Which goddess was born from the head of her father. Athena Pallas - the daughter of Zeus, the goddess of wisdom in ancient Greece. Statue of Pallas Athena by Phidias

He knew that the goddess of reason, Metis (Metis), would have two children: a daughter, Athena, and a son of extraordinary intelligence and strength. goddesses of fate moira told Zeus that this son would take away his power over the world. To avoid this, Zeus lulled Metis with affectionate speeches and swallowed her before the birth of children. Soon Zeus felt a terrible pain in his head. To get rid of her, he called on his son Hephaestus and ordered to cut his head. With an ax blow, Hephaestus split the skull of Zeus, and from there, to the amazement of the other Olympian gods, a powerful and beautiful warrior, the goddess Pallas Athena, emerged in full armor. Athena's blue eyes burned with divine wisdom.

Birth of Athena from the head of Zeus. Drawing on an amphora of the second half of the 6th century. BC

Athena - goddess of war

Athena is the “blue-eyed virgin”, the goddess of the clear sky, dispersing the clouds with her sparkling spear, attaching to her shield, Aegis, the snake-haired head of the terrible Gorgon Medusa, the black daughter of the night, at the same time the goddess of victorious energy in any struggle: she is armed with a shield, sword and spear. The goddess Pallas Athena was considered by the Greeks to be the inventor of military art. She is always accompanied by the winged goddess of victory (Nika). Athena - the guardian of cities, the goddess of the acropolises; in honor of her, the goddess of the Athenian Acropolis, the Athenians performed large and small Panathenaic holidays. Being the goddess of war, Athena, however, did not experience joy in battles, like the gods Ares and Eris, but preferred to resolve feuds in peace. In peaceful days, she did not carry weapons, but during wars she received them from Zeus. However, having entered the battle, Pallas never lost it - even to the god of war Ares.

myths Ancient Greece: Athena. Wise warrior

Athena - goddess of wisdom

Pallas Athena keeps order in the weather changes, so that after a thunderstorm that gave rain, the sky clears up again: but she is also the goddess of fertility of fields and gardens; under her patronage, an olive tree grew in Attica, which had such importance for this land; it gives prosperity to the home and family. Under the auspices of Pallas Athena is the civil system, tribal institutions, public life; the goddess of the all-pervading and clear ether, the goddess Athena became in the myths about the gods of Ancient Greece the goddess of the insight of the mind, prudence, the goddess of all inventions of art, the goddess artistic activity, mental pursuits, the goddess of wisdom. She gives wisdom and knowledge, teaches people the arts and crafts. The girls of ancient Greece honored Pallas Athena as a teacher of home needlework - culinary arts, weaving and spinning. No one can surpass the goddess Athena in the art of weaving. The ancient Greek myth said that it is very dangerous to compete with her in this - Arachne, the daughter of Idmon, who wanted to surpass Athena in this art, severely paid for her arrogance.

The ancient Greeks believed that Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, made a great many useful inventions: she created a flute, a pipe, a ceramic pot, a plow, a rake, a yoke for oxen, bridles for horses, a chariot, a ship, the art of counting. Therefore, the ancient Greek commanders always tried to get from Athena helpful tips. Pallas Athena was famous for her kindness, and therefore, when the judges disagreed at the trials in the Areopag of Athens, she always gave her vote for the acquittal of the accused.

The goddess Athena fills Hercules' cup with wine. Ancient Greek vessel ca. 480-470 BC

Little by little, Pallas Athena became the goddess of everything that the Athenians were proud of: the clear sky of Attica, its olive groves, government agencies Athenians, their prudence in war, their courage, their science, poetry, art - everything was included in their idea of ​​their patroness, the goddess "Virgin of Athens". The whole life of the Athenians was in close connection with their service to the goddess Pallas Athena, and before they put her statue in the Parthenon temple, they honored her for many centuries in her mythical symbol, the olive tree.

