Athena is the goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason. She is superior to Ares in Homer’s Iliad because of her military intelligence, strategy, and wisdom. She also could not be dominated by other goddesses because of her strength. Athena is the daughter of Zeus, emerged full-grown from his forehead, and therefore she had no mother. An alternative story tells that Zeus swallowed Metis while she was pregnant and Athena was “born”. She was Zeus’s favorite daughter so incidentally she had great power. Her Roman name is Minerva and she was originally identified with the qualities of an urban and domestic goddess. The Greek economy was largely military, so eventually she evolved into a goddess of war while still identifying with her previous attributes. Much like Ares, the Goddess of War excelled in hand to hand combat, but also possessed plenty of wisdom. However, she had no compassion because of her lack of emotions and bond with her feminine side. Because of that, Athena did not have any relations with humans. Just like any other god, Athena acquired many enemies in her lifetime. She competed with Poseidon for control over cities like Athens; she also was worshipped in many other Greek cities including Sparta. Athena became the goddess of the home or more specifically, of crafts and skilled peacetime pursuits. In Homer’sOdyssey, Athena is the protector of Odysseus, and other myths portray her as helper of Perseus and Heracles. In art, she is usually shown as a warrior with body armour and a helmet while carrying a shield and a lance. She can be identified by all birds, but mainly she is associated with the owl. Her symbol became famous in the city of Athens, and her birth and contest with Poseidon was shown on the pediment of the Parthenon.
Athena's Influence (Sam Sequeira)
In ancient times she was and still is the patron goddess of Athens the city that was named after her. Athens was named after Athena when she presented to the Greek people the olive tree which how Athens grew in wealth. She also the goddess of wisdom and war, not the war like Ares but one used to defend the state. In fact the ancient Greeks praised her so much that they built her a temple on top of the acropolis the name of this temple is the Pantheon. She was also taken up into Roman culture but became known as Minerva she was seen by both cultures as the protector of civilized life and handicrafts. Now impact she has made on modern culture is in movies and books one of them being Percy Jackson. It talks about her daughter as one of the most intelligent girls there and that she takes after her mother Athena. Another example is that she is also named after one of the teachers in Harry Potter known as Minerva McGonagall. Another example is Athena Design is a software company and Minerva Oil Company is food trading industry.
Art of Athena (Chris Canlas)
Above is a picture of the Athena Promachos, sculpted by Phidias, an Athenian sculptor. The picture above is of a recreation of the original, the original was thought to have originally been bronze. The Athena Promachos was one of his earliest works, at the time the sculpture was the tallest statue ever in Athens, it stood at the Athenian Acropolis. The sculpture was about . The Athenian Acropolis was an ancient citadel, which was located on a high point in the city. Phidias was appointed the artistic director of the great building program that Pericles put into effect when he arose into power. The Athena Promachos was not the only statue that Phidias, Phidias also sculpted the Athena Parthenos which he sculpted for the Parthenon; this sculpture was slightly larger than the Athena Promachos. The Athena Promachos and the Athena Parthenos, were not Phidias’ only works of art, above all of his creations, it is considered that his masterpiece was the colossal Zeus at Olympia which was in the temple of Zeus. The colossal Zeus is over forty-two feet tall which is over ten feet taller than his previous Athena statues. The statue was made of ivory, and his garments were made of gold; the colossal Zeus is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The creator of Athena Promachos was the director of arts during the rule of Pericles in 449 B.C. therefore some of his creations were changed from what the creation should have originally looked like. For example the Athena Promachos portrayed a portrait of Pericles on the shield; because of this Phidias was thrown into prison, it is thought that he died while in prison.