Reference
- AthenaThis important Greek goddess was the guardian of the city of Athens—whose name she shared—and the patron of wisdom, handicraft, and the disciplined aspect of war. Athena was worshipped on the Acropolis of several Greek cities, including Argos and Sparta. But her most significant shrine was on the Athenian acropolis, where a succession of temples culminated, in 438 BCE, in the building that is the gem of ancient architecture: the Parthenon, or Temple of Athena the Virgin.
The name Athena, like the name Athens, is not actually Greek; the ending -na belongs to the language of the non-Greek people who preceded the Greeks as the inhabitants of mainland Greece. In her pre-Greek form, Athena was probably a patron deity of kings, whose hilltop palaces she guarded as an idol shown clad in armor; in her ultimate origins she may be related to armed goddesses of the ancient Near East, such as the Mesopotamian Ishtar. After about 2100 BCE, when ethnic Greek invaders began taking over the land of Greece, Athena became incorporated into the developing Greek religion (as did other pre-Greek goddesses, including Hera and Artemis). Keeping her armor and her association with the hilltop, Athena entered Greek myth as the daughter of the great god Zeus. This transition was under way by the Mycenaean era (1600–1200 BCE), as is suggested by the mention of a “Lady of Atana” on a surviving Mycenaean clay tablet, inscribed in linear b script and dated by archaeologists to 1400 BCE. - MinervaThe Roman goddess, possibly of Etruscan origin, of wisdom and the patroness of the arts and trades. She was fabled to have sprung, with a tremendous battle cry, fully armed from the brain of jupiter. With juno and Jupiter she became part of the Capitoline triad. She was subsequently identified by the Romans with the Greek athene (Athena), and she is represented as being grave and majestic, clad in a helmet and with drapery over a coat of mail, and bearing the aegis on her breast. Phidias made a statue of her of ivory and gold 39ft (12m) high, which was placed in the parthenon.
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Perspectives
Athena
In this definitive assessment of the various representations and approaches to Athena, Susan Deacy does what no other has done before and brings all the aspects of this legendary figure into one, outstanding study. A survey of one of the most enduringly popular of ancient deities, the book introduces Athena's myth, cult and reception, while directing the reader to detailed discussion as and when it is appropriate. Students will find it a great help in their studies, and for the general reader with an interest in the ancient world and for those from related disciplines such as literature, art history and religion, it provides a mine of information and insight into this fascinating classical figure.
The Children of Athena
According to one myth, the first Athenian citizen was born from the earth after the sperm of a rejected lover, the god Hephaistos, dripped off the virgin goddess Athena's leg and onto fertile soil. Henceforth Athenian citizens could claim to be truly indigenous to their city and to have divine origins that bypassed maternity. In these essays, the renowned French Hellenist Nicole Loraux examines the implication of this and other Greek origin myths as she explores how Athenians in the fifth century forged and maintained a collective identity.
Worshipping Athena
The foremost religious festival of ancient Athens--the city dedicated to Athena, goddess of war, fertility, arts, and wisdom--was the Panathenaia. Challenging old assumptions and refuting new theories, Worshipping Athena addresses the many problems of interpretation and understanding that have swirled for years around the Panathenaia. Among the issues discussed is the recent sensational controversy over the Parthenon frieze, perhaps the best known but least understood work of Greek art. For centuries the frieze has been thought to represent the Panathenaia procession, but recently the argument has been advanced that it depicts the sacrifice of the daughters of the Athenian king Erechtheus. Worshipping Athena offers compelling evidence that the frieze does indeed depict the festal procession and also demonstrates that scenes of contemporary ritual were not unique to the Parthenon. Editor Jenifer Neils and the contributors--eminent classicists, archaeologists, and art historians--explore the role of the Panathenaia in Athenian life and compare it with similar festivals held throughout the ancient Greek world. They discuss such topics as the Panathenaia's mythical origins, the phenomenon of the festival's valuable prizes (oil-filled amphoras, rather than the customary laurel wreath), and the architecture, sculpture, and painting related to the festival. Worshipping Athena will provide valuable insights to scholars and students concerned with ancient religion, mythology, art, literature, and gender issues, as well as anyone with a keen interest in the ritual topography of the Athenian Acropolis and the iconography of the Parthenon frieze.
