- Athena Alea
Alea (Gr. polytonic|Ἀλέα) was an
epithet of the Greek goddessAthena , prominent inArcadian mythology , under which she was worshiped at Alea,Mantineia andTegea .cite encyclopedia | last = Schmitz | first = Leonhard | authorlink = | title = Alea | editor = William Smith | encyclopedia =Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology | volume = 1 | pages = 108-109 | publisher =Little, Brown and Company | location = Boston | year = 1867 | url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0117.html ] [Pausanias, "Description of Greece" viii. 23. § 1, 9. § 3, ii. 17. § 7] Alea was initially an independent goddess, but was eventually assimilated with Athena.Citation | last = Jost | first = Madeleine | author-link = | contribution = Arcadian cults and myths | editor-last = Hornblower | editor-first = Simon | title =Oxford Classical Dictionary | volume = | pages = | publisher =Oxford University Press | place = Oxford | year = 1996 | contribution-url = ]The temple of Athena Alea at
Tegea , which was the oldest, was said to have been built byAleus the son ofApheidas , from whom the goddess probably derived this epithet. [Pausanias, "Description of Greece" viii. 4. § 5] This temple was burned down in394 BC , and a new one built by the architectScopas , a temple of theDoric order which in size and splendor surpassed all other temples in thePeloponnese , and was surrounded by a triple row ofcolumn s of different orders. [Meyer, "Gesch. der bildend. Künste" ii. p. 99, &c.] The statue of the goddess, which was made byEndoeus all of ivory, was subsequently carried toRome byAugustus to adorn theForum of Augustus . [Pausanias, "Description of Greece" viii. 45. § 4, 4 § 1 and 2, 47. § 1] The temple of Athena Alea at Tegea was an ancient and revered asylum, and the names of many persons are recorded who saved themselves by seeking refuge in it. [Pausanias, "Description of Greece" iii. § 6, ii. 17. § 7, iii. 7. § 8]The priestess of Athena Alea at Tegea was always a
maiden , who held her office only until she reached the age ofpuberty . [Pausanias, "Description of Greece" viii. 47. § 2]On the road from Sparta to Therapne there was likewise a statue of Athena Alea. [Pausanias, "Description of Greece" iii. 19. 3 7]
External links
* [http://www.goddess-athena.org/Museum/Temples/Tegea.htm Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea] at the Athena Museum
References
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