Athena (ancient Greek - Athenaya; Mycenaean. atanapotinija - "Atana the mistress"), in Greek mythology, the goddess of wisdom and just war, military wisdom and strategy, knowledge, arts and crafts. Athena is a warrior maiden, patroness of cities, sciences, skill, intelligence, dexterity and ingenuity. One of the 12 great Olympic gods.

Family and environment

Myths

In the sources, there are references to the birth of a child associated with Athena and Hephaestus. Only later sources contain the first part of this story. According to them, Zeus swore to fulfill any desire of Hephaestus and God the Blacksmith asked Athena to be his wife. The King of the Gods could not break the oath, but advised his virgin daughter to defend herself. According to the main legend, the daughter of Zeus came to Hephaestus for weapons, and he tried to take possession of her, and she began to run away. God the Blacksmith chased her and overtook her, but defending herself with weapons in her hands and Pallas wounded her pursuer with a spear. Hephaestus shed the seed on Athena's leg, after which the goddess wiped it with wool and buried it in the ground, after which Gaia-earth gave birth to a baby. Therefore, Erichthonia was called both the son of Gaia and the son of Athena, and the name was interpreted from "erion" - wool (or "Eris" - discord) and "chthon" - earth.

Athena secretly raised Erichthonius, wishing to make him immortal, she gave him in a casket to preserve the daughters of Cecrop Aglavre, Gerse and Pandros, forbidding him to open it. The sisters opened the casket and saw a child entwined with snakes, which the Warrior assigned to the infant as a guard. They were either killed by snakes, or Pallas plunged them into madness and they threw themselves from the top of the acropolis into the abyss. After the death of the sisters, Erichthonius was raised in the temple of Athena. When he grew up, he reigned, erected a ksoan (a statue or idol made of wood) of Athens on the acropolis, and instituted the Panathenaea, leading the first procession in honor of Athena on the acropolis. Erichthonius was buried in the sacred site of the temple of Athena Polias.

Also, according to one of the versions, together with Hephaestus, at the behest of Zeus, she created the first woman - Pandora, who opened an ill-fated vessel called "Pandora's box".

A powerful, terrible, owl-eyed goddess of the archaic, the owner of the aegis, during the period of heroic mythology, she directs her strength to fight the titans and giants. Although, according to the early mythological scheme, titanomachy occurred even before the birth of Athena, but later authors, starting with Euripides, often confused giants and titans. Her involvement in gigantomachy is a popular storyline. Hyginus cites the story that after the death of Epaph, Zeus, together with Athena, Apollo and Artemis, threw the titans into Tartarus, prompted by the Hero. Together with Hercules, Athena kills one of the giants, she drove a chariot with a pair of horses to the giant Enceladus, and when he fled, she brought down the island of Sicily on him. He rips off Pallant's skin and covers his body with it during the battle.

The goddess of war demands sacred reverence for herself. There is a myth about how she deprived the sight of young Tiresias (the son of her favorite nymph Hariklo). Once Athena and Chariklo decided to swim in the spring on Helikon, Tiresias saw the goddess and she blinded him (according to another version, he was blinded by the sight of Athena). Having deprived the young man of sight, she at the same time endowed him with a prophetic gift and gave him the ability to understand the language of birds, as well as the ability to preserve his mind in Hades. Ovid in the VI book "Metamorphoses" expounded the myth of how Athena severely punished the weaver Arachne when she questioned the piety of the gods, weaving love scenes with the participation of the gods on the bedspread.

Classical Athena is endowed with ideological and organizing functions: she protects heroes, protects public order, etc. In the myths of ancient Greece, stories about Athena's help to heroes are common. She helps Perseus by guiding his hand to decapitate Medusa. One of the epithets for Athena is "gorgonian slayer". Perseus sacrificed a heifer to the goddess and gave Athena the head of the Gorgon, which she placed on her shield. Later, Athena placed Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia and Kefeus among the constellations. She inspired and gave strength to Cadmus, and also gave him a stone for the battle with the Theban dragon. On the advice of the wise Goddess, Cadmus sowed the dragon's teeth and threw a lump at them, which caused a fight between them. Athena put Cadmus to reign in Thebes, and for the wedding with Harmony presented him with a necklace, peplos and flutes.

It is believed that Asclepius received the blood of the Gorgon from Athena, with the help of which he raised the dead. According to Euripides, she gave Erichthony at birth two drops of the Gorgon's blood, which he gave to Erechtheus in a golden ring, and the last to Creusa (one drop is healing, the other is poisonous). Athena appeared in a dream to Pericles and indicated a grass to cure his slave, who fell from the roof of the Propylaea of \u200b\u200bthe Acropolis under construction, the grass was nicknamed Parthenius, and Pericles erected a statue of Athena Hygieia. The base of a statue by the sculptor Pyrrhus was found on the acropolis.

Pindar mentions that Bellerophon saw Athena in a dream when he was sleeping on her altar, and erected an altar to Athena the Horsewoman when she gave him Pegasus. She also helps Nestor against Erevfalion and in the fight with the Eleians. The menelous goddess protects Pandar from the arrows (according to Plutarch).

Repeatedly the wise Goddess helped Hercules at the request of Zeus. Athena threw a stone at the mad hero, which saved Amphitryon, this stone is called Sophronister, that is, "bringing to mind." She gave him a cloak (according to another version, armor) before the war with Orchomenos. There is a version that it was Athena who suggested to the hero how to kill the Lernaean Hydra and gave him the rattles made by Hephaestus to frighten off the Stymphalian birds. With the help of Pallas, Hercules brought the dog Cerberus out of Hades, later she took the apples of the Hesperides from him and returned them to their place. Athena gave the hero the elbow of the Gorgon, which the hero gave to Sterope, the daughter of Kefei, for protection. The dying Hercules appeals to Athena with requests for an easy death (according to Seneca), and she leads him to heaven.

When Thebans ambushed Tydeus, Athena warns him against returning to Thebes. During the campaign of the Seven against Thebes, the Warrior Goddess is present next to Tydeus in battle and reflects part of the arrows from him, covers with a shield. When Tydeus was mortally wounded, she begged her father for a potion of immortality for the wounded, but seeing that Tydeus was devouring the brain of his enemy, she hated him and did not give him the medicine.

Athena's assistance to Tydeus' son Diomedes is detailed in Homer's Iliad. The goddess gives him strength, inspires him to fight, including against Aphrodite, directs the spear of Diomedes against Pandar, inspires Diomedes to fight with Ares, removes the spear of Ares from the hero and directs the spear of Diomedes into the stomach of Ares, keeps Diomedes during the storm. Horace tells that Diomedes was raised by Athena to the gods.

In the same Iliad, it is mentioned that Athena helped Achilles destroy Lirness, she also tames the anger of Achilles at the request of Hera, ignites a flame around Achilles' head, frightening the Trojans. When Achilles grieves for Patroclus, refusing food, she gives him nectar and ambrosia at the request of Zeus. During the fight with Hector, protects Achilles, taking Hector's spear away from him. It was she, in the guise of Deiphobe, who advised Hector to meet Achilles, before that she appeared to Achilles and promised to help him in this battle. Achilles says to Hector: "under my spear Tritogen (ie Athena) will soon tame you." After the death of Achilles, the Goddess grieves and comes to mourn him and rub his body with ambrosia.

In Homer's poems (especially the Odyssey), not a single more or less important event is complete without the intervention of Athena. She is a constant adviser to Odysseus, helps him to calm the people, protects the hero from the peak of the Trojan Soka, helps him in running competitions, supported him on the night of the capture of Troy. However, Athena never helped Odysseus during his wanderings (in the songs of the Odyssey dedicated to this period, she is not mentioned even once), help is resumed after the crash of Odysseus's raft. She calms the winds, helps him to get to the shore, and then sends him sleep. Athena often takes the form of mortals in order to advise or help Odysseus and at the same time transforms Odysseus: she elevates him with a camp, gives him strength in a competition, if necessary, turns Odysseus into an old beggar, and then returns his beauty again, on the island of Feakov hides a hero cloud, on Ithaca hides him and his companions with darkness and helps to leave the city.

She is the main defender of the Achaean Greeks and a constant enemy of the Trojans, although her cult also existed in Troy. Athena is the defender of Greek cities (Athens, Argos, Megara, Sparta, etc.), bearing the name of the "city defender".

