From this
fundamental
idea mas be de- less conduct of the suitors.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - a
A Graeco-Roman jurist, who wrote scholia
pearance to us, translated into English by W. on Eustathius after the publication of the Basilica.
Wbiston, in his “ Collection of ancient Monu- (Leunclav. Jus Gr. Rom. vol. ii. p. 207; Heim-
ments relating to the Trinity and Incarnation,” bach, de Basilic. Orig. &c. p. 44. ) [J. T. G. )
London, 1713. The same collection also contains ATHENA (Αθήνη or 'Αθηνά), one of the
a translation of Athanasius's Life of Antony the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer (N. v.
Monk, which was first published in 1687. The 880) calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any
Epistles of Athanasius in defence of the Nicene allusion to her mother or to the manner in which
definition, and on the Councils of Ariniinum and she was called into existence, while most of the
Seleuceia, together with his first Oration against later traditions agree in stating that she was born
the Arians, have been recently translated, with from the head of Zeus. According to Hesiod
notes, by the Rev. J. H. Newman, Oxford, 1842. (Theog. 886, &c. ), Metis, the first wife of Zeus,
The other three Orations, translated by the same was the mother of Athena, but when Metis was
writer, are shortly to appear ; and other works of pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea
Athanasius on the Arian controversy are advertised and Uranus, swallowed Metis up, and afterwards
as preparing for publication.
gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his
For a complete list of the genuine, doubtful, and head. (Hesiod, l. c. 924. ) Pindar (Ol. vii. 35,
supposititious works of Athanasius, see Fabricius, &c. ) adds, that Hepbaestus split the head of Zeus
Bibl. Graeca, vol. viii. pp. 184-215, ed. Harles. The with his axe, and that Athena sprang forth with a
most important of his genuine writings are those mighty war-shout. Others relate, that Prometheus
(both historical and doctrinal) which relate to the or Hermes or Palamaon assisted Zeus in giving
Arian controversy. It is hardly necessary to observe birth to Athena, and mentioned the river Triton
that the creed commonly called Athanasian was not as the place where the event took place. (Apollod.
composed by the archbishop of Alexandria. (See i. 4. & 6 ; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. vii. 66. ) Other
Gerardi Vossii, Dissertatio de Symbolo Athanasiano, traditions again relate, that Athena sprang from
Opp. vol. vi. pp. 516–522 ; W. E. Tentzelii, Ju- the head of Zeus in full armour, a statement for
ducia eruditorum de Symbolo Athanasiano. ) It has which Stesichorus is said to have been the most
been ascribed to Vigilius of Tapsus, Vincent of ancient authority. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355 ; Phi-
Lerins, Hilary of Poictiers, and others ; but its lostr. Icon. ii. 27; Schol. ad Apollon. iv. 1310. )
real author is unknown. The " Synopsis Sacrae All these traditions, however, agree in making
Scripturae," which is included in the writings of Athena a daughter of Zeus; but a second set re-
this eminent father, has no claim to be considered gard her as the daughter of Pallas, the winged
his; though, in itself, it is a valuable relic of an-giant, whom she afterwards killed on account of
tiquity.
his attempting to violate her chastity, whose skin
## p. 398 (#418) ############################################
399
ATHENA.
ATHENA.
а
she used as her aegis, and whose wings she fasten- a divinity of a purely ethical character, and not
ed to her own feet. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. l. c. ; Cic. the representative of any particular physical power
de Nat. Deor. ini. 23. ) A third tradition carries us manifested in nature; her power and wisdom ap
to Libya, and calls Athena a daughter of Poseidon pear in her being the protectress and preserver of
and Tritonis. Athena, says Herodotus (iv. 180), the state and of social institutions. Everything,
on one occasion became angry with her father and therefore, which gives to the state strength and
went to Zeus, who made her his own daughter. prosperity, such as agriculture, inventions, and in-
This passage shews more clearly than any other dustry, as well as everything which preserves and
the manner in which genuine and ancient Hellenic protects it from injurious influence from without,
myths were transplanted to Libya, where they such as the defence of the walls, fortresses, and
were afterwards regarded as the sources of Hel barbours, is under her iminediate care.
lenic ones. Respecting this Libyan Athena, it is As the protectress of agriculture, Athena is re-
farther related, that she was educated by the river- presented as the inventor of the plough and rake:
god Triton, together with his own daughter Pallas. she created the olive tree, the greatest blessing of
(Apollod. iii. 12. $ 3. ) In Libya she was also Attica, taught the people to yoke oxen to the
said to have invented the flute; for when Perseus plough, took care of the breeding of horses, and
had cut off the head of Medusa, and Stheno and instructed men how to tame them by the bridle,
Euryale, the sisters of Medusa, lamented her death, her own invention. Allusions to this feature of
while plaintive sounds issued from the mouths of her character are contained in the epithets Bovbera,
the serpents which surrounded their heads, Athena Boapula, dyploa, intia, or yalvitis. (Eustath.
is said to have imitated these sounds on a reed. ad Hom. p. 1076 ; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 520; Hesych.
