The ancient Greek goddess Athena is known for protecting cities and patronizing sciences. This is a warrior who could not be defeated, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The Greek goddess Athena was absolutely deservedly revered by the ancient Greeks. She was the beloved daughter of Zeus, and the capital of Greece was named after her. She always helped the heroes not only with wise advice, but also with deeds. She taught girls in Greece spinning, weaving, and cooking. The Greek goddess Athena not only was born in a strange way, many fascinating stories and myths are also associated with her name. Let's find out more about her.

Birth

According to myths, the goddess of Greece Athena was born spectacularly and rather unusual - from the head of Zeus. He knew in advance that Metis, the goddess of reason, would have two children - a daughter (Athena) and a son endowed with incredible strength and intelligence. And Moira, the goddess of fate, warned Zeus that this boy would one day take away his power over the whole world. To avoid such a turn of events, Zeus put Metis to sleep with affectionate speeches and swallowed her before the birth of his son and daughter. However, he soon began to suffer from unbearable headaches. To save himself from suffering, Zeus called Hephaestus to him and ordered him to chop his head with an ax. With one strong blow, he split the skull. To the amazement of all the Olympian gods present, the beautiful goddess Athena appeared from there, and she came out fully armed, and her blue eyes burned with wisdom. It is with such a myth that the birth of a brave and wise warrior is associated.

Appearance and symbols of the goddess

Huge blue (according to some sources, gray) eyes, luxurious light brown hair, majestic posture - such a description already says that she was a real goddess. Athena is usually depicted everywhere with a spear in hand and in armor. Despite her natural grace and beauty, she was surrounded by masculine attributes. On her head you can see a helmet with a fairly high crest, and in her hands there is always a shield, which is decorated with the head of a Gorgon. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, therefore she is always accompanied by the corresponding attributes - a snake and an owl.

Goddess of war

We have already talked a little about the armor and attributes of a brave warrior. Athena is the goddess of war, scattering clouds with the blade of her sparkling sword, guarding cities, inventing everything necessary for the art of war. In honor of her, the Panathenaean feasts were even celebrated - large and small. Athena is the goddess of war, but she did not take any pleasure in participating in battles, unlike Eris and Ares, thirsty for blood and reprisal. She preferred to resolve all issues exclusively by peaceful means. In good and calm times, she did not carry a weapon with her, and if necessary, she received it from Zeus. But if the goddess Athena entered the battle, she never lost it.

Goddess of wisdom

How many "responsibilities" were entrusted to her! For example, she kept order when the weather changed. If there was a thunderstorm with heavy rain, Athena had to make sure that after that the sun would come out. After all, she was also the goddess of gardens and fertility. Under her patronage, the olive tree was in Attica, which was of great importance for those lands. She needed to control tribal institutions, civil structure, and state life. Athena is the goddess of Ancient Greece, who in myths also acts as the goddess of discretion, intelligence, insight, inventions of art, and artistic activity. She teaches people crafts and arts, gives them knowledge and wisdom. Also, no one could surpass her in the art of weaving. True, such an attempt was made by Arachne, but she then paid for her arrogance. The ancient Greeks were sure that it was Athena who invented the flute, plow, ceramic pot, rake, chariot, horse bridle, ship and much more. That is why everyone rushed to her for wise advice. She was so kind that even in court she always cast her vote for acquittal of the accused.

The myth of Hephaestus and Athena

It should be noted that virginity was another integral and characteristic part of her cult. According to myths, many titans, gods, giants have repeatedly tried to get her attention, to marry her, but she in every possible way rejected their courtship. And then one day, in the midst of the Trojan War, the goddess Athena turned to Hephaestus with a request to make separate armor for her. As we already know, in such cases, she should have received weapons from Zeus. However, he did not support either the Trojans or the Hellenes, and therefore would hardly have given his daughter her armor. Hephaestus did not even think of denying Athena her request, but said that she should pay for the weapon not with money, but with love. Athena either did not understand the meaning of these words, or did not attach importance to them, since she appeared on time to the forge of Hephaestus for her order. Before she had time to cross the threshold, he rushed to her and wanted to take possession of the goddess. Athena managed to escape from his hands, but the seed of Hephaestus managed to spill on her leg. She wiped herself off with a piece of wool and threw it on the floor. Once on mother earth, Gaia, her seed fertilized her. Gay was not pleased with this fact, and she said that she refuses to raise a baby from Hephaestus. Athena also took this burden on her shoulders.

