Download Alyssa Biscotto

Alyssa Biscotto
CLS 309- Greek and Roman Religions
Dr. Kaufman
10/18/14
Palladium
In general, a palladium can be defined as “anything that is supposed to ensure the
safety of something” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010). With respect to Ancient Rome
and Greece, however, the Palladium is a “statue of the Greek Goddess Pallas Athena”
(Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010). More specifically, the Palladium represents protection
for the city (Beard, North, Price, 1998). Just as Athena Polias protected Athens, the
Palladium protected Ancient Rome. The significance of the Palladium is that it is
believed that the city could not be conquered if the statue was protected (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 2010).
The Palladium has a connection to both Ancient Greek religion as well as Ancient
Roman religion. Greek authors refer to Roman gods and goddesses under Greek names;
therefore, “by the late Republic, it was assumed that each major Roman god or goddess
had a Greek ‘equivalent’” (Beard, et al., 1998). The Ancient Greek Goddess Athena is
the equivalent to Ancient Rome’s Goddess Minerva; they are both goddesses of
craftsmanship and protection (Warrior, 2006, p. 144).
It is believed that in Greece, Ulysses and Diomedes stole the Palladium from
Ilium (Turcan, 1998, p. 48). However, “according to Actinos of Miletus, it was a copy
made to deceive the Greeks, and it was Aeneas who was said to have taken it. Tradition
would have it that this Palladium had been rescued by the Trojan priest of Pallas”
(Turcan, 1998, p. 48). As stated in class, Aeneas escapes from Greece with his father and
son. They find their way to Italy after traveling around the Mediterranean Sea and
establish the city Lavinium, named after Aeneas’ wife. The Palladium was then taken to
the Temple of Vesta (Jablonka, 2010). “On the other side of Lavinium, another sanctuary
has produced further evidence of religious activity from the sixth to the third century B.C.
Many fragments of terracotta statues of Minerva were found in 1977, of which this is the
largest and most complete (height, 1.96m)” (Beard, et al., 1998, p. 13).
Works Cited
Palladium. (2010, November 10). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
Beard, M., North, J., & Price, S. (1998). Religions of Rome: A History (Vol. 1).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Beard, M., North, J., & Price, S. (1998). Religions of Rome: A Sourcebook (Vol. 2).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jablonka, P. (2010). “Troy,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca.
3000-1000 BC), edited by E. H. Cline, pp. 849-861. Oxford, New York: Oxford
University Press.
Turcan, R. (1998). The Gods of Ancient Rome. Paris: Hachette Litteratures.
Warrior, V. (2006). Roman Religion. New York: Cambridge University Press.