Athena Laphria and the Goat King Painting

Athena as Athene Laphria. I previously shared paintings of Athena and her winged goat father, Pallas, whom she killed after he tried to rape her. According to Byzantine Greek scholar Tzetzes, as reported by Robert Graves, her aegis and wings came from his hide. Robert Graves goes on to write that "Pallas, meaning 'maiden', is an inappropriate name for this winged giant whose attempt on Athene's chastity is probably from a picture of her ritual marriage, as Athene Laphria, to a goat-king after an armed contest with her rival. The Libyan custom of goat-marriage spread to Northern Europe as part of the May Eve merrymaking." Laphria is explained later to mean "she who wins booty". Graves writes, "Laphria suggests that the goddess was the pursuer, not the pursued." As more background, Graves writes that Plato identified Athene with the Libyan goddess Neith, "who belonged to an epoch when fatherhood was unrecognized...Virgin priestesses of Neith engaged annually in armed combat, apparently for the position of High-priestess.". Herodotus writes, "Athene's garments and aegis were borrowed from the Libyan women, who are dressed in exactly the same way, except that their leather garments are fringed with thongs, not serpents."

Painting:Acrylic on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:14 W x 11 H x 0.2 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.