Athena: The Goddess of War and Skill

In Homer’s epic poem the Iliad, gods and goddesses play an important role in influencing the lives of humans, and Athena is an important part of the war. The goddess Athena is written mostly as a mortal, where she signifies the personification of war. Both sides of the war know that with Athena, they will not lose. This is probably why she is the most significant minor character. Athena is the most significant minor character because she is brave, wise, and she is a warrior. Athena plays a significant role in the unfolding drama, because both the Greeks and the Trojans know that her favor, they cannot be defeated.

“Since Zeus swallowed his wife when she was pregnant he allowed one of the other gods to split open his head, and out came not a son but a beautiful full-grown daughter in full armor” (Athena pag.). She was born on the river of Triton in Egypt (Athene 2000). Athena was one of Zeus’s ever trusted people that he told her where his magic shield and where the lightning bolts were. Ever since Zeus told her that she remained his constant advisor through everything (Athena pag). Athena was a very trusted person, but her battle skills are very impressive and interesting as well.

The Statue of Athena Parthenos 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.

Athena was the Greek Goddess of many ideas, but she was famous mostly for her superior wisdom, her cunning skills in times of war, and her implausible talent for household tasks, such as weaving and pottery. She was celebrated more than any other God in ancient mythology, was the supposed inventor of countless innovations, and her figure gave reason for Greek woman to gain rights long before others of their time. The goddess of war, the guardian of Athens, and the defender of Heroes; Athena’s impact on the lives of Ancient Greeks is outstanding.

Athena is fierce and brave; She is smart, somewhat ruthless, but she was praised by all. Athena took part in many wars and also fought in the Trojan War. She is “The Goddess of War”, so she is Ares counterpart. She is smart, she invents many things, like the flute, trumpet, the chariot, and much more. She is praised by many because of her “compassion and generosity.” to her followers.

The statue was a staggering 40 feet tall, which is a remarkable height. Things that have a grand stature are normally associated with being of greater power or importance, and in the case of the Athena Parthenos it portrays a Goddess like aura. The statue was also made of gold and ivory which are very esteemed and sought after materials. They are extremely valuable materials, and Phidias had made a whole 40 foot tall statue out of them.*footnote* Gold and ivory are often associated with importance and power, and are thought to be very valuable and pure. These are all qualities that would also be associated with a figure that is Goddess-like. The size and the choice of material suggest that the statue was of great importance and power, which are qualities that should be associated with a

Another area where Athena and Ares have similarities is in their physical appearances, however their sexualities differ abundantly. Artists often portray Athena wearing all her armor as if she were preparing for war. She often holds the aegis, her shield, as well as a typical spear. Artists often show Ares as if he is ready for war; sometimes he is shown wearing armor, and other times he is shown naked. In either depiction he usually has a shield on sword with him or nearby. While there may be some similarities in their physical depictions, their sexualities differ greatly. From birth, Athena always remained virgin and pure, like the goddesses Artemis and Hestia. Hephaestus was the only one to ever make a sexual advance toward her. However, Athena remained pure in her integrity and conviction. Ares differs greatly from her because he had multiple sexual partners. He is known to have laid with the goddesses Eos and

first piece is a red figure amphora from approximately 330 B.C.E called the Apulian Red Figure Loutropharos. It depicts Leda lovingly embracing Zeus as a swan after Aphrodite has helped to make Leda fall in love with Zeus. Potters and painters at this time would have been male, therefore they would have made things that applied to their male audiences. For that reason making an amphora with this myth on it would be make sense because the people handling amphora's would have been male. Amphora's were used to carry goods in for trade; this is something men would have done. However it may be more likely that this is a funerary amphora that would have marked an influential mans grave. We see in Leda's somewhat erotic embrace of Zeus that she has

the massive sanctuary both regarded Athena and celebrated the city of Athens. Taking a gander at the costly and intricate Parthenon, nobody could question the loftiness and wealth of Athens. In spite of the fact that it was a heavenly showplace, the Parthenon did not fill the pragmatic needs that different sanctuaries did. The huge statue of Athena was not connected with any known cults. Indeed, the customary customs and tributes were performed for a

