← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · albion
Thread ID: 16455 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2005-01-27
2005-01-27 15:40 | User Profile
[img]http://store6.yimg.com/I/anempires_1776_34939368.gif[/img] Athena, war goddess of the ancient Greeks, was also known as Pallas. According to mythology, Athena was the favorite daughter of Zeus. She was said to have been born directly from the minds of the gods, fully grown and clothed in armor. The goddess was often shown wearing a helmet and carrying a spear and shield. Athena was very different from the war god Ares (Mars). She represented the civilized and intellectual side of war - she was not so much a fighter as a prudent and wise advisor. On the hill of the Acropolis the Athenians built a beautiful temple to Athena called the Parthenon. In the temple stood a massive statue of Athena, dedicated in 438 B.C. Sculpted by the great Greek sculptor Phidias, she stood 33 feet tall, and was made of ivory and gold.
She wears the three-crested helmet that became one of her own trademarks. Her breastplate or aegis is complete with the face of the gorgon Medusa to ward of enemies. In her right hand, resting atop a sleek Roman column is a small statuette of a winged Nike, or protector of peace. In her left hand is the great snake-shield, decorated on one side with the face of Medusa in the center surrounded by designs that represent the battle between the Greeks and Amazons.
2005-01-27 15:43 | User Profile
[B]Minerva [/B] is the Roman goddess of war and wisdom and domestic arts. The Romans identified her with the Greek goddess [B]Athena[/B], who was one of the Olympians, that is, one of the twelve gods of ancient Greek mythology who lived on Mount Olympus and ruled the universe after the overthow of the Titans. Athena (or Athene), a virgin, appears as a young woman wearing a cloak (aegis) and helmet and holding a shield. Her symbol is the owl, signifying watchfulness and wisdom. The strengths of Athena are her rationality, intelligence, her power as a defender in war as well as her power as a peacemaker. Her weakness is that Reason rules her to such a degree that she is not usually emotional or compassionate. [IMG]http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/jarvisci/cheznous/Athena_statue.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/jarvisci/cheznous/Athena_relief.jpg[/IMG] In the city of Athens, named after Athena, her magnificent temple, the Parthenon, still exists, often regarded as the most beautiful building in the world.
2005-01-28 02:30 | User Profile
albion,
Great Post, I love reading this kind of cultural and historical stuff about European Folk and Civilization.
Faust