On Athena's epithet 'Pallas'

"Hello, can you help me maybe? :) I haven't been able to find out what Athena's epithet "Pallas" means?"

'Pallas' is one of those epithets of which the origins have pretty much been lost. In Hómēros this name always appears united with the name Athena, as Pallas Athênê or Pallas Athênaiê. In later writers we also find Pallas alone instead of Athena. The most probable explanation is that 'Pallas' is the same word as 'pallax', i.e. a virgin or maiden, but there are many more options.

Plato in 'Cratylus' derives the surname from pallein, to brandish, in reference to the goddess brandishing the spear or aegis:

"Hermogenes: Still there remains Athene, whom you, Socrates, as an Athenian, will surely not forget; there are also Hephaestus and Ares.
Socrates: I am not likely to forget them.
Hermogenes: No, indeed.
Socrates: There is no difficulty in explaining the other appellation of Athene.
Hermogenes: What other appellation?
Socrates: We call her Pallas.
Hermogenes: To be sure.
Socrates: And we cannot be wrong in supposing that this is derived from armed dances. For the elevation of oneself or anything else above the earth, or by the use of the hands, we call shaking (pallein), or dancing.
Hermogenes: That is quite true.
Socrates: Then that is the explanation of the name Pallas?
Hermogenes: Yes; but what do you say of the other name?
Socrates: Athene?
Hermogenes: Yes.
Socrates: That is a graver matter, and there, my friend, the modern interpreters of Homer may, I think, assist in explaining the view of the ancients. For most of these in their explanations of the poet, assert that he meant by Athene "mind" (nous) and "intelligence" (dianoia), and the maker of names appears to have had a singular notion about her; and indeed calls her by a still higher title, "divine intelligence" (Thou noesis), as though he would say: This is she who has the mind of God (Theonoa);- using a as a dialectical variety e, and taking away i and s. Perhaps, however, the name Theonoe may mean "she who knows divine things" (Theia noousa) better than others. Nor shall we be far wrong in supposing that the author of it wished to identify this Goddess with moral intelligence (en ethei noesin), and therefore gave her the name ethonoe; which, however, either he or his successors have altered into what they thought a nicer form, and called her Athene."

Pseudo-Apollodorus has two explanations. The first is that it is a honourable mention to the giant Pallas, who was slain by Athena. Then there is his explanation in 'Bibliotheca', where he links the name to Athena's youth and her friend Pallas:

"They say that after Athene's birth, she was reared by Triton, who had a daughter named Pallas. Both girls cultivated the military life, which once led them into contentious dispute. As Pallas was about to give Athene a whack, Zeus skittishly held out the aegis, so that she glanced up to protect herself, and thus was wounded by Athene and fell. Extremely saddened by what had happened to Pallas, Athene fashioned a wooden likeness of her, and round its breast tied the aegis which had frightened her, and set the statue beside Zeus and paid it honour." [3.144]

Athena would have taken Pallas' name as a way to honour Her and keep Her memory alive, as it was an ancient Hellenic belief that the dead whose name was spoken remained tied to the person and family.

Which (if any) of these the true origin is, I do not know. Personally, I follow the latter explanation due to UPG reasons. Which one works for you is--naturally--up to you.

• Saturday, January 3, 2015
  ancient Hellenic culture Apollodorus Athena Hómēros Mythology 101 Pallas Plato requested post

PBP: Victory: the Goddess Nike

"O powerful Nike, by men desired, with adverse breasts to dreadful fury fired, thee I invoke, whose might alone can quell contending rage and molestation fell. 'Tis thine in battle to confer the crown, the victor's prize, the mark of sweet renown; for thou rulest all things, Nike divine! And glorious strife, and joyful shouts are thine. Come, mighty Goddess, and thy suppliant bless, with sparkling eyes, elated with success; may deeds illustrious thy protection claim, and find, led on by thee, immortal fame."

- Orphic Hymn 33 to Nike 

Although often considered a minor Goddess, Nike (Νίκη, pronounced 'ni-KÉ', unlike the sport's brand 'NÍ-kee'), winged Goddess of victory, had a privileged position in ancient Hellas; the same position She should have for any modern Hellenist who partakes in any type of competition, battle--medical, moral, political, judicial, social--who is looking for love, or is locked in some other type of struggle.

According to Hesiod, Nike was born one of four siblings: her brothers Kratos (Κράτος, 'strength') and Zelus (Ζῆλος, 'zeal'), and her sister Bia (Βία, 'Force'). Their parents are Pallas and Styx. When the Titanomachy broke out, Zeus called out to everyone to take the side of the Theoi in the war. Styx answered the call and reported for duty along with Her children. Nike became Zeus' charioteer and is often depicted by His side for it. Along with her siblings, Nike, was also a sentinel to Him, standing beside his throne. With Victory on his side, Zeus simply could not lose.

Another deity Nike is closely related to, is Athena. In fact, some say Nike is an epithet of Athena, most commonly referred to as 'Nike Athena'. In this regard, Nike Athena is an epithet of Athena that is closely related to 'winged thought'; a great intellect, and victory through tactical planning of the upcoming battle.

It is not odd to find Nike in the presence of Athena and Zeus: both rarely--if ever--lose. Victory is always on their sides. Other Theoi Nike favors are Ares and Hera; Ares as the victor of battle, Hera--presumably--as the victor of just judgement, like Athena. In some versions of the myth, Nike is the daughter of Ares and an unknown female. This is most notably so in Homeric Hymn 8 to Ares:

"[Ares] father of warlike (eupolemos) Nike, ally of Themis."

