Dyer, Thomas Henry: Ancient Athens: Its history, topography, and remains (London, 1873)

CONTEST OF AT I TEN A AND POSEIDON.

29

seems to be the older one, the contending gods chose Cecrops for their
arbiter, who gave the victory to Athena.1 Another account makes
Cecrops only the witness of the strife, which, by the appointment of
Zeus, is determined by the twelve gods.2 St. Augustine gives a Euhe-
meristic version of the myth, taken from Varro.3 An olive suddenly
sprang up on the Acropolis, and near it appeared some sea water.
Cecrops having consulted the Delphic oracle on these portents, was
told that the olive signified Athena, the sea water Poseidon; and it
was for the citizens to decide after which deity their city should be
named. At that time the women took part in public affairs, and
having a majority of one, declared in favour of the goddess. Poseidon,
in his anger, flooded all Attica, which caused the women to be deprived
of the suffrage; and it was further ordained that women should not
bear their mothers' name, and that no woman should be called Athenaia.
A fable to be pondered by the advocates of the political rights of
women!

The sacred olive being of wild and fortuitous growth, was stunted
and crooked, and thence called iruyKv^o^} Yet an ever-blooming
vigour was attributed to it:

(TTfZpavov tKaias dpfptdTjKd aoi Tore,
rfv Trpwr 'AdTjva o"KoVfAoi> eloyvcyKaTO,
os, (imp etrrtv, OV7TOT* tic\enrei x\oT]vy
ddWfi 6° eXai'as «£ aKjjpuTOU -yf-yif.5

" A garland then I placed around thy head
From the first olive on Athena's rock;
Which, while it lasts, will never cease to bloom,
But flourish ever like its parent stem." •

And thus, after it had been burnt by the Persians when they captured
Athens, it is related that the priests only two days afterwards found
that it had thrown out a shoot a cubit long!6 From the victory
of Athena a chaplet of olive became the meed and ornament of
conquerors.



1 Apud schol. Horn. Iliad, xvii. 5't.

2 Apollod. iii. 14, 1.

3 Civ. Dei, xviii. f).

4 Ilesych. in voc. and in duTt\.
6 Eurip. Ion, 1433, sqq.
« Herod, viii. 55.