The warrior goddess has been instrumental in the capture of Troy since the beginning of the Trojan War. She participates in the Judgment of Paris and loses this dispute to Aphrodite. The Trojan horse was made by Epeus according to the plan of Athena, she appeared to him in a dream, in three days the horse was completed and Epeus asks Athena to bless his work and calls the Trojan horse an offering to the Goddess. The inhabitants of Metapont showed in the temple of Athena the iron tools of Epeus, with which he built a horse. She took the guise of a messenger and advised Odysseus to hide the Achaean heroes in his horse. Further, the Goddess brought the heroes, who were going to enter the horse, the food of the gods so that they would not feel hunger. When the Trojans think about destroying the horse, Athena gives bad signs (earthquake) and the Trojans do not believe Laocoon, who insisted on this. She rejoices when the Trojans drag a wooden horse into the city and send snakes against the sons of Laocoon. Trifiodorus describes how Elena of Spartan came to the temple of Athena and walked around the horse three times, calling the heroes by name, but the Goddess of War, visible only to Elena, appeared and forced her to leave. And on the night of the fall of Troy, Pallas sat on the acropolis, shining with the aegis, when the beating began, she screamed and raised the aegis.

Athena is always viewed in the context of artistic craft, art, craftsmanship. She helps potters, weavers, needlewomen, working people in general, helped Prometheus steal fire from the forge of Hephaestus, Daedalus learned his art from her. She teaches girls crafts (daughters of Pandareus, Eurinou and others). Her one touch is enough to make a person beautiful - so Penelope acquired the amazing beauty of meeting her future spouse. She personally polished Peleus' spear.

Her own creations are genuine works of art, such as the cloak weaved for the hero Jason. She made her own clothes and even Hera's clothes. She taught people the art of weaving. However, Plato points out that Eros was the mentor of Athena in the art of weaving. The spinning wheel is another gift of the Goddess to people, weavers are called - serving "the cause of Athena".

Athena is credited with inventing the flute and learning to play Apollo on it. Pindar says that one of the gorgons Medusa groaned terribly while dying, and the other Euriala groaned, looking at her sister, and Athena invented a flute to repeat these sounds. According to another story, the Patroness of the Arts made a flute from a deer bone and came to the meal of the gods, but Hera and Aphrodite ridiculed her. Athena, looking at her reflection in the water, saw her cheeks swell ugly, and threw the flute in the Forest of Ideas. The abandoned flute was picked up by the satyr Marsyas. Later, Marsyas challenged Apollo to a competition in playing the flute, was defeated and was severely punished for his pride (Apollo tore the skin off the satyr). Aristotle believes that the Goddess abandoned the flute for another reason: playing the flute is not related to mental development.

One of the most important mythological stories about Athena is the trial for Attica. For the possession of Attica, Athena argued with the god of the seas, Poseidon. At the council of the gods, it was decided that Attica would go to the one whose gift on this earth would be more valuable. Poseidon struck with a trident, and hammered a spring out of the rock. But the water in it turned out to be salty, undrinkable. Athena stuck her spear into the ground, and an olive tree grew out of it. All the gods recognized that this gift is more valuable. Poseidon was angry and wanted to flood the land with the sea, but Zeus forbade him. Since then, the olive tree has been considered a sacred tree in Greece. Varro cites a later version of the myth, where Cecrop put the question of the name of the city to a vote: men voted for Poseidon, and women for Athena, and one woman turned out to be more. Then Poseidon devastated the earth in waves, and the Athenians subjected women to threefold punishment: deprived of the right to vote, none of the children had to take the name of their mother, and no one had to call women Athenians. The trial took place on 2 boedromions (end of September) and the Athenians removed this day from the calendar. The dispute between Poseidon and Athena was depicted on the back of the Parthenon, and in the presentation of Ovid, Athena depicts this scene on cloth in his competition with Arachne.

Sophocles calls the Goddess Athena the Virgin, Lady of the Horses, her epithet "Parthenos". Argos girls sacrificed hair to her before marriage. According to Nonnu, Abra, suffering in childbirth, wants Athena to give birth herself. And the wise Goddess feeds the son of Abra and Dionysus Iacchus with her milk, as before Erichthonius. The women of Elis prayed to Athena to get pregnant. And she helped Penelope delay her new wedding day. When Penelope asks Athena for Odysseus, the Goddess sends the ghost of Iftima to her to reassure her. She also inspires Penelope with the idea of \u200b\u200barranging a competition for the suitors.

Already in Homer, Athena appears as the patroness of shipbuilding and navigation. According to her instructions, the architect Arg from Thespius created the ship Argo. On the nose, Pallas fixed a piece of the trunk of the Dodona oak, which could divine. After completing the voyage, the ship was placed by Athena in the sky. On the advice of Athena, Danai, the son of the Egyptian king Bela and Ankhinoi, father of 50 daughters, built a 50-oar ship with two noses, on which he fled with his daughters. According to the myth, Danai received a prediction that he would die at the hands of his son-in-law, the daughters of Danai took up arms and killed their husbands in one night, fleeing revenge, Danai and built his ship. Perseus, whom Pallas also willingly helped, was a descendant of Danae. The image of the Goddess was on the Athenian ships, according to myths, she often sends a favorable wind to the ships (Telemachus, Theseus, the Achaeans returning from Lemnos).

Name, epithets and character

Athena. 470-465 biennium BC. Red-figure amphora. Attica. St. Petersburg, State Hermitage

The etymology of the name "Athena" due to the pre-Greek origin of her image is unclear. In modern Russian, a form close to the Byzantine pronunciation of the name, through "and", has taken root, but in the classical era the name of the goddess was pronounced approximately like "Athena". Homer sometimes calls her Athenaea, that is, "Athenian".

Athena is the goddess of wisdom, Democritus considered her "rationality". Her wisdom is different from the wisdom of Hephaestus and Prometheus; she is characterized by wisdom in state affairs. For late antiquity, Athena was the principle of the indivisibility of the cosmic mind and a symbol of the all-encompassing world wisdom, thereby its qualities are sharply opposed to the riot and ecstasy of Dionysus. As the legislator and patroness of the Athenian state, she was revered as Phratria ("fraternal"), Bulaya ("Soviet"), Soteira ("savior"), Pronoia ("seer").

There is abundant information about the cosmic features of the image of Athena. She keeps Zeus' lightning bolts. Her image or fetish, the so-called. palladium fell from the sky (perhaps hence her epithet Pallas). It is also possible that the epithet Pallas originated from the Greek "to shake (with a weapon)", that is, it means a victorious warrior, or it means "virgin". Athena was identified with the daughters of Kekrop - Pandrosa ("all-moist") and Aglavra ("light-airy"), or Agravla ("field-furrowed").

Homer calls Athena "glavkopis" (owl-eyed), the Orphic hymn (XXXII 11) - "motley snake". In Boeotia, she - the inventor of the flute - was revered under the name Bombileya, that is, "bee", "buzzing". The epithet Parthenos is the name of Athena the Virgin, hence the name of the Parthenon temple. Athena is called Promachos, that is, "vanguard", as the patroness of war and fair battle.

The main epithets of Athena, endowed with civil functions, are Polyada ("city", "patroness of cities and states") and Poliuhos ("city owner"). And the epithet Ergan ("worker") she has as the patroness of artisans.

Cult and symbolism

Athena's ancient zoomorphic past is indicated by its attributes - a snake and an owl (symbols of wisdom). The chthonic wisdom of the Goddess has its source in the image of the goddess with snakes of the Cretan-Mycenaean period. The predecessor of Athena, according to the theory of Martin Nilsson, was the "goddess with a shield", depicted on the larnaca from Milato, as well as on other monuments, whose symbol was a shield in the form of an eight. According to I.M. Dyakonov, a single image of the warrior-maiden was divided among the Greeks into three: the warrior and needlewoman Athena, the hunter Artemis and the goddess of sexual passion Aphrodite. The myth of the birth of Athena from Metis and Zeus belongs to the late period of Greek mythology. As Losev points out, she becomes, as it were, a direct continuation of the Tsar of the Gods, the performer of his plans and will. In the temple dedicated to her, according to Herodotus, there lived a huge snake - the guardian of the acropolis, dedicated to the goddess. An owl and a snake guarded the Minotaur's palace in Crete, and the image of a goddess with a shield from the Mycenaean time (possibly a prototype of Olympic Athena).

Pallas is one of the most important figures not only in Olympic mythology; in its importance it is equal to Zeus and sometimes even surpasses him, rooted in the most ancient period of development of Greek mythology - matriarchy. She is equal in strength and wisdom to her father. Along with the new functions of the goddess of military power, Athena retained her matriarchal independence, manifested in her understanding as a virgin and protector of chastity.

She is easily distinguished from other ancient Greek goddesses due to her unusual appearance. Unlike other female deities, she uses male attributes - she is dressed in armor, holds a spear in her hands, and is accompanied by sacred animals. Among the indispensable attributes of Athena - aegis - a shield made of goatskin with the head of a serpentine Medusa, which possesses tremendous magical power, frightens gods and people; helmet with a high crest. Athena appeared accompanied by the winged goddess Nike.

The olives of Athena were considered "trees of fate", and she herself was thought of as fate and the Great Mother Goddess, who is known in archaic mythology as the parent and destroyer of all living things. Among the Megarians, Athena is revered under the epithet Efia ("duck-duck"), according to Hesychius, since she turned into a duck-duck, hid Kekrop under her wings and brought him to Megara.

She is credited with inventing the chariot, ship, flute and pipe, ceramic pot, rake, plow, ox yoke and horse bridle, as well as inventing war in principle. She taught weaving, spinning and cooking and instituted laws.

Although her cult was spread throughout mainland and insular Greece (Arcadia, Argolis, Corinth, Sikion, Thessaly, Boeotia, Crete, Rhodes), the Goddess of War was especially revered in Attica, the Greek region where the city named after her was located. A huge statue of Athena Promachos with a spear shining in the sun adorned the acropolis in Athens, where the Erechtheion and Parthenon temples were dedicated to the goddess.

The first priestess of Athena was called Calithyessa, the priestesses were also Pandrosa, Theano, Phoebe (one of the daughters of Leucippus, kidnapped by the Dioscuri), Gersa, Aglavra, Iodama, the last three were overtaken by an unenviable fate. Groves and many temples in Athens, Argos, Delos, Rhodes and other cities were dedicated to Athena.

Agricultural holidays were dedicated to her: procharisteries (in connection with the sprouting of bread), plinteria (the beginning of the harvest), arrephoria (the gift of dew for crops), callinteria (ripening of fruits), skyrophoria (aversion to drought). During these festivals, the statue of Athena was washed, and the young men took an oath of civil service to the goddess. The holiday of the great Panathenaeas - statesmanship - was of general character. Erichthonius was considered the founder of Panathenae, and Theseus was the reformer. The annual Panathenaeas were arranged by Solon, the great ones were established by Pisistratus. Pericles introduced competitions in singing, playing the cithara and flute. On the Panathenes, sacrifices were made to Athena and the transfer of the goddess's peplos took place, which depicted her exploits in gigantomachy. In Athens, the third decade of each month was dedicated to the Goddess. According to myths, when all the gods fled to Egypt, she remained in her homeland.

In Rome, Athena was identified with Minerva. Two large excerpts from Ovid's "Fast" are dedicated to the Roman festivals of Minerva. Throughout antiquity, it remains a testament to the organizing and guiding power of reason, which orders space and social life, glorifying the strict foundations of a state based on democratic legislation.

Influence on culture and art

The XI and XXVIII hymns of Homer, the 5th hymn of Callimachus, the XXXII Orphic hymn, the 7th hymn of Proclus and the prosaic "Hymn to Athena" by Elia Aristides are dedicated to Athena. She is the protagonist of the tragedies of Sophocles "Eant", Euripides "Ion", "Pleading", "Trojans", "Iphigenia in Tarvid", Pseudo-Euripides "Res".

She acts in the prologue of Sophocles' tragedy "Ajax", talking with Odysseus and Ajax. The tragedy of Aeschylus "Eumenides" is a monument to the glorification of the wise ruler of the Athenian state, the founder of the Areopagus.

Many statues of the Goddess of War are known, of which the most famous Phidias "Athena Promachos" of the 5th century. BC BC, "Athena Parthenos" 438 BC, "Athena Lemnia" around 450 BC have not survived to our time. The most accurate copy of Athena Parthenos is considered to be the statue of Athena Varvakion in the National Museum in Athens, and Athens Promachos is probably the Athena Medici in the Louvre. The Vatican Museum contains "Athena Giustiniani" (copy from the original of the 4th century BC)

The painter Famuel, who painted the Golden Palace of Nero, created a painting depicting the Goddess looking at the viewer from any point. Cleanthes painting "The Birth of Athena" was in the sanctuary of Artemis Alfionia in Olympia.

In Western European painting, the Goddess of Wisdom was less popular than, for example, Aphrodite (Venus). She was often portrayed in the "Judgment of Paris" plot along with Aphrodite and the Hero. The famous painting by Botticelli "Pallas and the Centaur" in 1482 was portrayed mainly in works of an allegorical nature, multi-figure compositions ("Minerva conquers ignorance" by B. Spranger, "Victory of virtue over sin" by A. Mantegna). She was depicted together with Ares (Mars) ("Minerva and Mars" by Tintoretto, Veronese), rarely in sculpture (Sansovino).

Supposedly, Diego Velazquez's famous mysterious painting "Spinners" illustrates the myth of Athena and Arachne.

In modern times

In honor of Athena, an asteroid is named - one of three asteroids discovered on July 22, 1917 by the German astronomer Maximilian Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl observatory, Germany.

Athena named American light-class launch vehicle.

The city of Athens is the capital of the state in southern Europe, Greece.

Athena, daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and victorious war, defender of justice

Athena, Greek - daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and victorious war, protector, arts and crafts.

Old myths speak out about the birth of Athena rather sparingly: Homer only says that she is without a mother. More details can already be found in later authors. According to Hesiod, Zeus was predicted that the goddess of wisdom Metis would give him a daughter who would surpass him in wisdom, and a son who would surpass him in strength and overthrow him from the throne. To prevent this, Zeus swallowed Metis, after which Athena was born from his head.

Even later myths even know how it happened. After Zeus ate Metis, he felt that his head was just splitting from pain. Then he summoned Hephaestus (according to other versions - Hermes or the titan Prometheus), he cut his head with an ax - and Pallas Athena was born in full armor.

Thus, in accordance with the symbolism of myths, Athena was also the power of Zeus. He loved her more than all his daughters: he talked to her as with his own thought, did not hide anything from her and did not deny her anything. For her part, Athena understood and appreciated her father's goodwill. She was always by his side, never once carried away by any other god or man, and with all her beauty, majesty and nobility did not marry, remaining the Athena-Virgin (Athena Parthenos).

Due to her origin and the benevolence of Zeus, Athena became one of the most powerful goddesses of the Greek pantheon. Since ancient times, she was, first of all, the goddess of war, being a protector from enemies.

True, the war was in the competence of Ares, but Athena did not interfere. After all, Apec was the god of fierce war, bloody battles, while she was the goddess of reasonably, prudently waged war, which invariably ends in victory, which could not be said about the wars of Ares. Athena, the goddess of war, was revered by the Greeks under the name of Athena Enoplos (armed Athena) or Athena Promachos (Athena the foremost fighter or Athena challenging to battle), as the goddess of a victorious war was called Athena Nike (Athena the Winner).

From the beginning to the end of the ancient world, Athena was the goddess-protector of the Greeks, especially the Athenians, who have always been her favorites. Like Pallas Athena, the goddess also guarded other cities, primarily those where there were her cult figurines in the temples, the so-called palladiums; while the palladium remained in the city, the city was impregnable. The Trojans also had such palladium in their main temple, and therefore the Achaeans, who besieged Troy, certainly had to steal this palladium (which Odysseus and Diomedes did). Athena patronized the Greeks and their cities both in war and in peace. She was a defender of popular assemblies and rights, took care of children and the sick, gave people well-being. Often, her help took very concrete forms. For example, she gave the Athenians an olive tree, thus laying the foundation for one of the main branches of the Greek national economy (by the way, to this day).

Photo: Riviera Brighton's painting Pallas Athena and the Shepherd's Dogs.

In addition to these important functions, Athena was also the goddess of arts and crafts (the Greeks, as a rule, did not distinguish between these two concepts; they denoted the work of a sculptor, bricklayer and shoemaker with the word "techne"). She taught women to spin and weave, men - blacksmithing, jewelry and dyeing crafts, helped the builders of temples and ships. For her help and protection, Athena demanded respect and sacrifice - this was the right of every god. She punished disrespect and insults, but it was easier to appease her than other goddesses.

In the life of gods and heroes, Athena intervened often and effectively, and each of her interventions led exactly to the result that she herself desired. With the god of the sea Poseidon, Athena had a dispute about dominance over Attica and Athens. The Council of the Gods appointed the first Athenian king Cecropus as an arbitrator, and Athena won the dispute by presenting an olive tree and thereby securing Cecrop's favor. When Paris insulted Athena with his unwillingness to recognize her primacy in the dispute over beauty, she repaid him by helping the Achaeans defeat Troy. When her admirer Diomedes had a hard time in the battle under the walls of Troy, she herself took the place of the charioteer in his war chariot and forced her brother Ares to flee. She helped Odysseus, his son Telemachus, Agamemnon's son Orestes, Bellerophon, Perseus and many other heroes. Athena never left her charges in trouble, always helped the Greeks, especially the Athenians, and she later provided the same support to the Romans, who venerated her under the name of Minerva.

Photo: copy of the work of Phidias, a colossal bronze statue of Pallas Athena in the center of the Acropolis.

The goddess Athena is already mentioned in the monuments of the Cretan-Mycenaean writing of the 14-13th centuries. BC e. (the so-called Linear "B") discovered at Knossos. In them, she is called the goddess-protector of the royal palace and the nearby city, the helper in battle and the giver of the harvest; her name sounds like "Atana". The cult of Athena spread throughout Greece, traces of it remain even after the victory of Christianity. Above all, the Athenians honored her, whose city still bears her name.

Since time immemorial, festivities have been held in Athens in honor of the birth of the goddess - the Panathenaea (they fell on July - August). In the middle of the 6th century. BC e. The Athenian ruler Pisistratus established the so-called Great Panathenes, which were held every four years and included competitions for musicians, poets, orators, gymnasts and athletes, horsemen, rowers. Lesser Panathenaeas were celebrated annually and more modestly. The culmination of these festivities was the offering of gifts of the Athenian people to the goddess, primarily a new garment for the ancient cult statue of Athena in the Erechtheion temple on the Acropolis. The Panathenian procession is masterfully depicted on the frieze of the Athenian Parthenon, one of the authors of which was the great Phidias. In Rome, celebrations in honor of Minerva were held twice a year (in March and June).

In the photo: the statue of Athena ("Pallas Giustiniani") in the gardens of Peterhof.

Architectural structures in honor of Athena belong to the treasures of common human culture - even if only ruins have survived from them. First of all, this is the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, built in 447-432. BC e. Iktin and Callicrates under the artistic direction of Phidias and consecrated by Pericles already in 438 BC. e. For more than two millennia, the Parthenon stood, almost untouched by time, until in 1687 it was damaged by an explosion of gunpowder, which the Turks stored in it during the war with Venice. Nearby there is a small temple to Nike, dedicated to the Victorious Athena; during the Turkish occupation, it was completely destroyed, but in 1835-1836. rose again from the ruins. The last of these buildings on the Acropolis is the Erechtheion, dedicated to Athena, Poseidon and Erechtheus (Erechtheus). At one time, Athenian palladium was kept in it, and next to the Erechtheion the "olive of Athena" was planted (the present one was planted in 1917). The magnificent temples of Athena were also built by the Greeks on the Spartan Acropolis, in the Arcadian Tegea, on the Marble Terrace in Delphi, in the Asia Minor cities of Pergamum, Priene and Asse; in Argos there was a common temple of Athena and Apollo. The remains of her temple have been preserved in the Sicilian Kefaleedia (now Cefalu) and in the ruins of Gimera; the twelve Doric columns of her temple in Syracuse still stand today as an integral part of the cathedral there. Her temple was also in Troy (not only in Homeric, but also in the historic new Ilion). Perhaps the oldest of the three surviving temples in Poseidonia, the southern Italian Paestum, now called Pesti, was also dedicated to her. 6 c. BC e., but tradition called "the temple of Ceres".

In the photo: Pallas Athena (Minerva). ...

Greek artists depicted Athena as a serious young woman in a long robe (peplos) or in an armor. Sometimes, despite women's clothing, she had a helmet on her head, and next to her were her sacred animals, an owl and a snake. Of her antique statues, the most highly prized: "Athena Parthenos", a colossal chrysoelephantine statue (ie, made of gold and ivory), from 438 BC. e. standing in the Parthenon; Athena Promachos, colossal bronze statue from about 451 BC BC, which stood in front of the Parthenon, and "Athena Lemnia" (after 450 BC), erected on the Acropolis by grateful Athenian colonists from Lemnos. All three of these statues were created by Phidias; unfortunately, we know them only from descriptions and late copies and replicas, mostly not of a very high level. Reliefs give an idea of \u200b\u200bsome of the statues: for example, how the sculpture of Myron "Athena and Marsyas" looked like, we know from its image on the so-called "Finlay's vase" (1st century BC), kept in Athens, in National Archaeological Museum. Perhaps the best relief of the classical era is "Pensive Athena", leaning on a spear and sadly looking at the stele with the names of the fallen Athenians (Acropolis Museum). The most faithful, albeit not too skillful and, moreover, a tenfold reduced copy of the cult statue "Athena Parthenos" can probably be considered the so-called "Athena Varvakion" (Athens, National Archaeological Museum). In general, many statues of Athena, whole or in the form of torsos, have survived. The most famous of them, Roman copies of Greek originals of the classical era, are located in Italy and are traditionally named after their former owners or by their location: "Athena Farnese" (Naples, National Museum), "Athena Giustiniani" (Vatican), "Athena from Velletri ”(Rome, Capitoline Museums and Paris, Louvre). The most artistically valuable copy of the head of "Athena Lemnia" is in the City Museum in Bologna.

The image of Athena has survived on about two hundred vases, many of which date back to the 6th century. BC e. The archaized image of Athena adorned all the amphorae that were awarded to the winners of the Panathenaic Games.

Of the works of modern times, no less numerous and no less diverse, we will name only two paintings: "Pallas and the Centaur" by Botticelli (1482) and "The Birth of Athena from the Head of Zeus" by Fiamingo (1590s). Of the statues, there are also two: the work of Dros at the beginning of our century, which stands on a high Ionic column in front of the Athenian Academy, and the work of Houdon of the late 18th century, which adorns the Institute of France.

In the photo: a statue of Athena outside the Austrian Parliament in Vienna.

The goddess Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ) occupied a special place in Greek mythology; she was ranked among the 12 main Olympic gods.

The Greeks respected and loved the goddess, believed that Athena was always with them, wanting to help. Athena was the goddess of wisdom, strategy, war, knowledge, was the patroness of Athens, art, culture, philosophical thought and martial arts.

Birth of Athena

The appearance of Athena happened in an unusual way. The first wife of Zeus was Mitis (Μήτιδα), who was wiser than gods and people. After she became pregnant, Moira, the goddess of fate, predicted to her that Metis would give birth first to a daughter, and then to a son, who would overthrow Zeus from the throne. To avoid this, Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife. Then he called for Hephaestus and ordered him to chop his head off. He fulfilled his will and struck the skull with an ax. From there jumped out the beautiful Athena, in full uniform and sparkling weapons.

Athena became Zeus's favorite child. She fought alongside him in the fight against the giants, and after he chased away the giant Enceladus, Athena chased him in her chariot, who threw a stone with her killed the giant and became the island of Sicily.
The cult of Athena began in the time of Cecropus (Κέκροπα) in ancient Athens and from there spread throughout Greece. Endless celebrations and holidays in all cities were dedicated to the goddess Athena, but the brightest were in Athens. Pericles dedicated the entire Citadel to Athena.

The symbols of the goddess Athena: oak, owl, olive, shield.

The goddess Athena had many names, the ancient Greeks at various times added divine and sacred names to their beloved Goddess:

Pallas (Παλλάδα) was given to Athena at birth, when she was born from the head of Zeus with a new sparkling spear. According to another version, Athena killed the giant Pallant (Πάλλαντα).
Promachos (Πρόμαχος) warrior, refers to the combat nature of the goddess and her status as brave in battle, her "strategic" plans are to support her heroes.
The Virgin (Παρθένα) is untouched, Athena was a virgin, the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis is dedicated to Athena the Virgin.
Blue-eyed (Γλαυκώπις) light-eyed. The sacred bird of the goddess Athena, the owl (γλαυξ), comes from the same root, possibly due to its large and light eyes.

Athena and the owl

Since ancient times, the owl has been identical to wisdom. The ancient Greeks considered her a symbol of the goddess Athena.

The owl flies, does not walk, does not crawl. The gods of Olympus also flew, they took the form of birds when they appeared among people. Owls are special birds, predators, they see very well at night. The owl has a large round head, a round face like a disc, large eyes that provide stereoscopic vision. This ruthless predator captures prey with sharp claws and kills in motion, striking in the head with a hard and strong beak.

Such features of an owl seemed cult to the ancient Greeks.
The owl has the ability to see the "distant sides of things", where others, due to darkness, are unable to see, thus the owl symbolizes wisdom.

Maybe for this reason, the owl became the companion of the wisest Greek goddess Athena.

