Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, of household arts and crafts, of spinning and weaving, of textiles. Inventor of the flute, the plough and the ox-yoke, the horse bridle and the chariot. Athena, goddess of war, guardian of Athens, the city named for her; defender of heroes, champion of justice and civil law.

      Concerned as we are with the role of women in today's society, we may well ask ourselves, who was Athena that she was celebrated in song and story, portrayed by artist and poet, and worshiped as the pre-eminent goddess of Greece. Was the stately grey-eyed maiden a light in the mind of man, or the dream of woman?

      According to legend, Athena sprang fully-grown and fully-armed from the head of her father, Zeus, ruler of the gods on Mount Olympus. It is told that he swallowed his pregnant first wife, Metis, meaning wisdom, so that she would not bear a child stronger than he. In some versions of the story, Athena's birth was assisted by the blacksmith, Hephaestus, who opened Zeus's head with a stroke of his axe. This metaphor may suggest two possible interpretations and pose two questions. Was Zeus demonstrating his power by giving birth without a woman's help, or was he sharing his power with his daughter? Certainly, Hephaestus, a son of Zeus by his second wife, Hera, would appear to be an unlikely "midwife."

Phrynos Painter, Birth of Athena
c. 560-550 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      There is no doubt that in all accounts of the story, Athena was her father's favorite child. Only Athena possessed the keys to his thunderbolts, and she alone was entitled to wear his aegis, to carry his shield. In spite of this birthright of armor, Athena was not known to have a bellicose nature, nor did she bear arms except when her country was threatened or attacked, or when she came to the aid of heroes such as Herakles, Perseus, and Odysseus.

      Of particular interest, is the story of how Athena came to have the capital city of Greece named for her, a temple built in her honor, and her likeness as guardian and protector of every city in her native land. In one version, Poseidon, god of the seas, wanted the city. He demonstrated his power by striking his trident on the rock of the Acropolis so that it opened, and salt water gushed forth, subsiding again into a deep well. Athena won the city with her gift of the olive tree, willing it to grow there. The olive is prized throughout all of Greece, and thus it was decided that Athens should belong to the goddess - Pallas Athene - pallas meaning maiden, as does parthenos, Parthenon being the maiden's chamber. In Greece, Athena was known simply as Athea, meaning "a goddess." Edith Hamilton, author of The Greek Way andMythology, suggests that women may have had the vote in that long-ago world of Greece, and that Athena won because there were more women than there were men to cast their votes - women for Athena, men for Poseidon. This same hypothesis was offered in 1995 by Ellen D. Reeder in her book, Pandora; she added that the women were punished for their vote by being excluded from Athenian citizenship.

      We can sympathize with those Athenian women of ancient Greece, because the struggle for women's suffrage was a lengthy one in the United States. It was not until 1920 that women were given the right to vote under the constitutional law of the land. We can thank our own courageous "Athenas" by remembering them and honoring them for securing a privilege that we take for granted today.

      Much of what we are told about Athena has been passed down to us through word of mouth, or celebrated in song and fable, in poetry and art - paintings on pottery or pieces of sculpture. It is therefore, unnecessary to take sides, to divide our allegiance to the goddess along gender lines. Athena was a virgin goddess, protective of both men and women. William F. Otto in his book, The Homeric Gods, called her "the goddess of nearness," partial to heroes in battle, helping them in their tasks and struggles, and yet close to maidens preparing for bridal nuptials, she was patroness of domestic arts.

      The only account we have of Athena's love of battle for its own sake, is in Hesiod, The Theogony, when he describes the birth of Athena from her father's head: "From his own head he gave birth to owl-eyed Athena, / The awesome, battle-rousing, army-leading, untiring / Lady, whose pleasure is fighting and the metallic din of war." If indeed, Hesiod wrote The Theogony, it is plain that he despised women. He refers to "The deadly race and population of women," and writes that "Zeus, the high lord of thunder, / Made women as a curse for mortal men, / Evil conspiritors."

      A noteworthy portrait of Athena in battle depicts the death of Achilles in the Trojan war. It may be seen that the goddess of war seems to stand by, rather than enter the fray, even though the serpents sprouting from her look fearsome enough, and are reminiscent of the Minoan Snake Goddess.