Continuation of the myth - the story of Erichthonius

Athena is a goddess whose myths only confirm her bravery and belligerence. As she promised, the child named Erichthonius took to her upbringing. However, it turned out that she did not have enough time for this, so she put the child in a sacred chest and gave it to Aglavra, daughter of Cecrops. However, soon the new teacher Erichthonia tried to twist Hermes around her finger, as a result of which she and her entire family gave their lives for this.

What did Athena do next?

Upon hearing this tragic news from the white crow, the goddess was very upset and made the bird black (since then, all crows are black). The bird found Athena at the moment when she was carrying a huge rock. In frustrated feelings, the goddess dropped her on the Acropolis in order to strengthen it more reliably. Today this rock is called Lycabettus. She hid Erichthonia under her auspices and raised her on her own. Later he became king in Athens and introduced the cult of his mother in this city.

The myth of the trial for Attica

Athena is the goddess of Ancient Greece, about whom there are many interesting mythological stories today. This myth tells how she became the ruler of Attica. According to him, Poseidon was the first to come here, hit the ground on the Acropolis with his trident - and a source of sea water appeared. After him, Athena came here, struck the ground with a spear - and an olive tree appeared. By the decision of the judges, Athena was recognized as the winner, since her gift turned out to be more necessary and useful. Poseidon was very angry and wanted to flood the whole land with the sea, but Zeus did not allow him to do so.

The flute myth

As we said, Athena is credited with creating many things, including the flute. According to the myth, one day the goddess found a deer bone and created a flute from it. The sounds produced by such an instrument gave Athena incomparable pleasure. She decided to show off her invention and skill at the meal of the gods. However, Hera and Aphrodite began to laugh at her openly. It turned out that while playing the instrument, Athena's cheeks swell and her lips protrude, which does not add to her attractiveness. Not wanting to look ugly, she abandoned the flute and cursed in advance the one who would play it. The instrument was destined to find Marsyas, who could not escape the terrible retribution from Apollo later.

What gave rise to the myth of the goddess and Arachne?

We have already mentioned above that the goddess had no equal in the art of weaving. However, attempts were made to surpass it, which did not entail anything good. One of the myths tells about such a story.

When it came to all women's work and crafts, the goddess was called Ergana or Athena the worker. Weaving was one of the main crafts of the Athenians, but materials made from Asian countries were made more delicately and gracefully. This rivalry gave rise to the myth of the enmity between Arachne and Athena.

Fierce rivalry

Arachne was not of noble birth, her father worked as an ordinary dyer, but the girl had a talent for weaving incredibly thin and very beautiful materials. She also knew how to spin quickly and evenly, loved to decorate her work with skillful embroidery. Praises and pleasant speeches for her work sounded from all sides. Arachne became so proud of this that it occurred to her to compete with the goddess. She stated that she could easily defeat her in this craft.

Athena was very angry and decided to put the impudent in place, but at first she wanted to solve everything peacefully, which was very inherent in her. She took the form of an old woman and went to Arachne. There she began to prove to the girl that it was very dangerous for a mere mortal to start such games with the goddess. To which the proud weaver replied that even if Athena herself appeared before her, she would be able to prove her superiority in the craft to her.

Athena was not one of the timid, so she accepted the challenge. Both girls went to work. The goddess on her machine weaved a story about her uneasy relationship with Poseidon, and Arachne depicted all kinds of transformations of the gods and love affairs. The work of a mere mortal was done so efficiently and skillfully that Athena, although she tried, did not find a single flaw in it.

Angry and forgetting about her duty to be fair, Athena hit the girl on the head with a shuttle. Proud Arachne could not survive such humiliation and hanged herself. And the goddess turned her into a spider, who is destined to weave throughout her life.

Myths about Athena's help to all gods

She helped many not only with advice, but with the accomplishment of feats. For example, Perseus was raised in her temple. And it was Athena who taught him to wield a sword, for which he brought her the head of the Gorgon as a gift. As we know, she placed it on her shield. The goddess helped Tydeus compete with the Thebans - she reflected arrows from him, covered him with a shield. The goddess Diomedes inspired to fight with Aphrodite, Pandar. She helped Achilles destroy Learness, frighten the Trojans by creating a fire. And when Achilles fought with Hector, she saved the first from being hit by a spear.

