Post by lorifiya on Jan 3, 2012 22:57:15 GMT -5
In Greek mythology, Athena, the shrewd companion of heroes, became the goddess of wisdom, as philosophy became applied to cult in the later fifth century. She remained the patroness of weaving, crafts and the more disciplined side of war. Athena's wisdom also includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of such figures as Odysseus. She is attended by an owl, and is often accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. Wearing a goatskin breastplate called the Aegis given to her by her father, Zeus, she is often shown helmeted and with a shield bearing the Gorgon Medusa's head, a votive gift of Perseus.
Athena is an armed warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus. In classical myth she never had a consort or lover, and thus was often known as Athena Parthenos ("Athena the virgin"), hence her most famous temple, the Parthenon, on the Acropolis in Athens. In a remnant of archaic myth, she was the mother of Erichthonius by an attempted rape, which failed.
In her role as a protector of the city, Athena was worshiped throughout the Greek world as Athena Polias ("Athena of the city"). She had a special relationship with Athens, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city.
Mythology
Birth of Athena, Daughter of Zeus
Athena is most commonly described as the daughter of Zeus. It is also often implied that she is his first-born child, which accords her special status: the weapons for which she is so famous are weapons she and he share exclusively, including the thunderbolt.
The Olympian Version
In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead after he swallowed her mother, Metis.The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with her, Zeus "put her away inside his own belly;" he "swallowed her down of a sudden," He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. When it came time, Zeus was in great pain; Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes or Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe, the labrys. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed with a shout, "and pealed to the broad sky her clarion cry of war. And Ouranos trembled to hear, and Mother Gaia" {Pindar, Seventh Olympian Ode).
Hera was so annoyed at Zeus producing a child apparently on his own that she caused herself to conceive and bear Hephaestus by herself. Metis never bore any more children, and Zeus persisted as supreme ruler of Mount Olympus.
Other Origin Tales
Fragments attributed by the Christian Eusebius of Caesarea to the semi-legendary Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon, which Eusebius thought had been written before the Trojan war, make Athena instead the daughter of Cronus, a king of Byblos who is said to have visited 'the inhabitable world' and bequeathed Attica to Athena.
The Parthenon at Athens is her most famous shrine.
Pallas Athens
In Greek mythology, Pallas was an epithet for Athena. There are, however, several Pallades (feminine plural) and Pallantes (masculine plural).
Pallas was the playmate of Athena, a daughter of the god Triton (or Tritonis), her foster-father. One day, while Pallas and Athena were sparring, Zeus appeared between them with the aegis and Pallas, in her fear, forgot to parry a blow from Athena. She was killed and Athena mourned her by becoming "Pallas Athena". She also carved from a tree trunk a statue of Pallas, the Palladium, which she left with Zeus. Later Electra, whom Zeus seduced, took refuge behind this palladium; Zeus tossed it away and it fell on the land of Ilium (Troy), where Ilus had a temple built for it.
Pallas was also a Titan, son of Crius and Eurybia, husband of Styx. He was the father of Zelus, Nike, Cratos, and Bia (and sometimes, Eos or Selene). This Pallas was the god of wisdom. Aeson or Aethon was the name of his horse.
An archaic winged god is also named Pallas, with wings attached either to the ankles or to his back, like the archaic winged goddesses. He was, according to one tradition, the father of Pallas Athena and tried to rape her. She killed him and tore his skin off to make the Aegis.
Yet another Pallas, a goatish Giant, confronted Athena during the Gigantomachy; she killed him and also turned his skin into the aegis.
The last Pallas is the son of Lycaon and founder of the Arcadian town of Pallantion. He was the teacher of Athena, yet also the father of Nike and Chryse, two manifestations of Athena. The incest motif appears yet again, in the form of a consummated marriage between her and her teacher.
History
Athena has no Greek etymology, and probably was already a goddess in the Aegean before the coming of the Greeks, although her name is not attested in Eteocretan. She has been compared to Anatolian mother goddesses like Cybele, her name possibly of Lydian origin (G. Neumann, Kadmos 6, 1967), and her byname Pallas has been compared to Hittite palahh, a divine raiment.