Chalchidian amphora, Death of Achilles
c. 540 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library, 1995

      If we turn our attention to Athena's clothing, we shall see that styles change according to the age of the work and the inclination of the individual artist. In early work, the Greeks borrowed from the Egyptians, using their grid system of measurement, but they soon developed their own measurements and a style more faithful to the human form than that which they had inherited. Athena became more feminine, in feature and in gesture, even when she was helmeted and carried a shield and a spear:

Berlin Painter, Athena
c. 490-480 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      In this painting, Athena holds a jar of oil in her outstretched hand.. Notice the graceful. curve of the helmet and the finely-wrought spear, which she holds with the shield that bears the Gorgon's head surrounded by a spiral decoration of the winged horse, Pegasus.

      Pegasus was the horse that bore the young hero, Bellepheron, when he fought and killed the chimera. It was for Bellepheron that Athena made the golden bridle, so he could capture the horse swift as wind, and mount him.

      The gorgon, one of the three snaky-haired sisters who could turn men to stone by a glance, was killed by Perseus, son of Danae and Zeus who had come to her in a golden shower. Athena had lent the great shield of polished bronze to Perseus for use as a mirror, so he did not have to look at the gorgon, but only at her reflection. Athena guided his sword hand so that he could sever the head with a single stroke. One version of the story tells that Perseus gave the severed to the goddess, who thenceforth displayed it on her shield.

Berlin Painter, Pananthenaic amphora
Athena
c. 490 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      We can see similarities between these two paintings of approximately the same period, the fineness of line, the graceful portrayal of movement - purposeful, yet feminine. Athena's dress is soft and flowing; She is tall and lithe with slender ankles.

      What is of particular interest here is the length of leg in proportion to the upper body, one/third from crown of head to waist to two/thirds waist to sole of foot. It is similar to the proportions prescribed in fashion drawing of the late twentieth century. The shield in this painting carries what looks like a caricature of the gorgon's head.

      Note the difference in portrayal of the goddess in an earlier painting where she is shown extending her hand to aid Herakles in his struggle with the minotaur. Here the shield carries an emblem of Athena's sacred bird, the owl which we think of as wise. The Egyptian influence may be seen in the facial features, especially the eyes, and the line of the extended arm seems less defined than in later paintings.

Psiax, Athena encouraging Herakles
c. 520 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      To go back to Hesiod's unkind description of Athena, let us turn to a Roman copy of the famous Phidias, Athena Parthenos, erected in the Parthenon in 438 B.C.E. The large statue of marble and gold was destroyed for its gold during the Macedonian invasion of Greece, but a Roman copy called the Vavakian Athena after the school of that name, was found in Athens. The statue is a tenth the size of the original that stood in the Parthenon.

Phidias, Athena Parthenos
c. 438 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      Athena in this portrayal of her, is elaborately dressed, except for her sandals. She wears the aegis, or breastplate, with the symbolic gorgon's head, and a helmet which is crowned with the Sphinx at center, flanked by two likeness of the winged horse, Pegasus. Athena's posture is easy, her expression benign and protective. The crowned helmet looks spiked in the picture, and should we have her raise her arm and carry a torch, the statue might bring to mind the Statue of Liberty, France's gift to the United States, which stands on an island at the entrance to New York Harbor.

      Homer in the Illiad describes Athena as warlike in her defense of the Achaians in their fight against Troy, but Homer is more generous than Hesiod. If he describes Athena as being "ponderous" and "strong," with her "terrible eyes shining," we can forgive him. In The Odyssey of Homer, Athena is a friend of the house of Telemachy. She aids Odysseus on his return when he vanquishes the suitors who have gathered around Penelope.

      It is in the homecoming scene when Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, face the suitors in combat, that Athena's just and peacekeeping nature shines through. She has encouraged Odysseus in the fight and he and his son have fallen upon the suitors, when "...Athene, daughter of Zeus of the aegis, / cried out in a great voice and held back all the company; / `Hold back, men of Ithaca, from the wearisome fighting, / so that most soon, and without blood, you can settle everything.'"

      The classical age of Greece, also known as 'The Age of Athens' and 'Democracy' spanned the years 480-323 B.C.E.. It was during this period that many of the great playwrights and artists flourished.

      In 458 B.C.E., Aeschylus wrote the Oresteia trilogy, including his play, The Eumenidies, or the Furies. Here once again, the question may be raised, it is possible that women voted in that long-ago clasical age of Greece? By casting the decisive vote in his favor, Athena acquits Orestes for the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra, who killed his father, Agamemnon in his bath.

      It was at Apollo's urging that Orestes went to the temple of Athena to plead his case. The Eumenidies, or furies representing darkness and old customs, were against him. Apollo was for him, as was Athena who asks the chorus of furies, "You would turn over authority in this case to me?" And they answer, "By all means. Your father's degree, and yours, deserves as much."