Virginity of Pallas Athena

Virginity was the most characteristic and integral part of the cult of the goddess Athena. According to Greek myths, many gods, titans and giants wanted to enter into marital relations with Pallas, but she rejected all courtship. Once, during the Trojan War, not wanting to ask for weapons from Zeus, who did not support either the Hellenes or the Trojans, Athena asked Hephaestus to make her own armor. Hephaestus agreed, but said that he would do the work not for money, but for love. Not understanding the meaning of what was said, Athena came for armor to the forge of Hephaestus. He rushed to the goddess and tried to take possession of her. They say that Hephaestus was incited to this by Poseidon, who lost the dispute to Athena for the possession of Attica: the sea god convinced the Olympic blacksmith of Pallas's secret desire for someone to take possession of her by force. Athena, however, escaped from the hands of Hephaestus, but at the same time his seed spilled on her just above the knee. Pallas wiped herself with a tuft of wool and threw it away. The seed of Hephaestus fell on mother earth Gaia and impregnated her. Dissatisfied with this, Gaia said that she would not raise her unborn child from Hephaestus. Athena then announced that she would raise him herself.

Statue of Athena the Virgin in the Parthenon. Sculptor Phidias

When the child was born, he was named Erichthonius. It was one of the mythical progenitors of the Athenians. Taking Erichtonius from Gaia, Pallas Athena put him in a sacred casket and gave him to Aglavra, the eldest daughter of the Athenian king. Kekropsa. The sad fate of Aglavra, her mother and two sisters is told in myth from Erichthonius. All four died, for Aglavra tried to deceive the god Hermes. Hearing of their sad fate, upset Athena dropped a huge rock that she was carrying to the Athenian Acropolis in order to better strengthen it. This rock was named Mount Lycabettus. The crow, which conveyed to Pallas Athena the mournful news of the death of the women of the Kekrops family, was made black by the goddess from white. Since then, all crows are black. Pallas forbade them to appear on the Athenian acropolis. The goddess Athena Pallas hid Erichtonia in her aegis and raised her. Later he became king of Athens and introduced the cult of his named mother in that city. After his death, Erichthonius was raised to heaven, becoming the constellation Charioteer, for he, with the help of the goddess Athena, was the first to learn how to use a chariot drawn by four horses.

For the Athenians, the idea of ​​the virginity of their main goddess symbolized the impregnability of their city. Some scholars believe that in ancient myths Pallas Athena was not a virgin, but had children from Hephaestus, Poseidon and the wind god Boreas. Some vague memories of these myths have been preserved in historical Hellas - at least in the above story about Athena and Hephaestus. Erichthonius, most likely, was initially considered the son of Athena and Poseidon. The rest of this myth is preserved in the legend that Erichthonius was the first to ride a quadriga chariot, which in ancient Greek religion was an invariable attribute of Poseidon.

Myths about Pallas Athena

The most famous myths about Athena (except for the above story about Erichthonius) are the legends about the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of Attica, about the sculptor Pygmalion, about Athena and the satire of Marsyas, about Arachne and of Athena's participation on the side of the Greeks in the Trojan War.

Panathenaia - holidays in honor of Athena

Of the many holidays that ancient Athens celebrated in honor of its patron goddess, and which were mostly agricultural in nature, the most important were the "small Panathenays" and "great Panathenays". Small were celebrated every year, in the summer; great - once every four years. By ancient Greek myths, Panathenaic was established by the son of Kekrops Erechtheus, a pupil of Athena, the personification of a fertile field.

Competitions of runners during the Panathenaic. Vase ok. 530 BC

The entire population of Attica converged on the great Panathenaia in Athens; a solemn procession carried to the Acropolis a mantle (Peplos), embroidered by the Athenians for the ancient statue of the goddess Pallas Athena, which stood in her Acropolis temple. This mantle was saffron; sewing on it was gold, and represented scenes from the victorious battles of the goddess Athena with the titans. Priests walked ahead with sacrificial animals; the priests were followed by the meteks (foreigners who lived in Athens); they carried sacrificial vessels and other paraphernalia. Girls, daughters of respected families of Athenian citizens, followed the meteks and carried on their heads a reaping wreath, baskets with sacred barley, honey, sacrificial bread; the daughters of the metecs held umbrellas over them to protect them from the sultry summer sun. Further on, a platform set on wheels rode; a mast was approved on it; the peplos of the goddess Pallas Athena was tied to the mast. The musicians followed the platform, followed by young men wearing myrtle wreaths; some walked and sang hymns in honor of the goddess, others were on horseback, armed with a shield and a spear. Further along the streets of Athens came cheerful old men with olive branches in their hands; behind them were the awards intended for the winners of the games: olive wreaths, vessels with olive oil; brought gifts to the temple. Behind them were adult horses and chariots that would compete in running at games in honor of the goddess Athena. At the end of the procession rode on horseback young men belonging to the first two classes of citizens.

