| The worship of the goddess Athena can be traced back to around 1400BCE when a Mycenaean temple dedicated to her was built in Troy. It is possible that Athena evolved from an earlier goddess of storms and lightning but there is not a great amount of evidence to support this. Her worship grew during the classical Greek period and stretched into the era of the Roman Empire. The Romans worshipped her in the guise of Minerva, the goddess of handicrafts, who is thought to be of Etruscan origin. Minerva was worshipped as part of the Capitoline Triad in Rome, along with Jupiter and Juno. Athena was one of the twelve great Olympian deities and, as well as Artemis and Hestia, one of the three virgin goddesses. She was the goddess of the rational and defensive use of warfare to protect the community and as such she was widely worshipped and protectress of many cities, including her namesake Athens. The Birth of Athena Athena had a rather unusual birth in that she was not born of woman; instead she was born from the head of her father Zeus. Her mother Metis was pregnant with Athena when Zeus was told that she would bear a son that would take his place as king of Gods and men. To prevent this from happening he swallowed the pregnant Metis whole. The ingested Metis began to make a robe and a helmet for her daughter resulting in Zeus getting terrible headaches. Eventually, when the pain became too much for him, Hephaestus cleaved open Zeus's head with an axe and out sprung the fully clothed Athena. This myth was said to symbolise the rebirth of intelligence (Metis) as wisdom (Athena) and as such Athena was regarded as the goddess of wisdom. As Goddess of Handicrafts As well as being associated with women's crafts such as weaving and spinning, Athena was also the patron of men's crafts such as carpentry and pottery. She played a role in the building of the wooden horse during the Trojan War and helped to build the Argo, in which she placed a speaking plank of wood from Dodona, the site of Greece's most ancient oracle. One myth relating to Athena in her role as goddess of handicrafts is the story of Arachne. Arachne was a young woman who had so much skill at weaving that people would comment that she must have been taught by Athena herself. She refuted this and said that her skill surpassed that of the goddess. Athena became angered by Arachne's boasts and taking the form of an old woman challenged her to a weaving contest. Arachne chose to weave and embroider scenes depicting the failings of the gods which angered Athena greatly. The goddess revealed herself and tore Arachne's tapestry from its loom resulting in Arachne feeling such guilt and regret for her actions that she hung herself. However, Athena took pity on her and turned her into a spider destined to spin and weave for all of its days. Athena and the Affairs of Humans Athena was a well-loved and benevolent goddess. Even though she was a goddess of war, she was never war-like. Despite this, she could be angered but her punishments were seldom cruel. An example of this is Teiresias who spied on her while she was bathing. To punish him Athena blinded him but she also gave him the gift of prophecy and numerous other benefits including long-life. Athena was a guardian of heroes, assisting Perseus in his quest to kill the gorgon Medusa and helping Bellerophon tame the winged horse Pegasus. She was a great supporter of Heracles during his twelve labours and has been depicted helping him carry the weight of the sky as Atlas fetched him one of the apples of the Hespirides. Athena also held Odysseus in great favour and it was she who pleaded to the gods to help him escape the nymph Calypso. Moreover, Athena played a large role in the Trojan War as described in Homer's Iliad. She was a strong supporter of the Greeks due to the judgment of Paris, a Trojan who chose Aphrodite as fairest of the Goddesses over Athena and Hera. Athena manipulated events in many ways to ensure the downfall of Troy. However, that is not to say she was completely biased, after the rape of Cassandra by Ajax in her temple in Troy, Athena with the help of Poseidon, ship-wrecked the Greek fleet as a punishment for their sacrilege. Representations of Athena Athena was generally represented as a robed woman wearing a helmet and carrying a sword and shield. She is often clad in the Aegis - a goatskin robe trimmed with snakes decorated with the gorgon's head. Athena has many aspects and this is reflected by the number of names she was known by. One of these is "Pallas" Athena. The epithet "Pallas" has been suggested to mean "brandisher [of weapons" or "maiden". There is also the myth that during the war between the Gods and the Giants, Athena slew the giant Pallas and flayed him of his skin to use as a shield. Athena has also been called "glaukopis" Athena. The exact meaning of this word is not known but it is possible that it means "owl-eyes" or just refers to the green colour of the Goddess's eyes. Athena was often portrayed with an owl, a bird often associated with wisdom. On Athenian coins one side had an owl and the other side depicted the head of the Goddess. Worship of the Goddess Athena The main place of worship for Athena was Athens. The city was named after her as a result of a contest between her and Poseidon. Both deities loved this city so much that neither was willing to give it up to the other, therefore it was decided that the deity that gave the best gift to the city would win the right to be its patron. Poseidon created a spring of sea water while Athena gave an olive tree. The Gods decreed that Athena's gift was the more valuable and the city became hers. Since that point the olive tree is sacred to Athena and is one of her symbols. Her temple, the Parthenon (House of Virgins) sat high upon the acropolis where it could be seen from most points in the city. The sculptor Pheidias built a colossal bronze statue of the Goddess, the top of which was visible from the sea. Other temples to Athena can be found at Delphi, Megara and Tegea. There were many festivals dedicated to Athena. The main Greek one was the Panathaneia where the statue of Athena was taken from the Parthenon and paraded through the streets of Athens. There were games and contests and it was a time of much merry-making. The Romans also had a festival dedicated to Minerva which was held during the month of June and was probably similar in nature to the Panathaneia. What Athena Means to Me I adopted Athena as my patron Goddess almost the moment I started down the Pagan path. I had been attracted to Athena as a result of reading a lot of Greek and Roman mythology when I was younger. She, along with Artemis, stood out as being strong intelligent women who were not ruled by their hormones. This to me seemed like a perfect role-model as I went from school to university. She guided me through my exams and helped me find the determination to continue on when things were difficult. One thing I love about Athena is her role as Goddess of defensive warfare. She is a woman who knows how to stand up for herself and she is also aware that sometimes you have to fight to keep the things that you have. However, Athena is not aggressive, she doesn't start fights because she can but she knows how to deal with them when the need arises. To me, there is nothing wrong with fighting back or saying "enough is enough" and I believe Athena exemplifies this. Sources: Cassell's Encyclopedia of Classical Mythology (its at home so I will cite it proper when Im back there) The Greek Myths by Robert Graves www.goddess-athena.org |
| Athena: Goddess of Wisdom, Handicrafts & Defensive Warfare |
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