(Pind. Pyth. xii. 19, &c. ; compare the other ac- s. r. 'Itria ; Serv. ad Aen. iv. 402; Pind. Ol. xii.
counts in Hygin. Fab. 165; Apollod. i. 4. § 2 ; | 79. ) At the beginning of spring thanks were
Paus. i. 24. § 1. ) The connexion of Athena with offered to her in advance poxapotúpia, Suid. s. r. )
Triton and Tritonis caused afterwards the various for the protection she was to afford to the fields.
traditions about her birth-place, so that wherever Besides the inventions relating to agriculture,
there was a river or a well of that name, as in others also connected with various kinds of science,
Crete, Thessaly, Boeotia, Arcadia, and Egypt, the industry, and art, are ascribed to her, and all her
inhabitants of those districts asserted that Athena inventions are not of the kind which men make by
was born there. It is from such birth-places on a chance or accident, but such as require thought
river Triton that she seems to have been called and meditation. We may notice the invention of
Tritonis or Tritogeneia (Paus. ix. 33. & 5), though numbers (Liv. vii. 3), of the trumpet (Bockh, ad
it should be observed that this surname is also ex- Pind. p. 344), the chariot, and navigation. (AE-
plained in other ways ; for some derive it from an Turia. ] In regard to all kinds of useful arts, she
ancient Cretan, Aeolic, or Boeotian word, Tpitu, was believed to have made men acquainted with
signifying “ head," so that it would mean “ the the means and instruments which are necessary
goddess born from the head," and others think for practising them, such as the art of producing
that it was intended to commemorate the circum- fire. She was further believed to have invented
stance of her being born on the third day of the nearly every kind of work in which women were
month. (Tztez. ad Lycoph. 519. ) The connexion employed, and she herself was skilled in such
of Athena with Triton naturally suggests, that we work : in short Athena and Hephaestus were the
have to look for the most ancient seat of her wor-great patrons both of the useful and elegant arts,
ship in Greece to the banks of the river Triton in Hence she is called épzám (Paus. i. 24. § 3), and
Boeotia, which emptied itself into lake Copais, and later writers make her the goddess of all wisdom,,
on which there were two ancient Pelasgian towns, knowledge, and art, and represent her as sitting on
Athenae and Eleusis, which were according to the right hand side of her father Zeus, and sup
tradition swallowed up by the lake. From thence porting him with her counsel. (Hom. Od. xxii.
her worship was carried by the Minyans into 160, xviii. 190; Hymn. in Ven. 4, 7, &c. ; Piut.
Attica, Libya, and other countries. (Müller, Cim. 10; Ovid, Fast. iii. 833; Orph. Hymn. xxxi.
Orchom. p. 355. ) We must lastly notice one 8; Spanh. ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm. i.
tradition, which made Athena a daughter of Ito- 12. 19; comp. Dict. of Ant. under 'Aonvaia and
nius and sister of Iodama, who was killed by Xanxeia. ) As the goddess who made so many
Athena (Paus. ix. 34. § 1; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355), inventions necessary and useful in civilized life,
and another according to which she was the she is characterized by various epithets and sur-
daughter of Hephaestus.
names, expressing the keenness of her sight or
These various traditions about Athena arose, as the power of her intellect, such as OTTIMÉTIS,
in most other cases, from Iocal legends and from οφθαλμίτις, οξυδερκής, γλαυκώπις, πολύβουλος,
identifications of the Greek Athena with other | πολύμητες, and μηχανίτις.
divinities. The common notion which the Greeks As the patron divinity of the state, she was at
entertained about her, and which was most widely Athens the protectress of the phratries and houses
spread in the ancient world, is, that she was the which formed the basis of the state. The festival
daughter of Zeus, and if we take Metis to have of the Apaturia had a direct reference to this par-
been her mother, we have at once the clue to the ticular point in the character of the goddess. (Dict.
character which she bears in the religion of Greece ; of Ant. s. v. Apaturia. ) She also maintained the
for, as her father was the most powerful and her authority of the law, and justice, and order, in the
mother the wisest among the gods, so Athena was courts and the assembly of the people. This notion
a combination of the two, that is, a goddess in was as ancient as the Homeric poems, in which she
whom power and wisdom were harmoniously is described as assisting Odysseus against the law.
blended.
