Hesiod, Theogony (trans. H. G. Evelyn-White, adapted by P. Rogak and T. Mulder)

Greek epic, ca. 700 BCE

[885] Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first, and she was the wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to give birth to the goddess bright-eyed Athena, Zeus craftily deceived her [890] with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Earth and starry Heaven advised. They advised him to do this so that no one else should hold royal power over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise children were destined to be born of her, [895] first the maiden, bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding; but afterward she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, [900] so that the goddess might both good and evil plots for him.

Taken from: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D886

Homeric Hymn 28, “To Athena” (trans. H. G. Evelyn-White, adapted by L. Zhang, P. Rogak, and T. Mulder)

Greek hymn, 7th century BCE

[1] I begin to sing of Pallas Athena, the glorious goddess, bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart, pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia. From his awe-inspiring head wise Zeus himself gave birth to her, adorned with warlike weapons of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they watched. But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis, shaking a sharp spear: great Olympus began to reel horribly at the might of the bright-eyed goddess, and earth round about cried fearfully, and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves, while foam burst forth suddenly: the bright Son of Hyperion [ Helios ] stopped his swift-footed horses for a long time, until the maiden Pallas Athena had stripped the divine armour from her immortal shoulders. And wise Zeus was glad. And so hail to you, daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis! Now I will remember you and another song as well.

Taken from: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomericHymns3.html#28

Aeschylus, Eumenides (trans. H. W. Smyth, adapted by L. Zhang, P. Rogak, and Tara Mulder)

Greek tragedy, 5th century BCE

Enter, in procession, Athena, a herald, the jury of the Areopagus, a crowd of citizens, [the chorus of Furies is already onstage]. Orestes moves to the place appointed for the accused. Apollo appears after Athena’s first speech.

ATHENA:

Herald, give the signal and restrain the crowd; and let the piercing Tyrrhenian trumpet, filled with human breath, send forth its shrill blare to the people! For it is good for everyone to be silent [570] while this council-hall is filling, and for the whole city to learn my decrees for all time, and for these appellants to learn them too, so that their case may be decided well.

Enter Apollo.

CHORUS:

Lord Apollo, be master of what is yours. Say what part you have in this matter.

APOLLO:

[575] I have come both to bear witness—for this man was a lawful suppliant and a guest of my sanctuary, and I am the one who purified him from the stain of bloodshed—and to be his advocate. I am responsible for the murder of his mother. [580] (To Athena) Bring in the case and decide it according to your wisdom.

ATHENA:

(To the Furies) It is up to you to speak—I am only bringing in the case; for the prosecutor speaking first at the beginning will rightly inform us of the matter.

CHORUS:

We are many, but we will speak briefly. [585] (To Orestes) Answer our questions, one by one. Say first if you killed your mother.

ORESTES:

I killed her. There is no denial of this.

CHORUS:

Three falls win the wrestling match. This one is already ours.

ORESTES:

You make this boast over a man who is not down yet.

CHORUS:

[590] But say how you killed her.

ORESTES:

I will say it: with a drawn sword in hand, I stabbed her in the throat.

CHORUS:

By whom were you persuaded and on whose advice?

ORESTES:

By the oracles of this god here; he is my witness.

CHORUS:

The prophet directed you to kill your mother?

ORESTES:

[595] Yes, and to this very hour, I do not blame my fortune.

CHORUS:

But if the jury’s vote gets you, you’ll soon be singing a different tune.

ORESTES:

I have good confidence. My father will send protection from his grave.

CHORUS:

Put your confidence in the dead now, after you have killed your mother!

ORESTES:

I do, for she was twice polluted.^[1]

CHORUS:

[600] How so? Demonstrate to the judges.

ORESTES:

By murdering her husband, she killed my father.

CHORUS:

And now she is free from pollution by her death. But you are still alive.

ORESTES:

But why did you not drive her into exile, while she lived?

CHORUS:

She was not related by blood to the man she killed.

ORESTES:

[605] Then am I my mother’s kin by blood?

CHORUS:

How else could she have nurtured you, murderer, beneath her belt? Do you reject the nearest kinship, that of a mother?

ORESTES:

Apollo, give your testimony now. Explain, on my behalf, whether I was justified in killing her. [610] For I do not deny that I did it, for it is done. But decide whether this bloodshed was, according to you, just or injust, so that I may inform the court.

APOLLO:

I will speak fairly before you, Athena’s great tribunal. Since I am a prophet, I cannot lie. [615] I have never yet, on my oracular throne, said anything about a man or woman or city even Zeus, the father of the Olympians, did not command me to say. Learn how strong this plea of justice is. Obey the will of my father; [620] for an oath is not more powerful than Zeus.

CHORUS:

Zeus, as you say, gave you this oracular command? He told you to tell Orestes here to avenge his father’s murder but to take no account at all of the honour due his mother?

