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Alea (Ancient Greek:Ἀλέα) was anepithet of theGreek goddessAthena, prominent inArcadian mythology, under which she was worshiped atAlea,Mantineia andTegea.[1][2] Alea was initially an independent goddess, but was eventually assimilated with Athena.[3] A statue of Athena Alea existed on the road fromSparta toTherapne.[4] Her most important sanctuary was the famousTemple of Athena Alea at Tegea.
Alea was a local deity in easternArcadia, who later became associated with, and an epithet ofAthena as Athena Alea.[5] Other known cults of Alea, alongside Athena, are also found in other nearby locations, such as Mantinea and in Sparta.[6][7] Additionally, a small city-state in eastern Arcadia was also calledAlea. Evidence from the Classical period points towards the use of Athena and Alea in conjunction with each other; for example, the fifth century historianHerodotus mentions the Temple of Alea Athena twice,[8] whilst Tegean coins from the fourth century refer to Athena Alea instead. This provides support that the two goddesses were spoken about in conjunction. But, as McInerny highlights, this may be an oversimplification of a complex issue.[9] Instead, he proposes to look towards the account of thesecond century CE geographerPausanias who provides more details on the issue of the synchronization of the two goddesses.
Pausanias provides two hints to the survival of the goddess Alea in hisDescription of Greece: first, when discussing Athena in the Peloponnese, he states that the local practice of calling her Alea has prevailed in Tegea;[10] second, he mentions a local festival called the Aleaia,[11] indicating a festival in the honour of Alea rather than Athena. Therefore, the synchronization between the two goddesses illustrates a process of unifying two important goddess whilst maintaining some local distinctions, rather than an Olympian goddess usurping a local deity.[12]
In addition to the synchronised Athena Alea, we have a literary record of a Hera Alea in the Ancient Greek city-state ofSicyon. This comes from a scholium toPindar'Nemean Ode 9,[13] providing further evidence of Alea's ability to spread to regions near Tegea.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Alea".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.