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Brennan Armknecht

Mrs. Dietrich

Honors English 10

2 March 2017

Greek Mythology Research: Athena

If you could be the god or goddess of anything, what would it be? When asked this

question, many people want to be a god or goddess of war, wisdom, or courage. However, what

if you could be the goddess of all three. Impossible? Meet Athena, the goddess of wisdom, craft,

courage, and war along with countless other things. When people think of a god or goddess, they

conjure up images of a ruthless warrior with no regard for the life of mortals. They earn respect

with their townspeople out of fear. However, a case can be made that Athena, the most respected

warrior in Greek history was not ruthless, rather cautious and wise in battle. She was not feared

by mere mortals, instead she was respected for the contributions she made to society. Athena

revolutionized Greek civilization, bringing social reforms and giving more power to women,

truly empowering them in a historically male-dominated Greek civilization. Athena was one of

the most revered, respected, and accomplished goddesses/gods in Ancient Greece, which

established her as the most powerful goddess in Greek Culture. Because of this power, she is

able to assist Odysseus on his return to Ithaca.

In order to truly know the legacy of Athena, you must know her origins. Athena was the

daughter of Zeus and Metis. Athenas birth was nothing short of a spectacle. Aaron Atsma, a

writer for the Theoi Project states, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea and Uranus, swallowed Metis

up, and afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his head (Atsma. Athene). In

the book Greek Mythology, Paul Hamlyn states, Athene sprang, fully armed and brandishing a
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sharp javelin (Hamlyn. 31). To sum this story up, Athena was born out of Zeus head after he

swallowed her mother whole. Then as she came out, she was already fully armed. Also, not to

mention, Athena was born as a full grown adult, completely skipping her adolescence. Athena

was Zeus favorite daughter, which gave her some very special freedoms and perks. As far as

day to day life and combat goes, pace.edu states,

Athena resided on Mount Olympus, with the eleven other main gods and goddesses. She

could also be found in the capital city of Athens, named after her, or at the Parthenon, a

temple dedicated to her. Athena's powers include: authority over wisdom and crafts,

which includes agriculture, spinning, needlework, weaving and navigation. Athena is also

considered as both a goddess of war, and the patron goddess of Athens. As a goddess of

war, Athena's authority falls more on strategy rather than open conflict.

Basically, anything that she was a goddess of, she could control it. As far as talents go, an article

titled Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Craftsmanship by Goddessgift.com states, Athena was a

superb strategist and mediator. This quote shows that Athena was less involved with battle and

more with strategy.

Another important characteristic of Athena is her personality, and how she was depicted.

Athene, written by Aaron Atsma described Athena as, the Olympian goddess of wisdom and

good counsel, war, the defense of towns, heroic endeavor, weaving, pottery and various other

crafts (Atsma. Athene). This evidence suggests that Athena was a very well rounded and

fearless goddess. She was often seen yielding a spear and wearing a cape with snakes,

reminiscent of those of Medusas. She was an intellectual, but she carried this intellect onto the

battlefield. She fought for her people using innovative tactics. Michael Karas gives another clue

as to Athenas complex characteristics in his article titled Athena Parthenos as he states, She
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was fierce and brave in battle; however, she only took part in wars that defended the state and

home from outside enemies (Karas. Athena Parthenos). This quote indicates that Athena did not

lust for blood. Rather, Athena only fought when she thought it was necessary, not when she

wanted to. According to some sources, Athena was praised for her generosity. She displayed a

very high level of self-control, which not many other immortals possessed. She was even able to

wield Zeus thunderbolt. Even though she did not lust for blood, do not get it twisted, Athena

was ruthless on the battleground. Michael Karas adds to this point, stating, According to

Homers account in the Iliad, Athena was a fierce and ruthless warrior. In the Odyssey, she was

angry and unforgiving (Karas. Athena Parthenos).This quote indicates that even though she was

not hard-headed, she would still give it her all in battle.

Also, Athena played a great role in city life. She was so influential that she had a whole

city named after her, Athens. An article titled the Contest of Poseidon and Athena on Greek-

Gods.info prove that there is a deeper story behind it. Before Athens got its name, Athena and

Poseidon both wanted their name to be incorporated into that of the city. To settle the dispute,

they were to both bring gifts to the townspeople and whoevers gift was superior would win the

rights to the town name. Poseidon presented his gift first. He struck a rock with his trident and

caused a spring of water to form from the ground. This signified they wouldnt face a drought.

