The Gift of Athéné

Near the banks of the stream Kephisos, Erechtheus had built a city in a rocky and thin-soiled land. He was the father of a free and brave people; and though his city was proud and humble, yet Zeus by his wisdom foresaw that one day it would become the noblest of all cities throughout the wide earth, and there was a quarrel between Poseidon the lord of the sea and Athene the child of Zeus, to see by whose name the city of Erechtheus should be called. So Zeus appointed a day in the which he would judge between them in presence of the great gods who dwell on high Olympus. When the day was come, the gods sat each on his golden throne on the banks of the stream Kephisos. High above all was the throne of Zeus, the great father of gods and men, and by his side sat Here the queen. This day even the sons of men might gaze upon them, for Zeus had laid aside his lightnings, and all the gods had come down in peace to listen to his judgment between Poseidon and Athene. There sat Phœbus Apollo with his golden harp in his hand. His face glistened for the brightness of his beauty; but there was no anger in his gleaming eyes, and idle by his side lay the unerring spear with which he smites all who deal falsely and speak lies. There beside him sat Artemis, his sister, whose days were spent in chasing the beasts of the earth and in sporting with the nymphs on the reedy banks of Eurotas. There by the side of Zeus sat Hermes ever bright and youthful, the spokesman of the gods, with staff in hand to do the will of the great father. There sat Hephaistos the lord of fire, and Hestia who guards the hearth. There, too, was Ares, who delights in war; and Dionysos, who loves the banquet and the wine-cup, and Aphrodite, who rose from the sea-foam to fill the earth with laughter and woe. Before them all stood the great rivals, awaiting the judgment of Zeus. High in her left hand, Athene held the invincible spear; and on her shield, hidden from mortal sight, was the face on which no man may gaze and live. Close beside her, proud in the greatness of his power, Poseidon waited the issue of the contest. In his right hand gleamed the trident with which he shakes the earth and cleaves the waters of the sea. Then from his golden seat rose the spokesman Hermes, and his clear voice sounded over all the great council. “Listen,” he said, “to the will of Zeus, who judges now between Poseidon and Athene. The city of Erechtheus shall bear the name of that god who shall bring forth out of the earth the best gift for the sons of men. If Poseidon do this, the city shall be called Poseidonia; but if Athene brings the higher gift, it shall be called Athens.” Then King Poseidon rose up in the greatness of his majesty, and with his trident he smote the earth where he stood. Straightway the hill was shaken to its depths, and the earth split asunder, and forth from the chasm leaped a horse, such as never shall be seen again for strength and beauty. His body shone white all over as the driven snow; his mane streamed proudly in the wind as he stamped on the ground and scoured in very wantonness over hill and valley. “Behold my gift,” said Poseidon, “and call the city after my name. Who shall give aught better than the horse to the sons of man?” But Athene looked steadfastly at the gods with her keen gray eye; and she stooped slowly down to the ground, and planted in it a little seed which she held in her right hand. She spake no word, but still gazed calmly on that great council. Presently they saw springing from the earth a little germ, which grew up and threw out its boughs and leaves. Higher and higher it rose, with all its thick green foliage, and put forth fruit on its clustering branches. “My gift is better, O Zeus,” she said, “than that of King Poseidon. The horse which he has given shall bring war and strife and anguish to the children of men; my olive tree is the sign of peace and plenty, of health and strength, and the pledge of happiness and freedom. Shall not, then, the city of Erechtheus be called after my name?” Then with one accord rose the voices of the gods in the air, as they cried out, “The gift of Athene is the best which may be given to the sons of men; it is the token that the city of Erechtheus shall be greater in peace than in war, and nobler in its freedom than its power. Let the city be called Athens.” Then Zeus, the mighty son of Kronos, bowed his head in sign of judgment that the city should be called by the name of Athene. From his head the immortal locks streamed down, and the earth trembled beneath his feet as he rose from his golden throne to return to the halls of Olympus. But still Athene stood gazing over the land which was now her own; and she stretched out her spear toward the city of Erechtheus, and said: “I have won the victory and here shall be my home. Here shall my children grow up in happiness and freedom; and hither shall the sons of men come to learn of law and order. Here shall they see what great things may be done by mortal hands when aided by the gods who dwell on Olympus; and when the torch of freedom has gone out at Athens, its light shall be handed on to other lands, and men shall learn that my gift is still the best, and they shall say that reverence for law and the freedom of thought and deed has come to them from the city of Erechtheus, which bears the name of Athene.” [2] In this Greek tale, the Greek names are preserved. In the Latin mythology Zeus is Jupiter, Poseidon is Neptune, Athene is Minerva, Artemis is Diana, Hermes is Mercury, Hephaistos is Vulcan, Dionysos is Bacchus, Hestia is Vesta, Ares is Mars, and Aphrodite is Venus.