Athena, often referred to as the Roman goddess Minerva, is known for her wisdom and warfare. She’s the daughter of Zeus (God of the Olympics) and was one of the most potent goddesses worshipped during ancient times. Her warfare and knowledge are unmatchable on the battlefield and beyond in terms of culture & domestic affairs.
From all the gods and goddesses, she was asked for advice the most: Athena. Although we know that Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, let us delve into some other interesting facts about this noble Greek goddess.
1. The Unconventional Birth of a Patron Goddess
The birth story of the warrior goddess was very eccentric. It is known that Athena’s birth was not traditional; instead, she emerged out of her father’s head, fully grown as an adult and armored. According to Greek mythology, a prophecy from Earth’s goddess Gaia predicted that Metis (Goddess of Prudent counsel), who was the first wife of Zeus (God of Kings), would birth a son who would be way more powerful than Zeus.
Metis wanted two kids; the first would be Athena, and the other would be born with adequate intelligence to dethrone Zeus. Following his father’s footsteps, out of rage and jealousy, Zeus swallowed Metis when she was already pregnant with Athena. Days later, Zeus was found suffering from a rough headache. Therefore, he requested that Hephaestus (the Greek god of artisans) split his forehead, resulting in the birth of the patron goddess.
2. Impacts of Pallas Athena in the History of Greek Mythology
According to mythology, Athena once gifted an olive tree to Athens, symbolizing prosperity, fertility, and blessings in agriculture cultivation.
It was claimed that she won a contest against Poseidon (the Greek God of the Sea), which involved giving the best to the city of Athens. Poseidon gifted a Saltwater spring to the city, which wasn’t favored, unlike the gift given by the goddess Athena.
2.1. Significance of the Olive Tree
The first olive tree played a significant role in benefiting the inhabitants of Athens; below are a few examples that were majorly implemented in the development of the city of Athens: –
- Olives are considered the staple food of Greece because of their nutritious health benefits.
- Olive oil was also extracted from olive tree which made cooking easier and tastier, it was also used in various skin care products and cosmetics.
- The wood of the olive tree was used for building architecture, crafting furniture, etc.
- It was also considered a symbol of peace and reconciliation and was signified as the end of war and conflicts.
3. Virgin Deity
Goddess Athena was signified as one of the three virgin deities from Greek mythology. Parthenon, the famous temple situated at the heart of Greece, was built in honor of the Greek goddess, celebrating her purity in the virgin aspect. There were a couple of reasons behind Athena’s willingness to live her life as a virgin.
3.1. Athena’s Plan
Goddess Athena’s plan, she wanted to be fearless and independent. As the other demigods were married, their bond of love or real life symbolized their independence and discipline. But the goddess Athena had different goals.
3.2. Decision
She wanted to establish her institution with knowledge, wisdom and length, which was very important for her as a prominent figure. For Athena’s freedom and prosperity, she remained single instead of marrying herself like other goddesses.
3.3. Strong Character
Goddess Athena’s character is expressed through her unbroken virginal status in imparting confidence and strength to a woman. Athena was renowned as the goddess of war, and her necessary virginity was seen as a symbol of her strength and power through the continued virginity of the human race.
3.4. Powerful Figure
Athena was an independent figure who wanted to experience new goods associated with her freedom and power. She didn’t want to lose her freedom to be possessed by a man.
3.5. Establishment
Athena was established as the society’s goddess of learning and science. As a good example, she allowed the exploration of her norms through social councils with the establishment of social culture and cultural mentality.
3.6. Influence
In the end, Athena reveals herself as an institution where her contributions and influence give impetus to the development of human society. Due to these reasons, Goddess Athena kept herself a perpetual virgin, which served as an example to promote social culture consciousness.
4. Athena’s Brutal Story of Assault
As per Greek mythology, Hephaestus, the Greek god of artisans, they were wanted to rape the goddess, Athena. After getting abandoned by his wife Aphrodite, Hephaestus was caught up in his unsatisfied desires of lust, wanting to involve himself with Athena physically. Athena, on the other hand, trying to protect her dignity and honor, and virginity intact, Athena fled away.
However, on the way, Hephaestus pursued her in the jungle. He compelled her to submit her in the woods, but the attempt was partially successful. Hephaestus ejected his sperm which landed on her thighs, Athena then quickly removed it using a woolen handkerchief. Unfortunately, the discharge fell on Mother Earth Gaia, resulting in the birth of Erochthonius. Athena did not believe the truth of this incident. She begged Hephaestus to execute the child to preserve Mother Earth Gaia’s reputation and protect her privacy during the pregnancy.
However, Hephaestus was not prepared to respond to this request of Athena on her authority or the possibility of any adverse effects of the pregnancy or being associated with beast quests. Therefore, Athena ended her authority in an honorable and socially dignified way and claimed herself as the mother of an involuntarily conceived child who later ruled Athens.