The Sleuth and the Goddess: Hestia, Artemis, Athena and Aphrodite in Women’s Detective Fiction
Rowland presents a detailed exploration of how the archetypes of ancient goddesses Hestia, Artemis, Athena and Aphrodite breathe into and shape female-authored detective fiction. Representing aspects of characterisation not bound by gender, the book examines how these archetypes emerge in themes like the home and hearth, hunting, survival and desire. Rowland assesses numerous examples from a range of works, providing a clear illustration of each archetype and illuminating aspects of femininity, psyche and being. This uniquely interdisciplinary work of literary analysis sheds light on the popularity and underlying mystique of the genre. Chapter 1: Introduction: Mythical Knowing and Detective Fiction; Chapter 2: The Goddesses for Women Writers: Gendering the Genre; Chapter 3: Hestia: Detecting Hearth and Home; Chapter 4: Hunting with Artemis; Chapter 5: Athena's Justice; Chapter 6: The Mysteries of Aphrodite; Chapter 7: The Nature of the Twenty-First Century: The Sleuth and the Goddess after 9/11; Notes; Index Susan Rowland, PhD, is Chair of the M.A. in Engaged Humanities and the Creative Life at Pacifica Graduate Institute, California. Author of many books on Jung, the feminine, literature, and literary theory, her recent work includes C. G. Jung in the Humanities: Taking the Soul’s Path (2010) and The Ecocritical Psyche: Literature, Evolutionary Complexity, and Jung (2012). She lives in California with her husband, the digital literary artist and poet Joel Weishaus.
Athena: Protector of Heroes and State
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Athena plays a major role in the success of exploits, including Perseus' defeat of Medusa and the Trojan War. Athena gives mortals the ability to temper bravery with reflection and cunning, the plow and yoke, numbers, and construction skills. WARNING: Viewer Discretion Advised. This video contains nudity.
Athena: Jealousy
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowAthena, in disguise, visited Arachne and found her to be arrogant and boastful. Arachne was horrified when she discovered the old woman was Athena and committed suicide. Athena poured a potion on Arachne's body, turning her into a spider. WARNING; Viewer Discretion Advised. This video contains nudity.
Athena: Birth
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowZeus' lover was the nymph Metis. Gaia and Uranus prophesied that the child Metis bore after Athena would dethrone Zeus; Zeus swallowed Metis while she was pregnant with Athena. Zeus suffered severe headaches and with a blow to the head from Hephaestus, Athena was born. WARNING: Viewer Discretion Advised. This video contains nudity.
Athena: Conflict
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowThe appearance Erichthonius frightens two women to death; Athena takes him to her temple. Zeus tells the gods and goddesses to choose a city that will worship them; Poseidon and Athena want Attica. Cecrops declares Attica will worship the god who gives man the most useful gift. WARNING: Viewer Discretion Advised. This video contains nudity.
Online Resources
- Callimachus's Hymn to Athena.The poem "Callimachus's Hymn to Athena," by Stephanie Burt is presented. First Line: It is not for me—gods forbid it—to see; Last Line: keep safe the homes and the children here as well.
- The Goddess Athena as Symbol of Phronesis in Porphyry's On the Cave of the NymphsOn the Cave of the Nymphs, an allegorical exegesis of Homer's description of the cave of the nymphs at Odyssey 13.102-112, a passage quoted in full at the beginning of the treatise after the briefest possible indication of the project on which Porphyry is embarking, has been generally given little attention in discussions of Neoplatonic philosophy, as it is deemed to be of little importance for establishing Porphyrian doctrine. However, the treatise contains significant philosophical thoughts on the relationship between the soul and body, embodiment, demonology, and the concept of salvation of soul, which are compatible with his other works, especially On Abstinence from Killing Animals (De Abstinentia) and Pathways to the Intelligible (Sententiae). The concept of salvation of soul is found in Porphyry's identification of the goddess Athena with phronesis, along with the olive tree, while Odysseus represents the soul descending into genesis, but will return back to his fatherland. In this context, this paper will explore the role and meaning of phronesis, namely the goddess Athena, in the process of the soul's journey towards the intelligible realm and show the relevance of the Neoplatonic doctrine of virtues, particularly the cathartic virtues, in Sententia 32 to Porphyry's reading of Homer's image of Odysseus under guidance of the goddess Athena. Phronesis inspires the soul to incline towards the level of Intellect that is, away from damaging influences of the body to which the soul is enslaved and which confuses it with desires, passions, fears and illusory impressions, and prevents it from attaining the intelligible realm, whereas the body and its desires lead us to conflict and unjust behaviour in order to gain wealth, status, power, and pleasure.
- Questions While Viewing Greek Myths and Rituals Through the Lens of Pausanias, I: Did Athena, Goddess of Athens, Belong Only to the Athenians?n conversations about the ancient world, my sorely-missed friend Emily Vermeule was fond of asking this rhetorical question: in Mycenaean times, was Athena a goddess who was worshipped only in Athens? And there can be variations on such a theme. For example, I have an underlying question, formulated from a diachronic point of view. That is to say, I have a question that is formulated from the standpoint of an outside observer who is trying to view, over time, whatever evidence remains. And there are many obstacles that block such a diachronic view in this case, since the stretch of time to be studied is vast, extending from the second millennium before our era all the way into the first millennium and even later. That said, here is my question, as already worded in the subtitle of this post: did Athena, goddess of Athens, belong only to the Athenians? And there is a related question: was Athens the only place that was ever named after Athena? Further, here is yet another related question, with specific reference to the “classical” Athena as visualized in the illustration that introduces my comments: did this goddess always look like that?