Alalcomeneis was an epithet of the Greek goddess

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

 Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...

, the origin of which was subject to several theories. Some derived it from the name of the hero Alalcomenes

Alalcomenes

Alalcomenes was in Greek mythology a Boeotian autochthon, who was believed to have given the name to the Boeotian town of Alalcomenae. He was also said to have brought up Athena , who was in some traditions said to have been born in that town, and to have been the first who introduced her worship...

, or from the Boeotia

Boeotia

Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...

n village of Alalcomenae

Alalcomenae

- Alalcomenae, Boeotia :Now called Alalkomenes or Alalkomeni, Alalcomenae in Boeotia was on the south-west bank of Lake Copais, west of Haliartus , before the lake was drained. Stephanus of Byzantium refers to the town by the name Alalkomenion....

, where in some traditions she was said to have been born. In or near that town there was a temple of Athena Alalcomeneis that was plundered by the Roman general Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...

 in the early 1st century BC. After he removed the temple's main icon, an ivory statue of the goddess, the place fell into disuse and disrepair. In the early 19th century, William Martin Leake

William Martin Leake

William Martin Leake, FRS , British antiquarian and topographer, was born in London.After completing his education at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and spending four years in the West Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery, he was sent by the government to Constantinople to instruct the...

claimed ruins of the temple could still be seen.

Others derive the name from the Greek verb alalkein so that it would signify the "powerful defender".