In Mycenaean Greek, A-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja /Athana potniya/ (Mistress Athena) is referred to in the Knossos Linear B text V 2. and A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja /Athana diwya/, the final part being the Linear B spelling of what we know from ancient Greek as Diwia (Mycenaean di-u-ja or di-wi-ja) "divine" (see dyeus). There is evidence that in early times, Athena was an owl herself, or a bird goddess in general. In book 3 of the Odyssey, she takes the form of a sea-eagle. Her tassled aegis may be the remnants of wings.
Athena is associated with Athens, a plural name because it was the place where she presided over her sisterhood, the Athenai, in earliest times.
In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born from his forehead. The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus transformed Metis into a fly and swallowed her immediately after lying with her. He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. Metis immediately began making a helmet and robe for her fetal daughter. The hammering as she made the helmet caused Zeus great pain and Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes or Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe (labrys). Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed, and Zeus was none the worse for the experience.
Athena was patron of the art of weaving and other crafts, wisdom and battle. Unlike Ares, who was hot-headed and undependable in battle, Athena's domain was strategy and tactics. Having taken the side of the Greeks in the war against Troy, Athena assisted the wily Odysseus on his journey home.
Athena in Art
Athena was depicted on the obverse side of the Coin of Attalus I, depicting the head of Attalus' great uncle Philetaerus. Athena is classically portrayed wearing full armor, carrying a lance and a shield with the head of the gorgon Medusa mounted on it. It is in this posture that she was depicted in Phidias's famous gold and ivory statue of her, now lost to history, in the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. Athena is also often depicted with an owl (a symbol of wisdom) sitting on one of her shoulders. The Mourning Athena is a relief sculpture that dates around 460 BC and portrays a tired, emotional Athena. In earlier, archaic portraits of Athena in vase-paintings, the goddess retains some of her Minoan character, such as great birdwings.
Episodes
Erichthonius
According to Apollodorus, Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on the ground, and Erichthonius was born from the earth. Athena then raised the baby as a foster mother. Alternatively, the semen landed on Athena's leg, and she wiped it off with a piece of wool which she tossed on the ground. Erichthonius arose from the ground and the wool. Another version says that Hephaestus wanted Athena to marry him but she disappeared on his bridal bed; he ejaculated onto the ground instead. Athena gave three sisters, Herse, Pandrosus and Aglaulus the baby in a small box and warned them to never open it. Aglaulus and Herse opened the box which contained the infant and future-king, Erichthonius. The sight caused Herse and Aglaulus to go insane and they threw themselves off the Acropolis.
An alternative version of the same story is that while Athena was gone to bring a mountain to use in the Acropolis, the two willful sisters opened the box. A crow witnessed the opening and flew away to tell Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain (now Mt. Lykabettos). Once again, Herse and Aglaulus went insane and threw themselves to their deaths off a cliff.
Erichthonius later became King of Athens and implemented many beneficial changes to Athenian culture. During this time, Athena frequently protected him.
Athens
Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprung up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. This is thought to remember a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis near Salamis Island in 480 BC. Athena was also the patron goddess of several other cities, notably Sparta. In an alternate version, Poseidon invents the first horse. Athena's gift is still chosen.
Perseus and Medusa
Athena guided Perseus in eliminating Medusa, a dangerous unreformed relic of the old pre-Olympian order, and she was awarded the grisly trophy that turned men to stone, for her shield.
Heracles
Athena instructed Heracles how to remove the skin from the Nemean Lion, by using the lion's own claws to cut through its thick hide. The lion's hide became Heracles' signature garment, along with the olive-wood club he used in the battle. Athena also assisted Heracles on a few other labors. She also helped Heracles defeat the Stymphalian Birds, along with Hephaestus.
This red-figure vase from ca. 420 BC, depicts the birth of the 'Earth-born One' (Erichthonios). Earth (Gaia) presents the new-born child to Athena, who represents the reborn serpent-friendly Eve after the Flood. The figure to the left of Gaia and the child is Hephaistos, the eldest son of Zeus and Hera, the deified Kain. According to the myth surrounding this event, Athena obtained the sperm, or seed, of Hephaistos (Kain), and placed it into the Earth, and out of Earth sprang the rejuvenated line of Kain after the Flood. The essence of ancient Greek religion is very simple. After the Flood which caused the line of Kain to disappear into the earth, Athena, the reborn serpent-friendly Eve, nurtures the reborn line of Kain which re-emerges from the earth into which it had disappeared.
