Editing Athena (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:Akropolis by Leo von Klenze.jpg|thumb|''The Acropolis at Athens'' (1846) by [[Leo von Klenze]]. Athena's name probably comes from the name of the city of [[Athens]].{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=139}}{{sfn|Ruck|Staples|1994|page=24}}]]

Athena is associated with the city of [[Athens]].{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=139}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=230}} The name of the city in ancient Greek is {{Lang|grc|Ἀθῆναι}} ({{Lang|grc-Latn|Athȇnai}}), a plural [[toponym]], designating the place where—according to myth—she presided over the ''Athenai'', a sisterhood devoted to her worship.{{sfn|Ruck|Staples|1994|page=24}} In ancient times, scholars argued whether Athena was named after Athens or Athens after Athena.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=139}} Now scholars generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city;{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=139}}{{sfn|Powell|2012|page=230}} the ending -''ene'' is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=139}} Testimonies from different cities in [[ancient Greece]] attest that similar [[city goddess]]es were worshipped in other cities{{sfn|Ruck|Staples|1994|page=24}} and, like Athena, took their names from the cities where they were worshipped.{{sfn|Ruck|Staples|1994|page=24}} For example, in [[Mycenae]] there was a goddess called Mykene, whose sisterhood was known as ''Mykenai'',{{sfn|Ruck|Staples|1994|page=24}} whereas at [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]] an analogous deity was called Thebe, and the city was known under the plural form ''Thebai'' (or Thebes, in English, where the 's' is the plural formation).{{sfn|Ruck|Staples|1994|page=24}} The name ''Athenai'' is likely of [[Pre-Greek]] origin because it contains the presumably Pre-Greek [[morpheme]] ''*-ān-''.{{sfn|Beekes|2009|page=29}}

In his dialogue ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'', the ancient Greek philosopher [[Plato]] (428–347 BC) gives some rather imaginative etymologies of Athena's name, based on the theories of the ancient Athenians and his etymological speculations:

{{blockquote|That is a graver matter, and there, my friend, the modern interpreters of Homer may, I think, assist in explaining the view of the ancients. Most of these in their explanations of the poet, assert that he meant by Athena "mind" [{{lang|grc|νοῦς}}, ''[[Nous|noũs]]''] and "intelligence" [{{lang|grc|διάνοια}}, ''[[diánoia]]''], and the maker of names appears to have had a singular notion about her; and indeed calls her by a still higher title, "divine intelligence" [{{lang|grc|θεοῦ νόησις}}, ''theoũ nóēsis''], as though he would say: This is she who has the mind of God [{{lang|grc|ἁ θεονόα}}, ''a theonóa'']. Perhaps, however, the name Theonoe may mean "she who knows divine things" [{{lang|grc|τὰ θεῖα νοοῦσα}}, ''ta theia noousa''] better than others. Nor shall we be far wrong in supposing that the author of it wished to identify this Goddess with moral intelligence [{{lang|grc|εν έθει νόεσιν}}, ''en éthei nóesin''], and therefore gave her the name Etheonoe; which, however, either he or his successors have altered into what they thought a nicer form, and called her Athena.|author=Plato|title=Cratylus ''407b''}}

Thus, Plato believed that Athena's name was derived from Greek {{lang|grc|Ἀθεονόα}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|Atheonóa}}—which the later Greeks rationalised as from the deity's ({{Lang|grc|θεός}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|theós}}) mind ({{Lang|grc|νοῦς}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|noũs}}). The second-century AD orator [[Aelius Aristides]] attempted to derive natural symbols from the etymological roots of Athena's names to be ''[[Aether (classical element)|aether]]'', ''air'', ''earth'', and ''moon''.{{sfn|Johrens|1981|pages=438–452}}