She is believed to have fought alongside the Greek gods during the Trojan War and is often shown with her shield and spear. Additionally, Athena is seen as a guardian of cities. Athena as the Goddess of Justice: The ancient Greeks revered Athena as both the goddess of justice and the giver of eloquence.
Ares- The Greek god of war. He represents the violence and raw acts during his war time. Artemis- The Greek goddess of virginity, the hunt, and the moon.
Thus, meaning that they are not like the sirens or the Amazons who seduce men or live for battle and war. But these goddesses were born from Zeus and practically born into the throne and the role they were given. The Goddesses mainly stood for the fertility of women and the sign of life. “Considering their limited role in actual society, there is a surprisingly strong cast of female characters in Greek religion and mythology. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and patron of Athens stands out as a powerful figure blessed with intelligence, courage and honour.
In Bernard Evslin’s book Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths, Pandora shows the Greeks the danger of curiosity by her opening the box to all the evil and sorrowful things in the world. Pandora is created unlike any other gods, because she is made out of clay by Hephaestus. Because of this, Pandora does not have a mother or father. However, she marries Epimetheus and bears a daughter named Pyrrha.
In addition, her behaviors relate to those we express in our everyday lives. Athena was a polite and urban goddess. The Britannica School states that “her father was Zeus and Athena was his favorite daughter (“Athena”).” Athena represents the positive aspects of war such as its nobility. Athena is represented as a young female “dressed with the fittings of a male soldier (Hansen).”
In The Odyssey, by Homer, Athena influences the lives of Odysseus and his family. In Greek mythology, gods challenge and control mortals. Gods also provide support to mortals and thus, mortals depend and act on behalf of the gods and their decisions. Athena, daughter of Zeus, is the goddess of wisdom, and both Telemachus and Odysseus benefit from her power. Athena possesses the ability to disguise herself and others, and this skill allows her to give advice and guidance.
In The Odyssey, both the human characters and the Greek gods and goddesses are responsible for what happened. The plot seems to follow a pattern of humans against humans, gods against humans. The story starts with the Greek gods taking pity on Odysseus and all that he went through. The gods decide it is time for him to go home to see his mourning family. The reason why Odysseus is not with his family is because he enraged a god.
Hera had many traits but she was mainly revengeful and unpleasant. Another goddess is aphrodite. Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire, and beauty. She represents the attraction that binds people together.
The Trojan War was a bloody battle, said to be partially caused by two goddesses. Eris’s jealousy and Aphrodite's beauty became a conflict. They have contrasted very much leading up to this situation and even afterward. Aphrodite and Eris were both Greek goddesses but they differed greatly because of one being good and the other evil.
The temptation of power and control has caused destruction since the beginning of time. From Adam and Eve’s choice to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil to Hitler’s massive genocide, it seems as though humanity cannot evade a fascination with personal status and authority. In The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, the ring’s control over characters is a reflection of humanity’s innate craving for power. While most of the characters do not comprehend the ring’s tremendous power at first, Gandalf quickly realizes that the ring has a great influence on both those who obtain it and those who are aware of it. He says, “It is far more powerful than I ever dared to think at first, so powerful that in the end it would utterly overcome anyone of mortal race who possessed it.
Fate is something that many people choose to think of as a path that they follow. In Greek mythology it was believed that there were goddesses that were the personifications of fate itself. Three sisters Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis- or Nona, Morta, and Decuma- known as the Fates, the Moirai, or their Roman counterpart, the Parcae are a few of the most powerful and well respected goddesses in Greek mythology. The Fates are among the oldest goddesses in the history of greek mythology and play a huge role in balancing the natural order. The three sisters essentially control all mortal, and possibly god births and deaths along with one's destiny.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Greek gods and goddesses as possessing human qualities and faults. Through their actions and emotions, Homer emphasizes the detrimental effects of lust, envy, wrath, and greed in ancient Grecian society. He also never fails to remind readers of the importance of respect for holy figures because of their powerful abilities to create chaos and wonder". Homer wants to prove that gods and humans share a variety of traits, and the only difference is that god don’t allow these flaws negatively to impact their society. To help further his argument, we can compare Greek gods and goddesses to that of Christianity.
Greek mythology can be viewed as a mirror to the ancient Greek civilization. Ancient Greek myths and legends often reflected how the Greeks saw themselves. Myths were used by Greeks to make justifications of every existing aspect of earth as well as their own society. In myths, Greek gods & heroes often represented key aspects of the human civilization. From Greek mythology, we can learn about the favorable characteristics of humans, such as their behavior and valuable skills that were approved of by the ancient Greek society.
Greek mythology has been one of the most complicated subjects in the field of religion and mythology. This is due to the complex relations and interactions which exists in the history of Greek gods and the humans who lived in ancient Greece. Different versions of the existence and the establishment of the superior beings were developed, which at times created suspense for readers through their interactions. The various tales which exist explain the various connections between different gods, how they relate to one another, the ideological order in which they came into existence as well as the interactions they had with humans. These tales form the basis of various religious beliefs and practices since it is perceived that it is through the interactions of the gods that humans came into existence, a situation which created the dependent relationship between mortals and gods.
Athena had a significant role in the lives of the people; she gave the people a love that they could keep forever that no one could take away. Athena is a wise and intelligent goddess; her personality has a mixture of compassion and wisdom. She will always be a favorite goddess of many, remembered in the past and future. Her fairness gives her distinction from other gods.
