Athena :: essays research papers

genus AtheneThe god to be the topic of discussion in this report is Athena. Athena was an important member of the Olympic pantheon. She was born fully armed from theforehead of Zeus, the chief god. Athena was Zeuss favorite child. Heentrusted her with the Aegis, his breastplate, and with his thunderbolt.Athenas role as a goddess varied. She was a major(ip) warrior and most imagesdepict her dressed in armor and holding a spear. In Homers Iliad, she isdescribed as a fierce battle goddess who continually intervened on the side ofthe Greeks. She also took an interest in handicrafts and agriculture. Theolive tree, which she said to have created, is sacred to her. She was noted forher experience which explains her close association with the owl, an ancient symbolof wisdom and reason. The most famous temple to Athena was the Parthenon (5thcentury BC) which was named for Parthenos ("the Maiden"), which still standsatop the Acropolis in Athens. The interior of the Parthenon stands a statue ofAthena Parthenos, sculpted by Phidais. When I was reading through myths, Idecided I would talk about "The Gift of Athena" which, in my opinion, bestillustrates Athenas colorful personality. Here is how "The Gift of Athena"goesLong, long ago, when this old world was a very young place, and when the fewpeople there were had just begun to live together in groups for their ownprotection, the ample gods selected the places for humans to build the cities.They looked down upon the earth, through the clouds that shrouded their home onthe very peak of the high mountain called Olympus, and they chose the sites theythought would provide everything mortals needed to live and prosper. Now, apiecegod and goddess was eager to have a great urban center built in his or her honor, and sothe prime locations-the very best places for the great cities to be built cameto cause much bickering and jealousy among the many deities for all wanted agreat metropolis built in their ho nor, a city whose people would worship thatparticular god or goddess above all others. It happened that great Zeus, theking and ruler of all the gods, had found a spot on earth that appearedabsolutely ideal for the building of a noble city indeed, he foresaw that thecity that would be built there would someday become the noblest city on earth.Well, you can imagine that all the gods and goddesses wanted this city for theirown, and you would be right.