ATENA (Athena). – Goddess of Greece. Her name, probably pre-Hellenic, may perhaps be connected with that of the Greek city which most venerated her, Athens: for some the goddess took her name from the city, for others the name of the city was formed from that of the goddess. The original aspect of Athena is uncertain: is she a deity of celestial phenomena or a lunar goddess? She would belong to the common heritage of the Greek tribes, and her cult would everywhere be equally original. For others she is a meteorological deity with traits borrowed from the goddess Ištar of Asia Minor, or an imported oriental deity. Recently she has been identified as the Minoan household goddess, who later became the protector of princely palaces and armed in response to the needs of the Mycenaean age. She would be depicted on a slab from Mi-
ATENA – ATENAGORA
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But more often she is simply Athena Polias (Athens, Pergamum, Troezen, Sparta, etc.). Her protection is incarnate in the Palladium, pledge of the city’s existence. Amphissa, Argos, Alalcomenae and other cities claimed to possess the original Palladium brought from Troy. She protects the arts and crafts, especially women’s activities, and is the patron of potters and metallurgists; she taught the cultivation of the olive to Attica. She watches over public health, good government and the laws.
Athena’s cult was widespread throughout Greece, but the principal centre was Athens. The most ancient seat of her cult was the Erechtheum, on the northern edge of the Acropolis, where she was honoured together with Poseidon and Erechtheus. There were the proofs of her contest with Poseidon for possession of Attica, namely the salt spring that gushed from the rock at the god’s trident-strike and the olive tree, Athena’s gift. In 447 the Parthenon was begun, adorned by the genius of Phidias. Numerous were the festivals; the principal ones were the Panathenaea, with a procession from the Ceramicus to the Acropolis for the offering of the peplos to the goddess. Pergamum rivalled Athens in the cult of Athena: from the 3rd century BC Athena was the sole and powerful protector of the city, celebrated in the Panathenaea and the Nicephoria. At Corinth Athena had torch-races, perhaps of a lustral character; at Tegea Athena Alea was venerated with Asclepius and Hygieia; her priestess was a maiden, though inscriptions also record a priest; the temple enjoyed the right of asylum. Also at Tegea, in the temple of Athena Poliatis, were the Gorgon’s hairs, which ensured the city’s inviolability. At Argos, the principal seat of Peloponnesian cult, there was a votive offering in the sanctuary on the Acropolis: an ancient statue of Zeus with three eyes that had once belonged to Priam; the goddess’s chief festival consisted of a bath prepared by maidens with water from the Inachus, a rite from which men were excluded. In Elis Athena is called Μήτηρ (Mother), but of gold: women who prayed to her obtained immediate children, a fact on which those who see in Athena a mother-goddess base their view. Ancient seem the cults of Boeotia and Thessaly; in that of Athena Lindia at Rhodes no fire was used in sacrifice. Numerous are the myths to which Athena is linked; the best known are her birth and her contest with Poseidon for Attica. In art she appears in the Gigantomachy and in the exploits of heroes—Theseus, Heracles, Odysseus. In this protective role an alleged remnant of an ancient matriarchate has been mistakenly seen. In Etruria and at Rome Athena was identified with Minerva.
In Greek art the archaic statues of Athena fall into two types: the palladia, i.e. Athena standing, menacing, with shield raised and spear poised as if to strike, and Athena seated with polos and aegis. The latter type seems to be older than the former. Later the seated Athena disappears: Athena is represented standing, armed, ever tranquil and dignified.