5. Athena’s Curse
Athena was known as a very conscientious goddess in mythology whose rules were unorthodox. She advocated intellectualism, warfare, intelligence and democratic work until one day, she discovered Medusa. Medusa, the woman with snakes in place of hair, is probably one of the most well-known creatures in Greek mythology. However, she was not always like that daughter of four-season Sato, two primordial deities of the sea.
Medusa was born with incredible beauty; the young woman snatched hearts wherever she went. Medusa was chaste and pure despite her seductive appearance because she admired the goddess, Athena. She perhaps decided to become a priestess of the temple dedicated to Athena.
Virginity and chastity were indispensable requirements for this position, and therefore, Medusa was a perfect fit for the role of a priestess. Her beauty was so phenomenal that the number of visitors increased daily. People typically visit the temple to glance at her. This gradually made the goddess jealous of her for having the most beautiful hair in Greece. One day, a citizen commented that her hair was prettier than the goddess Athena’s. Moreover, Athena was hurt and furious and did not possess the ability to take revenge.
5.1. Poseidon Raped Medusa
But one day the tables turned, and Poseidon spotted Medusa, mesmerized by her beauty, Poseidon craved for her. She resisted the constant flirtations of God, but since he had a personal feud with the goddess Athena, owning her priestess became an obsession for him.
Tired of being rejected, God decided to possess her by force. Deprived, Medusa runs into the temple of Athena in pursuit of protection. He then enters the temple, following her from behind, grabs the young woman and rapes her on the floor in front of the goddess statue.
5.2. Athena’s Punishment
After the violence ended, the goddess appeared enraged and furious; she cruelly punished her priestess for not maintaining her dignity. The question of punishing the guilty was out since she considered that his act was of the male entity’s nature.
She considered Medusa guilty of seducing God and bringing dishonor to the temple and the goddess. Therefore, Athena exacted an act of revenge on Medusa, turning her into a mortal creature with venomous snakes as hair.
5.3. Her After Story
And from this day onwards, Medusa evolved into a creature who would instantly petrify anyone looking into her eyes. Medusa was now chased by a warrior who wished for her head as a trophy, yet they all turned to stone. Her tale comes to an end when Perseus is finally able to behead her.
Little did one know that Medusa was carrying Poseidon’s child, and with her death from her shed blood, the giant cry sour and the Pegasus horse were born.
6. The Creation of the “Spider”
In the city of Sullivan, Lydia’s region, there was a young girl named Arachne. She was the daughter of a weaver, and because of that, she soon learned the art of weaving. As years passed, Arachne kept developing her skills until she reached a plateau of excellence where her embroidery work was compared to the most beautiful arts.
Her reputation was disseminated, and noblemen and people from distant regions ordered pieces of her. Her fame grew so much that even the nymphs left their woods to contemplate the embroidered work of Arachne. Although her works were beautiful, claimed her work to be better than the immortal goddess. The news of a weaver claiming herself better than Athena soon reached her.
6.1. Weaving Competition
The goddess later decides to disguise herself as an old lady and check this reckless girl who considers herself above the gods. Approaching Arachne, Athena perceived that the young girl had an impressive talent for weaving.
Athena advised her to be humbler in her words when she compared her artwork with Gods and claimed to be better. Greedy and filled with jealousy, Arachne and Athena held a weaving contest and started to see who the one would be capable of producing the best abroad at work.
The nymphs were called to be the judges of The Clash. Athena, bragging about her feats, weaved the depiction of her victory against Poseidon in the class for Athens. Meanwhile, Arachne embroidered the image of the kidnap of Princess Europa perpetrated by Zeus, who became a white bull to deceive her. Her work displayed sarcasm against the gods, who used their powers to stay ahead of men.
Despite the robust criticism of the gods contained in Iraq’s embroidered work, the fact that it was brilliant and better than Athena’s was unquestionably confronted with Iraq’s excellent work. Athena felt outraged by the insults made by the gods, but her wrath became even more significant after noticing that a mortal being had defeated her; the goddess destroyed the rival’s work and hit her in the head with the weaving needle.
Finally, she cursed the proud girl to turn into a horrible and repulsive creature, and so would her offspring. Arachne became a spider. However, she did not stop knitting with her eight legs. It appeared that her work was even better.
Final Words
Ancient Greek mythology is a set of tales of Gods whose stories get a victory after a lot of fluctuations. Athena’s story depicts her spiritual character, rich in intelligence, warfare, strategy, and culture.
However, her dark truths of encompassing curses & punishment blurred the glorified status of being called a divine deity. Her disgrace towards Medusa for being a rape victim and hexing Arachne for being superior in terms of knitting reflected her ruthless character stained with arrogance. Athena’s sexual assault by Hephaestus sheds a glare on her vulnerability, yet her revenge reveals a darker side.
Last Updated on April 27, 2024 by Durba Datta