      When the votes are in, Apollo addresses the chorus:

Shake out the votes accurately, Athenian friends.
Be careful as you pick them up. Make no mistake.
In the lapse of judgment great disaster comes. The case
of a single ballot has restored a house.

      When the sides are even, Athena casts the final vote in favor of Orestes. She has admitted freely that she is her father's daughter, and "but for marriage, always for the male, with all my heart." And yet she insists that "wrong must not win by technicalities." I know of no place else in literature, where the role of the goddess as wise and fair judge is so well portrayed:

It is my task to render final judgment here.
This is the ballot for Orestes I shall cast.
... And if
the other votes are even, then Orestes wins.
You of the jurymen who have this duty assigned,
shake out the ballots from the vessels, with all speed.

      The date of The Eumenidies -- 458 B.C.E. -- may provide some clue to the cultural world of ancient Greece. Aeschylus died two years after it was written.

      We find only two instances, where Athena's anger may be questioned as a personal response to an affront. A virgin goddess, Athena was modest, and when Tereseus came upon her bathing, she put her hands over his eyes to blind him. In recompense, she gave him second sight, unlike Artemis, who when Acteon came upon her bathing with her maiden attendants, set her dogs upon him to tear him apart, and let fly her arrows to kill him.

      Only Ovid in Metamorphoses, tells the story of Arachne. Minerva, the Roman name for Athena, is angered by the audacity of a young country maiden who challenges her to a weaving contest. Arachne makes the mistake of weaving the trespasses of the gods into fabric, and her work is as fine as Minerva's. The goddess in anger tears the piece to shreds, and turns Arachne into a spider to hang by a thread and weave her web. Ever after, spiders have been known as arachnids.

      The stories and plays, the poetry, tell us about the deities of the ancient world, but art preserved over the centuries, calls up the past as eloquently. Sculpture, in particular, provides dimensions not found in paintings, and allows individual expression and interpretation for the artist. Again, clothing must be noted. The choice of drapery in marble and in limestone, is varied.

      Is it possible that the sculptor can work in a medium of hard stone to achieve soft and graceful lines? The resounding answer is yes, as we look at statues and fragments of relief. What we find for Athena dispels the critical words of Hesiod. What we see represented is modesty, and generosity, a helping hand outstretched. Sometimes Athena holds her bird, the owl, in her outstretched hand.

Bronze statuette, Athena holding an owl
c. 450 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      In this statue, Athena's pose is more that of a dancer than a warrior. The folds of her dress are soft. Her helmet is pushed back on her head, which is bowed modestly. She carries no shield, no spear, and wears no aegis. Her feet are sandaled.

Pheidias, Athena Lemnia (Roman copy)
c. 450 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      Note in this statue, the soft look of the clothing. The goat skin aegis with the likeness of the Gorgon's head is draped from shoulder to the opposite hip, and belted. Here again, Athena's head is turned to the side and bowed modestly as the contemplates the helmet held in her outstretched hand. She appears to be no more mindful of her long spear than a game referee would be mindful of his line marker.

Lanckoronski relief, Athena
1st cent. B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      This later relief of Athena is more severe than the Athena Lemnia. Body proportion is heavier, the face more androgynous of feature, but the dress is soft looking and falls gracefully from the shoulder. The hands are gentle - the outstretched right hand lightly supports the owl, and the left hand the flute, instrument of Athena's making. The helmet in its curving rise gives the figure height to offset the enormity of the shield with the Gorgon's head, the shield perhaps the one that belongs to Zeus, whose head and shoulders rise above it in profile. Athena seems to rest her elbow on her father's head, as if in this way she acknowledges his presence by her side.

Athens, Acropolis, relief Mourning Athena
c. 470 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library

      In this marble bas-relief, Athena with helmeted head bowed, leans on the spear she holds as with her left hand on her forehead, she contemplates the names on a gravestone. Her right arm is akimbo, her hand resting on her hip. One foot is propped behind the other. The simple, belted garment she wears, hangs from her shoulders, but without the easy grace of the Lankoronski statue.

Aegina, Temple of Aphaia, west pediment, Athena
c. 500-490 B.C.E.
University of Haifa Library, 1995

      Even in a massive statue of Athena, helmeted and fully-armed, she seems to convey a stately serenity, a sense of peace and order. One would be willing to trust her judgement, her fairness, and her wisdom.

• The Art of Greece and Rome, Susan Woodford, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1982.

• The Greek Myths: l, Robert Graves, Penguin U..S.A., New York, Rev. 1960.

• Greek Tragedies, Volume 3, second edition, David Greene and Richmond Lattimore, The University of Chicago Press, 1991.

• Hesiod, Works & