Pallas Athena: Difference between revisions

Athena is popularly admired as the “martial maiden” who inspires and accompanies heroes in their adventures and battles, yet never succumbs to amorous advances, fiercely defending her virginity. She was one of three virgin-goddesses who could not be stirred by the influences of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. One of the earliest accounts of Athena appears in the ''Iliad'', where she is a war goddess, inspiring and fighting alongside the Greek heroes. To possess her favor is considered synonymous with military prowess.

The Roman Emperor Julian said of her: “Unto men Athena gives good things—namely wisdom, understanding, and the creative arts. And she dwells in their citadels as being the founder of civil government through the communication of her own wisdom.”<ref>G. A. Gaskell, ''Dictionary of All Scripture and Myth'' (N.Y.: Random House, 1981).</ref>

The birth of Athena from the head of Zeus can be seen as symbolic of her rational temperament. Her very nature reflects the triumph of reason over passion, as she is consistently unmoved by the emotions of passion or romantic love. Her father is the most powerful and her mother the wisest of the gods and goddesses. Athena is thus a product of the union of power and wisdom.

''The New Century Classical Handbook'' gives the following profile of Pallas Athena:

<blockquote>She personifies the clear upper air as well as mental clearness and acuteness, embodying the spirit of truth and divine wisdom. She participates with skill and wisdom in wars to defend the state, but does not fight, like the God of War, with uncontrolled ferocity for sheer love of strife. Her activities in war restore order, and thus she is a goddess of peace. She upholds law and order, encourages the arts by which the state is strengthened, and has invented so many aids to mankind that she is called the Contriver. She is the protectress of the young, the patroness of agriculture, of construction of all kinds, of healing and of music. She is especially devoted to the interests of mankind, for, some say, when Prometheus fashioned men of clay and water it was Athena who breathed life into them.<ref>Catherine Avery, ed., ''The New Century Classical Handbook'' (N.Y.: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1962), p. 186.</ref></blockquote>

Athena was worshiped all over Greece but especially as the protecting deity of Athens and Attica. As legend has it, both Poseidon and Athena desired to rule Athens. The gods decided that the one who produced a gift most useful to mortals would win the city. According to some versions, Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and produced a horse.  According to other accounts, he produced a fountain of salt water. But it was Athena’s gift that won the favor of the gods: She planted an olive tree. The gods decided that her gift was more useful to mortals and awarded her the city. The olive tree later became the basis of the city’s economy.

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To the Athenians, she was known as ''Parthenos'', which means “Virgin,” or “Maiden.” They built the Parthenon in her honor on the Acropolis at Athens. The beautiful Parthenon was one of the largest Greek temples and a masterpiece of Greek architecture. It was the spiritual center of Athens. Built on a high hill, it was visible for miles around and stood as a symbol of Athenian culture, wealth and power. Inside, toward the west end, towered a forty-foot-high ivory and gold statue of the goddess, sculpted by [[Serapis Bey#Phidias|Phidias]].

Author David Kinsley writes:  

<blockquote>A consistent theme in the mythology and cult of Athena is her identification with the city of Athens. The city is an extension of her, as it were—something that spreads and grows from the sacred center, the Acropolis, which is not only the dwelling of the goddess but the goddess herself.... Athena personifies or embodies the spirit of Athens as the expression of ideal civilized human existence.<ref>David Kinsley, ''The Goddesses’ Mirror: Visions of the Divine from East and West'' (Albany, N.Y.:  State University of New York Press, 1989), p. 145.</ref></blockquote>