Medusa and Tiresias
Medusa, unlike her two sister-Gorgons, was mortal and extremely beautiful. But she had sex with - or was raped by Poseidon in a temple of Athena. Upon discovering the desecration of her temple, Athena changed Medusa's form to match that of her sister Gorgons as punishment. Medusa's hair turned into snakes, her lower body was transformed, and meeting her gaze would turn any living creature to stone. In one version of the Tiresias myth, Tiresias stumbled upon Athena bathing, and was blinded by her nakedness. To compensate him for his loss, she sent serpents to lick his ears, which gave him the gift of prophecy.
Lady of Athens
Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens, which was yet unnamed in this telling. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians would choose the gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprang up; this gave them a means of trade and water, but it was salty and not very good for drinking.
In an alternate version, Poseidon offered the first horse. Athena, however, offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. This is thought to commemorate a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis near Salamis Island in 480 BC. Athena was also the patron goddess of several other cities, notably Sparta.
Counselor
Athena guided Perseus in his quest to behead Medusa. She instructed Heracles to skin the Nemean Lion by using its own claws to cut through its thick hide. She also helped Heracles to defeat the Stymphalian Birds, and to navigate the underworld so as to capture Cerberos.
Odysseus' cunning and shrewd nature quickly won Athena's favor, though she is largely confined to aiding him only from afar (implanting thoughts in his head) during his journey home from Troy. It is not until he washes up on the shore of an island where Nausicaa is washing her clothes that Athena can actually arrive herself to provide more tangible assistance.
She appears in Nausicaa's dreams to ensure the princess rescues Odysseus and eventually sends him to Ithaca. Athena, herself, appears in disguise to Odysseus upon his arrival. She initially lies and tells him Penelope, his wife, has remarried and Odysseus is believed to be dead, though Odysseus lies to her, seeing through her disguise. Pleased with his resolve and shrewdness, she reveals herself to him and tells him everything he needed to know in order to win back his kingdom. She disguises him as an elderly man so that he will not be noticed by the Suitors or Penelope and she helps Odysseus defeat his suitors and end the feud against their relatives.
Cult and Attributes
Her epithets included Atrytone (= the unwearying), Parthénos (= virgin), and Promachos (the pre-fighter/-tress, i. e. the person who fights in front).
In poetry from Homer onward, Athena's most common epithet is glaukopis, which is usually translated "bright-eyed" or "with gleaming eyes". It is a combination of glaukos ("gleaming," "silvery," and later, "bluish-green" or "gray") and ops ("eye," or sometimes, "face").
It is interesting to note that glaux "owl") is from the same root, presumably because of its own distinctive eyes. The bird which sees in the night is closely associated with the goddess of wisdom: in archaic images, she is frequently depicted with an owl perched on her head. In earlier times, Athena may well have been a bird goddess, similar to the unknown goddess depicted with owls, wings and bird talons on the Burney relief, a Mesopotamian terracotta relief of the early second millennium BC.
In the Iliad (4.514), the Homeric Hymns and in Hesiod's Theogony, she is given the curious epithet Tritogeneia. The meaning of this term is unclear. It seems to mean "Triton-born," perhaps indicating that the sea-god was her father according to some early myths, or, less likely, that she was born near Lake Triton in Africa. Another possible meaning is "triple-born" or "third-born," which may refer to her status as the third daughter of Zeus or the fact she was born from Metis, Zeus and herself; various legends list her as being the first child after Artemis and Apollo, though other legends identify her as Zeus' first child.
In her role as judge at Orestes' trial on the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra (which he won), Athena won the epithet Athena Areia.
Athena was later associated with the application of philosophy to cult in the fifth century. She remained the patroness of weaving, crafts and the more disciplined side of war. Athena's wisdom encompasses the technical knowledge employed in weaving, metal-working, but also includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of such figures as Odysseus.
