The Goddess of Wisdom. The Greek Goddess of Wisdom

The population of Ancient Greece believed that the whole world and the life of people are ruled by the gods. They were called Olympic, because their place of residence was considered Mount Olympus. There were many gods, and their lives the Greeks looked like their worldly existence. They believed that the Olympians live by one huge family, the role of the head in which is assigned to the king of the gods - Zeus.

Who was for the ancient Greeks Athena Pallas?

The daughter of Zeus - Pallas won great respect and love from the ancient people. Athena in Greek mythology is the goddess of wisdom and just war, patronizing knowledge, arts and crafts. She was considered the founder of military strategy and effective tactics, her achievements were attributed to numerous victories in the battles. She was a member of the family of twelve major Olympians. She was a revered goddess in ancient Greece, competed in importance and popularity with her father - Zeus. Was recognized to him equal in wisdom and strength. It differed from other deities in an independent way. She was proud of being able to remain a virgin. The goddess of wisdom among the Greeks was reflected in the Roman Minerva.

The Virgin-warrior became the patroness of cities and states for the ancient inhabitants. It is associated with the development of science and crafts. Athena - the personification of the mind, ingenuity, resourcefulness and skill. Ancient Greek variant of writing the name of the goddess - Ἀθηνᾶ, more rare - Athenaya. The name of this mythical person is the majestic city of Athens.

The appearance of the goddess of wisdom in the representation of the ancients

The Greeks gave Athena an unusual and impressive appearance, so that it can be easily distinguished from other Olympic goddesses. The daughter of Zeus highlights the use of attributes characteristic of a strong half of humanity. The goddess of wisdom was portrayed as a tall, beautiful woman, dressed in the armor of soldiers. Her head is adorned and protected by a protective refined helmet with a high crest. In the hands of Athena - a spear and shield, covered with a snake skin with an ornament in the form of the head of the Medusa of the Gorgon. The Greek goddess of wisdom marches accompanied by sacred animals. Often she was portrayed with the winged Nika. The symbols of her wisdom were an owl and a snake.

The ancient Greeks described it like this: gray-haired and light-haired. Homer features her face called "sovokoikimi", highlighting the beauty of huge eyes. In the sources of Virgil there is a noteworthy fragment, where the Cyclops in the Vulcan's forge are plundering for Pallas military armor and aegis, covering them with snake scales.

Birth

Typical of the Greek myths was the unusual story of the appearance of the goddess to the light. There are a lot of versions, the most common one is stated in Hesiod's Theogony.

The very king of the gods owes Athena to his birth. The almighty Zeus the Thunderer became aware that in the womb of Metis, his first wife, is the child of a brilliant mind and perfect power. The child was predicted to surpass the wisdom of his parent. This mystery was told to Zeus Moira - goddess of fate. The thunderer was frightened that, having been born, the child would overthrow him from the Olympic throne. To avoid a formidable fate, he put the pregnant wife to sleep and swallowed it. And immediately Zeus overpowered an unbearable headache. Calling his son Hephaestus, he gave the order to cut his head with an ax, hoping to get rid of the pain and painful sounds in his head. Hephaestus could not disobey his father. He split the skull from one sweep. And appeared in the world of the gods from the head of the supreme ruler of the Olympians, a beautiful warrior - Athena, the goddess of wisdom. She presented the astonished Olympians in full military ammunition: in a brilliant helmet, with a spear and shield. Her blue eyes radiated wisdom and justice, the whole face of the virgin was filled with amazing divine beauty. Accepted and glorified by the Olympians was the beloved child of Zeus - the invincible Pallas. And her swallowed mother - Metida, endowed with immortality, and remained forever to live in the body of her husband, gave him good advice and helped to rule the world.

In his poems Homer did not pay attention to the myth of the birth of Athena. The authors of subsequent generations supplemented the history with original details and significantly embellished it. Thus, according to Pindar, at the time of the birth of a warrior in Rhodes, the rain began to drip from the golden drops.

Where and when was the goddess of wisdom born? Alternative versions

There are other legends about her appearance in the world. Ancient Greek author Aristocles describes the birth of Athena from the cloud as a result of a thunderbolt struck by a thunderer. And this event takes place in Crete. This myth is a reflection of the ancient view of how lightning and thunder emerge from a massive thundercloud. There are several other versions with different names of parents.

The ancient chroniclers and historians have disagreements about the question of where the virgin came into being. In the stories of Aeschylus, her birthplace is Libya, a place by the lake of Tritonidae. Herodotus records the beliefs of the Libyans that Athena is a descendant of Poseidon. In the stories of Apollonius of Rhodes, the goddess of wisdom was born near the Triton lake.

Pausanias informs the descendants of a story in which the birth of Pallas is described, where the altar of Zeus was located in Alifer (Arcadia).

Also, Athens was considered the birthplace of the city of Alaalcenia, where, according to local people, it was nurtured by people.

The day of the birth of the deity in the days of Panathinae was considered the day of the 28th hecatobeon, which corresponds to the date of August 18th. And on this day the work of the courts was suspended. In the "Chronicles of Eusebius," the year of the birth of the virgin is called the 237th from Abraham, according to our calendar - 1780 BC.

Athena in mythology: the capture of Troy

One of the most common plots of Greek mythology was the war of the ancient Greeks with the Trojan king Paris, which ended with the capture of Troy and the victory of the legendary Odysseus. The ancient Greeks ascribe to Athena the whole idea of building the Trojan horse. The Goddess of Wisdom promotes the Greeks. Euripides noted that the destruction of Ilium is a consequence of the wrath and anger of Pallas.

What prompted Athena to destroy Troy? It is not completely clear, but the Achaeans built a horse according to its plan and under its direction. In the exposition of Quint Smirnsky, a moment is described in detail, like Pallas, being in a dream to the Achaeans, trains them in crafts. Thanks to the knowledge gained from the goddess, the construction was completed in three days. Allegedly, the Achaean leaders appealed to Athena with a request to bless their creation. In addition, Pallas, incarnated in the messenger, advised Odysseus to place in the horse Achaean warriors. Later, she brought the food of the gods gathered in the battle to the heroes, able to relieve the feeling of hunger.

Under her patronage, the Greeks capture Troy and receive many treasures. On the night of the ruin of the city Pallada sits on the acropolis in the dazzling splendor of his ammunition and calls on the Greeks to win.

Athena is the inventor and patroness

The goddess of wisdom for the ancient Greeks is the founder of the state, the initiator of wars, the legislator and the founder of the higher Athenian court - Areopagus. In the arsenal of her inventions, a chariot and a ship, a flute and a trumpet, ceramic utensils, rakes, a plow, a yoke for oxen and bridles for horses.

Greek girls before marriage offered the goddess a hair sacrifice. There are references to the priestess virgins of the temples of Athena. Pallas patronizes women in marriage. In some sources, Pallas is mentioned as a defender of shipbuilders and seafarers. She is a teacher of metal masters, who trained Daedalus. Athena gave people knowledge about weaving and cooking. In ancient Greek myths, the topic of the goddess's help in performing amazing feats of various heroes is described in detail.

The cult of Athena

The Goddess of Wisdom was revered in all regions of Ancient Greece. She devoted a lot of acropolises, including in Athens, Argos, Sparta, Megara, Troy and Tresene. Pallada - the mistress over city kremlin and the Greek people. In Attica, she was the chief deity of the state and the city of Athens.