When reading ancient stories about the goddess, Athena (or Athene), certain vague and enigmatic concepts are sure to appear in the text. One is the idea of Athena’s frequently-used title of Pallas, which appears as far back as the poetic works of Hesiod (flourished c. 8th century BCE) and Homer (flourished c. 700 BCE). Ancient authors would refer to Pallas Athena, and sometimes the title was used as a replacement for the goddess’ name. In most ancient sources, very little contextual information was ever provided about the title’s origins or what it meant. The situation is comparable to the case of the aegis, a powerful piece of magical equipment possessed by Athena (and a select few other gods) that was given conflicting physical descriptions and varying origin stories in the different ancient accounts. Similarly, Athena’s title of Pallas did not have a single, definitive explanation for the name. Instead, the Pallas title seemed to harken back to several obscure tales involving figures from Athena’s past and exploits.
Whereas most ancient authors mentioned Pallas Athena in passing, without providing any information about the Pallas name, one ancient mythographer known as Pseudo-Apollodorus (c. 1st-2nd century) recorded a few tales that may have served as inspiration for the title. In one of those stories, it was revealed that Pallas was the name of one of the giants that battled against the gods. Athena slew this Pallas and graphically used the giant’s remains as armor for the remainder of the battle. Apollodorus wrote, “Athene hurled the island of Sicily on Encelados as he fled; and she flayed Pallas and used his skin to protect her own body during the fight” (Apollodorus, Library, 1.6.2). A second tale went in a completely different direction. Instead of a battle against the giants, the next story was a relatively tragic episode set around Athena’s early upbringing and childhood friends. Apollodorus wrote: “They say that after her birth, Athene was brought up by Triton, who had a daughter, Pallas, and that both girls practised the arts of war, and that this led them into conflict one day. And when Pallas was about to land a blow, Zeus grew alarmed and placed his aegis in the way, causing Pallas to look upwards in fright and fall victim to a fatal wound from Athene” (Library, 3.12.3). Athena later was said to have regretted Pallas’ death and set up a memorial in her honor. Athena’s memorial creation became a palladion (or palladium)—a protective guardian statue.
These tales are the likeliest origins for Athena’s Pallas title. She may have been named after a foe she defeated in combat, be it a giant or a fellow warrior-goddess. She could have also been nicknamed after the palladion or palladium that she created in honor of Triton’s daughter, Pallas. It could also be that Athena’s Pallas association references all of her encounters with various Pallas figures in the mythological tales. On the other hand, the giant, Triton’s daughter, and the name, Pallas, should also be put under the scrutiny of the chicken and the egg scenario—was Athena nicknamed Pallas because of her involvement with those characters, or were those characters called Pallas due to Athena’s ancient association with that name? Whatever the case, as was said before, there is no one single definitive answer for the origin of Athena’s Pallas title.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Picture Attribution: (Athena attacks the giant Enceladus, made c. 19th century by A. Rey and Kaeppelin Lith, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and the NYPL).
Sources:
- The Iliad by Homer, translated by E. V. Rieu and edited/introduced by Peter Jones. New York: Penguin Classics, 2014.
- The Odyssey by Homer, translated by E. V. Rieu and edited by D. C. H. Rieu. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.
- Theogony and Works and Days by Hesiod, translated by M. L. West. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988, 1999, 2008.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion, edited by Simon Price and Emily Kearns. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
