"Ægis" has entered modern English to mean a shield, protection, or sponsorship, originally from the name of the mythological protective shield of Zeus. The name has been extended to many other entities, and the concept of a protective shield is found in other mythologies, while its form varies across sources. Aegis can refer to: Aegis, the shield of the Greek god Zeus, or a shield-shaped ancient Egyptian amulet Aegis combat system, a US naval missile guidance system Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, a US missile defense system Aegis Defence Services, a United Kingdom-based security services company Aegis-class... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ...

The concept of doing something "under someone's ægis" means doing something under protection of a powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent source. The word ægis is identified with protection by a strong force with its roots in Classical mythology, specifically Greek myth adopted by the Romans; there are parallels in Norse mythology, and in Egyptian, where the Greek word aegis is applied by extension.

In Greek mythology

Closeup of a plaster cast of a Roman sculpture of Athena wearing the Aegis, Classics Department, Jesus College, Cambridge University.

The ægis (Greek Αιγίς), already attested in the Iliad, is the shield or buckler of Zeus, which according to Homer was fashioned for him by Hephaestus, furnished with golden tassels and bearing the Gorgoneion (Medusa's head) in the central boss. The Attic vase-painters retained an archaic tradition that the tassels had originally been serpents in their representations of the ægis. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 2. ... title page of the Rihel edition of ca. ... A shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. ... A buckler (French bouclier shield, from old French bocle, boucle boss) is a small shield gripped in the fist -- it was generally used in hand-to-hand combat during the Middle Ages, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons (e. ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Apotropaic magic is a ritual observance that is intended to turn away evil. ... Medusa, by Arnold Böcklin (1878) In Greek mythology, Medusa (Greek: Μέδουσα, guardian, protectress[1]) was a monstrous chthonic female character, essentially an extension of an apotropaic mask, gazing upon whom could turn onlookers to stone. ... For other uses, see Serpent (disambiguation). ...

When the Olympian shakes the ægis, Mount Ida is wrapped in clouds, the thunder rolls and men are struck down with fear. "Ægis-bearing Zeus", as he is in the Iliad, sometimes lends it to Athena and also to Apollo, although rarely. In the Iliad Zeus sends Apollo to revive the wounded Hector of Troy and, holding the ægis, Apollo charges the Achaeans, pushing them back to their ships drawn up on the shore. According to Edith Hamilton's Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes ^[1], the Aegis is Zeus' breastplate, and was "awful to behold." Two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida in Greek mythology, equally named Mount of the Goddess. ... For other uses, see Athena (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Apollo (disambiguation). ... Hector brought back to Troy. ... Edith Hamilton (August 12, 1867 - May 31, 1963) was a classicist and educator before she became a writer on mythology. ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ... This can also refer to a piece of riding equipment, see Breastplate (tack). ...

Locating the aegis

Later Greeks always detected that there was something alien and uncanny about the aegis. It was supposed by Euripides (Ion, 995) that the Gorgon was the original possessor of this goatskin,^[2] yet the usual understanding is that the Gorgoneion was added to the aegis, a votive gift from a grateful Perseus. A statue of Euripides. ... This article is about the Greek mythological monster. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, and was the hero who killed Medusa. ...

There is also the origin myth that represents the ægis as a fire-breathing chthonic monster like the Chimera, which was slain and flayed by Athena, who afterwards wore its skin as a cuirass (Diodorus Siculus iii. 70). Chimera from Arezzo. ... For other uses, see Athena (disambiguation). ... This article is devoted to the type of armour known as a cuirass. ... Diodorus Siculus (c. ...

Still others say it was the skin of the monstrous giant Pallas whom Athena overcame and whose name she attached to her own (John Tzetzes, On Lycophron, 355). For other meanings of Pallas, see Pallas (disambiguation). ... John Tzetzes, was a Byzantine poet and grammarian, known to have lived at Constantinople during the 12th century. ...

In a late rendering by Hyginus, (Poetical Astronomy ii. 13) Zeus is said to have used the skin of the goat Amalthea (aigis "goat-skin") which suckled him in Crete, as a shield when he went forth to do battle against the titans. Gaius Julius Hyginus, (c. ... This article is about the domestic species. ... Infancy of Zeus by Jacob Jordaens, c. ... For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... This article is about the race of Titans in Greek mythology. ...

