealth.

She is also represented as the patroness of weaving. Once she took and turned the skilled weaver Arachne into a spider because of her malice and disdain for the divine origin of Athena and her claims to greater talent than the goddess herself. In those days, textile production was an important part of the economy of each home, as well as the population as a whole. Without such wealth there would be no need for protection.

Is Athena the child of Zeus?

The most common myth is that the wise warrior Athena was born as an adult, jumping out of the head of the Thunderer. Zeus “gave birth” to her after a severe migraine, which caused his head to split in two! Her mother was the goddess of reason Metis, but Athena never acknowledged this fact.

Who did the goddess of military strategy help?

She was a protector, advisor, patron and ally of heroic people:

  • she helped Perseus with advice and objects to kill Medusa the Gorgon, a monster who had snakes instead of hair;
  • helped Jason and the Argonauts build a ship before they set off for the Golden Fleece;
  • watched Achilles during the Trojan Battle;
  • achieved victory over her brother Ares;
  • helped

The goddess of wisdom and knowledge, invincible warrior, defender of cities and patroness of sciences, Pallas Athena enjoyed well-deserved respect among the ancient Greeks. She was the favorite daughter of Zeus, and it is in her honor that the modern one is named. Pallas Athena helped the heroes of Greece with wise advice and did not abandon them in moments of danger. The ancient Greek goddess taught the girls of Greece weaving, spinning and cooking. It is believed that it was Pallas Athena who invented the flute and established the Areopagus (high court).

Appearance of Pallas Athena:

Majestic posture, large gray (and according to some sources, blue) eyes, light brown hair - her whole appearance suggests that this is a goddess in front of you. Pallas Athena was usually depicted in armor and holding a spear in her hand.

Symbols and attributes:

Pallas Athena is surrounded by masculine attributes. On the head is a helmet with a high crest. There must be a shield (aegis) - it is decorated with the head of the Gorgon Medusa. The ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, Pallas Athena, is accompanied by an owl and a snake - symbols of wisdom. It is noted that her constant companion was the goddess of victory, Nike. The sacred olive tree can also be called a symbol of Pallas.

Pallas Athena is surrounded by masculine attributes: on her head is a helmet with a high crest, in her hands is a shield decorated with the head of the Gorgon Medusa

Strengths of Pallas Athena:

Although Athena was one of the most “sensible” goddesses of the ancient Greek Pantheon, she was nevertheless characterized by some kind of favoritism. This is, in particular, hinted at by the myths about Odysseus and Perseus.

Parents:

Pallas Athena was born in an unusual and spectacular way. One day Zeus was predicted that his wife, the goddess Metis, would give birth to a son who would be smarter and stronger than his father and would overthrow him. But first a daughter had to be born. Zeus, not wanting to be overthrown, swallowed the pregnant Metis. Soon he felt a severe headache and ordered Hephaestus to cut his head with an ax. Athena was born from the head of Zeus. The goddess was already fully armed at birth.

The goddess was born from the head of Zeus and was already fully armed at birth

There are other, less common versions about who the parents of the ancient Greek goddess Pallas Athena were. According to some myths, her mother was the nymph of the river Triton, and her father was the god of the seas Poseidon.

Place of birth:

It is impossible to say unequivocally where exactly the goddess Pallas Athena was born: different myths point to different places. So, she could have been born near Lake Tritonida or the River Triton, in Crete, in the west of Thessaly, in Arcadia, or even in the town of Alalkomene in Boeotia. The most common version is that Crete is still the birthplace of Athena.

Personal life of Pallas Athena:

The goddess Pallas Athena was a virgin and proud of it. However, she raised an adopted son. That's what the myths tell. One day, the god of fire Hephaestus turned to Zeus with a request to give him Athena as his wife. Since Zeus had previously promised Hephaestus to fulfill any of his wishes, he had no choice but to agree. Yes, the Thunderer had to agree to give his beloved daughter as his wife, but he still advised her to defend herself.

Majestic posture, large gray eyes, light brown hair - her whole appearance suggests that this is a goddess in front of you

According to one version, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom had to turn to the god of fire for weapons. Hephaestus, not at a loss, tried to take possession of the goddess. However, the maiden Athena did not intend to enter into an intimate relationship - neither with Hephaestus, nor with anyone else. Pallas Athena rushed away from the overly excited god, and he chased after her. When Hephaestus caught up with the maiden, she began to defend herself and even wounded him. Hephaestus spilled the seed on the ground, and soon the baby Erichthonius was born. He was born from Gaia, the earth, from Hephaestus.

Pallas Athena took Erichthonius under her protection. She fed the baby with her milk and raised him. Erichthonius grew up in her temple and always revered the goddess. It was he who began to hold Panathenaea - festivals in honor of Pallas Athena.

Goddess Temple

The main sanctuary of ancient Athens and the most beautiful work of ancient art - the temple of the goddess Athena (Parthenon) and today is one of the main calling cards of Greece. This bright building, as if penetrated through and through by the rays of the sun, rises in the very heart of the ancient city.

The temple of the goddess (Parthenon) is decorated with frescoes depicting scenes from her life - one of the main hallmarks of Greece

The most famous statue of Pallas Athena by Phidias was also located there - in the Parthenon. Being about 11 m in height, the sculpture was made of gold and ivory on a wooden base. The original of the statue has not survived to this day, but it is known from surviving copies and images on coins.

Main myths about Pallas Athena:

The goddess Pallas Athena is the heroine of many mythological stories.

Among the most famous is the myth of how she gained dominion over Attica, winning the competition for the region of Poseidon. Each of the gods gave the city his own gift: Poseidon - a water source, Athena - an olive tree. The judges decided that the goddess's gift was more useful and gave preference to her. So Pallas Athena won the argument and became the ruler of Attica, and the city where all this happened was named after her.

Another myth tells how Pallas Athena participated in a gigantomachy (battle with giants). The formidable warrior brought down the island of Sicily on one of the giants, tore off the skin of another and covered her own body with it. Details of this battle were depicted on the shield of the statue of Athena.

Frequent companions of the goddess are the owl and the snake - symbols of wisdom, and also Nike - the goddess of victory

Pallas Athena also took part in the Trojan War. She helped the Greeks in every possible way in the capture of Troy, and it is she who is credited with coming up with the idea that put an end to the many years of siege - about deceiving the Trojans with the help of the Wooden Horse. She prompted Odysseus to place a detachment of Greek soldiers in a huge statue of a wooden horse and leave it at the gates of Troy, while the main forces of the Greeks retreated from Troy, supposedly lifting the siege. The Trojans, after some hesitation, dragged this wooden structure into the city. At night, the warriors hiding inside the horse came out, opened the city gates and let their comrades in.