APOLLO:

Yes, for these are not the same thing. For his was the murder of a noble man, [625] honoured by a god-given scepter, moreover murder by a woman, and not by rushing arrows from far off (as if sent by an Amazon). It happened as you are about to hear, Pallas, and those who are here to decide this matter by vote.

[630] She welcomed him back from the expedition [to Troy], where he had for the most part won success beyond expectation, in the judgment of those favorable to him; then, as he was stepping from the bath, on its very edge, she threw a cloak like a tent over it, bound her husband in an embroidered robe, and cut him down.

[635] This was his death, as I have told it to you—the death of a man wholly majestic, commander of the fleet. As for that woman, I have described her in such a way as to fuel the indignation of the people who have been appointed to decide this case.

CHORUS:

Zeus gives greater honour to a father's death, according to what you say; [640] yet he himself bound his aged father, Cronus. How does this not contradict what you say? (To the judges) I call on you as witnesses to hear these things.

APOLLO:

Oh, monsters utterly hated and detested by the gods! Zeus could undo bonds, there is a remedy for that, [645] and many means of release. But when the dust has sucked up the blood of a man, once he is dead, there is no return to life. For this, my father has made no magic spells, although he manipulates all other things, turning them up and down; [650] nor does his display of power cost him a breath.

CHORUS:

See how you advocate acquittal for this man! After he has poured out his mother's blood on the ground, shall he then live in his father's house in Argos? Which of the public altars shall he use? [655] What purification rite of the brotherhoods will receive him?

APOLLO:

I will explain this, too, and see how correctly I will speak. The mother of what is called her child is not the parent, but the nurse of the newly-sown embryo. The one who mounts is the parent, whereas she, as a stranger for a stranger, [660] preserves the young plant, if the god does not harm it. And I will show you proof of what I say: a father might exist without a mother. A witness is here at hand, the child of Olympian Zeus, who was not nursed in the darkness of a womb, [665] and she is such a child as no goddess could give birth to.

For my part, Pallas, as in all other matters, as I know how, I will make your city and people great; and I have sent this man as a suppliant to your sanctuary so that he may be faithful for all time, [670] and that you, goddess, might win him and those to come after him as a new ally and so that these pledges of faith might remain always, for the later generations of these people to cherish.

ATHENA:

Am I to assume that enough has been said, and shall I now command these jurors to cast an honest vote according to their judgment?

CHORUS:

[675] For our part, every bolt is already shot. But I am waiting to hear how the trial will be decided.

ATHENA:

Why not? (To Apollo and Orestes)  As for you, how shall I arrange matters so that I will not be blamed by you?

APOLLO:

You have heard what you have heard; and as you cast your ballots, keep the oath sacred in your hearts, friends.

ATHENA:

[680] Hear now my ordinance, people of Attica, as you judge the first trial for bloodshed. In the future, even as now, this court of judges will always exist for the people of Aegeus. And this Hill of Ares, the seat and camp of the Amazons, [685] when they came with an army in resentment against Theseus, and in those days built up this new citadel with lofty towers to rival his, and sacrificed to Ares, from which this rock takes its name, the Hill of Ares: [690] on this hill, the reverence of the citizens, and fear, its kinsman, will hold them back from doing wrong by day and night alike, so long as they themselves do not pollute the laws with evil streams; if you stain clear water with filth, you will never find a drink.

[695] Neither anarchy nor tyranny—this I counsel my citizens to support and respect, and not to drive fear wholly out of the city. For who among mortals, if he fears nothing, is righteous? Stand in just awe of such majesty, [700] and you will have a defense for your land and salvation of your city, such as no man has, either among the Scythians or in Pelops' realm. I establish this tribunal, untouched by greed, worthy of reverence, quick to anger, awake on behalf of those who sleep, a guardian of the land.

[705] But, I have gone on long enough with this advice for my citizens for their future. Now you must rise and take a ballot, and decide the case under the sacred obligation of your oath. My word has been spoken.

[710] The judges rise from their seats and cast their ballots one by one during the following dialogue.

CHORUS:

And I counsel you not to dishonour us in any way, since our company can be a burden to your land.

APOLLO:

And I, for my part, command you to stand in fear of the oracles, both mine and Zeus', and not cause them to be unfulfilled.

CHORUS:

You honor bloody crimes that aren't your business. [715] Your oracles will never now be pure.

APOLLO:

So Zeus made a mistake when Ixion, the first to kill, appealed to him for help?

CHORUS:

You said it, I didn't. But if I don't get justice, I will come back to crush this land forever.

APOLLO:

[720] How so? You have no honour among the gods, young or old. I will win this case.

CHORUS:

You did the same thing too, in Pheres' house: you persuaded the Fates to let men hide from death.

APOLLO:

Is it unjust to treat someone so kindly, such a pious worshipper, [725] especially when he is in need?

