Athena

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The Greek goddess Athena is usually portrayed as one of the strongest gods in Olympia. As Greek civilization shapes gods that represent their desired identity, representing the god of war and the immortal spirit of wisdom, Athena is the goddess of the balance between intelligence and power. Through Athena's existence, she embodies victory and judgment, while her influences on other gods and mortals demonstrate the power of intellect and civilization. By fusing characteristics of multiple gods to one body, Athena embodies the characteristics of Greek civilization, which are wisdom, power and justice.

In most depictions of Athena's birth, she was given birth from Zeus's holy head, "arrayed in her armor of war, all-gleaming in gold, and every one of the immortals was gripped with awe as they watched" (Graves 157). In birth she is a symbol of the threatening force of authority and violence. Because Athena's power and potential, an oracle of Gaea (the goddess of the earth) warned Zeus of "this would be a girl-child and that, if Metis conceived again, she would bear a son who was fated to depose Zeus, just as Zeus had deposed Cronus, and Cronus had deposed Uranus" (Graves 46). Metis was a clever goddess and was even known to be wisdom herself. Though Metis tried to avoid Zeus, Zeus transformed Metis and consumed her. When Promethius split Zeus's head open, it was the birth of Athena and Metis's eternal wisdom. But the birth from Zeus's head also represents that Athena has the wisdom equivalent to Zeus's and that she is not directly the next generation fated to depose Zeus as Gaea's prophecy and Zeus remains in supreme command of Mount Olympus. ...

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...d expresses the balance of their society. People worship Athena as she is the invincible and wise goddess that embodies intelligence and power. Instead of multiple gods, Athena is crafted and embodied with every characteristics Greeks desired. Through Athena, she unifies these elements into one body that reflects the parallels of the ideal Greek civilization.

Bibliography:

George, Roy. "The Encyclopedia of – the Goddess Athena" 1998-1999

Parada, Carlos. "Greek Mythology Link, Athena" 1997

< http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Athena.html>

Pontikis, Nick. "MYTH MAN'S HOMEWORKHELP CENTER-ATHENA" 2003

< http://thanasis.com/athena.htm>

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths New York: Penguin Books, 1992

M.P.O.Morford & R.J.Lenardon Classical Mythology (7th edition) New York: Oxfor

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