Foundations of World Literature

Athena (Minerva)

Birth: Unlike most of the Greek gods and goddesses, Athena only had one parent, Zeus. She burst from his head fully clad in armor already a grown adult. Athena was Zeus' favorite daughter and therefore was rewarded with his shield, and the secret of wear his lightning bolts were kept. Furthermore, she was allowed to use his deadly ray and served as his advisor.^[1]

Departments: Although most know her as the Goddess of War, Athena was not likely to engage in warfare. It was her preference to settle things peacefully and logically. But when she was involved with a battle she never lost. She was also known as Goddess of Wisdom, Goddess of Arts and Crafts, Justice, Skill, Industry and Goddess of of the City. ^[2]

Symbols: Athena has three main symbols the most prominent being the owl. However, her other symbols include the shield and olive branch. Her shield turned all her enemies to stone, a concept later mimicked by the myth of Medusa. ^[3]

Other Information: One of the three Virgin Goddesses, Athena chose not to marry despite Aphrodite's attempts to make her fall in love. In addition, she invented the ship, plow, trumpet, and bridle. ^[4]

Related Myths: There are several greek myths or stories that Athena plays a role in. Perhaps the most known, include the story of how Medusa was turned into a monster and the fight over who the city of Athens would be named after.^[5]

The Story of Athens

     In Greek Mythology their is often depicted a rilvarly between Poseidon and Athena. This particular story tells the competition between them to have the city of Athens, which at that time was unnamed, to be named after them. Both decide to give a gift to the city, whoever gave the better gift was the winner. Poseidon threw a spear at the ground and from it formed a saltwater spring. On the other hand, Athena grew a fruitful oliver tree. One version of this story said that the inhabitants of the city picked the winner. In this version Athena won because from her gift there was food for the city whereas Poseidon's spring could not provide water because it contained salt water. The other version had the other Gods pick the winner. All the goddesses voted for Athena and all the gods for Poseidon except for Zeus. Zeus could not choose between his brother and his daughter. Thus, Poseidon lost by one vote and the city was named Athens.^[6]