Parthenon - Temple of Athena the Virgin in the Acropolis

The procession went from Keramik, along the best streets, decorated with oak branches; the people standing in the streets were all in white clothes, men and women. The path of the procession led through the square of the people's meetings, past the temples of Demeter and Apollo. Pythian. The Acropolis was resplendent with decorations. The procession entered there, and worship was performed, sacrifices were made while singing hymns to the glory of the goddess Pallas Athena.

It became known that the son born of Metis would rise up and throw him off Olympus. Without hesitation, Zeus swallowed his wife. And then there was an attack - he had an unbearable headache. Unable to endure the excruciating pain, he ordered to split his head. The blacksmith Hephaestus split the skull of Zeus with one blow, and the goddess Athena appeared from the broken head. And the son disappeared, was not born.

The goddess Athena, possessed the courage of a lion and the caution of a cat, she was always armed with a spear and a shield, she wore a helmet on her head. Serpents slithered along the edge of her robe, representing inevitability. However, with all the weapons, the warrior maiden had a completely peaceful character. She never let go of the spear, but she never raised it on someone either. Only once did the goddess lightly scratch Hephaestus with it, resisting his harassment.

Stately and proud, Athena was the only goddess on Olympus dressed in battle armor. The visor of her helmet was always raised, the divine face appeared to the whole world. When the goddess Athena also gave chastity, the main Greek city began to be called after her. Henceforth it was the city of Athens.

The goddess patronized the art of war and martial arts. Under her care were also many peaceful crafts, weaving and pottery, blacksmithing and furriery. Athena gave people the ability to make such necessary things as harness for horses, wagons, plows, rakes, collars, she taught winegrowers, leather craftsmen and coopers. Under her patronage, skilled shipbuilders appeared who knew how to build durable ships for distant wanderings.

Often the goddess Pallas Athena was depicted in military armor, holding a spear in one hand, and a spindle with yarn wound around it in the other. At the same time, an owl sat on her shoulder, a symbol of wisdom. Athena strove for the superiority of the mind over instincts, preferred a restrained strategy in solving all life questions. She taught people practicality, ambition and perseverance in achieving their goals.

The main position, which the goddess Pallas Athena strictly followed, is the consistent development wildlife subordination to her human needs. For this approach, the goddess was condemned by Artemis, who believed that all living things in nature should be outside the influence of man. But Athena's desire to comply with the law, all laws without exception, respect for statehood on Olympus was welcomed, many gods supported the warrior goddess Athena in this.

One day Pallas Athena quarreled with the sea god Poseidon. In a fight with him, she won. After that, the goddess Athena began to reign supreme over Attica. Then she helped Perseus destroy the terrible. Then, with the help of Athena, Jason builds a ship and sails away for the Golden Fleece. Pallas Athena patronizes Odysseus, and he safely returns home after the victory in No event on Olympus is complete without the participation of Athena, the goddess of knowledge and crafts, arts and inventions, the patroness of military battles and ordinary life ordinary people. Some critical people argue that Athena is the goddess of something indefinite, takes everything under her protection, indiscriminately. One cannot agree with this. Pallas Athena is a versatile and multifaceted goddess.

Wrote on September 22nd, 2016

Quote from GalyshenkaMany-faced ATHENA

The goddess Pallas Athena was born by Zeus himself. Zeus the Thunderer knew that his wife, the goddess of reason, Metis, would have two children: a daughter, Athena, and a son of extraordinary intelligence and strength.
Moira, the goddess of fate, revealed to Zeus the secret that the son of the goddess Metis would overthrow him from the throne and take away his power over the world. The great Zeus was afraid. To avoid the formidable fate that the moiras promised him, he, having put the goddess Metis to sleep with affectionate speeches, swallowed her before her daughter, the goddess Athena, was born.
After a while, Zeus felt a terrible headache. Then he called on his son Hephaestus and ordered to cut his head to get rid of the unbearable pain and noise in his head. Hephaestus waved an ax, with a powerful blow he split the skull of Zeus without damaging it, and a mighty warrior, the goddess Pallas Athena, came out of the head of the Thunderer.