However, the water from the spring tasted salty, just like the waters of the sea over which

Poseidon ruled. Next it was Athenas turn. She planted a seed in the ground, which grew up to

become an olive tree. The citizens liked this gift better because it would give them food, oil and

firewood. Because of this the acclaimed Athena as their patron. Athena displayed her superior

intelligence by inventing a multitude of things. Michael Karas states, She invented the bridle,

which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke,
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the ship, and the chariot (Karas. Athena Parthenos). Not only is this a very long list, but these

devices were very innovative and crucial for life at that time period. Also Athena made strides

for the rights of women. Greek Mythology by Paul Hamlyn states, The pacific Athene protected

various industries and working women (Hamlyn. 30). This act gave women empowerment and

was very revolutionary at the time. Athena would protect all civilians, as she was known as the

goddess of the city of Athens.

Many myths and symbols correspond with Athena and her life. Some prolific symbols are

the olive tree and the owl. The olive tree story was already discussed. In Ancient Greek

mythology, the owl was a creature sacred to Athena. It was a creature of the night who

represented wisdom. Athena would always have the owl on her shoulder, which revealed unseen

truths to her. It would prevent her from only telling half-truths and enable her to tell full-truths.

Athena had such a big impact on the owl, that now we associate it with wisdom. There are so

many myths on Athena, too many to count. However, some of the more important ones are her

birth, her sewing competition, her virginity, and her breastplate. Her birth was already discussed,

how she came out as an adult wielding a spear. Her sewing competition is interesting, as she got

angry, which is very uncharacteristic. There was a girl named Arachne, who was a skillful

weaver. She was so proud that she boasted that she could weave as well as Athena. She heard

this and came to Arachne in the form of an old woman. She advised the girl to take back her

words, but Arachne refused. Then she changed suddenly into the goddess Athena. Arachne was

startled and surprised, but in an instant she was ready for the test of skill which the goddess

demanded. The two stood side by side, and wove cloth covered with the most wonderful

pictures. When Athena discovered that she could find no fault with Arachnes work, she became

terribly angry. She struck Arachne, and tore the cloth on her loom. Arachne was so frightened by
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the anger of the goddess that she tried to kill herself. Athena then became sorry for the girl, and

saved her life by changing her into a spider. So Arachne lives to this day, and still weaves the

most wonderful of all webs upon walls and ceilings. The next myth is about Athenas virginity.

Athena, by Britannica.com states, She was thought to have had neither consort nor offspring.

She may not have been described as a virgin originally. This basically explains that she had no

offspring, but may have deviated in later years. This is considered very chaste at the time of the

gods. Lastly, Athenas breastplate is said to represent the values of justice, so every time she

fights, she uses the value of justice. These are just a few of the many myths about Athena.

Athena plays a very interesting role in Homers The Odyssey because she is one of the

few gods and goddesses that help him rather than hurt him. In book 22 of the E-text of The

Odyssey, she assists Odysseus as he is trying to get rid of the suitors and reclaim his wife. She

disguises him as a beggar so he can get close to the suitors, and then he attacks (The Odyssey.

22). After a while, she starts to assist Odysseus in his fight. This display of wisdom is very

characteristic of Athena. Athena also had a very big significance on Greek culture and

mythology as well. She invented so many new things that would shape the way of Greek life for

years to come. She was loyal to her townspeople and had the title of protector of the city.

Because of this, Temples were dedicated to her and parades were held for her. She fought for

womens rights and was able to empower them to pursue their dreams. As far as gods and

goddesses go, she gave all the others a mold for what a well-rounded goddess should be. She was

not brought down by the beauty of Aphrodite and instead embraced her wisdom. Athena had a

significant role of assisting Odysseus in The Odyssey, and she had a great amount of significance

in Greek Life.
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From a noble birth to a noble life, Athena embodies all that it means to be a goddess. Her

wisdom and craftsmanship are well above par. Athena was a genuinely good person, which is a

feat not many gods and goddesses can boast. Her talents and accomplishments outside of Mount

Olympus indicate how great she was at handling situations with intelligence. Athena put others

before herself, such as the people of Athens, and Odysseus. She was able to keep calm during

battle and gained enough trust from Zeus to wield his bolt, which is his most prized possession.

Because of Athenas wisdom, craftiness, and dominance, she was able to establish herself as the

perfect model for what a goddess should and shouldnt be.