After Athena was born fully armed from Zeus' forehead, Triton, son of Poseidon and messenger of the seas, became foster parent to the goddess and raised her alongside his own daughter, Pallas.
During an athletics festival, Pallas and Athena fought with spears in a friendly mock battle in which the victor would be whoever managed to disarm her opponent.
Before she could win, Zeus, who was in attendance, fearing to see his own daughter lose, distracted Pallas with the Aegis, which she had once shown interest in.
Out of sadness and regret, Athena created the palladium, a statue in the likeness of Pallas, and wrapped the aegis, which she had feared, about the breast of it, and set it up beside Zeus and honored it.
Before the girls are set fighting, the whole people choose the fairest maid, and arm her with a Corinthian helmet and Greek panoply, to be then mounted on a chariot and drawn all along the lake shore.