Athens, one of the chief city-states of all of ancient Greece, was a city greatly desired by two powerful deities: Athena and Poseidon. The myth that shows how this dispute was settled is depicted in many ways. This story can vary depending on which depiction is being observed. There are slight discrepancies between the Greek version of this myth, the Roman version, and the sculpture shown on the Parthenon in Athens. With close scrutiny of this myth, it is clear that culture, time period, and genre all are reasons for this myths disparity. This myth starts with a king named Crecrops, who is half man and half snake. He is the king of a flourishing unnamed city state in need of a patron god. He turns to Poseidon and Athena who …show more content…
The time period in which a certain myth is written or a sculpture sculpted in can tell us a great deal about the themes behind each respective work. As written works are passed down through the ages, each time period will interpret the document in a different way, relating to their own lives and culture. Poseidon takes losing the contest very harshly and acts drastically. In the Greek depiction of the contest between Athena and Poseidon, Poseidon, after coming up short in the competition, floods the Thriasian plain and drowns Attica under his salty sea in a fit of rage. “Athena created the olive tree, and the two divinities disputed, until the gods assigned Attica to Athena. Poseidon, indignant at this, caused the country to be inundated.” (Herod. viii. 55; Apollod. iii. 14. § 1 ; Paus. i. 24. § 3, &c.; Hygin. Fab. 164.) In a different translation of the story, not only does Poseidon flood Attica, but he also puts a curse on the city so that it will be forever be in a drought after the flood. This, coming from a later Roman text, can be considered an etiology. It is not hard to believe that Attica, during a certain time period, had a drought. They used the aetion of Neptune cursing them for eternal drought to explain why this all was happening. Earlier time periods probably did not have problems with water so the aetion was not needed. They did not need to
There was a myth that at the beginning of the existence of the city of Athens both gods offered gifts to the people of Athens, in order to sway them in deciding their patron god. Athena offered peace and prosperity while Poseidon offered naval power. The Athenians accepted Athena’s gift. Athens overall culture continued to reflect this decision, the city, in addition to being a center for architecture and mathematics, also played an important role in the progress of government, theology and philosophy. This myth could also give an explanation of why Athenian people may have felt superiority to other city states such as Sparta. The mythological significance it had was much greater than with another city-state such as Thebes, although it was related to the story of Hercules, and
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.
In the time of ancient Greeks many people believed in certain Gods and Goddesses and their mythological stories. Among the many gods and goddesses there was Athena, Goddess of wisdom, crafts, and war. Also there was Apollo, God of the sun, music, healing, prophecy, and poetry. Apollo’s twin sister Artemis Goddess of hunting and archery. Then there’s Poseidon, God of the ocean and brother to the most powerful God of them all, the God of all Gods, Zeus. However, there was only one specific God that mortals and even Gods feared, the brother of Poseidon and Zeus. He was the ruler of the underworld and the dead; he went by the name of Hades.
The Rome’s Pantheon and Greek’s Parthenon are both significant and innovative structures that have influenced the architecture around the world. This essay will describe the style and function of each building as well as the similarities and differences between ancient Greece and Rome in four characters including history, design, usage, and similarity.
The artwork I chose for the Classical Greece period is the Erechtheion, an architectural building interestingly using six maidens as support columns. Through studies of the architectural history of this piece, Michael Lahanas suggests that the temple was constructed as “a complex design that supposed to represent the legendary contest between Poseidon and Athena for guardianship of the city of Athens” (Lahanas). The relationship between the art and the culture of the related civilization depicts through its purpose as a temple. Some articles suggest that the temple was a place where worship occurred for both Poseidon and Athena; the structure
“The Parthenon was commissioned by Pericles sometime after Greek victories over the Persians between 490 and 480 BC” (Glancey 26, 27). During the Persian Greek wars, Athens believed that Athena watched over them and that she helped them throughout the war. The Parthenon represents the wealth, power, society, and culture of Athens. The building of the Parthenon cost the Athenians four hundred and sixty nine talents, which symbolized Athens as wealthy.