CHORUS:It was you who destroyed the old divine order when you beguiled the ancient goddesses with wine.

APOLLO:

Once you have lost the case you will spit out your venom. It won't be a threat to your enemies.

[730] The voting is now over.

CHORUS:

Since you, a youth, deride me, an old woman, I am waiting to hear the verdict in the case. I have not decided whether or not to be angry at the city.

ATHENA:

It is my duty to give the final judgment and I will cast my vote for Orestes. [735] No mother gave birth to me; and in all things, except for marriage, I am whole-heartedly on the male side and on the side of my father . Therefore, I will not award greater honour to the death of a woman who killed her husband, the master of the house. If the vote comes out equal. [740] Orestes will win.

Turn over the urns and count the ballots as quickly as possible, you jurors who have been assigned this task.

The ballots are turned out and separated.

ORESTES:

O Phoebus Apollo! How will the trial be decided?

CHORUS:

O Night, our dark Mother, do you see this? [745]

ORESTS:

Now I will die by hanging, or I will live.

CHORUS:

Yes, and we will be ruined, or maintain our honours further.

APOLLO:

Count the ballots correctly, friends, and do not make a mistake in dividing the votes. Error in judgment causes much distress, [750] and the cast of a single ballot has turned a house upside down.

The ballots are shown to Athena.

ATHENA:

This man is acquitted on the charge of murder, for the numbers of the ballots are equal.

Apollo disappears.

ORESTES:

Pallas, savior of my house! I was deprived of a fatherland, and it is you who have given me a home there again. [755] The Hellenes will say, “The man is an Argive once again, and lives in his father's estate, by the grace of Pallas and of Loxias and of that third god, the one who accomplishes everything, the savior”—the one who, honouring my father's death, [760] saves me, in the face of my mother's advocates.

I will go home now, after I swear an oath to this land and to your people for the future and for all time to come, that no commander of my land [765] will ever come here and do violence against them with a well-equipped spear. I will ensure this even from the grave. I will curse them with non-remediable failure, making their marches spiritless and their journeys ill-omened. [770] Those who violate this oath of mine will regret their enterprise. But while they remain true and they hold this city of Pallas  as allies in everlasting honour, I will be the more well-disposed to them.

And so farewell—you and the people who guard your city. [775] May none of your enemies escape you and may you have safety and victory with the spear!

Exit.

Taken from: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0006%3Acard%3D566

Homeric Hymn 11, "To Athena" (trans. H. G. Evelyn-White, adapted by L. Zhang and T. Mulder)

Greek hymn, 7th-4th century BCE

[1] Of Pallas Athena, guardian of the city, I begin to sing. She is greatly revered, and with Ares she loves deeds of war, the raiding of cities and the shouting of the battle. It is she who saves the people when they go out to war and come back. Hail, goddess, and give us good fortune along with happiness!

Taken from: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomericHymns3.html#11

Homer, Iliad, Book 5 (trans. A. S. Kline, adapted by L. Zhang, P. Rogak, and T. Mulder)

Greek epic poem, 8th century BCE

[703-766] And when the goddess, white-armed Hera saw the Argives being slaughtered in mortal combat, she swiftly spoke winged words to Athena, "Oh, child of aegis-bearing Zeus, Atrytone, if we let savage Ares rage like this, then what good is our promise to Menelaus that he will sack the high walls of Troy before returning home? Come let us also think of wild bravery.’

Bright-eyed Athena hastened to obey her words. Hera, the great goddess, daughter of Cronus, ran to harness her steeds with gold, while Hebe swiftly fitted the eight-spoked wheels of bronze on the chariot’s iron axle. The rims of these chariot wheels are imperishable gold: the tires are bronze, a wonder to see; while the whirling hubs are silver. The platform is woven with straps of silver and gold, with a double rail, and a long silver pole to which she fastened the golden yoke and breast straps. Then Hera, eager to fight, yoked her swift horses.

Meanwhile Athena, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, took off her soft, richly embroidered robe, that she had made herself. She left it at the entrance to her father's house and dressed herself in the tunic of Zeus the Cloud-Driver, and put on her armour, ready for gloomy war. She threw the frightening, tasseled aegis over her shoulders, a garment filled with terror, violence and strife, adorned with the monstrous image of the Gorgon’s head,  the grim and awful emblem of aegis-bearing Zeus. On her head she put the golden helmet with its four cones and double-crest, decorated with warriors of a hundred cities. Then she set foot on the fiery chariot, grasped her huge, strong, weighty spear, with which this daughter of a mighty Father shatters the ranks in anger.