From this fundamental idea mas be de- less conduct of the suitors. (Od. xiii. 394. ) She
rived the various aspects under which she appears was believed to have instituted the ancient court
in the ancient writers. She seems to have been of the Areiopagus, and in cases where the votes of
## p. 399 (#419) ############################################
ATHENA.
ATIIENA.
399
the judges were equally divided, she gave the a legend which may have arisen at the time when
casting one in favour of the accused. (Aeschyl. thc lonians introduced the worship of Apollo into
Eum. 753; comp. Paus. i. 28. $ 5. ) The epithets Attica, and when this new divinity was placed in
which have reference to this part of the goddess's some family connexion with the ancient goddess of
character are åžiónOLVOS, the avenger (Paus. iii. 15. the country. (Müller, Dor. ii. 2. & 13. ) Lychnus
§ 4), Bouraia, and dyvpaia. (iii. 11. $ 8. ) also is called a son of Hephaestus and Athena
As Athena promoted the internal prosperity of | (Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 641. )
the state, by encouraging agriculture and industry, Athena was worshipped in all parts of Greece,
and by maintaining law and order in all public and from the ancient towns on the lake Copais her
transactions, so also she protected the state from worship was nitroduced at a very early period into
outward enemies, and thus assumes the character Attica, where she became the great national divi.
of a warlike divinity, though in a very different nity of the city and the country. Here she was
sense from Ares, Eris, or Enyo. According to | afterwards regarded as the 9εά σώτειρα, υγίεια, and
Homer (N. v. 736, &c. ), she does not even bear Taiwvia, and the serpent, the symbol of perpetu:]
arms, but borrows them from Zeus; she keeps renovation, was sacred to her. (Paus. i. 23. & 5,
men from slaughter when prudence demands it (n. 31. $ 3, 2. $ 4. ) At Lindus in Rhodes her wor-
i. 199, &c. ), and repels Ares's savage love of war, ship was likewise very ancient. Respecting its
and conquers him. (v. 840, &c. , xxi. 406. ) She introduction into Italy, and the modifications which
does not love war for its own sake, but simply on her character underwent there, see MINERVA.
account of the advantages which the state gains in Among the things sacred to her we may mention
engaging in it; and she therefore supports only such the owl, serpent, cock, and olive-tree, which she
warlike undertakings as are begun with prudence, was said to have created in her contest with Posei-
and are likely to be followed by favourable results. don about the possession of Attica. (Plut. de Is. et
(x. 244, &c. ) The epithets which she derives from Os. ; Paus, vi. 26. & 2, i. 24. & 3; Hygin. Fab. 164. )
her warlike character are αγελεία, λαφρία, άλκιμάχη, | At Corone in Messenia her statue bore a crow in
Taboooos, and others. In times of war, towns, its hand. (Paus. iv. 34. & 3. ) The sacrifices offered
fortresses, and harbours are under her especial care, to her consisted of bulls, whence she probably de
whence she is designated as ερυσίπτολις, αλαλκομε- rived the surname of ταυροβόλος (Suid. s. υ. ), rams,
νηΐς, πολιάς, πολιούχος, ακραία, ακρία, κληδούχος, and cows. (Ηom. ΙΙ. ii. 550; Ov. Met. iv. 754. )
TTUMATTIS, apouaxópua, and the like. As the pru- Eustathius (ad Hom. I. c. ) remarks, that only female
dent goddess of war, she is also the protectress of animals were sacrificed to her, but no female lambs.
all heroes who are distinguished for prudence and In Ilion, Locrian maidens or children are said to
good counsel, as well as for their strength and va- have been sacrificed to her every year as an atone
lour, such as Heracles, Perseus, Bellerophontes, ment for the crime committed by the Locrian Ajax
Achilles, Diomedes, and Odysseus. In the war of upon Cassandra; and Suidas (s. v. Toivi) states,
Zeus against the giants, she assisted her father and that these human sacrifices continued to be offered
Heracles with her counsel, and also took an active to her down to B. C. 346. Respecting the great
part in it, for she buried Enceladus under the island festivals of Athena at Athens, see Dict. of Ant. s. vu.
