Greek goddess Athena (A-theen-uh)
later called Minerva by
the Romans, was the goddess of wisdom, battle, and certain
crafts, and was the protector of the concept of cities. The
olive tree was sacred to her, and her sacred bird was the
owl (which is why wisdom is associated with owls). Poseidon,
the god of the Sea, and Athena were in competition to become
the patron of a new city. Poseidon, as a bribe, gave the
first horses to the people, but Athena struck the ground
with a rod and up sprang the first olive tree, olives became
an agricultural staple for the Greeks. She was chosen as the
patron goddess of the city which was called Athens, in her
honor.
Athena was born from the head of Zeus, the chief Olympian
god. Zeus had a headache which was growing worse and worse
until he finally had the craftsman god, Hephaestus, split
his head open with an axe, and out sprang Athena, fully
grown and in full armor. This sounds like a rather silly
myth, but symbolically this shows the goddess of wisdom
coming from the head of the chief god. Some of the more
practical Greeks decided that Zeus had swallowed his first
wife Metis (a Titan goddess of wisdom) and she had given
birth to Athena within Zeus. Athena then moved to Zeus's
head in order to make her grand entrance.
Her name is also spelled Athene. She is identified often in
mythology as grey-eyed or flashing-eyed Athena, and is
sometimes called Pallas Athena because she accidentally
killed Pallas, a daughter of the sea god, Triton. Another
explanation for the name, Pallas Athena, is that she took
the name when she killed the giant, Pallas, during the
battle between the Gigantes and the Olympians. She is
identified as Athena Nike and is usually depicted with wings
when she is the goddess of victorious battle. She is also
called Athena Parthenos, to honor her virtue. Parthenos
means virgin.
Athena's sacred temple on the acropolis in Athens, Greece is
called the Parthenon (temple of the virgin) because she was
one of the three virgin Olympian goddesses. The Parthenon is
considered by some to be the most perfect building ever
built.
Light is shed on the attitude the Greeks had toward war and
battle by the characterization of the god of war, Ares, and
the goddess of battle, Athena. The Greeks hated the god of
war and depicted him as a bully and a coward, while showing
Athena as glorious and virtuous. Unlike the Romans, who
glorified Mars (the Roman name for Ares) because they
intended to conquer the world, the Greeks had no desire to
control the world; but neither would they lose their
freedom. Thus they despised the god of war and loved the
goddess of battle.
This is a fitting Goddess for me to pray to
tonight as the courts try to control spam and about put
all ezine publishers out of business. There is a war between
people who want to market to everyone and those who want privacry.
Well, personally I think that I will continue to publish my ezines
and just cut out the ads for now. All ads will just go online.
I pray to Athena to help me by advising me on this war.
About the Author
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