Gustav Klimt, Pallas Athena, 1898, Vienna

Fully armed, in a brilliant helmet, with a spear and a shield, she appeared before the astonished eyes of the Olympian gods. She shook her gleaming spear menacingly. Her war cry resounded far across the sky, and bright Olympus shook to its very foundation. Beautiful, majestic, she stood before the gods. Athena's blue eyes burned with divine wisdom, all of her shone with marvelous, heavenly, powerful beauty. The gods praised his beloved daughter born from the head of Zeus, the protector of cities, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, the invincible warrior Pallas Athena.

Birth of Athena from the head of Zeus. Drawing from a black-figure ancient Greek vase

Athena (Άθηνά) (among the Romans Minerva) is one of the most revered goddesses of Greece. She is equal in strength and wisdom to Zeus. She is honored after Zeus and her place is closest to Zeus.
She is called “gray-eyed and fair-haired”, descriptions emphasize her large eyes, Homer has the epithet “glavkopis” (owl-eyed) ..
Unlike other female deities, she uses male attributes - dressed in armor, holding a spear in her hands; she is accompanied by sacred animals:

Helmet (usually Corinthian - with a high crest)

Virgil mentions how the Cyclopes in the forge of Vulcan polished the armor and the aegis of Pallas, on them the scales of snakes and the head of the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa

- appears accompanied by the winged goddess Nike

Attributes of an owl and a snake (also a symbol of wisdom), in the temple of A. in Athens, according to Herodotus, there lived a huge snake - the guardian of the acropolis, dedicated to the goddess.

Numerous information about the cosmic features of the image of Athena. Her birth is accompanied by a golden rain, she holds the thunderbolts of Zeus

Athena Pallas. Preparatory cardboard by I. Vedder for a mosaic in the Library of Congress, Washington, 1896

Athena. A statue. Hermitage. Hall of Athena.

Statue of Athena Giustinian

Athena Algardi, it was found in 1627 in fragments at the Campus Martius, restored by Alessandro Algardi.
Palazzo Altemps, Rome, Italy.

The dispute between Athena and Poseidon for power over Attica. Italian cameo, 13th century

The scene of the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for power over Attica was depicted on the pediment of the Parthenon temple in Athens by the famous Greek sculptor Phidias (5th century BC); in a badly damaged form, the pediment has survived to our time.

Myron (copy). Athena and Marsyas. The original statue was made in the 5th century. BC e. The goddess was portrayed as dropping her flute, and Marsyas as finding
Athena is credited with inventing the flute and teaching Apollo to play it.

Battle of Athena with the giant Alcyoneus. pergamon altar
Athena directs her power to fight the titans and giants. Together with Hercules, Athena kills one of the giants, she piles the island of Sicily on the other, peels off the skin from the third and covers her body with it during the battle.

Clay figurine of Athena, 7th c. BC e.

"Athena Varvakion" (copy of the famous "Athena Parthenos")

Statue of Athena (Pallada Giustiniani type) in the Pushkin Museum

"Battle of Athena with Enkelad". Fragment of painting of a red-figure kylix. 6th c. BC e., the Louvre

Pallas and the Centaur, painting by Sandro Botticelli, 1482, Uffizi

Athena is the guardian of cities, her main epithets are Poliada (“city”) and Poliuhos (“city-holder”), protector of Greek cities (Athens, Argos, Megara, Sparta, etc.) and a constant enemy of the Trojans, although her cult also existed there: in Homeric Troy was a statue of Athena, allegedly fallen from the sky, the so-called palladium

I. G. Trautmann. "The Fire of Troy"

Athenian Parthenon

Athens Parthenon 3D reconstruction

Descriptions of the Parthenon have always abounded only superlatives. This Athenian temple, with its 2500-year history dedicated to the patroness of the city - the goddess Athena Parthenos, is rightfully considered one of the greatest examples of ancient architecture, a masterpiece of world art and plastics. It was built in the middle of the 5th century BC. e.

