Pallas (daughter of Triton) Pallas (daughter of Triton) In Greek mythology, Pallas (/ˈpæləs/; Ancient Greek: Παλλάς) was the daughter of Triton, son of Poseidon and messenger of the seas. After Athena was born fully armed from Zeus' forehead, Triton acting as a foster parent to the goddess raised her alongside his own daughter, Pallas. The sea god taught both girls the arts of war. During an athletics festival, Pallas and Athena fought with spears in a friendly mock battle, where the victor would be whoever managed to disarm her opponent. At the beginning of the fight, Athena got the upper hand, until Pallas took
Poseidon Burkert noted; "the myth turns this into a temporal-causal sequence: in his anger at losing, Poseidon led his son Eumolpus against Athens and killed Erectheus." The contest of Athena and Poseidon was the subject of the reliefs on the western pediment of the Parthenon, the first sight that greeted the arriving visitor. This myth is construed by Robert Graves and others as reflecting a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. Athens at its height was a significant sea power, at one point defeating the Persian fleet at Salamis Island in a sea battle. Poseidon and Apollo,