Depictions of Athena in art

Back in the 5th century BC, the sculptor Phidias created a huge statue of Athena, which has not survived to this day, although there have been repeated attempts to restore it. It was a large statue of a goddess swinging a spear. They installed it on the Acropolis. Thanks to the large, glittering sword, the statue was visible from afar. A little later, the same master made a bronze figure of Athena, preserved in marble copies.

And the painter Famul created a canvas called "Athena" when he was painting Nero's palace. The most interesting thing is that from whatever side a person looks at the picture, the goddess turns her gaze to him. And in the sanctuary of Artemis there was a work of Cleanthes called "The Birth of Athena."

If we talk about modernity, then in 2010 the series "Athena: Goddess of War" was released. This drama from a Korean director follows a terrorist group that threatens the world.

We hope you learned more about the brave and always ready to help the goddess. Study myths, it is always exciting, informative and interesting!

Athena, daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and victorious war, defender of justice

Athena, Greek - daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and victorious war, protector, arts and crafts.

Old myths speak out about the birth of Athena rather sparingly: Homer only says that she is without a mother. More details can already be found in later authors. According to Hesiod, Zeus was predicted that the goddess of wisdom Metis would give him a daughter who would surpass him in wisdom, and a son who would surpass him in strength and overthrow him from the throne. To prevent this, Zeus swallowed Metis, after which Athena was born from his head.

Even later myths even know how it happened. After Zeus ate Metis, he felt that his head was just splitting from pain. Then he summoned Hephaestus (according to other versions - Hermes or the titan Prometheus), he cut his head with an ax - and Pallas Athena was born in full armor.

Thus, in accordance with the symbolism of myths, Athena was also the power of Zeus. He loved her more than all his daughters: he talked to her as with his own thought, did not hide anything from her and did not deny her anything. For her part, Athena understood and appreciated the goodwill of her father. She was always by his side, never once carried away by some other god or man, and with all her beauty, majesty and nobility did not marry, remaining the Athena-Virgin (Athena Parthenos).

Due to her origin and the benevolence of Zeus, Athena became one of the most powerful goddesses of the Greek pantheon. Since ancient times, she was, first of all, the goddess of war, being a protector from enemies.

True, the war was in the competence of Ares, but Athena did not interfere. After all, Apec was the god of fierce war, bloody battles, while she was the goddess of reasonably, prudently waged war, which invariably ends in victory, which could not be said about the wars of Ares. Athena, the goddess of war, was revered by the Greeks under the name of Athena Enoplos (armed Athena) or Athena Promachos (Athena the foremost fighter or Athena challenging to battle), as the goddess of a victorious war was called Athena Nike (Athena the Winner).

From the beginning to the end of the ancient world, Athena was the goddess-protector of the Greeks, especially the Athenians, who were always her favorites. Like Pallas Athena, the goddess guarded other cities, primarily those where there were her cult figurines in the temples, the so-called palladiums; as long as the palladium remained in the city, the city was impregnable. The Trojans also had such palladium in their main temple, and therefore the Achaeans, who besieged Troy, certainly had to steal this palladium (which Odysseus did with Diomedes). Athena patronized the Greeks and their cities both in war and in peace. She was a defender of national assemblies and rights, took care of children and the sick, and gave people well-being. Often, her help took very concrete forms. For example, she gave the Athenians an olive tree, thus laying the foundation for one of the main branches of the Greek national economy (by the way, to this day).

Photo: Riviera Brighton's painting Pallas Athena and the Shepherd's Dogs.

In addition to these important functions, Athena was also the goddess of arts and crafts (the Greeks, as a rule, did not distinguish between these two concepts; they denoted the work of a sculptor, bricklayer and shoemaker with the word "techne"). She taught women to spin and weave, men - blacksmithing, jewelry and dyeing crafts, helped the builders of temples and ships. For her help and protection, Athena demanded respect and sacrifice - this was the right of every god. She punished disrespect and insults, but it was easier to appease her than other goddesses.

In the life of gods and heroes, Athena intervened often and effectively, and each of her interventions led exactly to the result that she herself desired. With the god of the sea, Poseidon, Athena had a dispute about domination over Attica and Athens. The Council of the Gods appointed Cecrop, the first Athenian king, as arbitrator, and Athena won the dispute by presenting an olive tree and thereby securing Cecrop's favor. When Paris insulted Athena with his unwillingness to recognize her primacy in the dispute over beauty, she repaid him by helping the Achaeans defeat Troy. When her admirer Diomedes had a hard time in the battle under the walls of Troy, she herself took the place of the charioteer in his war chariot and forced her brother Ares to flee. She helped Odysseus, his son Telemachus, Agamemnon's son Orestes, Bellerophon, Perseus and many other heroes. Athena never left her charges in trouble, always helped the Greeks, especially the Athenians, and she later provided the same support to the Romans, who venerated her under the name of Minerva.

Photo: A copy of the work of Phidias, a colossal bronze statue of Pallas Athena in the center of the Acropolis.

The goddess Athena is already mentioned in the monuments of the Cretan-Mycenaean writing of the 14-13th centuries. BC NS. (the so-called Linear "B") discovered at Knossos. In them, she is called the goddess-protector of the royal palace and the nearby city, the helper in battle and the giver of the harvest; her name sounds like "Atana". The cult of Athena spread throughout Greece, traces of it remain even after the victory of Christianity. Above all she was honored by the Athenians, whose city still bears her name.

From time immemorial, festivities have been held in Athens in honor of the birth of the goddess - the Panathenaea (they fell on July - August). In the middle of the 6th century. BC NS. The Athenian ruler Pisistratus established the so-called Great Panathenes, which were held every four years and included competitions for musicians, poets, orators, gymnasts and athletes, riders, rowers. Lesser Panathenaeas were celebrated annually and more modestly. The culmination of these festivities was the offering of gifts of the Athenian people to the goddess, primarily a new garment for the ancient cult statue of Athena in the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis. The Panathenaean procession is masterfully depicted on the frieze of the Athenian Parthenon, one of the authors of which was the great Phidias. In Rome, celebrations in honor of Minerva were held twice a year (in March and June).

In the photo: the statue of Athena ("Pallas Giustiniani") in the gardens of Peterhof.

Architectural structures in honor of Athena belong to the treasures of common human culture - even if only ruins have survived from them. First of all, this is the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, built in 447-432. BC NS. Iktin and Callicrates under the artistic direction of Phidias and consecrated by Pericles already in 438 BC. NS. For more than two millennia, the Parthenon stood, almost untouched by time, until in 1687 it was damaged by an explosion of gunpowder, which the Turks stored in it during the war with Venice. Nearby there is a small temple to Nike, dedicated to the Victorious Athena; during the Turkish occupation, it was completely destroyed, but in 1835-1836. rose again from the ruins. The last of these buildings on the Acropolis is the Erechtheion, dedicated to Athena, Poseidon and Erechtheus (Erechtheus). At one time, Athenian palladium was kept in it, and next to the Erechtheion the "olive of Athena" was planted (the present one was planted in 1917). The magnificent temples of Athena were also built by the Greeks on the Spartan Acropolis, in the Arcadian Tegea, on the Marble Terrace in Delphi, in the Asian Minor cities of Pergamum, Priene and Asse; in Argos there was a common temple of Athena and Apollo. The remains of her temple have been preserved in the Sicilian Kefaleedia (present-day Cefalu) and in the ruins of Gimera; the twelve Doric columns of her temple in Syracuse still stand today as an integral part of the cathedral there. Her temple was also in Troy (not only in Homeric, but also in the historic new Ilion). Perhaps the oldest of the three surviving temples in Poseidonia, the southern Italian Paestum, which is now called Pesti) was also dedicated to her. 6 c. BC BC, but the tradition is called "Temple of Ceres".

In the photo: Pallas Athena (Minerva). ...

