The androgyny of Athena

T h e a n d r o g y n y o f A t h e n a
As the theme of our further reflections we elect to pursue this established duality of aspects. Its appearance is not an accidental product of history. It is so characteristic of this Goddess that we could hardly even speak of Pallas Athena if only one or the other side stood before us without the tension and polarity of both. This is what differentiates a Goddess who is able to exercise power over human beings, from a mere personification. The duality finds expression in the name of Pallas Athena itself, and at least this much is certain: one of the two names portrays the martial and virginal aspect. The meaning of Pallas (pallas, of which the plural is pallades) is handed down to us, as is also its precise differentiation from other words deriving from the same stem: it was once the name for robust maidens and implied the meaning of the masculine word pallas (pallantes in the plural) "robust young man." A distinct masculinity seems to adhere to this word even in its feminine form. It is perhaps best repeated by the Latin virago. In Attica, legend told of a Pallas who was a "teacher of Giants," a hero after whom the land of Pallene was named and most likely himself a Giant. The quality of the "gigantic," of fierce manliness, was distinctly evoked by the similar name of the Great Goddess of Attica and especially of Pallene. The derivative word Palladium refers to the statue of Athena as battle Goddess with lance poised and shield raised [Image: Diomenes stealing the Palladium from Troy]. Athena is supposed to have created this statue by herself as a likeness of her companion Pallas, the daughter of her teacher Triton, whom she killed by mistake in a tournament -- a story which, with others, shows what a degree of independence one aspect of the Goddess could achieve.

Whether the feminine name "Pallas" especially accents the virginity of the divine Maiden cannot be stated with certainty. "Parthenos" and "Kore" also do not particularly stress this, but they certainly do refer to the girlishness of the Goddess concerned, whose characters are in turn indicated by particular mythologems, such as those of Hera Pais and Parthenos. In the case of the name Pallas, one has to associate with a masculine Pallas, with an extraction from androgynous unity; this would explain the androgyny of the Goddess. In fact, there are traces of an older mythologem, not contained in the classical mythology of the Greeks, which confirms the relationship of Pallas Athena to a masculine Pallas. The masculine partner of the Goddess usually bears this name and plays the role of father or teacher. Classical mythology knows of several Pallantes, undisguised Giants, all of whom can probably be traced back to a single paternal image such as Atlas or the Sumerian Enlil, a gigantically powerful God who holds heaven and earth apart.

According to the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Pallas, provided there with a father who is otherwise unknown, was the father of the moon Goddess, Selene. Hesiod's Pallas is a son of the Titan Crius, a brother of Astraius ("God of the stars"), and of the father of the moon Goddess, Hecate, and himself the father of Zelos, Cratus, Bia, and Nike. This last Goddess is also known as Athena Nike, but the remaining siblings -- "Zeal," "Strength," and "Might" -- are also worthy of relationship to the indefatigable battle Goddess. An archaic winged God named Pallas -- with wings attached to the ankles, or winged like the archaic winged Goddesses, among whom Athena herself may be numbered [Image: Winged Athena] -- was according to one tradition the father of Pallas Athena. In the war against the Giants [Image: Athena overpowering the giant Enceladus] a certain Pallas confronted Athena and was killed by her; she even tore off his skin. She did the same thing, however, to her father Pallas, who bad lustfully seduced his own daughter. The father-daughter mythologem is thus transmitted both through the masculine and feminine Pallas, not in the form of a serpent wedding but in that of a seduction scene between archaic Deities, probably two winged beings. The setting in the form of a war against the Giants [Image: Athena in Gigantomachy] is a dilution of this, suited to classical mythology. The saga of Pallas, son of Lycaon and founder of the Arcadian town Pallantion, represents a further dilution. At this level Pallas is seen only as the teacher of Athena, yet also as father of Nike and Chryse, two manifestations of the Goddess herself. At the same level of dilution the incest motif appears again, behind the lightly disguised name of the Goddess, but in the form of a consummated marriage between her and the "teacher." According to the Boeotian saga, from the realm of Athena Alalcomene or Alalcomeneis, the primal man Alalcomeneus reared Pallas Athena. His wife is also mentioned: she was named Athenais.

Athena, Virgin and Mother in Greek Religion

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