his head the glancing-eyed Athena, 
terrible, strife-stirring, leader of the 
host, the unwearied, revered one, whom 
the din of battle, wars, and combat de- 
lights." 
Pindar, Olympian VII, 33-38. 
"Then the golden-haired one (Apollo) 
spoke from the fragrant shrine of the 
temple, spoke of the voyage from the 
Lernaean shores straight to the sea-girt 
island where the king of the gods, the 
great one, moistened the city with 
golden snowflakes, when by the arts of 
Hephaestus, by his brazen ax, Athena 
springing down the crest of her father's 
head, uttered the war cry with a mighty 
shout, and Heaven and Mother Earth 
shuddered before her." 
Homeric Hymn to Athena XXVIII. 
"Of Pallas Athena, honored goddess, 
I begin to sing, with glancing eyes, of 
many counsels and kindly heart, re- 
vered maiden, savior of cities, valiant, 
Tritogenia, whom Zeus himself bore 
from his sacred head, clad in her arms 
of war, golden, all-radiant. Wonder 
held all the immortals as they looked 
upon her. She quickly sprang before 
aegis-bearing Zeus from his immortal 
head shaking her sharp spear. And 
great Olympus trembled terribly be- 
neath the weight of the glancing-eyed 
one, and the earth about resounded 
fearfully, and the sea was moved, agi- 
tated with its purple waves, and the 
salt water was poured forth on a sudden. 
The glorious son of Hyperion (the 
sun) stopped his swift-footed steeds 
for a long time until the maiden Pallas 
Athena took her arms from her immor- 
tal shoulders and all-wise Zeus rejoiced. 
1 "So hail to thee, daughter of aegis- 
bearing Zeus! But of thee and of an- 
other song I shall be mindful." 
Lucian, Dialogi Deorum VIII. 
In Lucian's "Dialogues of the Gods" 
we find the following scene which gives 
an amusing account of the story in the 
words of Hephaestus and Zeus. 
HephcBstus. — "What must I do, O 
Zeus? For I have come with my ax, 
the sharpest one, if it should be neces- 
sary to cleave stones at one blow." 
Zeus. — "That is good, O Hephaestus, 
but bring it down and cleave my head 
in twain." 
Heph. — "Are you trying me or are 
you insane? Tell me truly what you 
wish of me." 
Zeus. — "This very thing, to cleave my 
head. If you disobey, not now for the 
first time will you make trial of my 
anger. You must strike with your 
whole heart and not delay for I am tor- 
tured by the pains which confuse my 
brain." 
Heph. — "See to it, O Zeus, lest we 
do some harm, for the ax is sharp and 
not without bloodshed." 
Zeus. — "Only strike quickly, Heph- 
aestus, for I know the consequences." 
Heph. — "I am unwilling, but still 1 
shall strike, for what must I do when 
you bid? What is this? A maiden 
clad in armor! A great evil, O Zeus,, 
did you have in your head! Naturally 
were you quick to anger, keeping such 
a maiden beneath the covering of your 
brain and armed too. I suppose it has 
escaped our notice that you had a camp 
and not a head. She leaps and dances, 
shakes her shield, brandishes her spear, 
and is in an ecstasy. And the greatest 
marvel, she is fair and vigorous — already 
in this short time. Quick-glancing 
eyes has she, and a helmet, too, adorns 
her. Therefore, oh Zeus, as my wages, 
promise her to me." 
Zeus. — "You ask what is impossible,. 
Hephaestus, for a maiden always it is 
her wish to remain. I, as far as I am 
concerned, do not gainsay it." 
Heph. — "I wanted this. I'll manage 
it and I'll snatch her away." 
Zeus. — "If it is easy for you, do it. 
Still I know that you ask what is im- 
possible." 
A certain Philostratus gives descrip- 
tions of paintings which he pretended 
belonged to a gallery in Naples, and 
this is one of them: "The Birth of 
Athena." 
"Those astonished ones are the gods 
and goddesses to whom the order has 
been given that even the nymphs are 
not to be absent from heaven, but are 
to be present with the rivers from which 
they are sprung. They shudder at 
Athena, but just now sprung in her arms 
from the head of Zeus, by the arts of 
Hephaestus, as the ax shows. No one 
could imagine the material of her pan- 
oply, for as many as are the colors of 
the rainbow as it changes into different 
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