The population of Ancient Greece believed that the gods ruled the whole world and people's lives. They were called Olympic, because Mount Olympus was considered their place of residence. There were many gods, and the Greeks imagined their life similar to their worldly existence. They believed that the Olympians live as one huge family, the role of the head of which is assigned to the king of the gods – Zeus.
Who was Pallas Athena for the ancient Greeks?
The daughter of Zeus, Pallas, won great respect and love from the ancient people. Athena in Greek mythology is the goddess of wisdom and just war, patronizing knowledge, arts and crafts. She was considered the founder of military strategy and effective tactics, and numerous victories in battles were attributed to her merits. She was part of a family of twelve major Olympians. She was a revered goddess in ancient Greece, competing in importance and popularity with her father, Zeus. She was recognized as his equal in wisdom and strength. She differed from other deities in her independent disposition. She was proud of the fact that she managed to remain a virgin. The goddess of wisdom among the Greeks was reflected in the Roman Minerva.
The warrior maiden became the patroness of cities and states for the ancient inhabitants. It is associated with the developmentscience and crafts. Athena is the personification of the mind, ingenuity, resourcefulness and skill. The ancient Greek spelling of the name of the goddess is Ἀθηνᾶ, more rare is Athenaia. The majestic city of Athens is named after this mythical person.
The image of the goddess of wisdom in the view of the ancients
The Greeks endowed Athena with an unusual and impressive appearance, making it easy to distinguish her from other Olympian goddesses. The daughter of Zeus highlights the use of attributes characteristic of the strong half of humanity. The goddess of wisdom was depicted as a tall beautiful woman dressed in the armor of warriors. Her head is adorned and protected by a protective exquisite helmet with a high crest. In the hands of Athena is a spear and a shield covered with a snake skin with an ornament in the form of the head of the Gorgon Medusa. The Greek goddess of wisdom walks accompanied by sacred animals. She was often depicted with the winged Nika. The symbols of her wisdom were an owl and a snake.
The ancient Greeks described her like this: gray-eyed and fair-haired. Homer called her facial features "owl-eyed", emphasizing the beauty of her huge eyes. In the sources from Virgil there is a noteworthy fragment where the Cyclopes in the forge of Vulcan burnish military armor and aegis for Pallas, covering them with snake scales.
Birth
Typical for Greek myths was the unusual story of the birth of a goddess. There are many versions, the most common is set forth in Hesiod's Theogony.
The very king of the gods owes Athena her birth. The almighty Zeus the Thunderer became aware that inin the womb of Metis, his first wife, is a child of brilliant mind and perfect strength. The child was prophesied to surpass in wisdom his parent. This secret was told to Zeus Moira - the goddess of fate. The Thunderer was afraid that, having been born, the child would overthrow him from the Olympic throne. In order to avoid a formidable fate, he lulled his pregnant wife and swallowed her. And immediately Zeus was overcome by an unbearable headache. Calling his son Hephaestus to him, he gave the order to cut his head with an ax, hoping to get rid of the excruciating pain and wondrous sounds in his head. Hephaestus could not disobey his father. He split the skull in one swing. And a beautiful warrior appeared in the world of the gods from the head of the supreme ruler of the Olympians - Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She appeared to the astonished Olympians in full military ammunition: in a brilliant helmet, with a spear and a shield. Her blue eyes radiated wisdom and justice, the whole appearance of the maiden was filled with amazing divine beauty. The Olympians accepted and glorified the born favorite child of Zeus - the invincible Pallas. And her swallowed mother, Metis, endowed with immortality, remained forever living in the body of her husband, gave him good advice and helped rule the world.
In his poems, Homer did not pay attention to the myth of the birth of Athena. The authors of subsequent generations supplemented the story with peculiar details and greatly embellished it. So, according to Pindar, at the time of the birth of the warrior on Rhodes, it began to rain from golden drops.
Where and when was the goddess of wisdom born? Alternative Versions
There are othersstories about her birth. The ancient Greek author Aristocles describes the birth of Athena from a cloud as a result of a lightning strike sent by a thunderer. And this event takes place in Crete. This myth is a reflection of the idea of the ancients about how lightning and thunder appear from a massive thundercloud. There are several other versions with different parent names.
Ancient chroniclers and historians also disagree on the question of where the maiden was born. In the stories of Aeschylus, her birthplace is Libya, the area near Lake Tritonidae. Herodotus records the beliefs of the Libyans that Athena is a descendant of Poseidon. In the stories of Apollonius of Rhodes, the goddess of wisdom was born near Lake Triton.
Pausanias brings to posterity a story that describes the birth of Pallas where the altar to Zeus was located in Alither (Arcadia).
Also, the Boeotian city of Alalkomene was considered the birthplace of Athens, where, according to local residents, she was fed by people.
The day of the birth of the deity in the time of the Panatheneas was considered the day of the 28th hecatombeon, which corresponds to the date of August 18th. And on that day, the work of the courts was suspended. In the "Chronicles of Eusebius" the year of the birth of the virgin is called the 237th from Abraham, according to our calendar - 1780 BC
Athena in mythology: the capture of Troy
One of the common plots of Greek mythology was the war of the ancient Greeks with the Trojan king Paris, which ended with the capture of Troy and the victory of the legendary Odysseus. The ancient Greeks attribute to Athena the whole plan for the construction of the Trojan horse. Goddesswisdom helps the Greeks. Euripides noted that the destruction of Ilion was the result of the anger and malice of Pallas.
What prompted Athena to destroy Troy? It is not completely clear, but the Achaeans built the horse according to her plan and under her leadership. The presentation of Quintus of Smyrna describes in detail the moment when Pallas, appearing in a dream to the Achaeans, teaches them crafts. Thanks to the knowledge received from the goddess, the construction was completed in three days. Allegedly, the Achaean leaders turned to Athena with a request to bless their creation. In addition, Pallas, incarnated as a messenger, advised Odysseus to place Achaean warriors on a horse. Later, she brought the food of the gods to the heroes who gathered in battle, which could relieve hunger.
Under her patronage, the Greeks capture Troy and get a lot of treasure. On the night of the ruin of the city, Pallas sits on the acropolis in the dazzling brilliance of her ammunition and calls on the Greeks to victory.
Athena - inventor and patroness
The goddess of wisdom for the ancient Greeks is the founder of the state, the initiator of wars, the legislator and founder of the highest Athenian court - the Areopagus. In the arsenal of her inventions are a chariot and a ship, a flute and a pipe, ceramic dishes, a rake, a plow, a yoke for oxen and bridles for horses.
Greek girls sacrificed their hair to the goddess before marriage. There are references to virgin priestesses of the temples of Athena. Pallas patronizes women in marriage. In some sources, Pallas is mentioned as the protector of shipbuilders and sailors. She ismentor of metal craftsmen who taught Daedalus. Athena gave people knowledge about weaving and cooking. In ancient Greek myths, the theme of the help of the goddess in performing amazing feats of various heroes is covered in detail.
Cult of Athena
The goddess of wisdom was revered in all regions of Ancient Greece. Many acropolises are dedicated to her, including those in Athens, Argos, Sparta, Megara, Troy and Troezen. Pallas is the mistress of the city Kremlin and the Greek people. In Attica, she was the main deity of the state and city of Athens.