Greek artists portrayed Athena as a serious young woman in a long robe (peplos) or in an armor. Sometimes, despite women's clothing, she had a helmet on her head, and next to her were her sacred animals, an owl and a snake. Of her antique statues, the most highly prized: "Athena Parthenos", a colossal chrysoelephantine statue (ie, made of gold and ivory), from 438 BC. NS. standing in the Parthenon; Athena Promachos, colossal bronze statue from about 451 BC. BC, standing in front of the Parthenon, and "Athena Lemnia" (after 450 BC), erected on the Acropolis by grateful Athenian colonists from Lemnos. All three of these statues were created by Phidias; unfortunately, we know them only from descriptions and late copies and replicas, mostly not of a very high level. Reliefs give an idea of ​​some of the statues: for example, how the sculpture of Myron "Athena and Marsyas" looked like, we know from its image on the so-called "Finlay's vase" (1st century BC), kept in Athens, in National Archaeological Museum. Perhaps the best relief of the classical era - "Pensive Athena", leaning on a spear and sadly looking at the stele with the names of the fallen Athenians (Acropolis Museum). The most faithful, albeit not too skillful and, moreover, a tenfold reduced copy of the cult statue "Athena Parthenos" can probably be considered the so-called "Athena Varvakion" (Athens, National Archaeological Museum). In general, many statues of Athena, whole or in the form of torsos, have survived. The most famous of them, Roman copies of Greek originals of the classical era, are located in Italy and are traditionally named after their former owners or by their location: Athena Farnese (Naples, National Museum), Athena Giustiniani (Vatican), Athena from Velletri ”(Rome, Capitoline Museums and Paris, Louvre). The most artistically valuable copy of the head of "Athena Lemnia" is in the City Museum in Bologna.

The image of Athena has survived on about two hundred vases, many of which date back to the 6th century. BC NS. The archaized image of Athena adorned all the amphorae that were awarded to the winners of the Panathenaic Games.

Of the works of modern times, no less numerous and no less diverse, we can name only two paintings: "Pallas and the Centaur" by Botticelli (1482) and "The Birth of Athena from the Head of Zeus" by Fiamingo (1590s). Of the statues, there are also two: the work of Dros at the beginning of our century, which stands on a high Ionic column in front of the Athenian Academy, and the work of Houdon of the late 18th century, which adorns the Institute of France.

In the photo: a statue of Athena in front of the Austrian Parliament in Vienna.

Pallas Athena, Great Mother Goddess

Pallas Athena is a representative of the highest world all-conquering power, one of the most revered goddesses of Ancient Greece, one of the twelve great Olympian gods. She was revered as the goddess of knowledge, arts and crafts; maiden warrior, patroness of cities and states, sciences and skill, intelligence, dexterity, ingenuity.

The image of Pallas Athena arouses the genuine interest of many researchers who talk about the sacred meaning of the myths about her deeds, name and attributes.

Athena stands out from the rest of the Greek pantheon. Unlike other female deities, she is dressed in armor, holds a spear in her hands, and is accompanied by sacred animals.

Mandatory attributes of its image are:

• helmet(usually Corinthian - with a high crest),
• aegis(shield) covered with goatskin and decorated with the head of Medusa the Gorgon,
• goddess Nika as an escort,
• olive- the sacred tree of the ancient Greeks,
• owl,
• snake.

What do these attributes mean?

Helmet and shield- these are traditional military symbols, because Athena is a warrior maiden, which many interpreted as a symbol of equality between men and women, as well as a symbol of skill in the art of war, since Athena is the goddess of a just war.

Nika- in ancient Greek mythology, the winged goddess of victory, she often accompanies Pallas Athena, as she is a symbol of a successful result, a happy outcome of something.

Olive- a sacred tree that is a symbol of wisdom. One of the interpretations of the symbolism of this tree is given by the neoplatonist Porfiry: “... the olive tree as a symbol of Divine Wisdom. This is the tree of Athena, Athena is wisdom ... Being ever-flowering, the olive has some properties that are most convenient for marking the paths of the soul in space ... In summer, the white side of the leaves turn upwards, in winter, the lighter parts turn in the opposite direction. When flowering olive branches stretch out in prayers and supplications, they hope that the darkness of danger will be turned into light ... So the cosmos is governed by the eternal and ever-flowering wisdom of an intellectual nature, from which a victorious reward is given to the athletes of life and healing from many hardships. "

Owl- in ancient Greek mythology, it is a symbol of wisdom and knowledge due to the fact that the natural behavior of the bird reminded the Hellenes of the lifestyle of philosophers seeking solitude, and the owl's ability to see in the dark made it a symbol of discernment.

Snake Is also a traditional symbol of wisdom.

