Athena in Plato's Cratylus
Hermogenes: Very well; what shall we say of Demeter, Hera, Apollo, Athena, Hephaestus, Ares, and the other Gods?
Socrates: Demeter appears to have been called Demeter, because she gives the gift of food like a mother (mêtêr), [404c] and Hera is the lovely one (eratê), for Zeus , according to tradition, married her for love.
But perhaps the lawgiver had natural phenomena in mind, and called her Hera (Hêra) as a disguise for air (aêr), putting the end in the place of the beginning. You will recognize the truth of this if you repeat the name Hera over and over.
People dread the name of Pherephatta as they dread the name of Apollo! I imagine it is because they do not know about the nature of names.
You see they change the name to Phersephone and its aspect frightens them. But really the name indicates that the Goddess is wise (sophe); for seeing that all things in the world are in motion (pheromenon), that principle which embraces and touches and is able to follow them, is wisdom.
And therefore the Goddess may be truly called Pherepaphe (Pherepapha), or some name like it, because she touches that which is in motion (tou pheromenon ephaptomene), herein showing her wisdom.
And Hades, who is wise, consorts with her, because she is wise. They alter her name into Pherephatta now-a-days, because the present generation care for euphony more than truth.
Hermogenes: Still there remains Athena, whom you, Socrates, as an Athenian, will surely not forget; there are also Hephaestus and Ares.
Socrates: I am not likely to forget them.
Hermogenes: No, indeed.
Socrates: There is no difficulty in explaining the other appellation of Athena.
Hermogenes: What other appellation?
Socrates: We call her Pallas, you know.
Hermogenes: Yes, of course.
Socrates: Those of us are right, I fancy, [406e] who think this name is derived from armed dances. For the elevation of oneself or anything else above the earth, or by the use of the hands, we call shaking (pallein), or dancing.
Hermogenes: Yes, certainly.
Socrates: So that is the reason she is called Pallas.
Plato Cratylus 407a and 407b (Loeb)
Hermogenes: And rightly called so. But what can you say of her other name?
Socrates: You mean Athena?
Hermogenes: Yes.
Socrates: That is a graver matter, my friend. The ancients seem to have had the same belief about Athena as the interpreters of Homer have now; [407b] for most of these, in commenting on the poet, say that he represents Athena as mind (nous) and intellect (dianoia); and the maker of names seems to have had a similar conception of her, and indeed he gives her the still higher title of "divine intelligence" (hê theou noêsis), seeming to say:
This is she who has the mind of God (Theonoa)
here he used the alpha as a dialectical variety for eta, and dropped out the iota and sigma. (There seems to be some error in the MSS. The meaning is that the word theonoa = theounoa is a curtailed form of theou noesis, but the omitted letters do not agree. B. Jowett)
But perhaps, however, the name Theonoe may mean 'she who knows divine things' (Theia noousa) better than others.
Nor shall we be far wrong in supposing that the author of it wished to identify the Goddess with wisdom of character (en êthei noêsis) [407c] by calling her Ethonoe; and then he himself or others afterwards improved the name, as they thought, and called her Athena.
Socrates: The word blaberon is that which is said to hinder or harm (blaptein) the stream (roun); [417e] but blapton means "seeking to hold or bind" (haptein), and haptein is the same thing as dein (bind), and dein is always a term of censure. Now to boulomenon haptein rhoun (wanting to bind the stream) would most correctly be called boulapteroun, but is called blaberon merely, as I think, to make it prettier.
Hermogenes: You bring out curious results, Socrates, in the use of names. Just now, [418a] when you pronounced boulapteroun, you looked as if you had made up your mouth to whistle the flute-prelude of the hymn to Athena.
Socrates: That is the fault of the makers of the name, Hermogenes; not mine.
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