of Sicily, and slew Pallas. (Apollod. i. 6. § 1, &c. ;| Panathenaea and Arrhephoria.
comp. Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm. Athena was frequently represented in works of
i. 12. 19. ) In the Trojan war she sided with the art; but those in which her figure reached the
more civilised Greeks, though on their return home highest ideal of perfection were the three statues
she visited them with storms, on account of the by Pheidias. The first was the celebrated colossal
manner in which the Locrian Ajax bad treated statue of the goddess, of gold and ivory, which was
Cassandra in her temple. As a goddess of war erected on the acropolis of Athens; the second was
and the protectress of heroes, Athena usually ap- a still greater bronze statue, made out of the spoils
pears in armour, with the aegis and a golden statt, taken by the Athenians in the battle of Marathon;
with which she bestows on her favourites youth the third was a small bronze statue called the beau-
and majesty. (Hom. Od. xvi. 172. )
tiful or the Lemnian Athena, because it had been
The character of Athena, as we have here traced dedicated at Athens by the Lemnians. The first
it, holds a middle place between the male and fe- of these statues represented the goddess in a stand-
male, whence she is called in an Orphic hymn ing position, bearing in her hand a Nike four cubits
(xxxi. 10) épony kal Iñaus, and hence also she is in height. The shield stood by her feet; her robe
a virgin divinity (Hom. Hymn. ix. 3), whose heart came down to her feet, on her breast was the head
is inaccessible to the passion of love, and who of Medusa, in her right hand she bore a lance, and
shuns matrimonial connexion. Teiresias was de at her feet there lay a serpent. (Paus. i. 24. $ 7,
prived of his sight for having seen her in the 28. $ 2. ) We still possess a great number of re-
bath (Callim. Hymn. pp. 546,589), and Hephaestus, presentations of Athena in statues, colossal busts,
who made an attempt upon her chastity, was reliefs, coins, and in vase-paintings. Among the
obliged to flee. (Apollod. iii. 6. & 7, 14. 8 6; Hom. attributes which characterise the goddess in these
n. ii. 547, &c. ; comp. Tzetz. ad Lycophr. 111. ) works of art, we mention-1. The helmet, which
For this reason, the ancient traditions always des she usually wears on her head, but in a few in-
scribe the goddess as dressed ; and when Ovid stances carries in her hand. It is usually orna-
(Heroid. v. 36) makes her appear naked before mented in the most beautiful manner with griftins,
Paris, he abandons the genuine old story. Her beads of rams, horses, and sphinxes. (Comp. Hom.
statue also was always dressed, and when it was II. v. 743. ) 2. The aegis. (Dict. of Art. s. v. Acgis. )
carried about at the Attic festivals, it was entirely 3. The round Aryolic shield, in the centre of which
covered. But, notwithstanding the common opinion is represented the head of Medusa. 4. Objects
of her virgin character, there are some traditions of sacred to her, such as an olive branch, a serpent,
late origin which describe her as a mother. Thus, an owl, a cock, and a lance. Her garment is usi-
Apolio is called a son of Il-phaestus and Athena-- | ally the Spartan tunic without sleeves, and over it
## p. 400 (#420) ############################################
400
ATIIENAEUS.
ATHENAEJS.
she wears a cloak, the peplus, or, though rarely, 4. Of SELEUCUS, a philosopher of the Peripa-
the chlamys. The general expression of her hgure tetic school, mentioned by Strabo (xiv. p. 670) as
is thoughtfulness and earnestness ; her face is ra- a contemporary of his own. He was for some time
ther oval than round, the hair is rich and generally the leading demagogue in his native city, but
combed backwards over the temples, and floats afterwards came to Rome and became acquainted
freely down behind. The whole figure is majestic, with L. Licinius Varro Muraena. On the discovery
and rather strong built than slender : the hips are of the plot which the latter, with Fannius Caepio,
small and the shoulders broad, so that the whole had entered into against Augustus, Athenaeus ac-
somewhat resembles a male figure. (Hirt. Muthol. companied him in his flight. He was retaken, but
Bilicrb. i. p. 46, &c. ; Welcker, Zeitschrift für Gesch. pardoned by Augustus, as there was no evidence
der alten Kunst, p. 256, &c. )
(L. S. ] of his having taken a more active part in the plot.
