Athena

Athena is probably one of the more famous of the Goddesses of old. Images of her temple dominating the acropolis of Athens are familiar the world over, yet she was also worshipped in places outside Athens and Greece and her origins link her to distant north African divinities. She was held sacred in many other cities including Argos, Sparta, Troy, Smyrna, Epidaurus, Troezen and Pheneus.

The story of Athena’s birth is of particular interest when considering the history of gender roles and the past status of the feminine. The traditional myth of Athena’s birth starts with the seduction and impregnation by Zeus of the Titaness Metis. An Oracle declared that the child would be female, and that should Metis conceive again, a male child would follow and depose Zeus. Hearing this Zeus became a little nervous and `swallowed’ Metis whole. Some time later Zeus began to get a headache, the drastic cure being to crack open his head. Out stepped Athena, fully armoured and ready for action.

It is useful to consider here that Athena represented some very challenging qualities for the patriarchal Greeks. A female deity, Patron of Athens and worshipped throughout the Hellenic world, she stood as goddess of war, wisdom, peace and prosperity. Graves details her nature in his book `The Greek Myths’ in the following manner:

“Athena invented the flute, the trumpet, the earthenware pot, the plough, the rake, the ox-yoke, the horse-bridle, the chariot and the ship. She first taught the science of numbers, and all women’s arts, such as cooking, weaving and spinning. Although a goddess of war, she gets no pleasure from battle, as Ares and Eris do, but rather from settling disputes, and upholding the law by pacific means. She bears no arms in time of peace, if ever she needs any, will usually borrow a set from Zeus. Her mercy is great: when the judges votes are equal in a criminal trial at the Areiopagus, she always gives a casting vote to liberate the accused. Yet, once engaged in battle, she never loses the day, even against Ares himself, being better grounded in strategy and tactics than he; wise captains always approach her for advice.”

Athena was a very provocative feminine icon, holding sway over several bastions of male strength in a society where women just weren’t supposed to be good at those things. It is natural to suppose that this contradiction would have caused some difficulty, and in such an atmosphere, the birth story recounted above would have had an obvious appeal: if Athen were created entirely from Zeus’s head, as opposed to having a natural mother, that would have made her considerably less feminine, and most definitely the offspring of Zeus. Most certainly not a 'natural' woman. To the reader this account of Athena’s birth may smell a little of "victor's propaganda". This is the story of the conquering Achaeans, placing their own patriarchal god Zeus at the top of tree, and simultaneously marginalizing the mother goddesses of the overrun Athenians. Athena becomes the daughter of Zeus, Athenians thereby having to accept Zeus’s patriarchal dominance. The immortal Titaness Metis, presiding over all wisdom and knowledge, is completely consumed by Zeus, her wisdom thus being transferred to him.

Fortunately other accounts of Athena’s birth have survived and perhaps give better clues to her true origin. An alternative version describes Athena being born beside Lake Tritonis in Libya. Athena later comes to Athens via Crete. According to Graves, Plato identified Athena with the Libyan goddess Nieth. Nieth belongs to a period when fatherhood wasn’t recognized. Legend has it that the priestesses of Nieth annually engaged in armed combat for the role of high priestess. This seems to link in with the later patriarchal versions which describe Athena accidentally killing her foster sister Pallas during friendly combat. In a token of her grief, Athene sets Pallas’s name before her own, becoming Pallas Athene. Graves goes on to describe pottery finds that suggest Libyan immigration to Crete around 4000BC. Minoan culture began to spread into Thrace and Greece from around 3000BC. This archaeological evidence seems to complement the idea that Athena was of Libyan origin, arriving in Greece via Crete. Other clues linking Athena to Crete may be the serpents that adorn her and the snake by her shield. (Note the serpents borne by the Cretan serpent goddess).

The evocative imagery of Athena continues to inspire us, and statues of her are still built today. In her temple on the acropolis in Athens stood a gigantic 12 metre high statue made of gold and ivory, the chyselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos. A life size replica of the fifth century original now stands in Nashville, Tennessee – the largest indoor statue in the world.