Athena Essay examples - 1104 Words

Athena With a battle cry that resounded through the kingdom of heaven and earth she sprang from the head of Zeus. She is one of the most powerful forces on Mount Olympus, representing war and the immortal spirit of wisdom. Athena embodies the matriarchal goddess, a complex figure of internal strength and reflection. She is a powerful source of interpretation for the idea of the goddess as a balance between nature and humanity. In one aspect she embodies the civic patron of Athens, with her benevolence and strategic defenses. However her mythological nature as the mother goddess and eternal being connects her with four thousand years of sacred expression through intuition, creation and instinct. Athena represents the unity of these†¦show more content†¦In birth she is a symbol of the threatening force of dominance and aggression. An oracle of Gaea, the goddess of the earth, knew of Athenas power and potential. She warned Zeus of a third generation child who would overthrow him and i nherit his kingdom. Metis was a clever goddess and took on the disguise of various creatures such as hawks, fish, and serpents to avoid Zeus. However Zeus could change into many forms as well and he devised a plan to trick the pregnant Metis and swallow her. When Promethius split Zeuss head open, it was the beginning of Athena and eternal wisdom. Metis was the greek goddess of wisdom and the first wife of Zeus. Athena inherited the qualities of Metis and due to her manner of birth became the symbol of intellect and insight. The ability to reflect that Athena posesses is known as Metis becuase of her mother and gives her practical wisdom and craftiness. Her reflective nature gives her insight and knowledge to offer those she guides. The image of Athena mourning, a marble bas-relief from the high classical Greek period of 480-450 BC, shows her reflective quality. This quality gives her the advantage over her opponents because it is a premeditated strategy rather than impulsive action. There are endless examples of her benevolence and strategy. Odysseus was one of her mortal companions who she helped return to his family after his long journey. Odysseus was oneShow MoreRelatedThe Statue Of Athena Parthenos1720 Words   |  7 Pages It was dedicated to the city’s deity Athena. The temple was made to give a statue made in Athena’s honor a home. When Athena led the Greek forces during the Persian wars, the people of Athens thought the world needed to see her success through a statue. Pheidias began sculpting the statue in 447 BCE. The statue would remain the city’s symbol for thousands of years until it completely disappeared from the historical record during the Late Antiquity period. Some sculpture details and descriptionsRead MoreEssay on The Craftiness of Athena532 Words   |  3 PagesAthena, the Greek goddess of both wisdom and war, is often considered the craftiest of all Olympian gods. She was born of a headache, and erupted from Zeus’ head fully armed and ready for battle. However, beside all this pomp, she is a rather caring, if war-loving, immortal. Throughout the entirety of The O dyssey she conveys an entirely platonic, almost motherly love for Odysseus. It is this that makes her significant character in Homer’s work. In The Odyssey, Athena is portrayed as a, if notRead MoreAthena Is A Greek Goddess2704 Words   |  11 PagesAthena is a Greek goddess. She is also known as Mykene in the city of Mycenae, Thebe in the city of Thebes, Minerva to the Romans, Athina, and Athene. She is the goddess of reason, intelligent activity, art, and literature. As a great goddess of war, Athena is generally depicted in full armour with the aegis and golden staff. Her shield is round and shows the head of Medusa in the center. She is often depicted with her golden helmet pushed back to reveal her beauty. Occasionally, she is seenRead MoreAthena, The Goddess Of Wisdom And Strategy965 Words   |  4 PagesAthena, the goddess of wisdom and strategy, plays an intriguing role throughout The Odyssey. An example of this role is specifically shown in Book 19, as she is present with Odysseus and Telemachus in the halls. In this scene, Athena is shown holding a golden lamp in front of Telemachus and Odysseus as they walk the halls. Odysseus is able to see Athena is holding the lamp. However, Telemachus cannot see her and is bedazzled by the golden radiance and glow. As Homer states, Odysseus and his princelyRead MoreAthena And Aphrodite : Greek Mythology920 Words   |  4 PagesAthena and Aphrodite, two of the most well-known goddess’ from Ancient Greek mythology. Athena is the goddess of war strategy and wisdom, she never married or had relationships. Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, she had a lot of relationships and had several children. Besides both of them being extremely popular and worshiped goddess’ it seems like these two goddess’ have nothing else in common. However, Athena and Aphrodite have a lot of similarities between the two of them. Some similaritiesRead MoreAthena Is The Goddess Of Wisdom, War, And Handicrafts1395 Words   |  6 PagesAthena The Superior I was ordered by the gods to choose a supreme deity. After careful consideration I chose Athena. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war, and handicrafts. She possesses traits of leadership, courage, strategy, and justice and she is perfectly fit to be a ruler. It is interesting to note that she is a woman and by Ancient Greek standards, she possesses masculine traits. With Athena at the top, she has two subordinates that rank the second highest in the new kingdom. These two subordinatesRead MoreA Comparison of Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite Essay2580 Words   |  11 Pagespeople of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. These three goddesses represent three different types of women in Greek society. Sarah Pomeroy, author of Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, believed that â€Å"the goddesses are archetypal images of human females, as envisioned by males† (8). Pomeroy understands the significance in the differences betwe en Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and what those differences meant for the women of Greece who wereRead MoreAthena in the Odyssey vs. Virgil in the Inferno Essay1500 Words   |  6 PagesAthena in the Odyssey VS. Virgil in the Inferno Two of the greatest works ever written, The Odyssey by Homer and The Inferno by Dante, are detailed, multi-sectioned poems about the journey’s of two men. In each story, the main character is given some sort of guidance by another character in order to aid them in their travels. In The Odyssey, Athena is portrayed as the protector to Odysseus on his journey back home from the Trojan War to his family in Ithaca. In The Inferno, Virgil is requestedRead MoreAthena and Odysseus1113 Words   |  5 Pages Relationship between Athena and Odysseus By looking at the epic The Odyssey by Homer, there are a lot of contacts between human and immoral, the relationship between Athena and Odysseus, which make me interesting, also this is important for the story. The relationship between Athena and Odysseus is the key for the story, because Odysseus had received a lot of help from Athena, their relationship is the reason to explain why would an immortal Athena who never interesting or attracted by any maleRead MoreAthena In Homers Odyssey : The Persuasiveness Of Athena1480 Words   |  6 PagesA Father’s Daughter: The Persuasiveness of Athena in The Odyssey In Homer’s The Odyssey the reader is introduced to a number of powerful women, who, as per the social rules of the time, are expected to bend to the whim of their male counterparts. These women, while persuasive and cunning, fall victim to the patriarchal status of Greek society; Penelope, wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus, must obey the word of her son; the nymph Calypso must obey the command of Zeus through Hermes; Nausicaa