The owl and the olive tree are sacred to her. She is attended by an owl, and is often accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. Wearing a goatskin breastplate called the Aegis given to her by her father, Zeus, she is often shown helmeted and with a shield bearing the Gorgon Medusa's head, a votive gift of Perseus. Athena is an armed warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as the counselor of many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus.
Athena was given many other cult titles. She had the epithet Athena Ergane as the patron of craftsmen and artisans. With the epithet Athena Parthenos ("virgin"), Athena was worshiped on the Acropolis, especially in the festival of the Panathenaea. With the epithet Athena Promachos she led in battle. With the epithet Athena Polias ("of the city"), Athena was the protectress of Athens and its Acropolis, but also of many other cities, including Argos, Sparta, Gortyn, Lindos, and Larisa. She was given the epithet Athena Hippeia or Athena Hippia as the inventor of the chariot, and was worshipped under this title at Athens, Tegea and Olympia. As Athena Hippeia she was given an alternative parentage: Poseidon and Polyphe, daughter of Oceanus.. In each of these cities her temple was frequently the major temple on the acropolis.
Athena was often equated with Aphaea, a local goddess of the island of Aegina, located near Athens, once Aegina was under Athenian's power. Plutarch also refers to an instance during the Parthenon's construction of her being called Athena Hygieia ("healer"):
"A strange accident happened in the course of building, which showed that the goddess was not averse to the work, but was aiding and co-operating to bring it to perfection. One of the artificers, the quickest and the handiest workman among them all, with a slip of his foot fell down from a great height, and lay in a miserable condition, the physicians having no hope of his recovery. When Pericles was in distress about this, the goddess [Athena] appeared to him at night in a dream, and ordered a course of treatment, which he applied, and in a short time and with great ease cured the man. And upon this occasion it was that he set up a brass statue of Athena Hygeia, in the citadel near the altar, which they say was there before. But it was Phidias who wrought the goddess's image in gold, and he has his name inscribed on the pedestal as the workman of it."
In Classical Art
Athena is classically portrayed wearing full armor, with the helmet raised high on the forehead like a hat; she carries a spear and a shield with the head of the gorgon Medusa mounted on it. It is in this standing posture that she was depicted in Phidias's famous lost gold and ivory statue of her, 36 m tall, the Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon. Athena is also often depicted with an owl (a symbol of wisdom) sitting on one of her shoulders. The Mourning Athena is a relief sculpture that dates around 460 BC and portrays a weary Athena resting on a staff. In earlier, archaic portraits of Athena in Black-figure pottery, the goddess retains some of her Minoan character, such as great bird wings, though this is not true of archaic sculpture such as those at Aphaea. Other common types of Athena statue may be found here.
Apart from her attributes, there seems to be a relative consensus in sculpture from the fifth century onward as to what Athena looked like. Most noticeable in the face is perhaps a high nose with a high bridge that almost seems like a natural extension of the forehead. The eyes are typically somewhat deeply set. The lips are usually full but the mouth is fairly narrow, usually just slightly wider than the nose. The neck is somewhat longish. The net result is a serene, somewhat aloof beauty.
Arachne
The fable of Arachne is a late addition to Greek mythology, that does not appear in the myth repertory of the Attic vase-painters. Arachne's name simply means "spider". Arachne was the daughter of a famous dyer in Tyrian purple in Hypaipa of Lydia. She became so conceited of her skill as a weaver that she began claiming that her skill was greater than that of Athena herself.
Athena gave Arachne a chance to redeem herself by assuming the form of an old woman and warning Arachne not to offend the gods. Arachne scoffed and wished for a weaving contest, so she could prove her skill. Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had inspired her patronage of Athens. According to the Latin narrative, Arachne's tapestry featured twenty-one episodes of the infidelity of the gods: Jupiter being unfaithful with Leda, with Europa, with Danae.
