Athena's Role In Greek Mythology

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.

In the text Mythology by Edith Hamilton, women are portrayed as being property and objects. During this time women were seen to be not as "good" as men. They saw perfection in relationships between men and young male adults as the best relationships to have. However, homosexuality was frowned upon. Men were considered knowledgeable and educated, but women were seen as a burden placed on man by the Gods. When it came to women nothing was valuable about them but their beauty. When a woman was beautiful she was wanted by many men: a man would do almost anything to have the possession of a beautiful woman and have her as his property. It was as if a woman’s role was to only be a man’s beautiful possession and to procreate the lineage of a

Divine intervention is often an integral part of ancient epic poetry as seen in Homer's The Odyssey. The role of the goddess Athena was an essential part of Odysseus's journey back to Ithaka. Athena also played a vital part in Telemakhos's life before the return of his father. Even Penelope is impacted by the help of the "grey-eyed" goddess, often inspiring Penelope to hold off the suitors as well as putting her to sleep when a situation became too difficult. Athena demonstrates that she is a critical component of development within the father Odysseus and his son Telemakhos as well as guiding Penelope as a beautiful mother waiting for the return of her husband.

Throughout ancient Greco-Roman history, the Olympian Gods had very different roles in mythology. Athena and Artemis were two of the twelve gods who ruled Olympus. The goddesses portrayed many different religious aspects of this culture and played a large role in mythology. Both goddesses were believed to be virgin goddesses but still represent the ideas of growing into a woman, childbearing, and matronly duties. Throughout this paper the reader will find examples of similarities and differences between two virgin goddesses and how they represented the cultures of women, purity, and womanly duties.

The Odyssey is a fascinating epic poem consisting of twenty-four books all written by Homer. It is based on a Greek hero named Odysseus, who spends twenty years away from his family. Odysseus was in a battle against the Trojans in the Trojan War for the first ten years. Then, another ten years of painful obstacles was added due to his boastful attitude towards the gods and goddesses. When returning back to Ithaca, Odysseus encounters numerous of hardships with the help of the goddess, Athena. He bravely dealt with the wrath of Poseidon, the Cyclops, Aeolus’ winds, the Sirens, Lotus-Eaters, Cattle of Helios, Circe, Calypso, Scylla, Charybdis, the loss of his crew members, and also went to the underworld. The epic poem also includes the

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.

In Greco-Roman Culture, humans imagine the deities of mythology to be and act certain ways, due to the needs they must fill. People invented certain deities for reasons that align with what they needed from them. To examine how a deity has a certain purpose, one must first examine what they are like. Athena and Ares are examples of deities invented for very specific purposes. One must first look at Athena and Ares’ similarities and differences in relation to their characteristics, their sexuality and physical appearances, as well as their different powers and how they are worshipped, to discover why they were created.

For this informative report I will attempt to point out the roles women and how they are viewed in ancient Greece. I will then show how these views are present in Homer’s "The Odyssey." How are women, goddess or mortal, conveyed in "The Odyssey?"

While Athena is divine, she is still a central female character and the way in which she is portrayed makes an impact on the way Homer’s women are perceived.

The goddess also kept those people strong and faithful to the success of our hero even if they had heavy doubts. In the very beginning, Athena disguised herself as a prince in order to gather crewmen for his ship. She also provided hope when it was needed for characters around Odysseus and Telemachus. For instance, when Penelope learned of her son’s absence she cried at the thought of losing yet another loved one. Athena helps Penelope by presenting herself as the phantom of Iphtime, Penelope’s sister and tells her, “Courage! Don’t be overwhelmed by all your direst fears. He travels with such an escort, one that others would pray to stand beside them.”

Athena is the daughter of Zeus and Metis. Zeus is the Chief Deity and Metis is the goddess of wisdom. When Metis was pregnant, Zeus was scared she would deliver a son stronger than him so, he ate Metis. Zeus had Hephaestus split his skull so the pain would subside and when this occurred Athena emerged fully grown from hs head. Athena became Zeus’s favorite child.(Tuccardi,” Athena”1) Athena was a member

Athena to me is a show of empowerment to woman. She had two very differently respectful sides, much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She is known as both the Goddess of Wisdom and of War. She also possessed traits of peace, protection and healing. Athena promised victory to the Greeks who respected and worshiped her so she gained the name Athena Nike, meaning victory. Away from her brutal traits Athena was also a protective of the arts, such as weaving and embroidery. She was also said to have taught men the art of farming and she also invented the arts and crafts of pottery , shoe making, etching, construction and metalworking. Athena also believed in feminism, which, meant that she believed that men and woman deserved equal rights, which she

Goddess, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Classical Women of Antiquity, written by Sarah B. Pomery, focuses on the main categories of women in the literature and society of ancient Greece and Roman over a time period of fifteen hundred years. Pomery focuses on these roles and how they are significant in the development and structure of these great ancient civilizations. Her goal in writing this book was to expand upon her first book, entitled Goddesses as she discusses in the Preface of this book. She wanted to include the significance of all women’s roles beyond just that of Olympian women because the first thesis was so well received.

One of the issues in Homers The Odyssey is understanding the role and function of the goddess Athena. The problem is most pronounced when examining Athena’s duality. She provides Odysseus both her counsel and assistance throughout the story yet she’s also the entity that keeps him exiled from his home. Athena’s role, similar to the other gods, is to correct apparent injustices. “Oh father Zeus and gods and bliss forever let no man holding scepter as a king think to be mild the fatherhood and mercy through his reign. Meanwhile he lives and grieves upon the island of the nymph…” Book 5 lines 9-21. These lines show that Athena is concerned about the injustice that surrounds Odysseus and his son. This suggests that gods can become active in the role of mortals and may aid them to correct inequity through their fate. This paper will explore the obligations Athena had to ensure Odysseus’ voyage home safely as well as the thematic importance of fate in The Odyssey and the intervention and the power of the gods and goddesses. Fate is one of the occurring themes throughout the Odyssey, where the intervention of the gods and goddesses is common due to the triumphs of men and women.

In this essay we will be studying the Homeric Hymns, including the Hymn to Apollo, to Hermes, and to Aphrodite, with particular emphasis on the Hymn to Demeter. Although he Homeric Hymns are of unknown authorship and differ widely in date, the Hymns that we will be focused on, are generally thought to have been composed between the 7th and 5th centuries BC (citation). The Hymn to Demeter is unlike the other Homeric Hymns in that Demeter refuses to submit to Zeus, and channels her own authority through her gift of fertility; Demeter displays power as a Goddess through her motherhood, not in spite of it, and affronts the