Athena

  Athena 

 

  



'''Daughter of Zeus, and only by him, the Goddess Athena was not generated by any woman. She leaped from the head of Zeus, already adult, dressed with her armour. But the mother is not completely missing from the miraculous birth of Pallas Athena. According to Hesiod's account of the weddings of Zeus, the King of the Gods chose Metis as his first wife. She was of all beings "the most knowing" (as the word metis is interpreted), or "of many counsels" as translated in the sense of the Homeric epithet polymetis.'''

As she was about to give birth to the Goddess Athena, Zeus deceived his pregnant wife with cunning words and assimilated her into his own body. Mother Earth and Father Sky had advised him to do this so as to prevent any of his descendants from robbing him of his kingly rank. For it was destined that the most brilliant children were to be born to the Goddess Metis: first, the daughter Athena, and later a son, the future King of Gods and men.

In the most ancient account, the Iliad, Athena is the Goddess of ferocious and implacable fight, but, wherever she can be found, she only is a warrior to defend the State and the native land against the enemies coming from outside. She is, above all, the Goddess of the City, the protectress of civilized life, of artesian activities, and of agriculture. She also invented the horse-bit, which, for the first time, tamed horses, allowing men to use them.

She is the favourite daughter of Zeus; and that's why he let her use his insignia: the terrible shield, the Aegis and his devastating weapon, the ray. The most used expression to describe her is "the bright eyed". She is the first of the three virgin Goddesses, also known as Maiden, Parthenos, and from this name was taken the name to the most important Temple dedicated to her, the Parthenon. In poetry she is the incarnation of Wisdom, Reason and Purity. Athens is her city; the olive tree, created by her, is her tree; the owl, is the birth consecrated to her.''' The Birth of Athena

When Zeus swallowed his wife Metis she had been about to give birth to a child. Shortly afterwards Zeus was tortured by an intolerable headache. To cure him Hephaestus - split open his skull with a bronze axe and from the gaping wound, shouting a triumphant cry of victory, sprang Athena - fully armed and brandishing a sharp javelin. At the sight, all the Immortals were struck with astonishment and filled with awe. Great Olympus was profoundly shaken by the dash and impetuosity of the bright-eyed Goddess. The earth echoed with a terrible sound, the sea trembled and its dark waves rose. ..

In Crete they said that the Goddess had been hidden in a cloud and that it was by striking this cloud with his head that Zeus had caused Athena to emerge. The event was supposed to have taken place near Cnossus beside a stream, the Triton: whence the epithet Tritogeneia (born of Triton) often given to Athena. It was also explained by making her the daughter of Poseidon and of Lake Tritonis. Finally some said that Athena's father was the giant Pallas whom she had killed because he wished to ravish her. But these various relationships were dubious and it was generally agreed that Athena was the daughter of Zeus, engendered by the God himself.

Athena the Warrior Goddess



The manner in which Athena made her first appearance revealed her warlike proclivities. And, indeed, she delights above all in battle. She took part in the war against the giants, killing Pallas and hurling her chariot against Enceladus whom she finally crushed under the island of Sicily.

We find her again, equally belligerent and ardent, in the battles which raged beneath the ramparts of Troy. Not satisfied with stimulating the ardor of the Greeks - whom she favoured - she entered the skirmish herself. She put on her head a helmet of gold with jutting crest vast enough to cover the foot-soldiers of a hundred towns. Over her shoulder she slung the aegis which she had fashioned, according to some, from the skin of the giant Pallas or which - as was more generally held - was made from the hide of the goat Amaltheia. Zeus had used it for the first time during the war with the Titans and afterwards presented it to his daughter. It is a sort of cuirass or breastplate, fringed and bordered with snakes and bearing in the center the horrifying head of the Gorgon. Thus armed, Athena mounted on to the chariot of Diomedes, seized the whip and reins herself, and flung the horses against Ares, whom she stretched on the ground with a blow of her spear.

The memory of Athena's warlike prowess was perpetuated in Libya in annual festivals during which girls, divided into two camps, would stage a furious battle with sticks and stones.

Athena Protectress of Heroes

Herself a warrior, Athena protects the brave and valorous. When Hercules, a victim of Hera's hostility, undertook his arduous labours Athena stood at his side to help and comfort him. It was she who gave him the brazen cymbals whose sound frightened the birds of Lake Stymphalus. It was she who escorted him when he brought Cerberus from the underworld. Finally it was she who, after his death, welcomed him on the threshold of Olympus. And so, when Hercules won the golden apples of the Hesperides. he offered them in homage to this tutelary Goddess.