Athena (ancient Greek Ἀθηνᾶ, the spelling Athenaia, Mycenaean is also found. A-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja: "Atana the mistress" (Subject-conceptual dictionary of the Greek language. Mycenaean period. L., 1986. P.141)) - in ancient Greek mythology, the goddess of organized war, military strategy and wisdom, one of the most revered goddesses of Ancient Greece, the eponym of the city of Athens. She is also the goddess of knowledge, arts and crafts; maiden warrior, patroness of cities and states, sciences and crafts, intelligence, skill, ingenuity. Athena was, as it were, part of Zeus, the performer of his plans and will. She is the thought of Zeus, realized in action. Classical Athena patronizes heroes and protects public order. She rescued Bellerophon, Jason, Hercules and Perseus from trouble. It was she who helped her favorite Odysseus overcome all difficulties and get to Ithaca after the Trojan War. The most significant support was provided by Athena to the mother-killer Orestes. She helped Prometheus to steal the divine fire, protected the Achaean Greeks during the Trojan War; she is the patroness of potters, weavers and needlewomen. The cult of Athena, widespread throughout Greece, was especially revered in Athens, which she patronized. In Roman mythology, the goddess corresponds to Minerva.

The etymology of the name "Athena" due to the pre-Greek origin of her image is unclear.

A form close to the Byzantine pronunciation (through "and") has taken root in modern Russian: in the classical era it was pronounced approximately Athena. In Homer, in addition to a number of epithets, the form Atheneus is often found, that is, "Athenian" (For the distribution of the forms Athena and Athenaeus in Homer, see Klein L. S. Anatomy of the Iliad. St. Petersburg, 1998. P.109-111 and tables 24 and 26).

Athena had many different epithets, both related to her functions and toponymic.

The archaic nature of the image of the goddess and its evolution

The ancient zoomorphic past of Athens is indicated by its attributes - a snake and an owl, as well as epithets (owl-eyed, etc.). The chthonic wisdom of Athena has its source in the image of the goddess with snakes of the Cretan-Mycenaean period.

According to the concept developed in detail by Martin Nilsson (English), the Minoan "goddess with a shield" depicted on the Larnaca from Milato, as well as on other monuments, whose symbol was a shield in the shape of an eight, was the predecessor of Athena (Andreev Yu. V. From Eurasia to Europe. SPb, 2002. S.293-295, 350-354). According to I.M.Dyakonov, a single image of the warrior-maiden was divided among the Greeks into three: the warrior and needlewoman Athena, the hunter Artemis and the goddess of love passion Aphrodite (Dyakonov I.M. Archaic myths of the East and West. M., 1990. P.158 ).

The myth of the birth of Athena from Metis (whose name translates as "thought") and Zeus belongs to the late period of Greek mythology, the time when the classical canon was formed. Graves suggests that she was previously the parthenogenic daughter of Metis alone. The emergence of the swallowed Athena into the world from the head of Zeus is depicted from the perspective of the mythology of the period of patriarchy, in which the male organizing principle was especially prominent. Athena turns into an obedient mouthpiece for Zeus and deliberately loses her past (Graves R. Zeus and Metis). As Losev points out, Athena becomes, as it were, a direct continuation of Zeus, the performer of his plans and will, his thought, realized in action. Over time, the motherhood of Metis acquires an increasingly abstract, even symbolic, character, and Athena begins to be considered the offspring of Zeus alone and takes on the functions of divine wisdom, just as Zeus took them from Metis.

According to Graves, the refusal of Athena from Poseidon's father indicates the change of the supreme deity in Athens that took place in ancient times. A.I. Zaitsev, on the contrary, suggests that the version with the birth of Athena from Zeus without a mother is more ancient, and the story of Hesiod about swallowing Metis is more recent (Zaitsev A.I. Greek religion and mythology. M.-SPb, 2005. p. .94). Vilamovitz assumed (based on the fact that the word κορυφη means both the crown of Zeus in myth and the top of a mountain) that the original idea was the birth of Athena from a mountain peak.

Athena is one of the most important figures in the Olympic pantheon. In terms of its importance, it is equal to Zeus, and sometimes surpasses him. This is rooted in the oldest period in the development of Greek mythology - matriarchy. Having acquired new functions of military power, the goddess retained her matriarchal independence (virgin and protector of chastity).

Athena has many cosmic features (she keeps the lightning of Zeus, was born in golden rain, etc.). She was thought of as fate and the Great Mother Goddess, the parent and destroyer of all living things.

Birth of Athena

The birth of the goddess Athena was unusual. The most common version is told in the "Theogony" of Hesiod: the king of the gods Zeus, on the advice of Uranus and Gaia, swallowed his first wife Metis-Wisdom when she became pregnant to prevent her from giving birth to a son after Athena, who would overthrow Zeus (Hesiod. Theogony 888-900) ... After that, he gave birth to the warrior Athena-Tritogena from his head (Hesiod. Theogony 924-926, in this version Hephaestus is born later).

Homer's poems ignore the myth of the birth of Athena, and subsequent authors supplement the story with details and localize it. Brief references are found in the Homeric hymn to Apollo the Pythian (Hymns of Homer II 130, 136, 145), in Ivik (Ivik, fr. 3 Page, p. 3-4) and other poets (Nonn. Acts of Dionysus XXVII 285), writers ( Arnobius. Against the pagans II 70) and mythographers (Diodorus of Siculus. Historical library I 12, 7; Hyginus. Myths, Introduction 21). At the same time, the sources hardly mention Metis, and in Aeschylus Athena emphasizes that she was born without a mother (Aeschylus. Eumenides 736).

The prophecy to Zeus was uttered by the moirae or by Metis herself (Last version: Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological library I 3, 6). After swallowing the pregnant Metis, Zeus after a while felt a terrible headache. To help her birth, Hephaestus hit Zeus on the head with an ax (Pindar. Olympic songs VII 38-39; fr. 34 Bergk; Callimachus, from book 1 of the "Reasons"; Lucian. Conversations of the gods 8, 1; Nonn. Acts of Dionysus VIII 80 ), and Prometheus took it from the head of Zeus (Euripides. Ion 453-457) (according to a later version, she was born from the beard of Zeus (First Vatican mythographer II 74, 1)). Stesichor first mentions that Athena appeared from the head of Zeus in full combat armor (panoplia) (Stesichor, FR. PMG 233 Page from an unidentified work (according to the scholias to Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautica IV 1310 and P. Oxy. 2260)). Armor is also mentioned in the XXVIII Homeric hymn (Hymns of Homer XXVIII 5) and in the Orphic (Orphic, fr. 174 Kern). According to Lycophron, Athena was born to Zeus on the third day (Lycophron. Alexandra 520).

According to Pindar, when Athena was born, a golden shower fell on Rhodes (Pindar. Olympic Songs VII 49; Strabo. Geography XIV 2, 10 (p. 655), with reference to Pindar; Philostratus. Pictures II 27, 3). In addition, another interpretation of her birth is given: according to a certain Aristocles, Athena was hidden in a cloud and appeared from it thanks to the lightning strike of Zeus, but this happened in Crete (Scholia to Pindar. Olympic songs VII 66, cited in Losev 1999, p. .236). This myth "reflected the idea of \u200b\u200bthe birth of lightning and thunder from a heavily overhanging thundercloud" (VG Borukhovich) (Notes of VG Borukhovich in Prince Apollodorus. Mythological library. L., 1972. P.128).

Athena's parents

It is worth noting that although the version of the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus from the swallowed Metis is the most common, there are several versions about who her parents were.

According to various versions, Pallas Athena could be the daughter of Metis, the goddess of wisdom - from Zeus. According to the Attic version, the daughter of Hellenia is from Zeus (Losev A. F. Mythology of the Greeks and Romans. M., 1996. P.213). The mother of Athena could also be a nymph of the river Triton (in the case of Poseidon's paternity).

According to various versions, the father of Athena could be Zeus, Poseidon, Bronte, Pallant and Eaton. Zeus. After swallowing the pregnant Metis and giving birth to Athena from his split skull, he appropriates the traits of a parent-mother, bearing a daughter alone. Poseidon. According to Herodotus, Athena then abandoned such paternity and passed to Zeus, who adopted her as a daughter. Cyclops Bront ("thunder"), who gave birth to her from Metis (Scholia to Homer. Iliad VIII 39 BLU, see Losev 1999, p. 238). The giant Pallant, from which she removes the skin in other versions. A mortal man named Eton, king of the city of Eton in Phthiotid.

