Who is Athena? In ancient Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of organized war, military strategy and wisdom

Long ago, many centuries ago, ancient Greeks lived on our beautiful planet. They were engaged in a variety of things: they established the basic laws of economic activity, respected the beauty of the body, invented the standards of world art, and at leisure arranged the Olympic Games, in which the strongest was bound to win. The ancient Greeks believed in things very different, and in the literal sense of the word - the ancient pantheon is so diverse that in the world there are not so many people who can snatch at least half of the mythological creatures.

There were in their picture of the world titans and gods, heroes and nymphs, sphinxes and sirens, not to mention cyclops and other more extravagant creatures whose names were not so deeply and firmly entrenched in the memory of mankind.

In the same article, we will find out who Athena is.

Variety of interpretations

Since to our days, unfortunately, no ancient Greek could survive, researchers have to build their theories on archaeological finds, written monuments and other historical treasures. Perhaps this is the reason for the variety of interpretations regarding who is Athena.

The most common point of view is the positioning of this representative of the Greek pantheon as the goddess of wisdom. It is this understanding of the goddess that we are taught in educational institutions and popular publications like "I understand the world". In fact, everything is much broader, more diverse and more interesting, as will be discussed in this article. So, let's get to the point: who is Athena?

The mysterious birth of the goddess

In Greek mythology , nothing ever happens simply - everything is shrouded in a mystery, secret and filled with surprises. The birth of this Greek goddess is far from an exception. To begin with, there is simply no consensus on this issue. In this respect, everything depends on the time frame of the interpreter. According to early information, the Greek goddess Athena triumphantly left the head of Zeus himself, causing him just unbearable pain. Later historians were somewhat more merciful and, according to their interpretation, the place from which this representative of the pantheon appeared was the Thunderer's beard.

In any case, the birth of a goddess can be regarded as another confirmation of the fact that the ancient Greeks liked everything unusual: then from the foam of the sea goddess appeared, then got out of his head ...

Why is this so?

According to the most common interpretation, the story of the goddess Athena begins with the desire of the supreme god to keep his positions and prevent the overthrow of the throne by his own son. That's why, according to the myth, Zeus swallowed the pregnant at that time Metis. And all would be nothing if the unexpected happened. Soon, Thunderbolt began to suffer unbearable pain, and to alleviate this suffering, Hephaestus had to strike the head of the pantheon with an ax over his head. From the formed hole, the same Athena triumphantly emerged: the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, military strategy, patroness of cities and whole states, skill, ingenuity and skill.

Meaning in the mythological picture of the world

At first glance, it may seem that this representative of the ancient Greek pantheon is not one of the key figures, but this opinion can be safely called erroneous. The goddess of war is one of the twelve major representatives of Olympus. According to some myths, it was Athena who remained in Greece when all the others fled to Egypt. Many researchers associate this with the subsequent name of the country's capital in her honor.

Appearance

Because it is the goddess of war, outwardly she is very different from the others. First of all, it should be noted that it is traditionally portrayed in men's armor and with a shield, which you can not even say about Artemis, whose invariable attributes are the bow and quiver with arrows.

As for the more characteristic features, in the surviving testimonies, Athena is called "sovokoj", gray-haired and russet, so we can say that the goddess had something in common with Slavic girls.

If we talk about the symbols of this representative of the Olympic pantheon, then traditionally in this respect the owl or snake is depicted as the oldest symbols of wisdom.

Also an invariable attribute of this goddess since ancient times is the olive branch, which even today in the world consciousness is associated precisely with Greece.

The feminist goddess?

Despite the fact that not all the written monuments have preserved the mention of the participation of Athena in the gigantomachia, they still exist and this can not be avoided anywhere. According to the texts of Gigin, the overthrow of the Titans to Tartarus is in part the merit of this goddess. According to this myth, Athena managed to accomplish this feat thanks to the help of Zeus, Artemis and Apollo.

Despite the fact that the birth of the goddess of war, according to the basic myths, was after the battle of the Titans, there are other evidence of her participation in this event literally on a global scale. An example is the shield of the statue of Athena Parthenos, which depicts other details of the battle.

Connection with the Trojan horse

Strangely enough, this war is also associated with the name of this Olympic warrior. In general, Athena is a goddess, whose myths are quite diverse. So, according to the existing literary monuments, it is her idea to create a Trojan horse. There is also evidence that this manipulation was done in her honor.

Who is Athena in this story? This is not only the author of the idea with the Trojan horse. It is also the goddess who managed to save the Achaeans from hunger at a time when they needed to sit waiting for action. According to the plot of the myth, Athena brought them the food of the gods so that they would not die of hunger.

She secretly helped drag her horse into the besieged city and gave signs in the form of snakes and earthquakes when someone objected about it.

Inventions

Few where it is mentioned, but it is to this representative of the Greek pantheon that the idea of the state, the invention of the chariot and even the ship itself belongs. Most household items like ceramic pots or plows were invented by Athena. She is generally considered the patroness of artisans. According to some myths, it was this goddess who at one time taught the Phoenician weaving, and spinning wheel in many sources is referred to as the gift of Athena.

She also patronized many heroes and exceptionally fair wars, which differed from Ares, for whom the battles themselves were the goal and patronage in them brought him exceptional pleasure.