Herodotus (Histories iv.189) thought he had identified the source of the ægis in Libya, which was always a distant territory of ancient magic for the Greeks: Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: HÄ“rodotos Halikarnāsseus) was a Greek historian from Ionia who lived in the 5th century BC (ca. ...

Athene's garments and ægis were borrowed by the Greeks from the Libyan women, who are dressed in exactly the same way, except that their leather garments are fringed with thongs, not serpents.

Robert Graves in The Greek Myths (1955; 1960) asserts that the ægis in its Libyan sense had been a shamanic pouch containing various ritual objects, bearing the device of a monstrous serpent-haired visage with tusk-like teeth and a protruding tongue which was meant to frighten away the uninitiated. In this context, Graves identifies the aegis as clearly belonging first to Athena. Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, scholar, and novelist. ...

Another version^{[citation needed]} describes it to have been really the goat's skin used as a belt to support the shield. When so used it would generally be fastened on the right shoulder, and would partially envelop the chest as it passed obliquely round in front and behind to be attached to the shield under the left arm. Hence, by metonymy, it would be employed to denote at times the shield which it supported, and at other times a cuirass, the purpose of which it in part served. In accordance with this double meaning, the ægis appears in works of art sometimes as an animal's skin thrown over the shoulders and arms, and sometimes as a cuirass, with a border of snakes corresponding to the tassels of Homer, usually with the Gorgon's head, the gorgoneion, in the centre. It is often represented on the statues of Roman emperors, heroes, and warriors, and on cameos and vases. In rhetoric, metonymy is the substitution of one word for another word with which it is associated. ... This article is devoted to the type of armour known as a cuirass. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

The current modern interpretation is that the Hittite sacral hieratic hunting bag (kursas), a rough and shaggy goatskin that has been firmly established in literary texts and iconography by H.G. Güterbock,^[3] is the most likely source of the aegis.^[4]. Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people from KaneÅ¡ who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite...

Etymology

Greek Αιγις has 3 meanings:-

1. "violent windstorm", from the verb 'αïσσω (stem 'αïγ-) = "I rush or move violently".
2. The gods' shield as described above.
3. "goatskin coat", from treating the word as "something grammatically feminine pertaining to goat (Greek αιξ (stem αιγ-))".

The original meaning may have been #1, and Ζευς 'Αιγιοχος = "Zeus who holds the aegis" may have originally meant "Sky/Heaven, who holds the storm". The transition to the meaning "shield" may have come by folk-etymology among a people familiar with draping an animal skin over the left arm as a shield. This article is in need of attention. ... This article is about the domestic species. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Folk etymology is a term used in two distinct ways: A commonly held misunderstanding of the origin of a particular word, a false etymology. ...

In Egyptian mythology

The ægis also appears in Egyptian mythology. The goddess Bast was sometimes depicted holding a ceremonial sistrum in one hand and an ægis in the other -- the ægis usually resembling a collar or gorget embellished with a lion's head. Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... In Egyptian mythology, Bast (also spelt Ubasti, and Pasht) is an ancient goddess, worshipped at least since the Second Dynasty, for whom the centre of her cult was in Per-Bast (Bubastis in greek), which was named after her. ... -1... Sir Philip Sidney wears a gorget for a portrait A gorget is a type of armor designed to protect the neck. ...

In Norse mythology

In Norse Mythology, the dwarf Fafnir (best known in the form of a dragon slain by Sigurðr) bears on his forehead the Ægis-helm (ON ægishjálmr), or Ægir's helmet (However, some versions would say that Alberich was the one holding a helm, which are named as Tornkape, and has the power to make the user invisible, also the fat of fafnir makes the skin of siegfreud hard as an armor, except on one point). It may be an actual helmet or a magical sign with a rather poetic name. Ægir is an unrelated Old Norse word meaning "terror" and the name of a destructive giant associated with the sea. "Ægis" is the genitive (possessive) form of ægir and has no relation to the Greek word aigis. Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... Fáfnir guards the gold hoard in this illustration by Arthur Rackham to Richard Wagners Siegfried. ... The genitive case is a grammatical case that indicates a relationship, primarily one of possession, between the noun in the genitive case and another noun. ...

In Popular Culture

Ægis is the pinnacle of shields available in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, it features an image of Medusa on the battle face. The player Zizka of Cerberus has one of the only obtained. Final Fantasy XI ), also known as Final Fantasy XI: Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) as a part of the Final Fantasy video game series. ...

Notes