Athene, or Pallas Athene, the Greek goddess corresponding, as we have said, to the Roman Minerva, was one of the few truly grand ethical divinities of Greek mj'thology. Different accounts are given of her origin and parentage, probabh' from the jumbling to- gether of local legends ; but the best known, and, in an- cient times, the most orthodox version of the myth rep- resented her as the daughter of Zeus and Metis. Zeus, we are told, when he had attained supreme power after his victory over the Titans, chose for his first wife Metis (Wisdom) ; but being advised by both Uranus and Gisa (Heaven and Earth), he swallowed her, when she was pregnant with Athene. When the time came that Athene should have been bom, Zeus felt great pains in his head, and caused Hephrestus (\^ilcan) to split it up with an axe, when the goddess sprang forth — fully armed, according to the later stories. Throwing aside the thick veil of anthropomorphism which concealS the significance of the myth, we may see in this account of Athene's parentage an effort to set forth a divine sym- bol of the combination of power and wisdom. Her father was the greatest, her mother the wisest of the gods. She is literally born of both, and so their qualities har- moniously blend in her. It is possible that the constant representation of her as a strictly maideu goddess, who had a real, and not a merely j^rmUsh antipathy to mar- riage, was meant to indicate that qualities like hers could not be mated, and that, because she was perfect, she was doomed to virginity.
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Athene is not represented, however, by the Greeks as a cold, unfeeling divinity; on the contrary, tradition •will have it that she warmly and actively interested herself in the affairs of both gods and men. She sat at the right hand of Zeus, assisting by her councils. She ■was regarded as the patroness of poetry and oratory ; agriculture also she was supposed to protect and cherish ; and as a warlike divinity she was regarded as the pro- tectress in battle of those heroes who were distinguish- ed as well for their wisdom as their valor. Tope, in his Temple of Fame, alludes to her twofold character as the patroness of arts and arms, where he says :
" There Ctesar, graced with both Miuervas, shone." In the Trojan war she fought for the Greeks — who, in point of fact, were in the right. The poets feigned that Ne])tune and Minerva disputed for the possession of Atti- ca, which the gods promised to him or her who should produce the most useful gift to mankind. Neptune, striking the earth with his trident, produced a war- horse, and Jlinerva produced the olive (the symbol of peace), by which she gained the victory. She was sometimes called Pallas, Parthenos (i. e. " virgin"), Tri- tonia or Tritogeneia, and other names.
Her worship was universal in Greece, and representa- tions of her in statues, busts, coins, reliefs, and vase paintings were and are numerous. She is always dress- ed, generally in a Spartan tunic with a cloak over it, and wears a helmet, beautifully adorned with figures of different animals, the a>gis, the round argolic shield, a lance, etc. Her countenance is beautiful, earnest, and thoughtful, and the whole figure majestic. There was a celebrated statue of Minerva, called " Palladium," which ■was said to liave fallen from the sky. and on which the safety of Troy dc]iended (Milman, Hist, of Chrisiianit;/, see Index). Sec G. Hermann, Distfei-tatio de Graca Mi- nerva (1837) ; Hartung, I)ie lielirjion der Rome}; ii, 78 sq.; Guigniaut, lielifjions de VAutiqnite; Smith, Dic- tionary of Greek and Romdn Jiini/raphy and Mythohxpj, s. V. ; VoUraer, Mythol. Worterbtich, s. v.; Bioyraphie Universclle (Partiemythologique); Chambers, iLHC^c/q/j. s. V.
Mingarelli, Fernando, an eminent Italian theo- logian, was born at Bologna in 1724, He fiourished as professor of theology at the University of JIalta for sev- eral years, Imjiaired health finally obliged his return to France. He died at Faenza Dec. 21, 1777. He was a member of the Academy of the Arcadians. ^linga- relli wrote several works; the most important are, Ve- tera monumenta ud classem liavennatem 7iiiper eruia (Faenza, 175G, 4to; notes of Mauro Fattorini and of IJi- anchi): — Veterum tcslimouia de Didymo Alexundrino cceco, ex quibus tres lihri de trinitate nuper detecli eidem asseruntur (IJomc, 17G4, 4to).
Mingarelli, Giovanni Lodovico, an eminent Italian bibliograiibcr, the older Inotlicr of tlie preceding, was liorn at liologna Feb. 27, 1 722. I le held successively the principal offices of the congregation of the regular canons of San Salvatore. Afterwards he was a profess- or of Greek literature at the College della Sapienza, at Eome. Mingarelli employed his hours of leisure in vis- iting the principal libraries of the great papal city, and published sf>me important works which he thus discov- ered. He died at Itomo ^[arch 0, 1793. We owe to him, as editor, the Amwttitioms li/ei\des in Psalmo.i of father JIarini (Hologna, 1748-i)0); he added new expla- nations of the Psalms, which arc included in the Koman liturgy, and a life of the author, the exactitude of which is praised Ijy Tiraboschi : — Veterum Pat rum Laiinorum opuscula numquam antehac edita (Hologna, 17.51) : — So- jyra v?i' opera inedita d'un aiilico leoloyo littera (Ven- ice, 17G3, 12mo; and in the Nuora Racrolta ('(dor/fraua, tom. xi). This is a treatise on the Trinity, whicli ^Min- garelli regards as the product of the 11th century, and he ascribes its authorship to Didynnis of Alexandria. There is an analysis of bis dissertation in the J<»irmtl dc Bouillon, Jan. 17GG : — ^■Eyyptionun rotlicum reliquiiv