Even Athena admitted that Arachne's work was flawless, but was outraged at Arachne's disrespectful choice of subjects that displayed the failings and transgressions of the gods. Finally losing her temper, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom, striking it with her shuttle, Arachne realized her folly and hanged herself. In Ovid's telling, Athena took pity on Arachne who was changed into a spider. The story suggests that the origin of weaving lay in imitation of spiders and that it was considered to have been perfected first in Asia Minor.
Athena is an armed warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus. In classical myth she never had a consort or lover, and thus was often known as Athena Parthenos ("Athena the virgin"), hence her most famous temple, the Parthenon, on the Acropolis in Athens. In a remnant of archaic myth, she was the mother of Erichthonius by an attempted rape, which failed.
In her role as a protector of the city, Athena was worshiped throughout the Greek world as Athena Polias ("Athena of the city"). She had a special relationship with Athens, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city.
Mythology
Birth of Athena, Daughter of Zeus
Athena is most commonly described as the daughter of Zeus. It is also often implied that she is his first-born child, which accords her special status: the weapons for which she is so famous are weapons she and he share exclusively, including the thunderbolt.
The Olympian Version
In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead after he swallowed her mother, Metis.The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with her, Zeus "put her away inside his own belly;" he "swallowed her down of a sudden," He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. When it came time, Zeus was in great pain; Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes or Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe, the labrys. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed with a shout, "and pealed to the broad sky her clarion cry of war. And Ouranos trembled to hear, and Mother Gaia" {Pindar, Seventh Olympian Ode).
Hera was so annoyed at Zeus producing a child apparently on his own that she caused herself to conceive and bear Hephaestus by herself. Metis never bore any more children, and Zeus persisted as supreme ruler of Mount Olympus.
Other Origin Tales
Fragments attributed by the Christian Eusebius of Caesarea to the semi-legendary Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon, which Eusebius thought had been written before the Trojan war, make Athena instead the daughter of Cronus, a king of Byblos who is said to have visited 'the inhabitable world' and bequeathed Attica to Athena.
The Parthenon at Athens is her most famous shrine.
Pallas Athens
In Greek mythology, Pallas was an epithet for Athena. There are, however, several Pallades (feminine plural) and Pallantes (masculine plural).
Pallas was the playmate of Athena, a daughter of the god Triton (or Tritonis), her foster-father. One day, while Pallas and Athena were sparring, Zeus appeared between them with the aegis and Pallas, in her fear, forgot to parry a blow from Athena. She was killed and Athena mourned her by becoming "Pallas Athena". She also carved from a tree trunk a statue of Pallas, the Palladium, which she left with Zeus. Later Electra, whom Zeus seduced, took refuge behind this palladium; Zeus tossed it away and it fell on the land of Ilium (Troy), where Ilus had a temple built for it.
Pallas was also a Titan, son of Crius and Eurybia, husband of Styx. He was the father of Zelus, Nike, Cratos, and Bia (and sometimes, Eos or Selene). This Pallas was the god of wisdom. Aeson or Aethon was the name of his horse.
An archaic winged god is also named Pallas, with wings attached either to the ankles or to his back, like the archaic winged goddesses. He was, according to one tradition, the father of Pallas Athena and tried to rape her. She killed him and tore his skin off to make the Aegis.
Yet another Pallas, a goatish Giant, confronted Athena during the Gigantomachy; she killed him and also turned his skin into the aegis.
The last Pallas is the son of Lycaon and founder of the Arcadian town of Pallantion. He was the teacher of Athena, yet also the father of Nike and Chryse, two manifestations of Athena. The incest motif appears yet again, in the form of a consummated marriage between her and her teacher.
History
Athena has no Greek etymology, and probably was already a goddess in the Aegean before the coming of the Greeks, although her name is not attested in Eteocretan. She has been compared to Anatolian mother goddesses like Cybele, her name possibly of Lydian origin (G. Neumann, Kadmos 6, 1967), and her byname Pallas has been compared to Hittite palahh, a divine raiment.
In Mycenaean Greek, A-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja /Athana potniya/ (Mistress Athena) is referred to in the Knossos Linear B text V 2. and A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja /Athana diwya/, the final part being the Linear B spelling of what we know from ancient Greek as Diwia (Mycenaean di-u-ja or di-wi-ja) "divine" (see dyeus). There is evidence that in early times, Athena was an owl herself, or a bird goddess in general. In book 3 of the Odyssey, she takes the form of a sea-eagle. Her tassled aegis may be the remnants of wings.