Pallas Athena is the heroes in ancient Greek myths and helps them to perform feats. She helps Perseus defeat Medusa the Gorgon, and Cadmus defeat the dragon and become the king of Thebes. It was the warrior maiden who became the patroness of Hercules and more than once helped him in his exploits. Athena also patronizes the heroes of the Iliad and the Odyssey. And there are many such examples in Greek mythology. The goddess Athena always accompanies the heroes.

Who are the heroes? "Hero" literally from ancient Greek means "valiant husband, leader." And it seems to me that the word "leader" is the defining one here, that is. the one who leads other people, and, you must admit that no matter how lucky and courageous the ruler is, if he is deprived of wisdom, then many of his undertakings will be doomed to failure. A wise person is guided by a thought, but not chaotic, as is often the case in our daily life, but one based on love, in other words, deified. "A man should be able to control his thoughts" .

Let's turn to the legend about the birth of the warrior goddess.

Her birth is unusual. The most common version is told in the "Theogony" of Hesiod, which tells that the father of Athena was Zeus - the chief of the Olympian gods, who owns the whole world, and the mother - Metis or otherwise Metis, in ancient Greek mythology she personified wisdom and was the first wife of Zeus.

Uranus (god of Heaven) and Gaia (goddess of Earth) predicted to Zeus that his wife would give him a son who would surpass him. To prevent this, when Metis became pregnant, Zeus put her to sleep with gentle speeches and swallowed her, after which, on the third day, Athena, who united the wisdom of her father and mother, was born from his head. Her birth was helped by the god of Fire Hephaestus and one of the titans, the protector of people Prometheus. Hephaestus struck with a hammer on Zeus's sore head, and Athena was accepted by Prometheus (his name literally means "thinking before", "foreseeing").

What is the legend allegorically?

Here is what Herodotus writes in his historical treatise: “As for the customs of the Persians, then ... They usually bring sacrifices to Zeus on the tops of the mountains and the entire firmament is called Zeus. That is, Herodotus associated the Persian god Ahura Mazda with the ancient Greek father of the gods Zeus.

In the book of Mark and Elizabeth Prophet "The Masters and Their Abodes" it is written: "The Ascended Masters teach that the supreme God of Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda is Sanat Kumara. The name "Ahura Mazda" means "The Wise Lord" or "The Lord who imparts knowledge."

In other words, Zeus (Ahura Mazda - Sanat Kumara) is the god of Reason, who, having united with wisdom (Metis), created the daughter Athena Pallas.

Now it seems strange to us such an unusual birth of a goddess. However, in The Secret Doctrine, H.P. Blavatsky, in particular, in the excerpts from the book of Dzyan, it is written: "... By the Will-Born Masters, aspired by the Spirit of Life-Giver ..."

Here is the interpretation given in the book by T.N. Mikushina on this matter:

In various ancient teachings ... it is mentioned the Supreme Spirits ... who are the "first-born" Brahma, born of the Reason ... "

In other words, thought was the fundamental principle of all that exists, and the Supreme Lords, or Gods, were originally born precisely with the help of its life-giving power.

From this we can safely conclude that Pallas Athena is the embodiment of divine thought, divine will, or spatial thought. And we know that thought is energy, and in Agni Yoga it is written that “of all creative energies, thought remains the highest,” hence the veneration of the ancient Greeks to the goddess who stands next to Zeus. "Even an earthly thought can move dense objects - one can imagine all the creative power of the thought of the Higher World!"

Hence the variety of activities of Pallas Athena. She is not only a warrior goddess, but also a patroness of crafts, arts, cities, a healer, a fortuneteller, a weaver, i.e. it is everywhere and in everything that requires the presence of thought.

And if we remember that legends were not given to people in vain, then we can imagine what cosmic power was endowed with the goddess Athena, she combines the wisdom of Metis, the power of the fire of Hephaestus and the power of Prometheus' foresight. “Cosmic Breath is the fire of Space. All cosmic manifestations are saturated with fire, and thought ... is fire. "

Pallas Athena was given many names and epithets that revealed the functions of the goddess, helping people understand her meaning: Ares - redeemer, Bulaya - councilor, Aglavra – light-air, Poliuhos – city ​​defender, Ergana - a toiler - all these are the names of the goddess, one way or another personifying Divine Wisdom. She was given various epithets to help understand and explain her functions.

