Download Athena, Greek Goddess

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The Creation of Zeus
In the beginning, Chaos, a gaping void encompassing the entire
universe, and surrounded by an unending stream of water. Born
out of Chaos were Gaia, called Earth, or Mother Earth, and
Uranus, the embodiment of the Sky and the Heavens, as well as
Tartarus, god of the sunless and terrible region beneath Gaia, the
Earth.
Gaia and Uranus married and gave birth to the Titans, a race of
formidable giants, which included a particularly wily giant named
Cronus.
In what has become one of the recurrent themes of Greek
Mythology, Gaia and Uranus warned Cronus that a son of his
would one day overpower him. Cronus therefore swallowed his
numerous children by his wife Rhea, to keep that forecast from
taking place.
This angered Rhea greatly, so when the youngest son, Zeus, was
born, Rhea took a stone, wrapped it in swaddling clothes and
offered it to Cronus to swallow. This satisfied Cronus, and Rhea
was able to whisk the baby Zeus away to be raised in Crete, far
from his father.
In due course, Zeus grew up, came homeward, and got into
immediate conflict with the tyrant Cronus, who did not know that
this newcomer was his own son. Zeus needed his brothers and
sisters help in slaying the tyrant, and Metis, Zeus's first wife, found
a way of administering a medicine to Cronus which caused him to
throw up his five previous children, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades,
and Poseidon. Together they went to battle against their father. The
results were that all of his children, led by Zeus, vanquished
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Cronus forever into Tartarus' domain, the Dark World under the
Earth.
Thus, Zeus triumphed over not only his father, and his father's
family of Giants, he triumphed over his brothers and sisters as
well, dividing up the universe as he fancied, in short, bringing
order out of Chaos.
He made himself Supreme God over all, creating a great and
beautiful place for his favored gods to live, on Mount Olympus, in
Thessaly. All the others were left to fend for themselves in lands
below Mount Olympus.
Zeus made himself God of the Sky and all its phenomena,
including the clouds as well as the thunderbolts. Hestia became
goddess of the Hearth. To his brother Poseidon, he gave the rule of
the Sea. Demeter became a goddess of Fertility, Hera (before she
married Zeus and became a jealous wife), was goddess of Marriage
and Childbirth, while Hades, one of his other brothers, was made
god of the Underworld.
Zeus did indeed bring order out of Chaos, but one of his failings
was that he did not look kindly upon the people, those creatures
that populated the lands over which he reigned. Many were not
beautiful, and Zeus had contempt for anyone who was not
beautiful. And of course they were not immortal, as the Olympian
gods were, and they complained about the lack of good food and
the everlasting cold nights. Zeus ignored their complaints, while he
and the other gods feasted endlessly on steaming hot game from
the surrounding forests, and had great crackling fires in every room
of their palaces where they lived in the cold winter.
Enter Prometheus, one of the Titans not vanquished in the war
between Zeus and the giants. It is said in many myths that
Prometheus had created d a race of people from clay, or that he had
combined specks of every living creature, molded them together,
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and produced a new race, The Common Man. At the very least he
was their champion before Zeus.
Fire for cooking and heating was reserved only for the gods to
enjoy. Prometheus stole some of the sparks of a glowing fire from
the Olympians, so that the people below Olympus could have fire
for cooking and warmth in the winter, thus greatly improving their
lot in life.
Zeus was furious at this insult to his absolute power, and had
Prometheus bound and chained to a mountain, sending an eagle to
attack him daily. At night he healed and then every day the eagle
was sent again to eat away at him.
Zeus eventually married Hera, his sister, and had many children
with her. He was also known for having many affairs with mortal
women and other immortal goddesses.
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Athena, Greek Goddess
of Wisdom and Craftsmanship
The Greek goddess Athena is usually
portrayed as one of the most benevolent
goddesses . . .strong, fair, and merciful.
Athena is known as one of the three virgin
goddesses, referred to as virgin because they
were able to remain independent, unswayed
by the spells of Aphrodite, the goddess of
love, and the consequent pull of marriage
and motherhood. Romance and marriage did
not feature in Athena's mythology. In Greek
mythology Athena was, in essence, the
prototype of the contemporary "career
woman".
The birth of the Greek goddess Athena was
more than unusual, it was truly amazing!
It was the headache to end all headaches!
Zeus, the mighty king of the Olympian
deities, regretted having swallowed his first
wife, Metis. When Zeus had learned that she
was pregnant, he feared that she was
carrying the son that had been prophesied
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to supplant him on the throne.
Though swallowing Metis had seemed a
good idea at the time, it was now causing
him great suffering which eventually proved
to be totally unnecessary.
Ready to risk anything to get rid of the pain
that tormented him, he allowed one of the
other gods to split open his head, and . . .