Athena is associated with Athens, a plural name because it was the place where she presided over her sisterhood, the Athenai, in earliest times.
In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born from his forehead. The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus transformed Metis into a fly and swallowed her immediately after lying with her. He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. Metis immediately began making a helmet and robe for her fetal daughter. The hammering as she made the helmet caused Zeus great pain and Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes or Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe (labrys). Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed, and Zeus was none the worse for the experience.
Athena was patron of the art of weaving and other crafts, wisdom and battle. Unlike Ares, who was hot-headed and undependable in battle, Athena's domain was strategy and tactics. Having taken the side of the Greeks in the war against Troy, Athena assisted the wily Odysseus on his journey home.
Athena in Art
Athena was depicted on the obverse side of the Coin of Attalus I, depicting the head of Attalus' great uncle Philetaerus. Athena is classically portrayed wearing full armor, carrying a lance and a shield with the head of the gorgon Medusa mounted on it. It is in this posture that she was depicted in Phidias's famous gold and ivory statue of her, now lost to history, in the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. Athena is also often depicted with an owl (a symbol of wisdom) sitting on one of her shoulders. The Mourning Athena is a relief sculpture that dates around 460 BC and portrays a tired, emotional Athena. In earlier, archaic portraits of Athena in vase-paintings, the goddess retains some of her Minoan character, such as great birdwings.
Episodes
Erichthonius
According to Apollodorus, Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on the ground, and Erichthonius was born from the earth. Athena then raised the baby as a foster mother. Alternatively, the semen landed on Athena's leg, and she wiped it off with a piece of wool which she tossed on the ground. Erichthonius arose from the ground and the wool. Another version says that Hephaestus wanted Athena to marry him but she disappeared on his bridal bed; he ejaculated onto the ground instead. Athena gave three sisters, Herse, Pandrosus and Aglaulus the baby in a small box and warned them to never open it. Aglaulus and Herse opened the box which contained the infant and future-king, Erichthonius. The sight caused Herse and Aglaulus to go insane and they threw themselves off the Acropolis.
An alternative version of the same story is that while Athena was gone to bring a mountain to use in the Acropolis, the two willful sisters opened the box. A crow witnessed the opening and flew away to tell Athena, who fell into a rage and dropped the mountain (now Mt. Lykabettos). Once again, Herse and Aglaulus went insane and threw themselves to their deaths off a cliff.
Erichthonius later became King of Athens and implemented many beneficial changes to Athenian culture. During this time, Athena frequently protected him.
Athens
Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprung up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. This is thought to remember a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis near Salamis Island in 480 BC. Athena was also the patron goddess of several other cities, notably Sparta. In an alternate version, Poseidon invents the first horse. Athena's gift is still chosen.
Perseus and Medusa
Athena guided Perseus in eliminating Medusa, a dangerous unreformed relic of the old pre-Olympian order, and she was awarded the grisly trophy that turned men to stone, for her shield.
Heracles
Athena instructed Heracles how to remove the skin from the Nemean Lion, by using the lion's own claws to cut through its thick hide. The lion's hide became Heracles' signature garment, along with the olive-wood club he used in the battle. Athena also assisted Heracles on a few other labors. She also helped Heracles defeat the Stymphalian Birds, along with Hephaestus.
This red-figure vase from ca. 420 BC, depicts the birth of the 'Earth-born One' (Erichthonios). Earth (Gaia) presents the new-born child to Athena, who represents the reborn serpent-friendly Eve after the Flood. The figure to the left of Gaia and the child is Hephaistos, the eldest son of Zeus and Hera, the deified Kain. According to the myth surrounding this event, Athena obtained the sperm, or seed, of Hephaistos (Kain), and placed it into the Earth, and out of Earth sprang the rejuvenated line of Kain after the Flood. The essence of ancient Greek religion is very simple. After the Flood which caused the line of Kain to disappear into the earth, Athena, the reborn serpent-friendly Eve, nurtures the reborn line of Kain which re-emerges from the earth into which it had disappeared.
