Aegis
e'jis, the shield of Jupiter. Among ancient writers the word sometimes designates the rushing stormcloud, enveloping the thunderbolt which was Jupiter's special weapon. Others apply the word to the skin of the goat, Amalthea, which Zeus used as defensive armor in his war with the Titans. Later writers regard the aegis both as a buckler and as a breastplate. In ancient art it frequently appears as a sort of mantle fringed with serpents, worn over the breast or left arm to serve as a defense in time of need. Jupiter permitted both Apollo and Minerva to wear the aegis. The word aegis is used figuratively for any protective power or influence. In the Iliad, Homer (Bryant's translation) describes Minerva prepared for conflict:
Her shoulder bore
The dreadful aegis, with its shaggy brim
Bordered with Terror. There was Strife, and there
Was Fortitude, and there was fierce Pursuit,
And there the Gorgon's head, a ghastly sight,
Deformed and dreadful, and a sign of woe
When borne by Jupiter.
The dreadful aegis, with its shaggy brim
Bordered with Terror. There was Strife, and there
Was Fortitude, and there was fierce Pursuit,
And there the Gorgon's head, a ghastly sight,
Deformed and dreadful, and a sign of woe
When borne by Jupiter.
Volume I · Aiton’s Encyclopedia