ATHENAEUS ('Aonvaios), historical.
pearance to us, translated into English by W. on Eustathius after the publication of the Basilica.
Wbiston, in his “ Collection of ancient Monu- (Leunclav. Jus Gr. Rom. vol. ii. p. 207; Heim-
ments relating to the Trinity and Incarnation,” bach, de Basilic. Orig. &c. p. 44. ) [J. T. G. )
London, 1713. The same collection also contains ATHENA (Αθήνη or 'Αθηνά), one of the
a translation of Athanasius's Life of Antony the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer (N. v.
Monk, which was first published in 1687. The 880) calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any
Epistles of Athanasius in defence of the Nicene allusion to her mother or to the manner in which
definition, and on the Councils of Ariniinum and she was called into existence, while most of the
Seleuceia, together with his first Oration against later traditions agree in stating that she was born
the Arians, have been recently translated, with from the head of Zeus. According to Hesiod
notes, by the Rev. J. H. Newman, Oxford, 1842. (Theog. 886, &c. ), Metis, the first wife of Zeus,
The other three Orations, translated by the same was the mother of Athena, but when Metis was
writer, are shortly to appear ; and other works of pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea
Athanasius on the Arian controversy are advertised and Uranus, swallowed Metis up, and afterwards
as preparing for publication.
gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his
For a complete list of the genuine, doubtful, and head. (Hesiod, l. c. 924. ) Pindar (Ol. vii. 35,
supposititious works of Athanasius, see Fabricius, &c. ) adds, that Hepbaestus split the head of Zeus
Bibl. Graeca, vol. viii. pp. 184-215, ed. Harles. The with his axe, and that Athena sprang forth with a
most important of his genuine writings are those mighty war-shout. Others relate, that Prometheus
(both historical and doctrinal) which relate to the or Hermes or Palamaon assisted Zeus in giving
Arian controversy. It is hardly necessary to observe birth to Athena, and mentioned the river Triton
that the creed commonly called Athanasian was not as the place where the event took place. (Apollod.
composed by the archbishop of Alexandria. (See i. 4. & 6 ; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. vii. 66. ) Other
Gerardi Vossii, Dissertatio de Symbolo Athanasiano, traditions again relate, that Athena sprang from
Opp. vol. vi. pp. 516–522 ; W. E. Tentzelii, Ju- the head of Zeus in full armour, a statement for
ducia eruditorum de Symbolo Athanasiano. ) It has which Stesichorus is said to have been the most
been ascribed to Vigilius of Tapsus, Vincent of ancient authority. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355 ; Phi-
Lerins, Hilary of Poictiers, and others ; but its lostr. Icon. ii. 27; Schol. ad Apollon. iv. 1310. )
real author is unknown. The " Synopsis Sacrae All these traditions, however, agree in making
Scripturae," which is included in the writings of Athena a daughter of Zeus; but a second set re-
this eminent father, has no claim to be considered gard her as the daughter of Pallas, the winged
his; though, in itself, it is a valuable relic of an-giant, whom she afterwards killed on account of
tiquity.
his attempting to violate her chastity, whose skin
## p. 398 (#418) ############################################
399
ATHENA.
ATHENA.
а
she used as her aegis, and whose wings she fasten- a divinity of a purely ethical character, and not
ed to her own feet. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. l. c. ; Cic. the representative of any particular physical power
de Nat. Deor. ini. 23. ) A third tradition carries us manifested in nature; her power and wisdom ap
to Libya, and calls Athena a daughter of Poseidon pear in her being the protectress and preserver of
and Tritonis. Athena, says Herodotus (iv. 180), the state and of social institutions. Everything,
on one occasion became angry with her father and therefore, which gives to the state strength and
went to Zeus, who made her his own daughter. prosperity, such as agriculture, inventions, and in-
This passage shews more clearly than any other dustry, as well as everything which preserves and
the manner in which genuine and ancient Hellenic protects it from injurious influence from without,
myths were transplanted to Libya, where they such as the defence of the walls, fortresses, and
were afterwards regarded as the sources of Hel barbours, is under her iminediate care.
lenic ones. Respecting this Libyan Athena, it is As the protectress of agriculture, Athena is re-
farther related, that she was educated by the river- presented as the inventor of the plough and rake:
god Triton, together with his own daughter Pallas. she created the olive tree, the greatest blessing of
(Apollod. iii. 12. $ 3. ) In Libya she was also Attica, taught the people to yoke oxen to the
said to have invented the flute; for when Perseus plough, took care of the breeding of horses, and
had cut off the head of Medusa, and Stheno and instructed men how to tame them by the bridle,
Euryale, the sisters of Medusa, lamented her death, her own invention. Allusions to this feature of
while plaintive sounds issued from the mouths of her character are contained in the epithets Bovbera,
the serpents which surrounded their heads, Athena Boapula, dyploa, intia, or yalvitis. (Eustath.
is said to have imitated these sounds on a reed. ad Hom. p. 1076 ; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 520; Hesych.