In the same way Athena also guided Perseus on his expedition against the Gorgons. As the hero dared not look into the terrifying face of the Medusa she guided his arm so that he could strike the monster. In gratitude Perseus afterwards gave Athena the Gorgon's head which she placed on her shield. Athena's part in the adventures of Perseus was so active that certain traditions say that she herself killed the Medusa by striking her during her sleep. This theory gave rise to several legends; for instance, that the battle between Athena and the Gorgon was the result of a beauty contest; and that the Goddess gathered up the blood of her victim and made a gift of it either to Asclepius or to Erichthonius - blood which had issued from the left vein brought death, blood from the right vein restored life.

Athena was also kindly disposed towards Bellerophon: she appeared to him in a dream and gave him a golden bridle, thanks to which he was able to tame the horse Pegasus. Finally she protected Ulysses successfully against all the perils which assailed him on his return from Troy, and in the guise of the sage Mentor she guided young Telemachus during his efforts to find his father again.

The Quarrel with Poseidon



Previously the Goddess had already shown particular benevolence to the land of Athens. In the days of King Cecrops a dispute had arisen between her and Poseidon for the possession of Attica. To affirm his rights Poseidon struck the rock of the Acropolis with his trident and a salt water spring gushed forth. According to another tradition it was a horse which appeared under Poseidon's trident. Athena, in her turn, caused an olive tree to sprout on the Acropolis, a tree which could be seen in the time of Pericles, still alive in spite of having been burned by the Persians during the invasion of Xerxes. Asked to settle the dispute the Gods, on the evidence of Cecrops, pronounced in favor of Athena.

The Gifts of Athena Athena is as benevolent in peace as she is redoubtable in war, and rends valuable service to mankind, She taught the people of Cyrene the art of taming horses. She showed Erichthonius how to harness the first war chariots, She was present while Jason's companions were building the ship Argo. Her skill was revealed in the humblest handicrafts: she invented the potter's wheel and made the first vases. But above all she excelled in woman's work. The art of weaving cloth and embellishing it with wonderful embroidery has no secrets from her. The Immortals rely on her skill and it was she who embroidered Hera's veil. She is jealous of her accomplishments and allows no one to surpass her.

In Lydia there lived a girl named Arachne who was renowned for her skill in handling needle and spindle. One day she dared to challenge the Goddess to compete with her. Athena arrived in the guise of an old woman and asked Arachne to withdraw her impious challenge. Arachne refused. Athena re-assumed her divine form and accepted the challenge. Arachne at once drew threads across her loom and with cunning hand guided the shuttle through the taut netting. As a subject, she had chosen to weave the loves of the Gods. When she had finished she submitted her work to Athena for examination. Furious with her arrogance, Athena changed Arachne into a spider and condemned her eternally to spin, and to draw from her own body the thread with which to weave her web.

Although Athena's activities are chiefly concerned with useful work she is not averse to artistic creation. Certain traditions originating in Boeotia attributed to her the invention of the flute. They said that the Goddess had thought of blowing into a stag's horn, pierced with holes, in order to imitate the plaintive whistling sound made by the Gorgon when Perseus cut its throat. But in Athens it was said that Athena had not persevered with her musical efforts because the Olympians had laughed at her when she blew out her cheeks and pursed her lips. So she had contemptuously tossed the flute aside and pronounced a curse against any person who picked it up. The satyr Marsyas, who dared to take possession of the instrument was cruelly punished for his imprudence.

Athena also at times fills the role of Goddess of health: everyone knew how the architect Mnesicles who, while working on the construction of the Propylaea, had fallen and was in danger of death, had been miraculously healed by Athena who was called for this reason Hygieia.

Athena extends her protection not only to individuals but also to entire cities. She was symbolized by the Palladia or statues of herself which had, it was claimed, fallen from heaven. The possession of a palladium was a pledge of security. Athens guarded one jealously in the Erechtheum. When Danaus fled from Egypt he was careful not to forget his palladium which he carried to Lindus in the isle of Rhodes. The most celebrated palladium was that of Troy which Zeus had presented to King Dardanus. According to others it had been made by Athena herself: heartbroken at having accidentally killed young Pallas, her playmate and the daughter of Tritonis, her foster-father, Athena carved from a tree trunk a statue reproducing the features of Pallas 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, where Ilus had a Temple built for it. When the Greeks laid siege to Troy they realized that they would never be victorious so long as the city retained its palladium. Diomedes and Ulysses therefore decided to steal the precious statue, and its theft spread discouragement among the Trojans. It was said, to be sure, that Dardanus had taken the precaution of exposing to the faithful only a copy of the palladium, and had carefully concealed the original in the adytum - or innermost sanctuary - of the Temple. Thus it was the replica that the Greeks had stolen. As for the genuine palladium, it was taken after the fall of Troy to Italy by Aeneas. But it did not remain there. After many vicissitudes it was brought back to Amphissa in Locris, where it could be seen and venerated by all.

