Polieus

"Protector of the city." A surname of Zeus, under which he had an altar on the acropolis at Athens. Upon this altar barley and wheat were strewed, which were consumed by the bull about to be sacrificed to the god. The priest who killed the victim, threw away the ax as soon as he had struck the fatal blow, and the ax was then brought before a court of justice.

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References

Sources

  • Pausanias. Description of Greece i, 24.4, 28.11.
  • Smith, William. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly.

This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain.