Order of the Shining Helmet of Pallas Athena
By Olivia Robertson
Lady Liberty Ad Infinitum:
The Palladium Mystery
One of the holiest secrets of the classical world was the Palladium Mystery. This sacred object was the icon of the Trojans. My brother Lawrence Durdin-Robertson believed that this was a figure of the Goddess. Possession of the Palladium ensured safety of the town of Troy – or of any other city/state that possessed it.
By a cunning ruse, the hero Odysseus brought about the destruction of Troy, when it was besieged by the Greeks; to rescue their Queen of Sparta, Daughter of Zeus, Helen. Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar and obtained an interview with Helen. She provided him with the knowledge of the Sacred Shrine, so that he could steal the Palladium. After all, his father, King of Ithaca, had been a thief!
When Troy fell in flames, the history of the Palladium becomes magical. The Goddess Venus manifested to the son of the King of Troy, Priam, and through this young man, to his cousin, Anchises, who became the lover of the Goddess Aphrodite.
The union of the Goddess Aphrodite and the Trojan prince Anchises brought to birth Aeneas. Although Aeneas was Greek, he was believed to be an ancestor of Romulus and Remus, thus becoming one of the earliest heroes of Rome, where his mother Aphrodite was known as Venus.
The Greeks called the Goddess icon the Palladium, because their Goddess of counsel and protection during war, thus a Goddess of wisdom, Pallas Athena, had inspired Odysseus to win the icon and the war. However Aphrodite managed to get hold of the Palladium and gave it to her son Aeneas. While in the possession of the Greeks, their country flourished. Later the power of the Palladium passed to Rome, where in their capital city it was guarded, presumably, by the College of Vestals.
But, what did this figure, this mystical Palladium, look like? I believe that is was Cretan in origin, and was honoured there as the Snake Goddess. When Crete fell, Theseus brought the statue to Greece when he founded Athens. He flaunted a copy as Pallas Athena, in the Parthenon, overlooking the sea, the flames of Her temple a lighthouse shining over the water, with the small figure of Nike, Goddess of Victory, held in her hand – a replica of Herself. The sculpture was not Greek but Cretan in style.
What further adventures had the Goddess figure encountered? Was She also Britannia ruling the waves, with Her trident, as some have suggested? I was in a quandary, so, I went to the Goddess for answers! In the Temple of Isis, there is a dark mirror, dedicated to Athena as the Mourning Goddess. It is here I sometimes go to meditate for answers. And it was here, that a strange realization came – the Palladium is a fractal. I had earlier learned about fractals while studying crop circles with my niece Anna and by use of mirror magic in the temple. Images of the Goddess could be mirrored back and forth across the temple ad infinitum. This was the secret of the Palladium! She holds a tiny replica of Herself not only in Her Hand, but within Herself! This can be repeated to the subatomic levels and beyond, as the figure of the Goddess expands into infinity.
Thus Athena is held in the invisible mighty arms of Nike, Goddess of Victory. So we are shown in sculpted form the ascent and descent of the Goddess through all spheres. The same phenomena is shown in trees, snow crystals, the spirals of the spheres repeated in infinity, greater to the lesser, etc.
My birthday is on April 13th, Festival of the Goddess Libertas. The Panathenaea, or Athenaea, celebration of the Athenian Goddess used to be celebrated on the 21st of March, the Vernal Equinox. Her triple manifestation of Power, Wisdom and Bringer of Olive Branches of Peace and Plenty are in contrast to the Patriarchal attributes of the God of War, who presides over wars, Aries.
Why did the French donate a new presentation of the Goddess Pallas Athena to preside over the harbour of New York as once She did over Athens, Her sacred flame seen for miles out to the sea, as does the Statue of Liberty? Why give the United States the Palladium? Possibly because they have the mystical Palladium of the Magdalene in Rennes le Chateau, still sought for, still hidden.
Why is this fractal presented as a Woman: Because only woman can hold a replica of herself within her own body, her womb. By way of another example, I look to my Russian Easter doll or nesting doll, that holds replicas of herself, a true folk recognition of the Mysteries of Rebirth.
Note: Received from Laura Janesdaughter on behalf of Olivia Robertson, August, 2007, previously unpublished.
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