Medusa and Tiresias
Medusa, unlike her two sister-Gorgons, was mortal and extremely beautiful. But she had sex with - or was raped by Poseidon in a temple of Athena. Upon discovering the desecration of her temple, Athena changed Medusa's form to match that of her sister Gorgons as punishment. Medusa's hair turned into snakes, her lower body was transformed, and meeting her gaze would turn any living creature to stone. In one version of the Tiresias myth, Tiresias stumbled upon Athena bathing, and was blinded by her nakedness. To compensate him for his loss, she sent serpents to lick his ears, which gave him the gift of prophecy.
Lady of Athens
Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens, which was yet unnamed in this telling. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians would choose the gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprang up; this gave them a means of trade and water, but it was salty and not very good for drinking.
In an alternate version, Poseidon offered the first horse. Athena, however, offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. This is thought to commemorate a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis near Salamis Island in 480 BC. Athena was also the patron goddess of several other cities, notably Sparta.
Counselor
Athena guided Perseus in his quest to behead Medusa. She instructed Heracles to skin the Nemean Lion by using its own claws to cut through its thick hide. She also helped Heracles to defeat the Stymphalian Birds, and to navigate the underworld so as to capture Cerberos.
Odysseus' cunning and shrewd nature quickly won Athena's favor, though she is largely confined to aiding him only from afar (implanting thoughts in his head) during his journey home from Troy. It is not until he washes up on the shore of an island where Nausicaa is washing her clothes that Athena can actually arrive herself to provide more tangible assistance.
She appears in Nausicaa's dreams to ensure the princess rescues Odysseus and eventually sends him to Ithaca. Athena, herself, appears in disguise to Odysseus upon his arrival. She initially lies and tells him Penelope, his wife, has remarried and Odysseus is believed to be dead, though Odysseus lies to her, seeing through her disguise. Pleased with his resolve and shrewdness, she reveals herself to him and tells him everything he needed to know in order to win back his kingdom. She disguises him as an elderly man so that he will not be noticed by the Suitors or Penelope and she helps Odysseus defeat his suitors and end the feud against their relatives.
Cult and Attributes
Her epithets included Atrytone (= the unwearying), Parthénos (= virgin), and Promachos (the pre-fighter/-tress, i. e. the person who fights in front).
In poetry from Homer onward, Athena's most common epithet is glaukopis, which is usually translated "bright-eyed" or "with gleaming eyes". It is a combination of glaukos ("gleaming," "silvery," and later, "bluish-green" or "gray") and ops ("eye," or sometimes, "face").
It is interesting to note that glaux "owl") is from the same root, presumably because of its own distinctive eyes. The bird which sees in the night is closely associated with the goddess of wisdom: in archaic images, she is frequently depicted with an owl perched on her head. In earlier times, Athena may well have been a bird goddess, similar to the unknown goddess depicted with owls, wings and bird talons on the Burney relief, a Mesopotamian terracotta relief of the early second millennium BC.
In the Iliad (4.514), the Homeric Hymns and in Hesiod's Theogony, she is given the curious epithet Tritogeneia. The meaning of this term is unclear. It seems to mean "Triton-born," perhaps indicating that the sea-god was her father according to some early myths, or, less likely, that she was born near Lake Triton in Africa. Another possible meaning is "triple-born" or "third-born," which may refer to her status as the third daughter of Zeus or the fact she was born from Metis, Zeus and herself; various legends list her as being the first child after Artemis and Apollo, though other legends identify her as Zeus' first child.
In her role as judge at Orestes' trial on the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra (which he won), Athena won the epithet Athena Areia.
Athena was later associated with the application of philosophy to cult in the fifth century. She remained the patroness of weaving, crafts and the more disciplined side of war. Athena's wisdom encompasses the technical knowledge employed in weaving, metal-working, but also includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of such figures as Odysseus.
The owl and the olive tree are sacred to her. She is attended by an owl, and is often accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. Wearing a goatskin breastplate called the Aegis given to her by her father, Zeus, she is often shown helmeted and with a shield bearing the Gorgon Medusa's head, a votive gift of Perseus. Athena is an armed warrior goddess, and appears in Greek mythology as the counselor of many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus.