At once, Hera whipped up the horses, and the gates of Olympus groaned open on their hinges all on their own accord, gates that the Hours guard, the wardens of wide heaven and Olympus, hiding or showing them as they see fit. Through the gates they drove their steady horses, and found [ Zeus ] the Son of Cronus sitting alone on the topmost peak of many-ridged Olympus. There white-armed Hera reined in the horses, and asked lofty Zeus, " Father Zeus, aren't you seething mad at Ares for his reckless violence that has destroyed a vast army of noble Achaeans, causing me great distress? Meanwhile Cyprian Aphrodite, and Apollo, Lord of the Silver Bow, delightedly unleashing lawless carnage. Will you be angry, Father Zeus, if I strike Ares hard and drive him from the field?"

"Instead of that, rouse Athena, always the first to chase the spoils, and let her face him," Zeus the Cloud-Gatherer replied. "She, above all, is accustomed to causing him pain."

[767-845] The goddess, white-armed Hera, sped to obey his order, flicking the horses with her whip, and the willing pair galloped between earth and the starry heavens. Those thundering horses of the gods cover the distance at one bound that a man can see through the distant haze, gazing from a watchtower over the wine-dark sea. They soon reached Troy, land of the two rivers, and there at the meeting of Simoeis and Scamander, the white-armed goddess Hera reined in her horses, and loosed them from the yoke. She veiled them with a thick mist, while Simoeis made ambrosia spring up for them to graze. Then the two goddesses strutted forward, like bold pigeons, in their eagerness to aid the Argive army.

When they had reached the place where a select force of Achaeans, arrayed like ravenous lions or formidable wild boars, had gathered round mighty Diomedes, tamer of horses, the goddess, white-armed Hera halted and called aloud, imitating bronze-voiced Stentor’s great shout, louder than fifty men, "Shame on you, Greeks, fine to look at, but cowards inside! When noble Achilles led the fight no Trojan dared to leave the Dardanian Gates, they feared his great spear so much, but now far from their city they fight by your hollow ships."

With these words she roused the courage and daring in every man. Meanwhile bright-eyed Athena, seeing Tydeus’ son beside his horses and chariot with the arrow-wound that Pandarus had given him, ran swiftly to his side. Beneath the broad shoulder-strap of his round shield the sweat was irritating him, and he lifted the strap to wipe away the dark blood beneath his weakened arm. The goddess laid her hand on the chariot yoke saying, "Tydeus’ son is hardly like his father. Small though he was, he was a fighter. Even when I wanted him not to fight or make a row, when he strode alone into the crowd of Cadmeians at Thebes, bearing them a message, even when I’d told him to sit and banquet quietly in their hall, he with his great heart had to challenge the Cadmeian youth, and beat them easily, as ever, though with my help. But you, I stand by your side, I shield you from harm, ready to urge you on against the Trojans, yet you seem too tired to attack again or fear robs you of your strength. If that is so, then you are no child of Tydeus, Oeneus’ warlike son!"

"I know you, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus," answered mighty Diomedes, "so I will speak freely, hiding nothing. Neither blind fear nor fatigue possess me, I am merely obeying your command not to fight with the gods face to face, unless Aphrodite daughter of Zeus enters the fray, whom I am allowed to wound with my sharp blade. But it is Ares I see controlling the field of war, so I have retreated and told the rest of the Argives to gather here around me."

"Dearest Diomedes, true son of Tydeus," bright-eyed Athena replied, "have no fear of Ares or any of the immortals, and I will be here beside you to defend you. Drive your swift steeds towards him, and strike him at close range. Do not be in awe of Ares raging in his fury, treacherous plague that he is, who promised Hera and I that he would help the Greeks against the Trojans, but now forgets what he swore and fights for Troy."

She reached out as she spoke and, grasping Sthenelus, hustled him from the chariot. He was quick to leave and she mounted beside Diomedes, eager herself for battle. The beech-wood axle groaned beneath its burden, weighed down by the mighty warrior and the fearsome goddess. Pallas Athena grasped the reins, and whipped the swift horses towards Ares as he was stripping the armour from the great Periphas, noble son of Ochesius and pride of the Aetolians. Spattered with blood, he despoiled the corpse, while Athena donned Hades’ helmet of invisibility, to hide her identity from the mighty god.

[846-909] But the moment Ares, bane of the living, glimpsed Diomedes, he left great Periphas where he had killed him, and headed straight for the horse-tamer. When they were at close quarters, Ares thrust with his bronze spear over the reins and yoke at Diomedes, eager to strike him dead: but bright-eyed Athena caught the spear in her hand, and drove it above the chariot into the air. Now, Diomedes, of the loud war-cry, thrust his bronze-spear at Ares, and Pallas Athena drove it home into the lower belly, where he wore a defensive apron. There the thrust landed, tearing the flesh, and Diomedes wrenched it free again. Then bronze-clad Ares bellowed as loud as ten thousand warriors shout in battle, when they meet in the war-god’s shadow. The Greeks and Trojans trembled with fear at insatiable Ares’ cry.