(Pind. Pyth. xii. 19, &c. ; compare the other ac- s. r. 'Itria ; Serv. ad Aen. iv. 402; Pind. Ol. xii.
counts in Hygin. Fab. 165; Apollod. i. 4. § 2 ; | 79. ) At the beginning of spring thanks were
Paus. i. 24. § 1. ) The connexion of Athena with offered to her in advance poxapotúpia, Suid. s. r. )
Triton and Tritonis caused afterwards the various for the protection she was to afford to the fields.
traditions about her birth-place, so that wherever Besides the inventions relating to agriculture,
there was a river or a well of that name, as in others also connected with various kinds of science,
Crete, Thessaly, Boeotia, Arcadia, and Egypt, the industry, and art, are ascribed to her, and all her
inhabitants of those districts asserted that Athena inventions are not of the kind which men make by
was born there. It is from such birth-places on a chance or accident, but such as require thought
river Triton that she seems to have been called and meditation. We may notice the invention of
Tritonis or Tritogeneia (Paus. ix. 33. & 5), though numbers (Liv. vii. 3), of the trumpet (Bockh, ad
it should be observed that this surname is also ex- Pind. p. 344), the chariot, and navigation. (AE-
plained in other ways ; for some derive it from an Turia. ] In regard to all kinds of useful arts, she
ancient Cretan, Aeolic, or Boeotian word, Tpitu, was believed to have made men acquainted with
signifying “ head," so that it would mean “ the the means and instruments which are necessary
goddess born from the head," and others think for practising them, such as the art of producing
that it was intended to commemorate the circum- fire. She was further believed to have invented
stance of her being born on the third day of the nearly every kind of work in which women were
month. (Tztez. ad Lycoph. 519. ) The connexion employed, and she herself was skilled in such
of Athena with Triton naturally suggests, that we work : in short Athena and Hephaestus were the
have to look for the most ancient seat of her wor-great patrons both of the useful and elegant arts,
ship in Greece to the banks of the river Triton in Hence she is called épzám (Paus. i. 24. § 3), and
Boeotia, which emptied itself into lake Copais, and later writers make her the goddess of all wisdom,,
on which there were two ancient Pelasgian towns, knowledge, and art, and represent her as sitting on
Athenae and Eleusis, which were according to the right hand side of her father Zeus, and sup
tradition swallowed up by the lake. From thence porting him with her counsel. (Hom. Od. xxii.
her worship was carried by the Minyans into 160, xviii. 190; Hymn. in Ven. 4, 7, &c. ; Piut.
Attica, Libya, and other countries. (Müller, Cim. 10; Ovid, Fast. iii. 833; Orph. Hymn. xxxi.
Orchom. p. 355. ) We must lastly notice one 8; Spanh. ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm. i.
tradition, which made Athena a daughter of Ito- 12. 19; comp. Dict. of Ant. under 'Aonvaia and
nius and sister of Iodama, who was killed by Xanxeia. ) As the goddess who made so many
Athena (Paus. ix. 34. § 1; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355), inventions necessary and useful in civilized life,
and another according to which she was the she is characterized by various epithets and sur-
daughter of Hephaestus.
names, expressing the keenness of her sight or
These various traditions about Athena arose, as the power of her intellect, such as OTTIMÉTIS,
in most other cases, from Iocal legends and from οφθαλμίτις, οξυδερκής, γλαυκώπις, πολύβουλος,
identifications of the Greek Athena with other | πολύμητες, and μηχανίτις.
divinities. The common notion which the Greeks As the patron divinity of the state, she was at
entertained about her, and which was most widely Athens the protectress of the phratries and houses
spread in the ancient world, is, that she was the which formed the basis of the state. The festival
daughter of Zeus, and if we take Metis to have of the Apaturia had a direct reference to this par-
been her mother, we have at once the clue to the ticular point in the character of the goddess. (Dict.
character which she bears in the religion of Greece ; of Ant. s. v. Apaturia. ) She also maintained the
for, as her father was the most powerful and her authority of the law, and justice, and order, in the
mother the wisest among the gods, so Athena was courts and the assembly of the people. This notion
a combination of the two, that is, a goddess in was as ancient as the Homeric poems, in which she
whom power and wisdom were harmoniously is described as assisting Odysseus against the law.
blended.