A huge statue of Athena Promachos ("front fighter") with a spear shining in the sun adorned the Acropolis in Athens, where the Erechtheion and Parthenon temples were dedicated to the goddess.

A monument to the glorification of the wise ruler of the Athenian state, the founder of the Areopagus, is the tragedy of Aeschylus "Eumenides".

Athens enjoyed special patronage bearing her name. The Athenians believed that they owed their well-being to Athena.

There is a legend saying that the cult of Athena in her city was strengthened by the son of the Earth Erechtheus. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, raised him in her sacred grove, and when the boy grew up, she rewarded him with royal power.

Jacob Jordanes. The daughters of Cecrops find the infant Erichthonius
Athena was identified with the daughters of Kekrop - Pandrosa ("all-moist") and Aglavra ("light-air"), or Agravla ("field furrow")

The image of an owl, an attribute of Athena, was minted on silver Athenian coins, and everyone who accepted an “owl” in exchange for goods seemed to be paying tribute to Athena herself.

Silver Athenian tetradrachm depicting an owl, the symbol of the goddess Athena. 5 or 4 in. BC

"Athena". Relief image on a silver dish, 1st c. n. e., Berlin, State museums

Not one in the least an important event not without the intervention of Athena.
Athena helped Prometheus steal fire from the forge of Hephaestus.
Her one touch was enough to make a person beautiful (she elevated Odysseus with a camp, endowed her with curly hair, clothed her with strength and attractiveness;). She endowed Penelope on the eve of the meeting of the spouses with amazing beauty.

Gustav Klimt
Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, 1890-91

Athena patronized warrior heroes and craftsmen-potters, weavers, needlewomen, and she herself was called Ergana (“worker”) - her own products are genuine works of art, such as, for example, a cloak woven for the hero Jason.

Athena Pallas. 1898 Franz von Stuck.

Agricultural holidays were dedicated to her: procharisteria (in connection with the germination of bread), plintheria (the beginning of the harvest), arrhephoria (giving dew for crops), callinteria (fruit ripening), skyrophoria (drought aversion).

Ancient Greek mythology is very bright, due to the many gods and goddesses represented in it. One of the extraordinary representatives is the beautiful fair-haired goddess Pallas Athena. Her father, none other than the supreme god Zeus himself, the lord of heaven. In its significance, Athena is not inferior, and sometimes surpasses her imperious father. Her name is immortalized in the name of the Greek city - Athens.

Who is Athena

The appearance of Athena is shrouded in secrets, from the text of the ancient source of Theogony it follows that Zeus learned that his wise wife Metis should give birth to a great daughter and son. The ruler did not want to give his reins of government to anyone, and swallowed his pregnant wife. Later, feeling a severe headache, Zeus asked the god Hephaestus to hit him on the head with a hammer - this is how Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, appeared in all her weapons. Possessing the strategies and tactics of waging just wars, Athena succeeded and also became the patroness of many types of crafts:

• public order - Athena in public affairs, established the highest court in Athens;
• shipbuilding and navigation - the architects Ferekl, Arg and Danai, under the mentorship of Athena, created their own ships, one of which Argo was sent by the goddess to heaven;
• metal craftswoman - the statue of Aphrodite is considered the work of Athena herself;
• weaving and spinning craft - she made clothes for herself and other goddesses. Athena taught women to weave. The spinning wheel is a symbol of Athena;
• music - a trumpet and a two-horned flute, the invention of Athena;
• healing - healed and resurrected with the blood of the Gorgon medusa;
• patroness - in many other positive aspects. Athena is loved for her timely assistance. Hercules, Odysseus, Perseus, Achilles, Jason, Telemachus heroes ancient Greek mythology, called in difficult moments Athena.

What does Athena look like?

The Greek goddess Athena is traditionally depicted in military attire, with a majestic bearing in her hand a spear shining in the sun. Homer, the ancient narrator of the epic poem The Iliad, describes Athena as a bright-eyed, sharp-eyed, full of power in golden armor, a beautiful, but "not soft-hearted" Virgin. The artists depicted the goddess with a stern, thoughtful face, in a long hoodie (peplos) or shell.