Nike is most often portrayed as a young woman with a billowy dress and beautiful wings attached to Her back. Both the statue of Zeus at Olympia and the statue of Athena at the Parthenon held a statue of Her in Their right hand. Two world famous statues of Her have survived more or less intact: the Winged Victory of Samothrace, as pictured above, and the statue of Nike by the hand of Paeonius.

There are also references to other statues of her, most notably one on the Acropolis in Athens where She had her own sanctuary. The temple of Apteros Nike ('Wingless Victory') was a small temple with eight Ionic columns. The wooden statue of Nike that was placed in there was wingless on purpose: the Athenians wanted Nike to stay in their city for ever and never fly away. Nike is also portrayed on the Olympic medals.

We all have struggles in our lives that we could use some divine help on. Especially when there can be only one winner, Nike is a wonderful deity to give sacrifice to. In the Orphic tradition, she was appeased with fumigations from Manna--Frankincense crushed to a powder. She will also accept libations of (red) wine. Speak of the speed with which She flies, the justness of Her judgements and the importance of Her duty.

If you wish to simply honor Her, try to think of Her when you see a competition going on which She will eventually settle, be it the presidential campaign, a sports event or a fight. Remember how often Nike passes just judgement upon mortals--and the Theoi--and how severe Her influence is on our lives. Once you realize that, you will never be able to see her as a 'minor' Goddess again.

Image source

• Saturday, October 27, 2012
  ancient Hellenic culture Ares Athena Athens Hellenismos 101 Hera Hesiod Homeric Hymns Introduction series Mythology 101 Nike Orphic Hymns Pagan Blog Project Pallas Styx Titanomachy Zeus

Mix-tape to Athena

Today, I'm posting a mix-tape for Athena. This idea is not mine; it's a combination of a wonderful idea by Sannion and Hellenion's monthly libation schedule. Hellenion is a Hellenic organization from America and I've been using their wonderful calender and the great store of information they have gathered to start my own practice. Every month, Hellenion members pour a libation to a different Hellenic God or Goddess. This month, it's Athena's turn.

I poured my libation today and found it a wonderful experience. Yet, I also want to do something special for these libation days, another way of honoring these Deities. I've never been much for mix-tapes, although I did make one for my girlfriend once. Still, it's a good way to figure out what the Deity is really about and what They mean to you--or me, in this case.

For this mix-tape series, I will limit myself to five songs, each. So, without further ado; my mix-tape to Athena.

Ani Difranco - Gratitude (live)

In the Olympian version of Athena's birth, Hēphaistos helped birth Her by liberating her from Zeus, Her father's head. A little later on, He turned around on her and attempted to rape Her. She rebuffed Him and Erichthonius was born from Gaea. Athena raised him as Her own. Ani's song tells of an experience where she, after receiving help, was forced to repay the favor in a sexual manner. I'm especially partial to the lines 'what does my body have to do with my gratitude?' and 'you can't write me off and you don't turn me on'.

Spiral Dance - The Goddess and the Weaver

I think this is a beautiful retelling of the myth of Athena and Arachne. It, of course, had to be included.

Andy Bull Feat. Lisa Mitchell - Dog

I am going to share a bit of UGP (and SPG) on Athena for this one. I have interacted with Pallas Athena a lot. One night, she shared some of Her story with me. After being born from Zeus' head, the young Athena was sent to Triton who was tasked to raise Her. Triton had a daughter, a Nymph named Pallas and the two became friends; friends so close they blurred the lines between friendship and love. One day, Zeus came to check up on His daughter and found Her in mock combat with Pallas, with Athena practicing Her spear-play. Distracted by the Aegis, held by Zeus, Athena struck down Pallas, who died in Her arms. Athena, unconsolable, vowed to remain a virgin, realizing Her love could only have been given to Pallas and took the name of the Nymph to keep her memory alive. 

This song reminds me of this story. I'll link here to the lyrics because they're a bit hard to hear. In short, it's the story of young Pallas Athena coming to terms with that She has done, Her struggle to learn from the experience, coming to terms with the realization She really did love Pallas as much more than a friend, and move on as a harder Goddess who has sworn off love.

Dar Williams - As Cool as I Am (live)

The above video is, obviously, a live version. the CD version is here. I was inspired to post the live version, as so I did. The mix-tape is not for me, after all. 

This is one of my favorite songs by Dar Williams and the one sentence that always stays with me is 'I will not be afraid of women'. And I think that Athena is very afraid of women--and of being a woman. Forced into the role of a boy (not a man), Athena tends to take the side of the males when conflicts arise and She is usually harsher on females than males. It's a side of Her I often find hard to reconcile with my feelings about Her because, especially in Neo-Wicca and Eclecticism, Athena seems to be the epitome of feminism. And She's not. 

Peaches - Boys Wanna Be Her

Alright, ignore the video, please. I chose this song to round off my mix-tape with this song by Peaches mostly as a continuation of the point raised at the previous video; that Athena seems to be, for many, the most awesome of the Gods and Goddesses. She's wise, strong, confident, gets on with the boys and she's independent. This song speaks to that part of her persona and I adore it because of that. 

So this is it, my mix-tape to Athena. Are there songs you disagree with or do you have your own to add? I'd love to hear it. 

• Saturday, July 14, 2012
  Arachne Athena Gaea Hēphaistos mix-tape series Pallas videos