Palladium

Palladium, anything which ensures (or is supposed to ensure) safety, the stock instance being the English institution of trial by jury, which is called the palladium of liberty, of the Constitution, etc.; originally an image of the goddess Pallas (Athene), or of Pallas, daughter of Triton, which ensured safety to Troy until Ulysses stole it; then any image or object regarded as a "luck." Possession of the Trojan Palladium was claimed by Athens, Argos, Rome, and other cities.