Today's "Introduction to the Hellenic Gods" post is about the lovely Athena! She was the one I wanted to do next since I have a very personal connection with her. Athena is the deity I am currently trying to reach out to (so this post is acting as an offering of sorts) and she is also the deity I most associate most with my partner!
Athena is the name given to the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and handicraft. Her Roman equivalent is Minerva.
Athena's birth myth has two versions that are very similar to one another. The first myth states that Athena was produced by Zeus' own thoughts and was 'born' by erputing from his forehead. In this myth there was no mother.
In the other version of her birth myth, Athena was instead a growing baby inside the goddess Metis who Zeus then swallowed. Athena then emerged fully formed from his forehead once again.
In both myths, Athena was said to emerge fully grown weilding both her spear and her shield and ready for battle.
Pallas Athena is the most commonly referred to epithet of Athena. There are many explainations to how this epithet came to be, but most agree that it comes from the Greek word πάλλω, which means "to brandish". Pallas Athena refers specifically to the warlike attributes of Athena, with her being depicted in her full battle armor with her shield and her spear.
Athena Parthenos is another commonly used epithet meaning "Athena the Virgin". Athena, like Hestia and Artemis was a virgin goddess, but unlike Hestia (or Vesta) was not worshipped in that capacity. It was simply an attribute commonly given to her.
Some interesting facts about Athena:
Athena is known to wield the shield Aegis, which is engraved with the face of the Gorgon, Medusa.
Athena was regarded as the patron goddess of heroic endeavours, hence why she continually helps the heroes of famous myths like Perseus, Jason, and Heracles.
Athena was often depicted in art wearing male battle armor and was treated similary to the male gods.
Athena created the first spider, Arachne, after challenging the woman in a weaving contest, which she lost, afterwards transforming her into an arachnid.
My favourite literature and artwork depicting Athena/Minerva:
- The Iliad by Homer: In the first book of the Iliad, Athena is sent down by Hera to stop Achilles and Agamemnon from getting into a physical altercation. She grabs Achilles by the hair and warns him that fighting Agamemnon will lead him away from his destiny of greatness.
- The statue of Athena Parthenos (recreations) by Phidias: A statue of Athena meant to be housed in the Parthenon on the acropolis of Athens
- The Judgement of Paris by Lucas Cranach the Elder: Paris was asked to choose which of the three goddesses, Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite, he believed was the ‘fairest’. Each offered him a bribe to choose them, but Paris went with Aphrodite as the goddess offered him the most beautiful woman to wed, Helen of Troy. In this painting all three goddesses are depicted nude, which wouldn’t have been the case in ancient Greek art, as depicting any goddess, even Aphrodite, as nude was seen as sacrilege. This was painted in 1530, hence why the nudity wasn’t frowned upon.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this post! I absolutely love Athena and all that she represents and so I was so excited to spend some time writing this up for you all. If you have any suggestions for who to write about next, feel free to DM me or leave me an ask! Also, feel free to reach out if you just want to chat! I love making new friends and would love to talk to anybody who wants to!