Symbol of Athena

In mythology, each piece of clothing, the background around the deity is replete with various symbols that have a sacred meaning. These archetypes are the link between humans and gods. Knowing these symbols, images arise with the help of which one or another character can be identified. The symbolism of Athena is easily recognizable:

• Athena's helmet - made of iron, decorated with 4 horses, or a monster with a snake tail;
• spear - one of the statues of the goddess adorned the ancient acropolis in Athens, her shining golden spear, the first thing sailors saw when returning to the city;
• aegis - a shield made of goatskin, with the image of the Gorgon Medusa;
• Nike - a figurine of the goddess of Victory in the hand of Athena;
• the owl is a symbol of wisdom;
• the snake is a gift of foresight.

Children of Athena

The ancient Greek goddess Athena was considered a chaste virgin, Eros himself ignored the request of his mother, the goddess Aphrodite, to shoot an arrow of love at Athena, as he was afraid to even fly past because of the goddess’s menacing gaze. Nevertheless, the joys of motherhood were not alien to Athena and she raised adopted children:

• Hygieia - the goddess of health, is considered by one source the daughter of Asclepius (healer) and Athena;
• Erichthonius is the son of Gaia and Hephaestus, according to legend, Hephaestus chased Athena and dropped the seed on the ground, Gaia considered this a shame for herself and refused to raise her son. Athena secretly raised Erichthonius. The goddess Athena is often depicted with a snake; researchers believe that this is a symbol of Erichthonius.

The myth of the goddess Athena

Ancient Greek mythology describes gods who are like people: they love, they hate, they strive for power, they crave recognition. The myth about Athena is interesting, in which Kekrops, the first Athenian king, could not decide who should be the patron of the city. Athena and Poseidon (the god of the ocean) began to argue, Kekrops suggested that the gods resolve the dispute as follows: invent the most useful item. Poseidon carved a source of water with a trident, Athena hit the ground with a spear and an olive tree appeared. Women voted for Athena, men for Poseidon, so Athens had two patrons.

Athena in art and mythology. Part 3. Sculpture

Any ancient Greek work is an attempt to call the divine into a concrete form. Even when working on the sculpture of the winner in the Olympic Games, the sculptor cared least of all about portrait resemblance - he created the ideal image of a person. And work on the statue of a deity was a special mystery. The sculpture was taken to Delphi for the solemn ceremony of consecration, but before that the priests turned to the deity with the question whether this statue was pleasing to him, whether it agreed to pour his divine power into it? And if the signs spoke of divine consent, the statue was placed in the temple.

The most famous Greek temple sculptures have not survived. We can judge their beauty and grandeur only from copies and descriptions. For example, there are about two hundred copies (not counting the images on the coins) of Athena Parthenos, the main statue in the Athenian Acropolis. True, none of them can convey everything that the person contemplating it experienced. And besides, not everyone was honored with such an honor.

Statue of Athena (the so-called "Piraeus Athena").
Bronze. 340-330 BC e.
Height 2.35 m. Athens, Archaeological Museum of Piraeus.

The statue was discovered among others in 1959 in Piraeus, at the intersection of Georghiu and Philo-na streets in the cla-do-howl room - those are not-yes-le-ku from the ancient harbor. The sculpture-tu-ra was hidden in this room from the troops of Sul-la in 86 BC. e.

The soul of the majestic artistic activity of the heyday of Hellas was Phidias (c. 488-432), a friend of Pericles, who softened both in architecture and in plastic the former severe severity of the form, turning it into a sublime and at the same time graceful beauty. Contemporaries and descendants glorified his colossal chryso-elephantine (made of gold and Ivory) statues of gods

Statue of Athena Parthenos from the Library of Pergamon with the temple of Zeus Sosipolis from Magnesia on the Maeander in the background, Pergamon Museum Berlin

According to Pliny the Elder, on every detail of the sculpture, starting from the pedestal on which Athena stood, and ending with her helmet, mythological scenes were depicted: on the pedestal - the birth of Pandora, on the shield on both sides - the battle with the Amazons and the struggle of the gods with the giants, on sandals - a battle with centaurs.