The paintings on the base and shoulder are broken up into registers which can trace back to Mesopotamian culture and Egyptian society as well. Both registers on the shoulder and body depict two dimensional figures along side with oriental flowers. In both registers, there is an animal depicted, which is a panther. The panther is one of the forms that Dionysus the god of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature takes on.3 The panther on this Oinochoe leads us to believe it represents Dionysus because he is the god of wine, and this particular vessel was used for wine. Another figure on the vase is a winged figure, however that part of the vase has faded to the point where it cannot be analyzed or examined. What can be seen however are lions, which at the time in ancient Greece showed wealth and power and can often be found in many Greek myths. Lions during this time are depicted roaring with their mouths open and their body flexing and tall, poised to show power and authority. The registers may have the same animals and creatures on them; however the register on the body of the vase has more of the animals. The final animal that is depicted is a feral goat, the only way it can described and identified as feral, is because it is grazing where the lions and bird like

In the Iliad, a book wrote by Homer, Athena represented “the intellectual and civilized side of war and the virtues of justice and skill.”(“Athena”, Britannica) She was represented by a golden shield and helmont, a spear, a spindle and the number 7. The olive tree also represents her and her wisdom because she gave it as a gift to a city.(“Goddess symbols:Athena”, Goddess Gifts)Athena’s male counterpart(Greek Gods, “Athena”) Ares lived on Mount olympus as the god of war and representing Mars. He was seen as a warrior in art. Ares represented the bloody and gruesome parts in battle. ( “Ares” Britannica) His symbols are the spear, helmet, chariot, boar, vulture, species of owls and the flaming torch. He is represented by the color red because red is the color of war and Mars. ( “Ares” Greek Gods and

.I'm sure many people have heard about Greek mythology, from gods to goddesses to centaurs the Greek myths have been both informative and entertaining . I'm here to tell you about one goddess in particular, Athena , the beautiful war goddess that has a quite intriguing life story. Athena was the goddess of wisdom, war, courage and etc.Her powers consist of agriculture, spinning, needlework and navigation. She was considered a goddess of war, but also she is the patron goddess of Athens. Hence why it is named after her. Athena was very fierce and brave in all her battles.She is one of the virgin goddesses, alongside Hestia and Artemis.Homer’s poem, the Iliad, stated that Athena was a fierce and ruthless warrior. But in the Odyssey, she was angry and unforgiving. Athena had a very unusual birth , she was not normally born by her mother Metis, instead Hephaestus split open her father Zeus’s , head after his complaint about an aching headache .Then Athena sprang out fully grown and dressed in armor. How , you might ask ? Well , Zeus went to bed with Metis,

Athena Polias, one of the most important roles of Athenian history. She is the daughter of Zeus, the great god of ancient Greece, and Metis. Her birth was unlike any other. Once Zeus discovered that upon Athena’s birth, she would overthrow his power of ancient Greece, he flattered Metis until the opportunity that he could swallow her along with the unborn child. One day, Zeus had been complaining of a headache, and ordered one of the gods to split his head open to discover what had been going on. Once his head was sliced with an axe, Athena appeared fully grown and complete with armour, ready for battle, giving for the name “goddess of war”. Though what seems to be an obscure normal father-daughter relationship, it is believed that Athena

The piece is a red-figured, wine bowl that is attributed to the Niobid Painter. It was made in Athens, Greece around 460-450 BC, and found in Altamura. Puglia, Italy (British Museum). There are two scenes on top of one another that occur in the piece. The top scene is the creation of Pandora. She is standing rigid while five of the gods are standing around her. Athena is about to put a wreath on her head. The scene below displays a frieze of dancing and playing satyrs. Because the vase is round it isn’t possible to see all the figures in the piece. But looking at the piece from the front, six gods are portrayed in the top scene. The gods in the scene from left to right are: Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Pandora, Ares, and Hermes. The gods in the piece are identifiable because of distinguishable traits that certain characters

If I could pick one god, goddess, hero or other character that I would like to be, I would pick Athena. Athena is the daughter of Zeus alone. It is said that she sprung full grown and fully clothed in armor, from his head. In the Iliad Athena is depicted as a “ruthless battle-goddess”. Athena is also shown as only being warlike to defend and protect from outside enemies. I admire Athena’s capability of defending and fighting. I am very in to martial arts so her fighting ability attracts me. I am attracted to her wisdom, reason, and purity. Athena is depicted as having a lot of fairness and compassion. I admire this because I always wish I had more of these traits like compassion and empathy. Although Athena is referred to as the battle goddess,