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PALLAS ATHENA
Pallas Athena is best known as the patron goddess of Athens
when Greece was the intellectual centre of the ancient world.
The Parthenon, often considered the most beautifully
proportioned temple ever built, was dedicated to the goddess
and still stands in partial ruin on the Acropolis in modern
Athens.
The choice of Athena as the city’s titular deity was particularly
appropriate. Athens personified as nowhere else the emergence of rational thought and
government. Athena’s parents were Zeus and Metis. Zeus was the unquestioned and
eternal King of the gods, while Metis was the wisest among the gods. Athena’s birth
was remarkable in that she was born from the forehead of Zeus fully armed. With flashing grey eyes and
always carrying the aegis, her father’s special weapon, she was second only to her father in power and
wisdom. A virgin goddess and her father’s favourite child, Athena had no peer amongst the other Olympians.
Not only was she first in war and intellect, Athena was also the foremost patron of the arts and crafts, which
for the Greeks included fine arts such as poetry as well as those activities which we woild clasify as applied
arts.
An indication of how deeply this connection between thinking and making is ingrained
in Greek theology can be gleaned by considering that “poetry” comes from the Greek
verb “to make” (poi‘Ç) and that the Greek word for “art” and for “craft” is “techn‘”.
The Greek religion as we best encounter it is to be found in two epic poems by
Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. In each the central human characters, Achilles in
the Iliad and Ulysseys in the Odyssey are the special favourites of Pallas Athena. In
these personalities we see the themes of military valour and intellectual curiosity come
together in the context of a providentially controlled universe.
These themes are still being worked out, particularly in Western societies, where the ideals of selfgovernment, religious freedom and technology (harking back to the idea of “techn‘”)
continue to seek a reconciliation not yet attained.
The name “Athena” is of unknown origin. Like the epithet “Pallas” it actually goes
back into the very beginning of Greek religion and civilization and is thus unknown in
its original meaning. Plato speaks of an origin from the Greek, Iqeono/a, Atheonóa.
This etymology assumes that “Athena” is composed of the Greek word for god
“theos”, and the word for mind “noãs”. The epithet “Pallas” is only found in Homer.
Possible meanings of “Pallas” range from “brandisher of the spear” to “virgin” and
“maiden”. In reality, while the linguistic origin of Pallas Athena is unknown, the
persona of the Olympic pantheon’s most powerful goddess is perfectly preserved in
Homer’s incomparable masterpieces.