The
aegis or
aigis (; English pronunciation: ), as stated in the
Iliad, is carried by
Athena and
Zeus, but its nature is uncertain. It had been interpreted as an animal skin or a
shield, sometimes bearing the head of a
Gorgon. There may be a connection with a deity named
Aex or Aix, a daughter of
Helios and a nurse of Zeus or alternatively a mistress of Zeus (
Hyginus,
Astronomica 2. 13). The aegis of Athena is referred to in several places in the
Iliad. "It produced a sound as from a myriad roaring dragons (
Iliad, 4.17) and was borne by Athena in battle ... and among them went bright-eyed Athene, holding the precious aegis which is ageless and immortal: a hundred tassels of pure gold hang fluttering from it, tight-woven each of them, and each the worth of a hundred oxen."
