“Most of the monuments in Italy are under the auspices of UNESCO.” Having met in the text or having heard such a phrase, a person thinks. He begs the question, what is aegis? This word has several meanings. It came from the ancient Greek aegis, which means "wearing a goat skin." The meaning of this term is rooted in the myths of ancient Greece. What is aegis and its meanings will be described in the proposed essay.
Dictionary word
In order to find out the meaning of the word “aegis”, you must first turn to the explanatory dictionary. It says the following:
- A cape made of goat skin in ancient Greek myths, which belonged to Zeus and had magical protective properties. One of the epithets of Zeus is Aegioch, that is, "wearing auspices."
- The satellite of the triple asteroid Minerva, which was discovered in 1867 by astronomer D. Watson. Minerva - the goddess of wisdom among the Romans, corresponding to the Greek Athena, her attribute was also a shield with Medusa Gorgon.
- A shield created by the god Hephaestus, possessing special qualities.
- The figurative meaning is patronage, support, protection from someone else.
As mentioned earlier, the term “aegis” is directly related to ancient Greek myths and goat skin. Where did this goat come from? Consider one of the myths in more detail.
Divine animal
As we found out earlier, aegis is a goatskin cloak with magical properties. Ancient Greek myths as follows explain the connection of this subject with the supreme god Olympus.
The fact is that on the island of Crete, Zeus was fed by Amalfei - a divine goat. Literally, her name translates as "gentle goddess." The mother of the gods of Olympus Ray hid the very small Zeus from his own father - Kronos, who, as you know, ate his children. Thanks to the divine goat Amalfei, the future thunder god was saved.
Hephaestus shield
Considering what aegis is, one should turn to the legend, which says that after the goat died, the god of fire and the magnificent blacksmith Hephaestus created a shield from her skin. Thanks to its magical properties, it turned out to be indestructible and became an excellent defense for Zeus when he fought with the titans.
In addition to its magnificent protective qualities, this shield terrified those who dared to look at it. And on it was attached the head of the Medusa Gorgon. As you know, anyone who looked at her immediately turned into stone. As mentioned in myths, Zeus metal with one hand lightning, and the other held a shield, plunging his enemies in horror.
Another version says that this magic shield was made by the goddess Athena from the skin of a monster, whom the goddess of the land Gaia gave birth to. And the goat skin was worn as an element of clothing with incredible protective properties.
Figurative sense
Continuing to study what aegis is, it is necessary to recall the figurative meaning of this word. In meaning, it is indirectly associated with ancient Greek myths, as it means protection. To be under the auspices means to have the support or patronage of an influential and powerful organization or institution.
Quite often, bar associations call “Aegis”, thereby they see their activities as protection against injustice and abuse of power. Here are some examples of the use of this term in a figurative sense.
- In this part of the city there are many architectural monuments that are under the auspices of UNESCO.
- The press service of the tournament organizers announced that football competitions will be held under the auspices of FIFA.
- Journalists became aware that the new film festival will be held under the auspices of the International Film Academy.
Having studied what “aegis” means, we see how ancient Greek myths are in one way or another connected with the present. It is surprising that the words that we use now appeared several millennia ago, however, even at this moment of time they are extremely relevant.