Palladium

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.