From this fundamental idea mas be de- less conduct of the suitors. (Od. xiii. 394. ) She
rived the various aspects under which she appears was believed to have instituted the ancient court
in the ancient writers. She seems to have been of the Areiopagus, and in cases where the votes of
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ATHENA.
ATIIENA.
399
the judges were equally divided, she gave the a legend which may have arisen at the time when
casting one in favour of the accused. (Aeschyl. thc lonians introduced the worship of Apollo into
Eum. 753; comp. Paus. i. 28. $ 5. ) The epithets Attica, and when this new divinity was placed in
which have reference to this part of the goddess's some family connexion with the ancient goddess of
character are åžiónOLVOS, the avenger (Paus. iii. 15. the country. (Müller, Dor. ii. 2. & 13. ) Lychnus
§ 4), Bouraia, and dyvpaia. (iii. 11. $ 8. ) also is called a son of Hephaestus and Athena
As Athena promoted the internal prosperity of | (Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 641. )
the state, by encouraging agriculture and industry, Athena was worshipped in all parts of Greece,
and by maintaining law and order in all public and from the ancient towns on the lake Copais her
transactions, so also she protected the state from worship was nitroduced at a very early period into
outward enemies, and thus assumes the character Attica, where she became the great national divi.
of a warlike divinity, though in a very different nity of the city and the country. Here she was
sense from Ares, Eris, or Enyo. According to | afterwards regarded as the 9εά σώτειρα, υγίεια, and
Homer (N. v. 736, &c. ), she does not even bear Taiwvia, and the serpent, the symbol of perpetu:]
arms, but borrows them from Zeus; she keeps renovation, was sacred to her. (Paus. i. 23. & 5,
men from slaughter when prudence demands it (n. 31. $ 3, 2. $ 4. ) At Lindus in Rhodes her wor-
i. 199, &c. ), and repels Ares's savage love of war, ship was likewise very ancient. Respecting its
and conquers him. (v. 840, &c. , xxi. 406. ) She introduction into Italy, and the modifications which
does not love war for its own sake, but simply on her character underwent there, see MINERVA.
account of the advantages which the state gains in Among the things sacred to her we may mention
engaging in it; and she therefore supports only such the owl, serpent, cock, and olive-tree, which she
warlike undertakings as are begun with prudence, was said to have created in her contest with Posei-
and are likely to be followed by favourable results. don about the possession of Attica. (Plut. de Is. et
(x. 244, &c. ) The epithets which she derives from Os. ; Paus, vi. 26. & 2, i. 24. & 3; Hygin. Fab. 164. )
her warlike character are αγελεία, λαφρία, άλκιμάχη, | At Corone in Messenia her statue bore a crow in
Taboooos, and others. In times of war, towns, its hand. (Paus. iv. 34. & 3. ) The sacrifices offered
fortresses, and harbours are under her especial care, to her consisted of bulls, whence she probably de
whence she is designated as ερυσίπτολις, αλαλκομε- rived the surname of ταυροβόλος (Suid. s. υ. ), rams,
νηΐς, πολιάς, πολιούχος, ακραία, ακρία, κληδούχος, and cows. (Ηom. ΙΙ. ii. 550; Ov. Met. iv. 754. )
TTUMATTIS, apouaxópua, and the like. As the pru- Eustathius (ad Hom. I. c. ) remarks, that only female
dent goddess of war, she is also the protectress of animals were sacrificed to her, but no female lambs.
all heroes who are distinguished for prudence and In Ilion, Locrian maidens or children are said to
good counsel, as well as for their strength and va- have been sacrificed to her every year as an atone
lour, such as Heracles, Perseus, Bellerophontes, ment for the crime committed by the Locrian Ajax
Achilles, Diomedes, and Odysseus. In the war of upon Cassandra; and Suidas (s. v. Toivi) states,
Zeus against the giants, she assisted her father and that these human sacrifices continued to be offered
Heracles with her counsel, and also took an active to her down to B. C. 346. Respecting the great
part in it, for she buried Enceladus under the island festivals of Athena at Athens, see Dict. of Ant. s. vu.
