aegis

noun

1. (Greek, Roman)A mythological shield associated with the Greek deities Zeus and Athena (and their Roman counterparts Jupiter and Minerva) shown as a short cloak made of goatskin worn on the shoulders, more as an emblem of power and protection than a military shield. The aegis of Athena or Minerva is usually shown with a border of snakes and with the head of Medusa in the center.

   “Herodotus, as proof of this origin of Minerva, says, that the Greeks had taken from the Libyan women, the dress and the ægis with which her statues were represented: this dress was of leather: the ægis, as its name implies, was simply a goatskin died red and worn over the shoulders like a mantle: the extremity of it was cut into shreds or tassels, which the lively fancy of the Grecian artists converted into serpents.”

   “In her right hand Minerva bore a beaming lance, and in her left a buckler, called the Egis. The Egis of Minerva had embossed upon it the head of Medusa.”

   “Cattle grazed where now is the Forum Romanum, and the Capitol, now glittering with gold, was covered then with brambles; nevertheless a god already dwelt there, even Jupiter himself, whose right hand had oft been seen to shake the aegis and summon the storm-clouds.”

2. (figuratively)Guidance, protection; endorsement, sponsorship.

   “under the aegis”

   “[T]hree ex-Secretaries of State for War had learnt their military theory under the ægis of Regular soldiers. Now it is an admitted fact that, broad-minded and enterprising as soldiers have frequently proved themselves in matters unconnected with the actual corporate body to which they belong, they are, nevertheless, perhaps the most obstinate and optimistic advocates of a laissez-faire policy, which the interests of their own profession are at issue, that it is at all possible to conceive.”

   “The original designs were drawn up under the aegis of Mr. O. V. S. Bulleid, then Chief Mechanical Engineer.”

   “Under the aegis of France a group of buffer states would be born. Austria would cede Venetia to Italy and receive Silesia from Prussia. France had only to promise Austria her neutrality and to keep Italy on its leash.”

   “It is a reminder. It is a psychological aegis, a soul-slap, a permanent piece of tangible everpresent everprofound artwork meant to speak to the wearer and say things like: You don't always have to make toast.”

name

1. (abbreviation, acronym, alt-of)Acronym of Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science.