Homer, for example, uses the epithet "glavkopis" (Greek :), ie owl-eyed or light-eyed. Indeed, the descriptions often emphasize the goddess's large, shining eyes. Even in this trifle, great wisdom slips, symbolically encrypted in ancient legends: “Fire ... is seen only in the eyes. The word does not express it, and the outline does not depict it, for its flame is in that thought that is not expressed through the bodily shell. Only the mirror of the eyes allows the sparks of higher thought to pass through. Those eyes will distinguish the sparks of cosmic rays, which gross vision will call simply the light of the sun.

Not surprisingly, for the ancient Greeks, the importance of Athena was equated to Zeus, and sometimes even surpassed him.

We will not ignore the most famous second name of the goddess - Pallas. According to one of the legends, Athena got a middle name when she defeated the goat-like flying giant Pallant, who wanted to commit violence against Athena when the titans rebelled against the gods, but the goddess crushed the giant, tore off his skin and made her shield out of it.

If we decipher this allegory, then we will get the following interpretation.

In man, the spiritual world and the physical world unite. When a person manifests the divine world through himself, he becomes god-like, but when he refuses God, then, more and more immersed in matter, he becomes like a beast. That is why in ancient legends (and not only in Greek ones), half-people-half-beasts are most often depicted as wild, evil, unable to control themselves and bringing destruction, for example, remember the well-known legends about centaurs or werewolves. That is why the victory over the beast, i.e. carnal, part of themselves raises these creatures (for example, the wise centaur Chiron - the teacher of heroes). Therefore, allegorically, Athena's victory over a titan with animal features is a victory over lower matter and its use for divine purposes.

As a result, according to the Russian philosopher and philologist A.F. Losev, Athena and all of her accomplishments are before us, as it were, a direct continuation of Zeus. She is the performer of his plans and will, his thought, realized in action. She is like fate and the Great Mother Goddess, who is known in archaic mythology as the parent and destroyer of all living things.

Professor Z.S. wrote about the sacred significance of Pallas Athena. Shelomentseva in the essay “Athena-Sophia-Menfra”: “The Goddess on Earth, bringing Divinity to our world as Divine Grace. She was allowed by the Almighty to carry not only the wisdom of the Father, but also His plan for our earthly world. She acts as an ideologue of Divine Wisdom, as a theorist, leader and organizer. She is the Goddess of wisdom, crafts and just war, and when necessary, she enters the battle, expressing with her armor a constant readiness to defend the Truth. "

Today there are few of those who honor Pallas Athena as the goddess of Truth and divine Wisdom, who still stands guard over this world. Therefore, I would like to conclude this article with a poem dedicated to her.

Dedication

“... the whole world is a gift from God to you ...
to get to know yourself and the world around you. "
Pallas Athena. "Word of Wisdom"

Born in the rain in gold
In the throne room, the reigning mother,
Clear-eyed, wise, strict,
Divine Truth Guardian!

You gave harmony in art,
The beauty and peace of the craft,
Justice and courage to the warriors,
When trouble came.

Accept great gratitude
For being forgotten into the world
I continued to defend the Truth,
Think clearly and love wisely.

Zhurkova E.G.

Sources:

1. Agni Yoga / Ed. Kagan G.I., Kalzhanova G.I., Rodichev Yu.E. - Samara: Roerich Center for Spiritual Culture, 1992. - In 3 volumes.

2. Herodotus. History in nine books / Translation by G.A. Stratanovsky, ed. S.L. Utchenko. - Leningrad: Science, 1972.

3. Karchevskaya Leka. Dedication (Electronic data) / Poems.ru [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://www.stihi.ru/2015/07/15/5117, free. - Title from the screen.

4. Losev A.F. Myths of the peoples of the world: Encyclopedia in 2 vols. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1980 .-- T. 1.

5. . - Omsk: Publishing House "Sirius", 2008. - 166 p.

6. Porphyry. About the cave of nymphs (Electronic data) / Platonopolis [Electronic resource]. - Access mode:, free. - Title from the screen.

7. Shelomentseva Z.S. Athena-Sophia-Menfra. Philosophical and cultural essay (Electronic data) / Beesona.ru [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://www.beesona.ru/id531/literature/, free.

2. Sri Swami Sivananda. Lord Shiva and His worship. / Library of Vedic literature. - Penza: Golden Section, 1999 - 384 p.