In the religion and mythology of ancient Greece, Poseidon was the god of the sea and of water in general. Unpredictable and often violent, he frequently represented the destructive power of the sea and was also the god of earthquakes. He was closely associated with horses as well. In art, Poseidon was typically shown as a bearded man carrying a trident (a three-pronged fishing spear) and accompanied by a dolphin or a tuna. He traveled over the sea in a chariot pulled by creatures that had the heads and bodies of horses and the tails of fish.
Another myth this story resembles is Zeus and his father, Cronus. In the myth Cronus is a
Poseidon was angry that he didn’t win, so he caused a great storm that caused a lot of damage to the town. (Wilkinson 30) These were just a few of the things that made people dislike
Ancient Heroes: Poseidon Introduction On Mount Olympus, in ancient Greece, there was 12 gods and goddesses all which included: Zeus the father of the Olympians, and wife Hera, his brothers Poseidon Hades, his sister Hestia, and his many children: Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis, and Hephaestus (“The Olympians” Desy 1). “Being the god of the sea, Poseidon was worshipped in all coastal cities and islands in ancient Greece (“Poseidon, the god of the sea” eLibrary 1). Poseidon forced the members of his religious cult sacrifice animals such as bulls, horses, pigs and fish. After the sacrifice was complete the animals were disposed of into the sea (eLibrary 1).
One day while tending Poseidon’s hippocampi, the cyclops were approached by Aphrodite. She instructed them to give Poseidon the nectar and then tell him to seek her immediately, and they did, for they could not resist the soft voice and beauty of Aphrodite. Once given the nectar and instructions, Poseidon created a tsunami and rode it to Mount Olympus. Once Poseidon arrived he was immediately met by the vengeful goddess. Aphrodite whispered in Poseidon’s ear, “Take Eelos’ beauty and make it mine, for if you do, I will be yours.” The nectar coursing through him, making him very suggestive, Poseidon went away immediately and did as told. He dipped his trident in the blood of the slain serpent Python, then in the sea. Poseidon found Eelos and took him by wrist and led him down to the sea, where he stabbed Eelos with the laced trident. Eelos shrieked in agony as his beauty was being taken from him and he was becoming a sea serpent. The instant the deed was done, Poseidon broke free from Aphrodite’s charm and realized what he had done. He fled to Zeus, the watchful god, and told him of the treason
Poseidon, the Sea God, and Athena, the Goddess of War, Wisdom and Peace both had different point of views and perspectives. Poseidon, the God known for his trident, acted dramatically towards winning Athens. As we know, the theme is that useful gifts are better than dramatic ones. Anyways, Poseidon made a salty sea as gift to win Athens. The Athenians disliked his gift. Athena's gift was an olive tree, which was more useful and resourceful. She thought further ahead into the future and about the Athenians' needs. The text states, "Their rivalry was so intense that they almost went to war and just as they were about to attack each other, Athena, with her typical, wise approach suggested that they should hold a contest for the city.” In other
Poseidon is the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. He is a Greek god and a supreme god of Mount Olympus. He is brother to Zeus and Hades. These three gods created everything together. There are many gods under Poseidon such as Similarly or Nereus. They are gods of certain rivers. Poseidon Drives his chariot through the waves. He is married to Nereus’s daughter. She is the Seanymph, her name is Amphitrite. He wanted so badly to rule the Athens so him and the goddess of war, Athena, had a competition to win over the people of the city. Poseidon threw a spear at the ground and produced the Spring at the Acropolis. Athena however won the battle because she gave the people of the city olive tree. In anger of Poseidon he flooded the Attic
Focusing on two of history’s most notorious mythologies, Greek and Roman, one may believe that they are exceedingly comparable; however, beyond a first glance, it is clear that each system is extremely distinguished. The Roman Empire, developed nearly a millennia following the great, Greek Trojan war, was highly influenced by the elaborate Greek myths of gods, goddesses, monsters, and mythical creatures. Their captivation of Greek culture bore a permanent effect on the Roman Empire, as Rome adopted much that defined Greece, including its art, philosophy, literature, drama, and most importantly, mythology. However, despite their indistinguishable origins, Roman and Greek mythologies prove to be very individualized.