Voila! Out came, not the son he feared, but a
beautiful full-grown daughter, dressed in
golden battle armor, who instantly became
the "apple of her father's eye".
A motherless child, the goddess Athena
quickly became his favorite. Athena was the
only one of his children that Zeus ever
entrusted with his magic shield and the
secret of where his lightening bolts were
stored. The goddess Athena remained his
constant ally and fierce protector, promoting
his interests, serving as his advisor.
Although usually depicted holding a spear,
her golden helmet pushed back to reveal her
elegant beauty, the Greek goddess Athena
was known more for her role as judge,
diplomat, and mediator than for actually
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fighting in battle. Her decisions were
renowned for their fairness and compassion.
The goddess Athena was a superb strategist
and many of the Greek myths recount tales
of her help given to various gods,
goddesses, and heroes as they went into
battle or faced seemingly impossible tests.
Although she was widely known in one of her
roles as "Athena Goddess of War", it was as a
mediator and a planner that she
excelled. She always worked to prevent war,
but once war had been joined the goddess
Athena fought efficiently for her side.
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Poseidon
POSEIDON (puh-SYE-dun or poh-SYE-dun; Roman name
Neptune) was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses.
Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount
Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery domain.
Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades. These three gods
divided up creation. Zeus was ruler of the sky, Hades had
dominion of the Underworld and Poseidon was given all water,
both fresh and salt.
Although there were various rivers personified as gods, these
would have been technically under Poseidon's sway. Similarly,
Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, wasn't really considered on a
par with Poseidon, who was known to drive his chariot through
the waves in unquestioned dominance. Poseidon had married
Nereus's daughter, the sea-nymph Amphitrite.
In dividing heaven, the watery realm and the subterranean land
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of the dead, the Olympians agreed that the earth itself would be
ruled jointly, with Zeus as king. This led to a number of
territorial disputes among the gods. Poseidon vied with Athena
to be patron deity of Athens. The god demonstrated his power
and benevolence by striking the Acropolis with his threepronged spear, which caused a spring of salt water to emerge.
Athena, however, planted an olive tree, which was seen as a
more useful favor. Her paramount importance to the Athenians
is seen in her magnificent temple, the Parthenon, which still
crowns the Acropolis. The people of Athens were careful, all
the same, to honor Poseidon as well (as soon as his anger
calmed down and he withdrew the flood of seawater with which
he ravaged the land after his loss in the contest with Athena).
Poseidon was father of the hero Theseus, although the mortal
Aegeus also claimed this distinction. Theseus was happy to
have two fathers, enjoying the lineage of each when it suited
him. Thus he became king of Athens by virtue of being
Aegeus's son, but availed himself of Poseidon's parentage in
facing a challenge handed him by King Minos of Crete. This
monarch threw his signet ring into the depths of the sea and
dared Theseus to retrieve it. The hero dove beneath the waves
and not only found the ring but was given a crown by
Poseidon's wife, Amphitrite.
Poseidon was not so well-disposed toward another famous hero.
Because Odysseus blinded the Cyclops Polyphemus, who was
Poseidon's son, the god not only delayed the hero's homeward
return from the Trojan War but caused him to face enormous
perils. At one point he whipped up the sea with his trident and
caused a storm so severe that Odysseus was shipwrecked.
Poseidon similarly cursed the wife of King Minos. Minos had
proved his divine right to rule Crete by calling on Poseidon to
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send a bull from the sea, which the king promised to sacrifice.
Poseidon sent the bull, but Minos liked it too much to sacrifice
it. So Poseidon asked Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to make
Minos's queen, Pasiphae, fall in love with the bull. The result
was the monstrous Minotaur, half-man, half-bull.
As god of horses, Poseidon often adopted the shape of a steed. It
is not certain that he was in this form when he wooed Medusa.
But when Perseus later killed the Gorgon, the winged horse
Pegasus sprang from her severed neck.
Poseidon sometimes granted the shape-shifting power to others.
And he ceded to the request of the maiden Caenis that she be
transformed into the invulnerable, male warrior Caeneus.
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Hermes
HERMES (HUR-meez; Roman name Mercury) was the
messenger of the gods and guide of dead souls to the
Underworld. A prankster and inventive genius from birth,
Hermes aided the heroes Odysseus and Perseus in their quests.
Hermes was the son Zeus and a mountain nymph. As a newborn
he was remarkably precocious. On his very first day of life, he
found the empty shell of a tortoise and perceived its utility as a
sounding chamber. Stringing sinews across it, he created the
first lyre.
Hermes was known for his helpfulness to mankind, both in his
capacity as immortal herald and on his own initiative. When
Perseus set out to face the Gorgon Medusa, Hermes aided him
in the quest. According to one version of the myth, he loaned
the hero his own magic sandals, which conferred upon the
wearer the ability to fly.