Statue de Phidias par Aimé Millet (1889). Hauteur environ 2,50 m. Orangerie du jardin du Luxembourg

Phidias, the best sculptor of that time, worked on the sculpture for nine years. Only he was able to entrust the citizens with the creation of the image of their heavenly patroness. It was nine years of prayer, nine years of complete immersion in work. Every day, Phidias prayed and asked, whatever the Virgin Goddess wanted to infuse some of her power into the sculpture, what else to do so that Athena would protect the city and its inhabitants? After all, it was very important for every Athenian to know that gods live next to them. That you just need to turn your eyes to the Acropolis and its temples in order to feel their patronage.

A significant part of the treasury of the policy went to the creation of this sculpture. Its wooden frame, 13 meters high, was covered with a ton of gold, and its face and hands were made of selected ivory. The two-meter statue of the goddess of victory Nike, which Athena held in her hand, seemed tiny. Athena Parthenos was truly majestic! It's hard to imagine what a person could create!

Every year, in honor of Athena, the inhabitants held festivities - small Panathenays, and every five years - Great Panathenays, when the most worthy girls of the policy carried sacrifices and peplos - clothes specially woven for the goddess over these five years. It was a beautiful ceremonial procession.

Phidias and his students made excellent sculptures that adorned the Parthenon. Many of them are more or less well preserved and are now in the British Museum. On the eastern pediment stood a group depicting the birth of Pallas, on the western - a group representing her dispute with Poseidon about which of them should belong to the protection of Attica

Athena Varvakeion

The most complete and reliable copy is the so-called. "Athena Varvakion" (National Museum, Athens), marble.

The statue that stood in the center of the temple and was its sacred center Athens Parthenos was made by Phidias himself. It was upright and about 11 m high, made in chrysoelephantine technique (that is, from gold and ivory on a wooden base).

The fate of this sculpture is sad... But, perhaps, there is such a place somewhere, a high mountain, where the Gods still live in their temples. And no tyrants and fires can destroy them. Maybe someday, following the ancient Greeks, we will learn to feel their presence. After all, the Acropolis with its temples and gods is not only a physical place.

The sculpture has not survived and is known from various copies and numerous images on coins. In one hand, the goddess holds Nike, and the other leans on a shield. The shield depicts Amazonomachy.

It is believed that on the shield of Athena, among other statues, Phidias placed himself and the images of his friend Pericles (presumably in the form of Daedalus and Theseus). By the way, this turned out to be fatal for him - he was accused of insulting a deity, thrown into prison, where he committed suicide with poison, or died of deprivation and grief. The peculiarity of the relief on the shield is that the second and third plans are shown not from behind, but one over another. In addition, its theme allows us to say that this is already a historical relief.

A copy of the shield depicting the battle, the so-called. Strangford Shield, British Museum

A copy of the shield of the statue depicting the battle is considered to be the so-called. The Strangford Shield in the British Museum.
Another copy kept in the Louvre

Another relief was on Athena's sandals. It depicted a centauromachy.

The birth of Pandora, the first woman, was carved on the pedestal of the statue.

The navigator Pausanias in his guidebook describes it like this:

Plaster cast-reconstruction of Athena statue based on the Roman copy after Phidias" Parthenos.

“Athena herself is made of ivory and gold ... The statue depicts her in full growth in a chiton to the very soles of her feet, she has the head of Medusa made of ivory on her chest, in her hand she holds the image of Nike, approximately four cubits, and in her other hand - a spear. At her feet lies a shield, and near the spear is a snake; this snake is probably Erichthonius. (Description of Hellas, XXIV, 7).

Château de Dampierre, Yvelines, France. Attempt to reconstruct the statue of Athena in the Parthenon at the scale of one fourth, by Henri Duponchet (1794-1868).

Athena Parthenos, 2. Jhd. n. Chr. (Gipsabguss, Original im Griechischen Nationalmuseum Athen

Title: Six Greek sculptors Year: 1915 (1910s) Authors: Gardner, Ernest Arthur, 1862-1939

Statue of Athena. Pentelic marble. Found in Athens, near the Pnyx. Known as the "Lenormant Athena", this statuette copies of the Athena Parthenos by Pheidias.