Places of birth

There is also controversy regarding her place of birth. Aeschylus records the story for the first time that Athena was born at Lake Tritonis in Libya (Aeschylus. Eumenides 292-293; Callimachus, from Book 1 of the Reasons). Herodotus notes that the Aseans in Libya consider Athena the daughter of Poseidon and the goddess of the lake Tritonides (Herodotus. History IV 180). According to Apollonius of Rhodes, when she was born at Lake Triton, there she was met by the Libyan Heroines (Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautics IV 1298-1300). According to Lucan, being born from a head, she first of all visited Libya and called herself Tritonis (Lucan. Pharsalia IX 350-354). These stories are associated with the epithets of Athena Tritonius and Tritogeneus, already found in Homer.

The variant with the placement of the river Triton in Crete, where the temple of Athena has been preserved, is given by Diodorus (Diodorus of Siculus. Historical Library V 72, 3).

In addition, the river Triton was placed in the extreme west of Thessaly (Scholia to Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautics I 109, see Ancient mythology with ancient commentaries to it. / Comp. AF Losev. M., 2005. P.584).

Pausanias cites the story that Athena was born and was raised in Alifer in Arcadia, where there was an altar to Zeus Lecheat (Who gives birth) and the source of Tritonides (Pausanias. Description of Hellas VIII 26, 6).

The birthplace of Athena was called the town of Alalcomenes in Boeotia (Strabo. Geography IX 2, 36 (p. 413)), where she was raised by a local resident (Pausanias. Description of Hellas IX 33, 5).

Time of birth. During Panathenaeus, the birthday of Athena was celebrated (28 hecatombeon - about August 18) (Commentary in the edition of Plato. Collected works. In 4 volumes. Vol. 1. M., 1990. P.740), on this day the courts were closed ( Athenaeus Feast of the Wise III 53 (98b)).

The birth of Athena was depicted on the pediment of the Parthenon; in the Spartan temple of Athena Mednodomnaya; in the painting by Cleanthes "The Birth of Athena" and in the painting described by Philostratus (Philostratus. Pictures II 27).

The appearance of Athena

Athena is easily distinguished from other ancient Greek goddesses due to her unusual appearance. Unlike other female deities, she uses masculine attributes - she is dressed in armor, holds a spear in her hands; she is also accompanied by sacred animals.

Attributes of the goddess: helmet (usually Corinthian - with a high crest), aegis (shield), covered with goatskin and decorated with the head of the Gorgon Medusa, appeared accompanied by the winged goddess Nike, olive - a sacred tree of the ancient Greeks, an owl (a symbol of wisdom), a snake (also a symbol of wisdom).

She was called “gray-haired and fair-haired” (Pindar. Nemean songs X 7), Homer had the epithet “glavkopis” (owl-eyed) (Homer. Odyssey I 44). The descriptions highlight her large eyes. Homer describes the preparation of Athena for battle: her armor, aegis, helmet, spear and chariot (Homer. Iliad V 733-747, VIII 384-391; the second block of lines repeats the first with an abbreviated description of the aegis). Virgil mentions how the Cyclops in the Vulcan forge polished the armor and aegis of Pallas, on them the scales of snakes and the head of the Gorgon (Virgil. Aeneid VIII 435-438).

Plato notes that under the patronage of Athena are both the class of artisans and warriors (Plato. Laws XI 920d-e).

This multiplicity of functions is played up by Ovid, describing Achilles on Skyros in a girl's dress and fur and saying: “Pallas awaits you, but not on this path” (Ovid. Metamorphoses I 692).

Maiden athena

The Parthenos's appeal to the virgin Pallas is often found in texts (Sophocles. Oedipus in Colon 1090). Sophocles calls her the Virgin Athena, mistress of the horses (Sophocles. Oedipus in Colon 1072). Callimachus cites the expression "Virgo will give birth" as an example of an impossible event (Callimachus, fr. 1 Chistyakov from unknown elegies, art. 2 (Ancient Greek elegy. St. Petersburg, 1996, p. 221)), and Rian mocks the character: as if he made Athena a wife (Ryan, fr. 1 Powell, p. 14). Gregory Nazianzen emphasizes the paradox: "Athena is again a virgin and gives birth to a dragon" (Gregory Nazianzen. The second accusatory word against Tsar Julian (Gregory the Theologian. Collection of creations. In 2 volumes. Mn.-M., 2000. Vol. 1, p. 167) ...

Monstrous Typhon plans to give Athena to wife Ephialta (Nonn. Acts of Dionysus II 310-313) and offers her as a wife to Cadmus (Nonn. Acts of Dionysus I 469), which makes Nick fear for the virginity of Athena (Nonn. Acts of Dionysus II 210-211).

Argos girls before marriage sacrificed her hair (Statius. Thebaida II 251-255). The virgin priestesses of Athena are mentioned in some places (Tertullian. On the encouragement of chastity 13).

According to Nonnu, Abra, suffering in childbirth, wants Athena to give birth herself (Nonn. Acts of Dionysus XLVIII 798). And Athena feeds with her milk the son of Abra and Dionysus Iacchus, as before Erechtheus-Erichthonius (Nonn. Acts of Dionysus XLVIII 950-954).

Athena's inventions

Athena was the founder of the state, the creator of the chariot and ship, flute and trumpet, she invented war (Cicero. On the nature of the gods III 53). The goddess was the inventor of the ceramic pot, rake, plow, ox yoke, and horse bridle. She taught weaving, spinning and cooking, established laws and the Areopagus, the highest court in Athens.

Athena, motherhood and marriage

Nevertheless, Athena also patronizes married women. Women of Elis prayed to Athena to get pregnant (Pausanias. Description of Hellas V 3, 2).

Athena helped Penelope to delay the day of the new wedding (Propertius. Elegies II 9, 5). In the Odyssey, Athena endowed Penelope with reason (II 116), gives her a sweet sleep (I 360, XVI 451, XIX 604, XXI 358). When Penelope asks Athena for Odysseus (IV 762-767), the goddess sends the ghost of Iftima to her to reassure her (IV 796-838). Athena inspires Penelope with a desire to appear to the suitors (XVIII 158), lulls Penelope to sleep for some time and gives her beauty (XVIII 188-196). Athena inspires Penelope with the idea of \u200b\u200barranging a contest (XXI 1).

Avga was the priestess of Athena Alea from Tegea, who was seduced by Hercules, and she threw the child in the sacred site of the temple of Athena (or hid it in the temple), because of this, either the earth stopped bearing fruit (Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological library III 9, 1), or a plague began (Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological Library II 7, 4), and the oracles announced that the wicked was contained in the temple.

When the father decides to expel Avga, she turns to Athena for help (Euripides. Avga, fr. 266 Nauk), and the goddess remembers Hercules. By the care of Athena, the box with Auga and Telephus was moved across the sea (Strabo. Geography XIII 1, 69 (p. 615), with a reference to Euripides, see Euripides. Augus, testimony 4 Yarkho).

Athena and music

Athena danced a battle dance with a spear and in armor (Plato. Cratyl 406e; Laws VII 796b) either after the victory over the titans (Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman antiquities VII 72, 7), or immediately after birth (Lucian. Conversations of the gods 8).

Polien tells the legend how Proclus and Temenus Heraclides fought with Eurystheids for Sparta and sacrificed to Athena, and flutists helped them in the battle. Since then, the flute has led the Laconians (Polien. Stratagems I 10, 1). Thucydides mentions flutists in the Spartan army (Thucydides. History V 70).

Trumpet (Salpinga) is an epithet of Athena. In the epigrams, Athena is dedicated to a trumpet (Antipater of Sidon, epigrams 2-3 Paige) or even "the trumpet of Enialia" (Timnus, epigram 1 Paige).

Athena and the ships

Already in Homer, Athena appears as the patroness of shipbuilding and navigation. In one of the author's comparisons, an unnamed ship architect is called a pupil of Athena (Homer. Iliad XV 410-412). Homer also notes that earlier Athena patronized the architect Ferekles, who built a ship for Paris (Iliad V 61) (according to Kolluf, the goddess did not approve of his work (Kolluf. Abduction of Helena 201)).

According to the instructions of Athena, the architect Arg from Thespius created the ship Argo (Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautics I 20, 108-113; Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological library I 9, 16; Seneca. Medea 366; Valery Flaccus. Argonautics I 92-95, 127, 457 , 478, IV 541). Apollonius calls this ship the creation of Athena of Eton (Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautics I 548). On the nose Athena strengthened a piece of the trunk of the Dodonian oak, which could divine (Lycophron. Alexandra 1320-1321; Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological library I 9, 16; Hyginus. Astronomy II 37, reference to Aeschylus). After the end of the voyage, the ship Argo was placed at the will of Athena in the sky (Pseudo-Eratosthenes. Catasterisms 35; Hyginus. Myths 14 (St. Petersburg, 2000. P.36)).