Like the dark column that whirls from the cloud when a tornado forms in heated air, so brazen Ares seemed to Diomedes, as he sped through the sky to high heaven. Swiftly he reached the gods’ home on steep Olympus, and sat down at Zeus’ side, in anguish. Ares showed Zeus the divine ichor flowing from the wound, and spoke in a sad voice, "Father Zeus, does it not stir your indignation to see all this violence? We gods always suffer cruelly at each other’s hands when we show favour to mortals. We are all at odds with you because you cursed the world with that mad daughter of yours who is always bent on lawlessness. The rest of us Olympians obey you and bow to you, but you say and do nothing to stop her antics, you condone them rather, simply because this girl who wreaks havoc is yours. Now she spurs on foolhardy Diomedes to vent his anger on us immortals. First in a close encounter he wounded Aphrodite on the wrist then he ran at me like a demon. Quick on my feet, I sprang away, or I would have suffered there for ages among the grisly dead, or been crippled by his spear-blows."

Taken from: https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Iliad5.php#anchor_Toc239244908

Translated by A. S. Kline © Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved.

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, Book 3 (trans. J.G. Frazer, adapted by P. Rogak)

Greek mythography, 2nd century CE

[3.14.1] Cecrops, a son of the soil, with a body that was half man and half serpent, was the first king of Attica. The country that was formerly called Acte he named Cecropia after himself. In his lifetime, it is said that the gods decided to take possession of cities that would worship them particularly. So Poseidon was the first that came to Attica, and with a blow of his trident in the middle of the acropolis, he produced a sea which they now call Erechtheis. After him came Athena, and, having called on Cecrops to witness her action, she planted an olive tree, which is still shown in the Pandrosium. But when the two struggled for possession of the country, Zeus separated them and appointed judges. These judges were not, as some have claimed, Cecrops and Cranaus, nor even Erysichthon [of Attica], but the twelve gods. And by their verdict the country was awarded to Athena, because Cecrops witnessed that she had been the first to plant the olive tree. Athena, therefore, called the city Athens after herself, and Poseidon in hot anger flooded the Thriasian plain and laid Attica under the sea.

Taken from: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus3.html#14

Callimachus, Hymn 5, "The Bath of Pallas" (trans. J.G. Frazer, adapted by L. Zhang and P. Rogak)

Greek hymn, 3rd century BCE

[1] All you who are companions of the Bath of Pallas, come out, come out! I heard the snorting of the sacred steeds just now  and the goddess is ready to go. Hurry now, fair-haired daughters of Pelasgus, hurry! Never did Athena wash her mighty arms before she removed the dust from the flanks of her horses – not even when, her armour all dirtied with filth, she returned from the battle with the lawless Giants; but first she freed her horses’ necks from their yoke, and in the springs of Ocean washed the flecks of sweat and from their mouths that chewed the bit, cleansed the clotted foam.

[13] Come, daughters of Achaea, and do not bring perfume or alabasters (I hear the voice of the wheel hubs!); do not bring perfume or alabasters for Pallas, you companions of the Bath (for Athena does not love mixed ointments), and also do not bring a mirror. Her face is always beautiful, and, even when the Phrygian [ Paris ] judged the contest on Ida, the great goddess did not look into [polished metal] orichalc, nor into the transparent currents of Simoeis, nor did Hera. But Cypris [ Aphrodite ] took the shining bronze and often altered and altered again the same lock of hair. But Pallas, after running twice sixty double courses, just like, beside the Eurotas [river], the Lacedaemonian Stars [ Castor and Pollux ], took and skillfully anointed herself with simple ointments, the birth of her own tree [olive oil]. And, O maidens, the red blush arose on her, as the colour of the morning rose or the seed of a pomegranate. For that reason now also bring only the manly olive oil, with which Castor and Heracles anoint themselves. And bring her a comb all of gold, so that she may comb her hair, once she has anointed her glossy tresses.

[33] Come forth, Athena! A company pleasing to your heart awaits you, the maiden akestoridan.^[2] And with them, O Athena, is carried the shield of Diomedes, since this is the Argive custom which, in olden days, Eumedes taught them: a priest who found favour with you: who one time, when he knew that the people were plotting and planning death for him, fled with your holy image and lived in the Creion hill – lived on the hill of Creion and established you, O goddess, on the rugged rocks, whose name is now the Pallantid rocks.

[42] Come forth, Athena, Sacker of Cities, golden-helmeted, who rejoices in the sounds of horse and shield. Today, you water-carriers, do not dip your pitchers – today, O Argos, drink from the fountains and not from the river; today, you handmaidens carry your pitchers to [the springs] Physadeia or Amymone, daughter of Danaus. For, mingling his waters with gold and with flowers, Inachus will come from his pastoral hills, bringing fair water for the Bath of Athena. But beware, O Pelasgian, in case even unwittingly you see the Queen. Whoever sees Pallas, Keeper of Cities, naked, shall look on Argos for the last time. Lady Athena, come forth, and meanwhile I will say something to these people. The story is not mine but told by others.

[57] Maidens, in Thebes one nymph of old, the mother of Teiresias, loved Athena a lot, far beyond all her other companions, and was never apart from her. But when she [Athena] drove her steeds towards ancient Thespiae or towards Coroneia or to Haliartus, passing through the tilled fields of the Boeotians – or toward Coroneia where the fragrant grove and altars are set by the river Coralius – often did the goddess set the nymph upon her chariot, and there was no festivity of nymphs nor sweet ordering of dance, where Chariclo did not lead.

[68] Yet many tears awaited her, in the days to come, although she was a companion who pleased the heart of Athena. One day those two undid the buckles of their robes beside the fair-flowing Fountain of the Horse on Helicon and bathed; and midday was quiet across the whole hill. Those two were bathing and it was the noon hour and a great quiet held that hill. Only Teiresias, on whose cheek the hair was just darkening, still roamed with his hounds at the holy place. And, with a great thirst, he came to the flowing fountain, wretched man! He unwillingly saw that which is not lawful to be seen. And Athena was angered, and said to him: “What god, O son of Everes, led you on this tragic way? From now on you will never have the use of your eyes again!”

[83] She spoke and darkness seized the eyes of the youth. And he stood there speechless; for pain glued his knees and helplessness stopped his voice. But the nymph cried: “What have you done to my boy, lady? Is this what the friendship of you goddesses is? You have taken away the eyes of my son. Foolish child! You have seen the breast and body of Athena, but the sun you shall not see again. O unhappy me! O hill, O Helicon, where I may no more come, surely a great price has been exacted for a small thing. Losing a few gazelles and deer, you have taken the eyes of my child.”

[93] Then the mother clasped her beloved child in both her arms and, wailing the heavy lament of the mournful nightingale, led him away. And the goddess Athena pitied her companion and said to her: “Noble lady, take back all the words that you have spoken in anger. I'm am not the one that made your child blind. For it is no sweet thing for Athena to snatch away the eyes of children. But the laws of Cronius [ Zeus ] order thus: Whoever sees any of the immortals, when the god himself does not choose to be seen, looks for a heavy price. Noble lady, the thing that is done can no more be taken back; since the thread of the Fates spun when you bore him from the beginning; but now, son of Everes, you will take the outcome which is due to you. How many burnt offerings will the daughter of Cadmus [ Autonoe ] burn in the days to come? How many will Aristaeus burn? – praying that they might see their only son, the young Actaeon, blind. And yet he shall be a companion of the chase to great Artemis. But neither the chase nor companionship in archery on the hills will save him in that hour, when, though unwillingly, he will see the beautiful bathing of the goddess. No, his own dogs will then devour their former lord. And his mother will gather the bones of her son, spread over all the thickets. She will call you happiest of women and say you have a happy fate, because you received your son home from the hills – blind. Therefore, O companion, do not lament; for your son – for your sake – will gain many other honours from me. For I will make him a seer to be sung of by men from now on, yes, more excellent than any other. He will know the birds – which is of good omen among all the countless birds that fly, and what birds are of ill-omened flight.^[3] Many oracles will he utter to the Boeotians and many to Cadmus, and to the mighty sons of Labdacus in later days. Also I will give him a great staff which will guide his feet as he has need, and I will give him a long life. And he only, when he dies, will walk among the dead having understanding, honoured by the great Leader of Peoples [ Hades ].”

[130] So she spoke and bowed her head; and a promise over which Pallas bows will be fulfilled; since to Athena only among his daughters had Zeus granted that she should have all the things that are his, companions of the Bath, and no mother bore that goddess, but the head of Zeus. The head of Zeus does not bow in falsehood, and in falsehood his daughter has no part.

[137] Now comes Athena, indeed. O maidens, whose task it is, receive the goddess with pious greeting and with prayer, and with the voice of gratitude. Hail, goddess, and have Inachian Argos in your keeping! Hail when you drive forth your steeds, and may you drive home again with joy, and preserve all the estate of the Danaans.

Taken from: https://www.theoi.com/Text/CallimachusHymns2.html#5

Fulgentius, Mythologies, Book 2 (trans. L. G. Whitbread, adapted by L. Zhang and P. Rogak)

Latin mythography, ca. 500 CE

[content warning for the following source: sexual assault]

[2.11] When Vulcan made the thunderbolts of Jove, he accepted a promise from Jove that he might take anything that he wanted. He asked for Minerva in marriage; Jove ordered Minerva to defend her virginity by strength of arms. When they were supposed to enter the marriage bed, Vulcan in the struggle spilled his seed on the floor, and from it was born Erichthonius with the feet of a serpent, for eris is the Greek for strife, and ctonus is the name for the earth. Minerva hid him in a basket and entrusted him, with a serpent nearby as guardian, to the two sisters, Aglaurus and Pandora. It was he who first invented the chariot. They explained Vulcan as the fire of rage, and so Vulcan is named as the heat of desire; he made the lightning for Jove, that is, he stirred up rage. They chose him to be the husband of Minerva because even rage is somewhat reduced for the wise. She defended her maidenhood by force of arms, that is, all wisdom by strength of mind protects the integrity of its own habits against fury. From where indeed Erichthonius was born, for eris is the Greek for strife, and tonos is not only earth, but can also mean envy, and so Thales of Miletus says: “Envy is the devourer of worldly fame.” And what else but the strife of envy could the weakening rage of wisdom produce? Wisdom, that is, Minerva, hid it in a basket, that is, concealed it in her heart, for every wise man hides his rage in his heart. Minerva placed a serpent close by as a guardian, that is, destruction, which she entrusted to the two maidens, Aglaurus and Pandora. For Pandora is called the gift of all, and Aglaurus is for acouleron, that is, the forgetting of sadness. For the wise man entrusts his grief either to that kindheartedness which is the gift of all or to forgetting, as was said of Caesar: “You who forget nothing except the wrongs done you.” When Erichthonius grew up, what is he said to have invented? Nothing less than the racecourse, where there is always the strife of envy, as Virgil says: “Erichthonius first dared to join chariots and four horses.” Take note what value there is when chastity is joined to wisdom, for against it even the god of fire could not prevail.

Taken from: https://www.theoi.com/Text/FulgentiusMythologies2.html#11

Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 11 (trans. A.S. Kline, adapted by P. Rogak)

Latin narrative poem, 1st century CE

[content warning for the following source: mention of sexual assault (103-128), suicide (129-145)]

[1-25] “Tritonian Minerva had listened to every word, and approved of the Aonian Muses’s song, and their justified indignation. Then she said, to herself, ‘To give praise is not enough; let me be praised as well, and do not allow my divine powers to be scorned without inflicting punishment.’ Her thoughts turned to Arachne, of Maeonia, whom she had heard would not give her due credit in the art of spinning. The girl was not known for her place of birth, or family, but for her skill. Her father, Idmon of Colophon, dyed the absorbent wool purple, with Phocaean murex. Her mother was dead. She too had been of humble birth, and the father the same. Nevertheless, though she lived in a modest home, in little Hypaepa, Arachne had gained a name for artistry throughout the cities of Lydia.

“Often the nymphs of Mount Tmolus deserted their vine-covered slopes, and the nymphs of the River Pactolus deserted their waves, to examine her wonderful workmanship. It was not only a joy to see the finished cloths, but also to watch them made: so much beauty added to art. Whether at first she was winding the rough yarn into a new ball, or working the stuff with her fingers, teasing out the clouds of wool, repeatedly, drawing them into long equal threads, twirling the slender spindle with practised thumb, or embroidering with her needle, you could see she was taught by Pallas. Yet she denied it, and took offence at the idea of such a teacher. ‘Compete with me’ she said ‘I will not disagree at all if I am beaten’.

[26-69] “Pallas Minerva took the shape of an old woman: adding grey hair to her temples, and aging her limbs, which she supported with a stick. Then she spoke, to the girl, as follows. ‘Not everything old age has is to be shunned: knowledge comes with advancing years. Do not reject my advice: seek great fame amongst mortals for your skill in weaving, but give way to the goddess, and ask her forgiveness, rash girl, with a humble voice: she will forgive if you will ask.’ Arachne looked fiercely at her and left the work she was on: scarcely restraining her hands, and with dark anger in her face. Pallas, disguised it is true, received this answer. ‘Weak-minded and worn out by tedious old age you come here and having lived too long destroys you. Let your daughter-in-law if you have one, let your daughter if you have one, listen to your voice. I have wisdom enough of my own. You think your advice is never heeded: that is my feeling too. Why does she not come herself? Why does she shirk this contest?’

“The goddess said ‘She is here!’ and, relinquishing the old woman’s form, revealed Pallas Minerva. The nymphs and the Phrygian women worshipped her godhead: the girl alone remained unafraid, yet she did blush, like how the sky is accustomed to redden when Aurora first stirs, and, after a while, to whiten at the sun from the east. She is stubborn in her attempt, and rushes on to her fate, eager for a worthless prize. Now, Jupiter’s daughter does not refuse, and does not give warning, or delay the contest a moment. Immediately they both position themselves, in separate places, and stretch out the fine threads for the warp over twin frames. The frame is fastened to the cross-beam; the threads of the warp separated with the reed; the thread of the weft is inserted between, in the pointed shuttles that their fingers have readied; and, drawn through the warp, the threads of the weft are beaten into place, struck by the comb’s notched teeth. They each work quickly, and, with their clothes gathered in tight, under their breasts, apply skillful arms, their zeal not making it seem like work. There, shades of purple, dyed in Tyrian bronze vessels, are woven into the cloth, and also lighter colours, shading off gradually. The threads that touch seem the same, but the extremes are distant, as when, often, after a rainstorm, the expanse of the sky, struck by the sunlight, is stained by a rainbow in one vast arch, in which a thousand separate colours shine, but the eye itself still cannot see the transitions. There are inserted lasting threads of gold, and an ancient tale is spun in the web.

