Greek Goddesses Essay

In ancient Greece, around 500 B.C.E, the culture was revolving around gods and goddesses. The lifestyles and actions of the people of Greece had an interdependence with the common belief of Hellenism. By understanding that many Greeks looked to their gods and goddesses in most aspects of their life, we can better understand how Greek culture worked as a whole. This can be seen specifically in Athens Greece. In Athens they looked to the Goddess Athena in particular because she was their patron Goddess. During this time a sculptor, named Phidias, sculpted a grand statue called the Athena Parthenos. The Athena Parthenos was viewed as an actual incarnation of the Goddess Athena, and symbolize victory in wars that ultimately create peace and harmony.

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.

Culture and their beliefs played a massive role in the lives of the ancient Athenians. In regards to their beliefs, Athenians didn’t believe in a single powerful God. Instead they relied on multiple Gods and Goddesses. Athens patron goddess is Athena, goddess of wisdom and knowledge. There belief in multiple deities came from their Indo-European ancestors. They attributed supernatural powers to elements such as the sun, wind, and rain. Later, Greeks personified the powers and created gods. As epic poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, people were able to identify problems and focal points of Ancient Greek living. Ancient Athenians beliefs grew, as they offered more sacrifices in order to have a prosperous life.

She was a goddess of many of the arts such as agriculture, navigation, and the engendering of wool. This included spinning weaving and needlework. Her excellence of arts inspired the construction of the world's first ship and the Trojan horse. Athena was additionally credited with the engendering of the flute, but she gainsays it, calling the instrument neither puissant nor comely enough. Albeit she was kenned for many of these arts, the one she excelled in the most was mainly weaving.

Athena was import to the greeks because she invented many things for them like the Olive Tree, the flute, spinning, weaving, the plow, the trumpet, ships, rakes, and many more. To honor her the Athens is named after her because she gave them a new item (the olive) and is the patron of their city-state. Also, she is the patron deity of the Athens, is allies with some heroes, and helped end the trojan war.

"In Ancient Greece, religion was personal, direct, and present in all areas of life. With formal rituals, which included animal sacrifices and libations, myths to explain the origins of mankind and give the gods a human face, temples which dominated the urban landscape, city festivals and national sporting and artistic competitions, religion was never far from the mind of an ancient Greek. " For the Greek government and societies to function properly some basics, generally must have been known about e.g.: the gods themselves had existed, and could influence matters in human lives and that they also encouraged and responded to piety and of worship. Greek religion involved a countless number of gods, each symbolising a certain part of human conditions,

<br>The oldest Olympian, Hestia, also called Vesta, was an offspring of Cronus and Rhea also. She was a Virgin Goddess, the Fire-Divinity, Goddess of the Household, and Goddess of the Hearth. (Guirand 156; Hamilton 37) Because of her responsibilities, she was considered a symbol of the home. Every city in Greece had a public hearth where the fire could not go out in honor of her. (Hamilton 37)

She was loving, alluring and most important she was drop dead gorgeous. She was even considered the most beautiful goddess in Olympia, her name is Aphrodite. Aphrodite represents various values but her most known are beauty, love, sexuality and fertility.

She is also the goddess of pot making and wool working. She is associated with the city, and almost every town in Greece had a sanctuary dedicated to Athena.

She usurped her mother's position as goddess of wisdom. “Athena was the Greek virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts, and literature.” , stated in Greekmytholgy.com’s report about Athena. She was also known as Athena Parthenos meaning “Virgin Athena.” She remained an unmarried virgin but she favored certain mortals.

There are many small temples on the Acropolis around the Parthenon dedicated to her as well. Since Athena has a monument made exclusively for her, it can be inferred that she was well loved by the citizens of Greece. There is a word in the dictionary named after the heroines wisdom also. An athenaeum- “an institution for literary or scientific study or a library” - is named after temples of Athena, since she was the goddess of wisdom (Athena 8).

Ancient Greek life revolved around goddesses so much so that the capital, Athens, was named after Athena and was home to the ancient world wonder, the Parthenon, in her honor. Aphrodite in the Homeric Hymn of Aphrodite is shown to have a lot of power over both mankind and the male gods. Aphrodite’s power over sexual desire is so influential that

The gods of Greece have a very interesting history. They had many beliefs for the gods and goddesses. Citizens of greece for many years have believed that there was many powerful beings that controlled everything. All of them had a role. Greeks had an entire way of life due to the gods like: origin, art, legends, proficiencies,and types of gods.

Aphrodite was widely known on the island of Crete as being the goddess of love, loyalty and beauty. I believe that if they had known the truth of Aphrodite`s character, they`d have a completely different view of the goddess. Even so, the people of Crete believed that they had a special place in the goddess` heart, for every summer she came down from the heavens and spent her days on Cretian shores. Although no one ever knew why she came, for she was hidden past brush that lead to the beach and could not be seen, they saw her presence as a blessing. In the months of June, July, and August, also known as summer months, the people held marvelous festivals as to draw attention away from the shores and give Aphrodite peace alone, or so they thought.

Throughout the course of time, different civilizations across the world hold one thing in common by which a society or culture can be based upon or help influence the structure. The one common thing that has help a civilization grow throughout the period of time would be the formation of a religion. Religion is a center point for many societies throughout history. As the center for the different civilizations, it helped form their different traditions and customs. The same could be said about the people of ancient Greece, where religion or mythology played an important role in their lives as it was the pedestal of their culture and how they base their lives upon. The formation of a religion across the large number of regions of Greece, help the different locations mold themselves by the customs that were created from the adaptation. During what was known as Ancient Greece, the people would hear tales of the twelve Olympians and how their actions influence the world around them. Within this period of time for the people of Greece was that of growth, as they sought to bring new ideas into light as they exited from a dark period within their own history.