Danai, on the advice of Athena, built a 50-oared ship (Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological Library II 1, 4) with two noses, on which he fled with his daughters (Hyginus. Myths 168, 277).

Athena sends a fair wind to Telemachus (Homer. Odyssey II 420-421; XV 292), Theseus (Bacchilides. Dithyramba XVII 7), the Achaeans returning from Lemnos (Quintus of Smyrna. After Homer IX 474). The image of the face of Pallas was on the Athenian ships (Euripides. Iphigenia in Aulis 248-251).

Athena the artisan

The art of work is noted by Homer (Homer. Iliad IX 390), calling her the mentor of the master of metal (Homer. Odyssey VI 233 \u003d XXIII 160). Daedalus learned his art from Athena (Hyginus. Myths 39). The poet Alexander of Aetolia claims that the statue of Aphrodite is the work of Athena herself (Alexander of Aetolia, epigram 2 Paige).

Hesiod indicates her relationship with the artisan carpenters (Hesiod. Works and days 430). Athena polished the spear of Peleus (Scholia to Homer. Iliad XVI 140 \u003d Cypriot, fr. 5 Evelyn-White). She helps potters (Pseudo-Hesiod. Potters 2). Solon calls the artisan one who knows “the work of Athena” (Solon, fr. 1 Gentili-Prato, art. 49). The epigrams speak of the dedication to Athena of the tools of the carpenter's craft (Leonidas of Tarentum, epigrams 7 and 8 Paige) and the implements of labor of the farmer (Fanii, epigram 4 Paige).

Athena teaches the daughters of Pandareus the arts (Homer. Odyssey XX 72), she also teaches the art of Eurynomus, daughter of Nisa (Hesiod. Great Eoi, fr. 43a M.-U., p. 71) and, probably, the daughters of Leukon (Hesiod. Eoi, fr. 70 M.-U., art. 11), as well as girls in general to crafts (Hymns of Homer IV 14-15).

It is also said that she, together with Hephaestus, taught people crafts (Hymns to Homer XX 2), and she and Hephaestus, in turn, were taught by the Cyclops (Orphic, fr. 179 Kern).

In later texts, Athena is considered the inventor of crafts and arts (Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library V 73, 8), for which he is revered (Aelius Aristides. Praise to Rome 105).

Arat notes that for the manufacture of the simplest celestial globe, "the craft of Athena" is needed (Arat. Apparitions 529).

Athena the weaver

Homer mentions that Athena made her own clothes (Homer. Iliad V 733-735 \u003d VIII 384-386) and Hera's clothes (Homer. Iliad XIV 179) and taught the Feakian women weaving art (Homer. Odyssey VII 110). Hesiod says that Athena made a dress for Pandora (Hesiod. Theogony 572-578, 587; Works and Days 72, 77). Apollonius of Rhodes describes in detail the images on the cloak, which Athena Itonis presented to Jason, without mentioning whether the goddess herself wove it (Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautics I 715-762).

According to Corinne, Athena taught weaving to Metiochus and Menippa, daughters of Orion (Antonin Liberal. Metamorphoses 25, 1 (from Nicander and Corinne)). In Ovid's weavers the Miniads are "detained by Pallas" and her labor, not wanting to worship Dionysus (Ovid. Metamorphoses IV 33-38). Seneca mentions the "Palladian work" of the maids who made the clothes of Hercules (Seneca. Hercules on Eta 564), as well as Phaedra, who abandoned the "craft of Pallas" (Seneca. Phaedra 103).

Athena patronizes the art of weaving (Orfica, fr. 178, 180 Kern; cf. Arnobius. Against the pagans V 45), however Plato emphasizes that her mentor in this art is Eros (Plato. Peir 197b). The ancient statue of Athena in Erifra depicted her with a spinning wheel in each hand (Pausanias. Description of Hellas VII 5, 9).

The spinning wheel is a gift from Athena (Theocritus. Idylls XXVIII 1). The loom is called the occupation of Athena (Nikarh, epigram 2 Paige, p. 1), and the weavers are called servants of the "cause of Athena" (Leonidas of Tarentum, epigram 72 Paige). A popular plot of the epigrams is the dedication to Athena of the tools of the weaving craft (Antipater of Sidon, epigrams 4-5 Page); the dedication of the weavers to the Temple of Athena Spinning (Leonid of Tarentum, epigrams 40-42 Paige). Propertius mentions "the Euripylian fabric of Athena Kos" (Propertius. Elegies IV 5, 23).

Poetess Moiro from Byzantium (III century BC) recounted a legend about how a certain Alkinoe from Corinth hired a weaver Nikandra, but did not pay her for the work, she prayed to Athena, and Alkinoe fell in love with the Samian Xanthus, left her family, after which threw herself into the sea (Parthenius. On the passions of love 27, a reference to Moiro's poem "Curses").

Marcian Capella interprets the story of Hesiod, explaining that Athena-Tritonia endowed the Soul with clothes, that is, a body (Marcian Capella VI 567, 574, see. Losev A. F. History of ancient aesthetics. Results of a thousand-year development. M., 1992. Book 1 . P. 157). The philosopher Proclus notes that "one of the demonesses from the clan of Athena turns out to be the trustee of the weaving trade, and Athena herself is glorified as the one who weaves the arrangement of intelligent species in some other, demiurgic sense" (Procl. Commentary on Plato's Parmenides 829, 18 -21, translated by L. Yu. Lukomsky).

Athena the healer

It was said that Asclepius received the blood of the Gorgon from Athena, with the help of which he raised the dead (Pseudo-Apollodorus. Mythological Library III 10, 3). According to Euripides, Athena gave Erichthony at birth two drops of Gorgon's blood, which he gave to Erechtheus in a golden ring, and the last one to Creusa (one healing drop, the other poisonous) (Euripides. Ion 999-1015).

Athena appeared in a dream to Pericles and indicated a grass to heal his slave, who fell from the roof of the Propylaea of \u200b\u200bthe Acropolis under construction, the grass was nicknamed Parthenius, and Pericles erected a statue of Athena Hygieia (Plutarch. Pericles 13 (about the master); Pliny the Elder. Natural history XXII 44). The base of the statue of Athena Hygieia by the sculptor Pyrrhus was found on the acropolis (Pliny the Elder. Natural history XXXIV 80 and the commentary by G. A. Taronyan in the book. Pliny the Elder. About art. M., 1994. P.387). The altar of Athena Hygieia was in the deme of Acharna (Pausanias. Description of Hellas I 31, 6).

Alexander the Great, having recovered, arranged a competition in honor of Asclepius and Athena (Curtius Rufus. History of Alexander the Great III 7, 3). The goddess Hygieia was called the daughter of Asclepius and Athena Hygieia (Pausanias. Description of Hellas I 23, 5). Athena, similar to the statue of Phidias, appeared to the sick orator Elius Aristides in a dream, and suggested to him to make an enema of Attic honey, after which he recovered (Aelius Aristides. Sacred Speeches II 41-43).

Veneration in Greece

Athena was revered throughout the region. In addition to Athenian, several acropolis were dedicated to her - Argos, Sparta, Megara, Troy, Trezen, Epidaurus-Limera, Fenei, Leuktra, Crown, Skepsis, Akragant (Zaitsev A.I.Greek religion and mythology. M.-SPb, 2005. 92), and even before the arrival of the Achaeans, in the ancient period. Aelius Aristides notes that she rules over the kremlins of cities and the heads of people (Aelius Aristides. Hymn to Athena 10, see Losev 1999, p. 323).

In Attica, Athena was the main deity of the country and city of Athens, the patroness of the Athenians. The city of Athens itself is named after her.

Apparitions of Athena

They are repeatedly mentioned in the epic, but later they are described by sources with a significant degree of skepticism and even contempt for human gullibility.

When the tyrant Pisistratus returned to the city, the goddess Athena was portrayed by a tall and beautiful woman, Thia, standing in armor on his chariot (Herodotus. History I 60; Polien. Stratagems I 21, 1). Later, the Athenians arranged a "sacred marriage" between Demetrius Poliorketus and Athena, and he reclined on her bed with the hetera Lamia (Clement of Alexandria. Protreptic 54, 6).

According to the story of Polienus, in Thebes there was a statue of Athena with a shield lying in front of his knees and a spear in his right hand. At night Epaminondas brought the master, who made the goddess holding the shield by the handle, and passed it off as a sign (Polien. Stratagems II 3, 12).

During the Gauls attack on Delphi it was said that Apollo, Athena and Artemis were seen defending the city (Justin. Epitome of Pompey Trog XXIV 8, 5).

