The symbolism of the statue of the Goddess Athina Parthenos in the temple of Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens Introduction The subject of our to-days presentation is the majestic statue of the Goddess    A t h i n a   Parthenos, which was in the temple of Parthenon on the sacred hill of the Acropolis of Athens. The city of   A t h e n s   belongs to the goddess Pallas    A t h i n a , the last and most beloved child of her father, Zeus. Zeus, as per the Orphic Hymns, Homer and Hesiodus, is the father of the immortal Gods and of the mortal humanity. Before making the description and the symbolical explanation of the high spiritual ideas, which generate from the statue, it is necessary to explain the name, the way the Goddess was born, her character and her activities. We should remember, that in Greek Mythology each God and Goddess has specific characteristics, through which he or she manifests his or her values and virtues. Gods and Goddesses are of equal importance; none has the supremacy of the male or the female gender. The Olympians are six male Gods and six female Goddesses. Regretfully, through the over simplification of Mythology, these meanings have been disregarded and forgotten. In Greek the names of Gods are indicating exactly what these virtues and values are. The names, as most of the words of the Greek Language, are not a conventional way of expressing an object or idea, but literally explain, through the letters and syllables the fundamental properties of the idea, which they convey. In all other languages the majority of words have no intrinsic meaning, apart from the convention of their verbal agreement of denomination. For instance,  Z e u s, the universal mind and the father of Athena, has two different roots expressing his qualities: Z e u s  and  D i a - Z e u s  is the root of the word z e u - g n y m i which means bringing together through the life giving process, since the letter Z, is the first letter of z o i, which means life. D i a - z e u - g n y m i D i a -: the prefix d i a -, means dividing, dispersing, dissolving, disintegrating. The compound word d i a - z e u - gnimi means that the forces, which have been brought together and immersed into each other, are now being disintegrated. Z e u s, being the mind of the universe, has both powers of giving life, as well as disintegrating the life of the universe, which he has brought into existence, as per the characteristics given in the Orphic Hymns. The name of  A t h i n a , Zeus’ daughter, is further explained by Socrates in Plato’s dialogue “ Kratylos” . Socrates says to Kratylos that  A t h i n a  means t h e o n o i You can easily see the use of the same consonants in the two words. T h - and - n - form the frame of the mystic word  A t h i n a . Literally, she is the goddess, who understands and expresses the heavenly essence of the Gods. Therefore, she is the representative of the wisdom of the unseen powers behind the visible created universe, the cosmos. As per Hesiod’ s “Theogony”  A t h i n a  is the last child of Zeus. What does this mean? According to Mythology, Zeus is the Universal M I n d. He has the absolute capacity of understanding and foreseeing everything, which may or may not occur. To this purpose, he needs the qualifications, which come through his marriage with the goddesses wives’ and the bearing of his children. By wives and children it is meant that the mind acquires new properties, which are exclusively the absolute qualities and virtues of deity. The last verses of Hesiod’s “Theogony” give the names of the nine goddesses, by whom Zeus acquires twenty seven children. The numbers nine and twenty seven show the importance given, not in the quantity, but in the quality, which the numbers express. 3 X 3 = 9 3 x 3 x 3 = 2 7 Number three is the d e I t y expressed through numbers, pointing out the triangular perfection, pertaining to the immortal character of the higher spiritual beings. For the human mind, marrying and bringing children in the immortal level of Gods means to assimilate new ideas, through which subtle energies are expressed. Theogony starts with intangible ideas, only to become gradually fine energies, representing for our understanding the essence of Gods. Gods are colourless, shapeless and intangible, says Plato in his dialogue Phedros”. Having no physical bodies, nor human blood, they, therefore, cannot possibly commit incestuous acts, when Mythology says that they marry within their family. Incestuous relations are a very controversial point nowadays and should, by all means, be cleared, because gods, in Greek Mythology, marry their parents, their children and their kinsfolk. It is easily, therefore, understood that matter and form are prone to destruction and disintegration, whilst Higher – Self beings, namely the Gods, do not belong to the living world of decay and death and, therefore, no incest can touch them, since they are intangible. Returning to Zeus and his daughter  A t h i n a , we understand that since Zeus, the Mind, is her father and twenty six other qualities pre- exist her birth, she has been the bearer of all these qualities. The peculiar way through which she has been brought into life explains the above. The first Goddess becoming wife of Zeus is Mitis. Mitis, the word in Greek has the same root as the word m o t h e r. The meaning of Mitis shows the practical way of solving the everyday problems. Mitis has conceived Athina from Zeus. Zeus through an oracle from Gaia his grandmother, the Earth, is informed that his next child will replace him in the supreme hierarchy of Olympus. He, therefore, swallows his wife with the child she bears in her belly. After awhile he suffers from a terrible headache and Hephaistos comes with an axe and opens his skull. Athina explodes from his head, fully armed brandinshing her javelot and all Gods stand amazed with her war like appearance. What is the meaning of the incredible swallowing of Mitis by Zeus? The Mind must first assimilate the practical way of solving the everyday problems. Its subsequent marriages and birth of children point out, that the various other qualifications must develop, before the last child, Wisdom is born. First the capacity of the Mind to assimilate and last, after the assimilation, Wisdom follows. It is important to observe that most of the previous wives and children form the complete essence of justice, to which the manifested world should abide to. Wisdom is not born through the womb of the mother, but from the head of the father, after all the other evolutionary states of the mind have been completed. Athina, fully armed, means that  w i s d o m  must be always ready to fight for justice in order to prevail in both worlds: the visible and the invisible, amongst the mortal human race and immortal gods alike. Therefore, the first value that Athina represents is justice being supported by the war qualities of strength, wisdom on all levels and immortality, so that law, justice and order be embodied in the eternal movement of both the manifested and the unexpressed Universe.  A t h i n a  P a l l a s: Her attribute Pallas, coming from the Greek verb p a l l o, means throwing something with accuracy at an extremely distant target. In the instance of Athina she is throwing the javelot, with which she is born.  A t h i n a  P a r t h e n o s: Virginity is her second attribute. Although she is always by the side of the great heroes, Hercules, Perseus, Odysseus etc. she never expresses an amorous behavior. She is always standing by them on account of their bravery, virtue and desire to help the others without personal profit. We have, therefore, to understand, that the deity should master these qualities, never falling in love, in order to fight for justice, through the help of a well trained mind on all levels of existence.  A t h i n a  has many other activities pertaining to the everyday life of the mortals. She taught women the use of the loom, the embroidery, the statue making to the sculptors, the use of horse breeding, the war strategies, as well as on the philosophical field she embodies the highest development of thought, being the last born child of the Universal Mind/Zeus.