of Sicily, and slew Pallas. (Apollod. i. 6. § 1, &c. ;| Panathenaea and Arrhephoria.
comp. Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm. Athena was frequently represented in works of
i. 12. 19. ) In the Trojan war she sided with the art; but those in which her figure reached the
more civilised Greeks, though on their return home highest ideal of perfection were the three statues
she visited them with storms, on account of the by Pheidias. The first was the celebrated colossal
manner in which the Locrian Ajax bad treated statue of the goddess, of gold and ivory, which was
Cassandra in her temple. As a goddess of war erected on the acropolis of Athens; the second was
and the protectress of heroes, Athena usually ap- a still greater bronze statue, made out of the spoils
pears in armour, with the aegis and a golden statt, taken by the Athenians in the battle of Marathon;
with which she bestows on her favourites youth the third was a small bronze statue called the beau-
and majesty. (Hom. Od. xvi. 172. )
tiful or the Lemnian Athena, because it had been
The character of Athena, as we have here traced dedicated at Athens by the Lemnians. The first
it, holds a middle place between the male and fe- of these statues represented the goddess in a stand-
male, whence she is called in an Orphic hymn ing position, bearing in her hand a Nike four cubits
(xxxi. 10) épony kal Iñaus, and hence also she is in height. The shield stood by her feet; her robe
a virgin divinity (Hom. Hymn. ix. 3), whose heart came down to her feet, on her breast was the head
is inaccessible to the passion of love, and who of Medusa, in her right hand she bore a lance, and
shuns matrimonial connexion. Teiresias was de at her feet there lay a serpent. (Paus. i. 24. $ 7,
prived of his sight for having seen her in the 28. $ 2. ) We still possess a great number of re-
bath (Callim. Hymn. pp. 546,589), and Hephaestus, presentations of Athena in statues, colossal busts,
who made an attempt upon her chastity, was reliefs, coins, and in vase-paintings. Among the
obliged to flee. (Apollod. iii. 6. & 7, 14. 8 6; Hom. attributes which characterise the goddess in these
n. ii. 547, &c. ; comp. Tzetz. ad Lycophr. 111. ) works of art, we mention-1. The helmet, which
For this reason, the ancient traditions always des she usually wears on her head, but in a few in-
scribe the goddess as dressed ; and when Ovid stances carries in her hand. It is usually orna-
(Heroid. v. 36) makes her appear naked before mented in the most beautiful manner with griftins,
Paris, he abandons the genuine old story. Her beads of rams, horses, and sphinxes. (Comp. Hom.
statue also was always dressed, and when it was II. v. 743. ) 2. The aegis. (Dict. of Art. s. v. Acgis. )
carried about at the Attic festivals, it was entirely 3. The round Aryolic shield, in the centre of which
covered. But, notwithstanding the common opinion is represented the head of Medusa. 4. Objects
of her virgin character, there are some traditions of sacred to her, such as an olive branch, a serpent,
late origin which describe her as a mother. Thus, an owl, a cock, and a lance. Her garment is usi-
Apolio is called a son of Il-phaestus and Athena-- | ally the Spartan tunic without sleeves, and over it
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400
ATIIENAEUS.
ATHENAEJS.
she wears a cloak, the peplus, or, though rarely, 4. Of SELEUCUS, a philosopher of the Peripa-
the chlamys. The general expression of her hgure tetic school, mentioned by Strabo (xiv. p. 670) as
is thoughtfulness and earnestness ; her face is ra- a contemporary of his own. He was for some time
ther oval than round, the hair is rich and generally the leading demagogue in his native city, but
combed backwards over the temples, and floats afterwards came to Rome and became acquainted
freely down behind. The whole figure is majestic, with L. Licinius Varro Muraena. On the discovery
and rather strong built than slender : the hips are of the plot which the latter, with Fannius Caepio,
small and the shoulders broad, so that the whole had entered into against Augustus, Athenaeus ac-
somewhat resembles a male figure. (Hirt. Muthol. companied him in his flight. He was retaken, but
Bilicrb. i. p. 46, &c. ; Welcker, Zeitschrift für Gesch. pardoned by Augustus, as there was no evidence
der alten Kunst, p. 256, &c. )
(L. S. ] of his having taken a more active part in the plot.
ATHENAEUS ('Aonvaios), historical.