[70-102] “Pallas Athena depicts the hill of Mars, and the court of the Aeropagus, in Cecrops’s Athens, and the old dispute between Neptune and herself, as to who had the right to the city and its name. There the twelve gods sit in great majesty, on their high thrones, with Jupiter in the middle. She weaves the gods with their familiar attributes. The image of Jupiter is a royal one. There she portrays the ocean god, standing and striking the rough stone, with his long trident, and seawater flowing from the centre of the shattered rock, a token of his claim to the city. She gives herself a shield, a sharp pointed spear, and a helmet for her head, while the aegis protects her chest. She shows an olive-tree with a pale trunk, thick with fruit, born from the earth at a blow from her spear, the gods marveling: and Victory crowns the work.

Then she adds four scenes of contest in the four corners, each with miniature figures, in their own clear colours, so that her rival might learn, from the examples quoted, what prize she might expect, for her outrageous daring. One corner shows Thracian Mount Rhodope and Mount Haemus, now icy peaks, once mortal beings who ascribed the names of the highest gods to themselves. A second corner shows the miserable fate of the queen of the Pygmies: how Juno, having overcome her in a contest, ordered her to become a crane and make war on her own people. Also she pictures Antigone, whom Queen Juno turned into a bird for having dared to compete with Jupiter’s great consort: neither her father Laomedon, nor her city Ilium were of any use to her, but taking wing as a white stork she applauds herself with clattering beak. The only corner left shows Cinyras, bereaved: and he is seen weeping as he clasps the stone steps of the temple that were once his daughters’ limbs. Minerva surrounded the outer edges with the olive wreaths of peace (this was the last part) and so ended her work with emblems of her own tree.

[103-128] “The Maeonian girl depicts Europa deceived by the form of the bull: you would have thought it a real bull and real waves. She is seen looking back to the shore she has left, and calling to her companions, displaying fear at the touch of the surging water, and drawing up her shrinking feet. Also Arachne showed Asterie, held by the eagle, struggling, and Leda lying beneath the swan’s wings. She added Jupiter who, hidden in the form of a satyr, filled Antiope, daughter of Nycteus with twin offspring; who, as Amphitryon, was charmed by you, Alcmene, of Tiryns; by Danae, as a golden shower; by Aegina, daughter of Asopus, as a flame; by Mnemosyne, as a shepherd; by Proserpine, Ceres’s daughter, as a spotted snake.

She wove you, Neptune, also, changed to a fierce bull for Canace, Aeolus’s daughter. In Enipeus’ form you conceived the Aloadae, and deceived Theophane as a ram. The golden-haired, gentlest, mother of the cornfields [ Demeter ], knew you as a horse. The snake-haired mother [ Medusa ] of the winged horse [ Pegasus ], knew you as a winged bird. Melantho knew you as a dolphin. She gave all these their own aspects, and the aspects of the place. Here is Phoebus like a countryman, and she shows him now with the wings of a hawk, and now in a lion’s skin, and how as a shepherd he tricked Isse, Macareus’s daughter. She showed how Bacchus ensnared Erigone with delusive grapes, and how Saturn as the double of a horse conceived Chiron. The outer edge of the web, surrounded by a narrow border, had flowers interwoven with entangled ivy.

[129-145] “Neither Pallas nor Envy itself could fault that work. The golden-haired warrior goddess was grieved by its success, and tore the tapestry, embroidered with the gods’ crimes, and as she held her shuttle made of boxwood from Mount Cytorus, she struck Idmonian Arachne, three or four times, on the forehead. The unfortunate girl could not bear it, and courageously slipped a noose around her neck: Pallas, in pity, lifted her, as she hung there, and said these words, ‘Live on then, and yet hang, condemned one, but, in case you are careless in the future, this same condition is declared, in punishment, against your descendants, to the last generation!’ Departing after saying this, she sprinkled her with the juice of Hecate’s herb, and immediately at the touch of this dark poison, Arachne’s hair fell out. With it went her nose and ears, her head shrank to the smallest size, and her whole body became tiny. Her slender fingers stuck to her sides as legs, the rest is belly, from which she still spins a thread, and, as a spider, weaves her ancient web.

Taken from: https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph6.php

Translated by A. S. Kline © Copyright 2000 All Rights Reserved.