Some say that Hermes loaned Perseus a helmet of invisibility as
well. Also known as the helmet of darkness, this was the same
headgear that Hermes himself had worn when he vanquished
the giant Hippolytus. This was on the occasion when the
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gargantuan sons of Earth rose up in revolt against the gods of
Olympus.
Hermes' symbol of office as divine messenger was his staff, or
caduceus. This was originally a willow wand with entwined
ribbons, traditional badge of the herald. But the ribbons were
eventually depicted as snakes. To support this mythologically, a
story evolved that Hermes used the caduceus to separate two
fighting snakes which forthwith twined themselves together in
peace.
It was Hermes' job to convey dead souls to the Underworld.
And as patron of travelers, he was often shown in a widebrimmed sun hat of straw. Hermes was known to the Romans as
Mercury. His most famous depiction, a statue by Bellini, shows
him alight on one foot, wings at his heels, the snaky caduceus in
hand and, on his head, a rather stylized combination helmet-ofdarkness and sun hat.
The Judgement of Paris
The story is almost formulaic, and reminds me strongly of the story
of Sleeping Beauty - but instead of an evil fairy named Maleficent,
the main character is the sinister Goddess of Discord and Strife:
Eris.
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Thetis, basically the most eligible bachelorette of the Gods (until it
was prophesied that her son would be far greater than his father,
and then kill his father), was marrying Peleus. Everyone who was
ANYONE was invited, but Eris, Ares' annoying and dangerous
sidekick, was left off the guest list. It wasn't any kind of accident the Gods knew that Eris' love of mischief would totally ruin the
wedding reception. But Eris showed up anyway, and she was
mad!! She had brought with her one of her beautiful and shiny
Golden Apples. The shiny Apple of Discord. This was no wedding
gift to the bride or groom.
Eris threw the apple into the room, between the three Goddesses
Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. On the beautiful apple was inscribed
the simple words "to the fairest." All three fell to the charm of the
apple's beauty and her own divine vanity - they all demanded the
apple. When they couldn't reach a consensus (shocker!), they went
to Zeus. Wow. Sucks to be him. He decided to delegate that
question to someone else, because he knew that whichever
Goddess was chosen, the other two were going to inflict some
serious revenge.
The poor kid who was chosen for answering the question was Paris
(also called Alexander). Sweet little Paris was just chilling on Mt.
Ida, shepherding, because it had been prophesied that he would
cause the Trojan War and Troy's downfall. Zeus descended and
explained the situation, and then the three Goddesses came down
in all their beauty and glory, and demanded the apple. Paris made a
little choking noise and almost started crying. How could he, a
mere mortal, decide which of the most beautiful women he would
EVER see were the most gorgeous? He couldn't decide.
But he knew he had to make a decision. The goddesses pretty
much decided that for him. Each one offered him a gift, letting him
give the apple to the one with the best gift.
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Hera, the queen of the Gods, offered Paris power. She filled his
head with images of thrones and conquering, and promised him
that he should have all of Asia at his feet. Now, that sounded pretty
good to Paris, but being a reasonably intelligent mortal - and very
capitalistic - he decided to hear the others out and go with the
highest bid. But he wasn't to get any more offers of power. Each of
the Goddesses had her own domain, and her gifts corresponded
appropriately. Athena went next. She offered him great wisdom,
almost equaling her own, and promised him great luck in battle.
She swore to make him the best strategist ever. Again, Paris was
ALL about the idea, but he decided to wait and hear what
Aphrodite had to say. That was the problem. Paris may have been
smart, but he was a guy with normal hormones. Waiting to hear
what the Goddess of Lust and Beauty had to say pretty much
ruined his life. Aphrodite told him that he could have the most
beautiful woman in the world as his mate if he chose her. Paris
thought for about 2 seconds and decided to go with Aphrodite.
Here his wit failed him in more than one way. At that time, Helen
of Troy was the most beautiful woman in the world - but she was
already married, and married to an important king, no less. Her
husband’s name was Menelaus and he was the King of the Sparta.
In fact, Paris was married as well to a nymph named Oenone.
Paris whisked Helen away from Sparta, and made her his queen in
Troy. This did not go over well. In addition to angering the King
of Sparta and his wife, Paris had angered the Goddess of War and
Wisdom (Athena) and the Queen of the Gods (Hera) who
commanded power. He had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.
Paris did indeed steal Helen away - but not without cost. The
theft/kidnapping began the Trojan War - just as the prophesy at his
birth had proclaimed. With Athena and Hera deadset against Troy,
the odds were stacked against the Trojans. Troy eventually fell
after 10 years, and Paris was mortally wounded. His wife, Oenone,
could have saved him - but she was so bitter from his betrayal that
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she refused. A few days later she changed her mind, but by then, it
was too late, and when she found Paris dead, she hung herself.