Louvre Museum

Athena Parthenos dite Minerve au collier

Louvre Museum: Greco-Roman collection

Palazzo Altemps - Rome

Athena Porte Doree

Austria, Vienna, Austrian Parliament Building

Athena_Partenos_from_Prado

Athena Lemnia (Copenhagen Botanical Garden)

Lemnos Athena is a bronze statue of the goddess Athena, created by the famous Greek sculptor Phidias in 450-440. BC e. Not preserved, known from copies. “Phidias did not always sculpt the images of Zeus, and did not always cast Athena, dressed in bronze armor, but he turned his art to other gods and adorned the Virgin’s cheeks with a pink blush, usually hidden by a helmet, which covered the beauty of the goddess” .

Plaster casts in Pushkin Museum, Moscow

According to Pausanias, the sculpture was made by the citizens of Athens, who lived on about. Lemnos, with the aim of presenting it as a gift to his native city, thanks to which he received such a nickname. It probably stood somewhere near the Propylaea.

Athena Lemnia. Glyptothek.Munich

The second of the Dresden reconstructions. Cast in the Pushkin Museum

Athena Lemnia (Bologna)

Reconstruction of the Acropolis and Areopagus in Athens

Goddess Athena. Sculptural group "Athena and Marsyas" by Myron. Fragment

Museum Willet-Holthuysen, a Amsterdam

Athena (Museumsberg, Flensburg)

Pallas Athene, Bildhauer

Statue "Pallas Athena" (St. Petersburg and Leningrad region, Pavlovsk, from the north side of the Pavlovsk Palace)

Der Hofgarten des Schlosses Veitshöchheim.nahm seinen Anfang im 17. Jahrhundert als Fasanerie und wurde im 18. Jahrhundert weiter ausgestaltet und erweitert. Die Sandsteinfiguren stammen von Johann Wolfgang von der Auwera, Ferdinand Tietz und Johann Peter Wagner.
Haeferl - own work

Statuette of Athena in pentelic marble, found at Epidaurus, bearing a dedication to Artemis

The 5 central figures of the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, ca. 505-500B

Arte romana, atena, II secolo da un orginale greco della scuola di fidia del V secolo ac..Ancient Roman statues in the Museo Archeologico (Naples)

Athena at Pilate's House in Seville. Roman copy of a Greek original.

Statue of Athena; torso: 180-190 AD, supplementations: Renaissance and Baroque era; marble; Museum: LiebieghausAthena. Leptis Magna, Tripolitania. Roman copy from 5th c. Greek original

Statue of Athena on the orangery of Schloss Seehof.

thena, West pediment of the old temple of Athena Polias (Acropolis of Athens)

Bayreuth, Hofgarten, Neues Schloss, Athene/Athena (Kopie) von Johann Gabriel Räntz (um 1755)

Roman marble statuette of Athena. Leptis Magna, Tripolitania; copy of an original from the end of the 5th ct. BC. Istanbul Archaeological Museums .Athena of the Hope-Farnese type. Marble, Roman copy from the 1st-2nd centuries AD after a Greek origina

In Sochi

Athena. Tripoli-Nationalmuseum,Göttin Athena-Medus

Estatua romana de la diosa Atenea en el patio principal de la Casa de Pilatos, (Sevilla, Andalucía, España)...Sculpture of Athena found on Heraclea Lyncestis archaeological site in Macedonia

Athena Athene or Bellona mit Drache auf Helm Friedrichsflügel Neues Palais Sanssouci

Marble statue of Minerva in the Ballroom at the Royal Castle in Warsaw (André Le Brun).

Athene-Statue und Zeus-Kopf am Athenebrunnen an der Karlshöhe in Stuttgart.

Buda-varoshaz-4.....Skulptúra ​​(Atény) on budove Vysokej škole výtvarných umení v Bratislave

Façade du Palais des ducs de Bourgogne Dijon Côte-d "Or Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Graz, Zeughaus, Fassade Figur Minerva

Neues Schloss Schleissheim, Gartenparterre, “Minerva” (“Athene”) von Giuseppe Volpini

Strasbourg, University

Figura bogini wojny, Ateny na fasadzie Zbrojowni

Roma, Museo nationale romano a palazzo Altemps, statua rinvenuta nel 1627 nel Campo Marzio e riscolpita da Alessandro Algardi per il cardinale Ludovisi come Atena (tipo Giustiniani). Sono di restauro le mani e la parte inferiore del corpo e del tronco.

Mattei Athena Louvre