The Birth Of Athena Essay

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.

Athenian society was very dynamic in many areas while it was strict in regard to the treatment of women. Although Athenian women were protected by the state and did not know a different way of living, they were very stifled and restricted. The only exception was slaves, and heteria, prostitutes, and this was due to the fact that they had no male guardians. Since these women were on there own they had to take care of themselves, and therefore were independent. In a more recent and modern way of viewing the role of a woman, independence and freedom to do as one likes is one of the most important aspects of living. In Athens the wives had none of this freedom and the prostitutes did. Who then really had a “better”

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.

Since the beginning of time the people of the world have their share of beliefs. Greek mythology is the arguably the most popular region of study. In Ancient Greece every citizen had a patron that would protect them and pantheism was commonplace. The Romans admired the Greeks in their art and culture and even took different aspects of their gods. Polytheism was widely accepted in all cultures so the seed of mythology bloomed. The time line of the creations of gods to the end of their reign is an important factor in Greek Mythology.

Athena resolves the conflicts of the Oresteia with an ambiguous judgment that seems to satisfy all parties involved. However, in any conflict, at least one party must make sacrifices to work toward a resolution. Athena achieves her paradoxical result by misleading Apollo to think that he has received total victory in judgment and by offering compensatory powers to the Erinyes, thus creating an illusion of satisfaction for all amidst a reality of compromise.

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.

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

Women in classical Athens could not have had an extremely enjoyable experience, if we rely on literary sources concerning the roles of women within the Greek polis. The so-called Athenian democracy only benefited a fraction of the entire population. At least half of this population was female, yet women seem to have had very little influence and few official civic rights. `The position of women...is a subject which has provoked much controversy.'

Even being from the same time frame in history, the Roman women from Sparta and the Greek women from Athens were completely different. Their ideas, habits, and daily activities were majorly impacted by the community they lived in. Some of the main differences between the lifestyles of these women include the rights they were given under the government, the daily and professional attire of the women, and the marital and divorce rituals of each of the women. Though they had many different things about them, they also had some similarities that connected them together. Both the Athens and Sparta have two completely different statuses for their women in the society, in many different aspects as well.

The novel Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is about seven teen demigods that must stop the destruction of Rome, the end of the world. This is an action packed story that allows one to better understand Greek Mythology. When reading this book, the author is trying to make the reader realize that there is a hero in all of us, whatever we set our minds to do, and we can accomplish it no matter what obstacles are put in front of us. One quote from the book that is quite iconic is “Being a hero doesn’t mean you’re invincible. It just means that you’re brave enough to stand up and do what’s needed.”(Riordan, pg. 475) Anything is possible if you just give it a chance. The theme throughout this series is that with teamwork much can be accomplished.

When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in, with her age and the state of her health. The figure is dressed in cloth that drapes off her body as she carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. On her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During the hellenistic period, artists begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. There is an opportunity to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.

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.

The Temple of Athena Nike exemplifies the early Greek belief that the gods, specifically Athena, held divine providence over government and victory in war. It was built as part of the same project as the Parthenon, one of the greatest achievements of Mycenaean Greece. Lasting from 1300-1000 B.C.E, Mycenaean Greece bordered Epirus, Macedonia, Phrace, Phryapa, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia. Encompassing this time span, Ancient Greece lasted from 8000 to 50 B.C.E. The achievements of Athens in this time include the Pythagorean Theorem and the Socratic dialogues. The epic Trojan War was said to have occurred in Mycenaean times as well. So were the Ionic Greeks who built this ancient temple. (Ancient-Greece.org)(about ancient history.com)

Born from her father Uranus after his castration, she was brought to life from the foam of the sea. Since she was born this way she is considered to be a duel goddess. Athena on the other hand is a fierce and strategic warrior because she is the goddess of war. Unlike Aphrodite she is a virgin goddess, hence the outfit of choice, and uses her wisdom to inform others and win battles. Similar to Aphrodite, she was born from just her father alone, Zeus, by coming out of his head. Both of these goddesses were created solely by there fathers and do not have a mother, or at least in most versions of their creation myths. This is what allows both of them to be unique in their qualities and helps define who they are. Only several other gods like them had unusual births and were from only one

Athena is an important goddess who has been given many different attributes by Greek people. She’s known as the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, the arts, military victory, crafts, and skills. Although Athena was known for many attributes, she was mostly known for her skills regarding war. She was said to be the female counterpart of Ares, the god of war, or even superior to him as she would look at the strategy side of war, while Ares was just thirsty for blood. She was described as a fierce and ruthless warrior in the Iliad, and a angry and unforgiving warrior in the Odyssey. As shown in the picture, she was depicted as a goddess holding a spear and an aegis, and wearing a golden helmet and an armour. The armor mentioned before is very important and significant as it is said that she was born wearing an armor. Myth says that one day, Zeus had a big headache and asked Hephaestus, the smith god, to help him. As a result, Hephaestus cracked Zeus’head open, and Athena came out yelling a cry of war, fully grown and wearing an amor. As it is evident, Athena did not have a mother, however, it is believed that Metis, Zeus's first wife, was Athena’s mother. However, Zeus ate her after he heard a prophecy that stated that if a male child was born from Metis, he would be more powerful than Zeus. Zeus did not appreciate the fact that someone would become more powerful than him. As a result, he tricked Metis, and turned her into a fly and swallow her. However, Metis was already pregnant with Athena when Zeus ate her, so she emerged from Zeus’ head. Interestingly, Athena is known as Zeus’ favourite child. He loved her so much that she was the only one who was not punished after Zeus found out about Hera’s plan to take over Zeus’ throne. She is also the only other god, besides Zeus, that is allowed to use his thunderbolt. Additionally, the aegis that she is usually depicted with, was given by Zeus and was made of the skin of a goat that had nurtured him as a child. As shown, Zeus’ relationship with Athena was good, as well as her relationship with most of the other gods. However, there were times where she would collide with other gods. For