Any statue of the goddess Pallas; esp., the famous statue on the preservation of which depended the safety of ancient Troy.

As a child Athena had a special girl friend named Pallas, with whom she used to play at war. During one of their skirmishes Athena inadvertently killed Pallas and to her memory she built a wooden statue of the girl. This statue was thrown down to earth by Zeus, where it became known as the Palladium, and became for the Trojans a talisman for their city; so long as they had possession of it, the city would stand. Thus the English palladium means a protection from harm for a people or state, a lucky charm.

originally a holy image of the goddess Athena; used for icons that have a special status as protectors of cities and towns.

A small wooden statue of Pallas Athene, the possession of which the Trojans believed would protect their city. After Odysseus stole it, Troy fell.

a cult figure of Pallas Athena , especially the one that wily Odysseus stole from the citadel of Troy , on which the city's security was believed to depend

A small statue of Pallas-Athena. Regarded as the guardian of the city of Rome.

According to the myth, when the goddess Athena was still a young girl, she was brought up in the house of the god Triton whose daughter, Pallas, was as equally talented as Athena in the art of war. During a fight between the two girls, Athena killed Pallas by accident in front of Zeus. The goddess, suffering the loss of her friend, used her considerable technical ability to build the famous Palladium (a wooden statue) in the likeness of her friend. She put it under her aegis (armor plate) and described its divine honors. In art it is normally noted as a statuette depicting the goddess Athena.

an ancient sacred image of Athena (Minerva).

In Greek and Roman mythology, a palladium was an image of immemorial antiquity on which the safety of a city was said to depend, especially the one that Odysseus and Diomedes stole from the citadel of Troy. It features in Graeco-Roman works such as the Aeneid.

The Palladium was a nightclub in New York City.