According to another story by Polienus, in 241 BC. e. the priestess Athena from Pellene in Achaia, fully armed and with a helmet, appeared to the enemies of the Aetolians, which frightened them extremely (Polien. Stratagems VIII 59). Plutarch gives two other versions: either it was a girl with a helmet from the temple of Artemis, or the priestess carried the idol of Artemis and frightened the enemies (Plutarch. Arat 32).

Pompey Trog recounted a legend that during the siege of Massilia by the Gauls, Athena appeared at night to the king of the Gauls Catamarand, and he in horror lifted the siege (Justin. Epitome of Pompey Trog XLIII 5, 6). Aelius Aristides assures that he heard the hymn to Athena during a dream sent from the goddess herself (Aelius Aristides. Sacred Speeches IV 39).

Already in the 5th century, when the statue of Athena Parthenos "was stolen by those who touch the inviolable", a beautiful-looking woman appeared to the philosopher Proclus in a dream and told him that "The Lady Athena wants to stay with you" (Marin. Proclus, or About happiness 30, trans. M. L. Gasparov; see also Losev A. F. History of antique aesthetics. The last centuries. M., 1988. Book 2. P.316, 318).

The most significant temples of Athena

The Parthenon is the main temple in ancient Athens, dedicated to the patroness of this city and all of Attica, the Virgin Goddess Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ Παρθένος). Built in 447-438 BC. e. the architect Callicrates according to the project of Iktin and decorated in 438-431 BC. e. under the leadership of Phidias under the reign of Pericles.

The Erechtheion is one of the main temples of ancient Athens, located on the Acropolis north of the Parthenon. The building dates back to 421-406 BC. e. Executed in the Ionic order. The temple is dedicated to Athena, Poseidon and the legendary Athenian king Erechtheus.

In Athens, there is also the old sanctuary of Athena (Hecatompendon), the sanctuary of Pandrosa, the Temple of Nika Apteros, the Temple of Zeus and Athena.

Temple of Athena Aphaia on the island of Aegina
Sanctuary of Athena in Argos
Sanctuary of Athena on Delos
Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia in Delphi: Temple of Athena Pronaia, Treasury and Tholos
Temple of Athena in Rhodes
Sanctuary in Sparta
Temple of Athena Alea in Tegea
Temple of Minerva in Assisi, Italy
Temple of Athena at Paestum
Sanctuary of Athena in Pergamum: Temple of Athena, Propylon and Standing

According to Homer, her temple was in Ilion, the Trojans brought her peplos.

The Acropolis of Athens, reconstruction by Leo von Klenze in 1846 (the statue of Athena Promachos rises above the acropolis)

Criticism of the veneration of Athena

Clement of Alexandria mockingly quotes some of Homer's lines about Athena, who classifies her as a "demon" (Clement. Protrepticus 55, 4, see Homer. Iliad I 222) and calls her a "dog fly" (Clement. Protrepticus 76, 1, see. Homer Iliad XXI 394 (words of Ares)). Clement scoffs at the fact that Athena, as a servant, illuminated the path of Odysseus (Clement. Protrepticus 35, 2) and served with a lamp during the secrets of the marriage union (Arnobius. Against the Gentiles IV 25).

Tertullian indicates that the goddess did not protect Athens from Xerxes (Tertullian. To the pagans II 17).

Arnobius, referring to the data of the mythographers about the plurality of Athens, satirically depicts the dispute between five Athens for one sacrifice (Arnobius. Against the pagans IV 16).

According to Lactantius, she was a mortal woman who invented the arts, for which she was deified by people (Lactantius. Divine Institutions I 18, 1.23).

Interesting Facts

According to the speech of Cotta (Cicero. On the nature of the gods III 59), there were five of them: the mother of Apollo from Athens; daughter of Nile, she is revered in Sais under the name Neith (Plato. Timaeus 21e); born by Zeus. (or daughter of Crohn, invented war (Clement. Protreptic 28, 2)); daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Corypha, the Arcadians call her "Coria" and consider her the inventor of the quadriga; daughter of Pallant, killed her father, who tried to rape her, and put on his skin, she is depicted with winged sandals.

When all the gods fled to Egypt, Athena remained in her homeland.

In honor of Athena, the asteroid (881) Athena, discovered in 1917, is named.

Goddess Athena, in the legends of Greece is considered the goddess of wisdom, just war and crafts. The myth of the goddess Athena tells that she was the daughter of Zeus and the titanide Metis. Zeus, having learned that the son of Metis would deprive him of the throne, swallowed his pregnant wife.

Once Zeus had a terrible headache. He became gloomy and sad. Seeing this, the gods left so as not to fall under the hot hand of the thunderer. The pain didn't go away. Zeus did not find a place and almost screamed from torment.

Then, the lord of Olympus sent Ganymede for Hephaestus. The divine blacksmith arrived in what he was in, covered in soot and with a hammer in his hand.

“My son,” Zeus turned to him. - Something happened to my head. Hit me in the back of the head with your copper hammer.

Hearing these words, Hephaestus stepped back in horror.

- But how? - he was indignant. - I can not...

- You can! - Zeus ordered severely. - The way you hit an anvil.

And Hephaestus hit, as he was told. The skull of Zeus split open, and a virgin came out of it in full armor and stood next to her parent. Olympus trembled from the girl's powerful jump, those lying around the earth trembled, the sea boiled, snow fell that covered the tops of the mountains. The gods could not come to their senses for a long time. Hephaestus in horror dropped the hammer.

Zeus was amazed, but, not wanting to show that he was not omniscient, as if nothing had happened, he turned to Hephaestus:

“This is your sister Athena. Since the blow of your hammer helped her to come out into the world, she will, like you, have a mastery.

Hephaestus was unhappy, because he was used to being the only craftsman on Olympus.

“Your hammer will remain with you,” Zeus reassured him. - Athena will receive a spindle and spin. This is how the prudent goddess Athena appeared. She, sparing no effort, spent time at work in order to dress and shoe the gods of Olympus. When the whistle of arrows or swords reached her ears, she threw the spindle, put on armor and, with a sword in her hand, threw herself into a slaughter.

Athena - goddess of wisdom

Athena - was wiser than all other gods, since she was born from the head of Zeus. Zeus knew about this, and consulted with her before doing anything. People, wishing to arrange their lives, turned to Afi-ne, the goddess of wisdom, for help and advice. It was she who taught the virgins to draw threads from wool, and then weave them into a dense fabric, decorate with patterns. She showed the young men how to clean skins, how to soften the skin in cauldrons and make soft shoes out of it, gave others sharp axes, teaching them to do carpentry, make furniture, and to others she gave a bridle to pacify wild horses that began to serve people. It was the goddess Athena who helped artists decorate life with paints. All people praised the virgin goddess, calling her the Worker and Poliada (from the word "polis", which meant the city-state among the Greeks), because she taught the people to urban life.

But, as you know, the human race is not grateful - all good things quickly forgets. Everyone began to talk about the Lydian maiden Arachne, who assured that she could embroider no worse than Athena. The warrior goddess heard this and immediately descended to the ground. Appearing in the form of an old woman, Athena advised Arachne to pray to the great goddess for forgiveness for insolent words and pride. But Arachne rudely cut off Athena, who was trying to image her.

- Old age has taken away your consideration! She screamed. - Athena is simply afraid to enter into fair competition with me!

- I'm here, unreasonable! - exclaimed Athena, assuming her divine form. - And I'm ready to show my skills.

Athena depicted in the center of her canvas the twelve Olympian gods in all their greatness, and in the corners she placed four episodes of the defeat of mortals who challenged the gods. The goddess is merciful to those who admit their guilt, and it was not too late for Arachne to stop. But the presumptuous Lydian woman looked with contempt at the work of the goddess and, starting to her canvas, wove scenes with the love affairs of the gods on it. The figs of the gods were completely alive, it seemed that they were about to speak. Athena, seized with rage, hit Arachne with the shuttle. The princess could not stand the offense and hanged herself. But Athena did not let her die, but turned into a spider. Since then, Arachne and her offspring hang in the corners and weave a thin silver net.

The city of Attica, which received her name, enjoyed the special patronage of Athena. The Athenians believed they owed their wealth to Athena. There is a legend saying that the cult of Athena in her city was strengthened by the son of the Earth, Erechtheus. The goddess of wisdom Athena raised him in her sacred grove, and when the boy grew up, she rewarded him with royal power. There is an interesting fact - an owl, a bird with bulging intelligent eyes, was dedicated to Athena. The image of an owl was minted on Athenian silver coins, and everyone who accepted an "owl" in exchange for goods seemed to be giving honor to Athena herself.

Iris - messenger of the gods

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