Athena was given many other cult titles. She had the epithet Athena Ergane as the patron of craftsmen and artisans. With the epithet Athena Parthenos ("virgin"), Athena was worshiped on the Acropolis, especially in the festival of the Panathenaea. With the epithet Athena Promachos she led in battle. With the epithet Athena Polias ("of the city"), Athena was the protectress of Athens and its Acropolis, but also of many other cities, including Argos, Sparta, Gortyn, Lindos, and Larisa. She was given the epithet Athena Hippeia or Athena Hippia as the inventor of the chariot, and was worshipped under this title at Athens, Tegea and Olympia. As Athena Hippeia she was given an alternative parentage: Poseidon and Polyphe, daughter of Oceanus.. In each of these cities her temple was frequently the major temple on the acropolis.
Athena was often equated with Aphaea, a local goddess of the island of Aegina, located near Athens, once Aegina was under Athenian's power. Plutarch also refers to an instance during the Parthenon's construction of her being called Athena Hygieia ("healer"):
"A strange accident happened in the course of building, which showed that the goddess was not averse to the work, but was aiding and co-operating to bring it to perfection. One of the artificers, the quickest and the handiest workman among them all, with a slip of his foot fell down from a great height, and lay in a miserable condition, the physicians having no hope of his recovery. When Pericles was in distress about this, the goddess [Athena] appeared to him at night in a dream, and ordered a course of treatment, which he applied, and in a short time and with great ease cured the man. And upon this occasion it was that he set up a brass statue of Athena Hygeia, in the citadel near the altar, which they say was there before. But it was Phidias who wrought the goddess's image in gold, and he has his name inscribed on the pedestal as the workman of it."
In Classical Art
Athena is classically portrayed wearing full armor, with the helmet raised high on the forehead like a hat; she carries a spear and a shield with the head of the gorgon Medusa mounted on it. It is in this standing posture that she was depicted in Phidias's famous lost gold and ivory statue of her, 36 m tall, the Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon. Athena is also often depicted with an owl (a symbol of wisdom) sitting on one of her shoulders. The Mourning Athena is a relief sculpture that dates around 460 BC and portrays a weary Athena resting on a staff. In earlier, archaic portraits of Athena in Black-figure pottery, the goddess retains some of her Minoan character, such as great bird wings, though this is not true of archaic sculpture such as those at Aphaea. Other common types of Athena statue may be found here.
Apart from her attributes, there seems to be a relative consensus in sculpture from the fifth century onward as to what Athena looked like. Most noticeable in the face is perhaps a high nose with a high bridge that almost seems like a natural extension of the forehead. The eyes are typically somewhat deeply set. The lips are usually full but the mouth is fairly narrow, usually just slightly wider than the nose. The neck is somewhat longish. The net result is a serene, somewhat aloof beauty.
Arachne
The fable of Arachne is a late addition to Greek mythology, that does not appear in the myth repertory of the Attic vase-painters. Arachne's name simply means "spider". Arachne was the daughter of a famous dyer in Tyrian purple in Hypaipa of Lydia. She became so conceited of her skill as a weaver that she began claiming that her skill was greater than that of Athena herself.
Athena gave Arachne a chance to redeem herself by assuming the form of an old woman and warning Arachne not to offend the gods. Arachne scoffed and wished for a weaving contest, so she could prove her skill. Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had inspired her patronage of Athens. According to the Latin narrative, Arachne's tapestry featured twenty-one episodes of the infidelity of the gods: Jupiter being unfaithful with Leda, with Europa, with Danae.
Even Athena admitted that Arachne's work was flawless, but was outraged at Arachne's disrespectful choice of subjects that displayed the failings and transgressions of the gods. Finally losing her temper, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom, striking it with her shuttle, Arachne realized her folly and hanged herself. In Ovid's telling, Athena took pity on Arachne who was changed into a spider. The story suggests that the origin of weaving lay in imitation of spiders and that it was considered to have been perfected first in Asia Minor.