The Hope Athena In LACMA

The Hope Athena in LACMA is a 2nd century C.E. Roman copy based on the 5th century B.C. Greek original. This statue is similar to other classical statues such as the Lansdowne Bust of Athena of Velletri created in Italy, Rome, Roman, 2nd-century copy after a Greek original of circa 430–420 B.C. by Kresilas and also Athena Battling Alkyoneos which is from the Altar of Zeus, erected about 175 BCE on the Pergamon acropolis. These statues of Athena all appear to be similar because of the way they are dressed, their stance, and their stylization, even when they have different sculptors and time periods that they were made. The Hope Athena, Bust of Athena of Velletri, and Athena Battling Alkyoneos frieze all have similar helmet shapes and hairstyles. Athena was born out of her father's head, wearing a robe and helmet, but most do not know how she had gotten that helmet, so as the story goes “Her mother was Metis, goddess of wisdom and Zeus' first wife. In fear that Metis would bear a son mightier than himself. Zeus swallowed her and she began to make a robe and helmet for her daughter. The hammering of the helmet caused Zeus great pain in the form of headaches and he cried out in agony. Hephaestus… split his skull open and from it emerged Athena, fully grown and wearing her mother's robe and helmet” (Athena). In the Hope Athena and the Bust of Velletri Athena, the helmet is

The facial expression that Athena has cannot be seen in the Battling of Alkyoneos, but in the other two, you can see that the Athena’s all have a high bridge nose, they have soft looking eyes, thin eyebrows, and a very slightly open mouth that all help to make her appear like a natural, elegant beauty. I should also point out that this beauty being portrayed in the Velletri and Hope Athena might have been made prettier because they were meant to be artworks and were never really in a temple to be prayed to or seen as