Aeneas rescued the Palladium, the sacred image of Athena, from burning Troy and carried it to Italy, where it became a talisman of Roman power.
⚠ The Greek tradition (Little Iliad, Apollodorus) attributes the theft of the Palladium to Diomedes and Odysseus. Roman sources claim Aeneas rescued it or that Diomedes returned it.
The Palladium, a sacred wooden image of Minerva said to have fallen from heaven, protected Troy and later Rome. It was kept in the Temple of Vesta as a guarantee of Roman power.
The Palladium, the sacred image of Minerva brought from Troy by Aeneas, was kept in the innermost sanctuary of Vesta's temple under the Vestal Virgins' care.
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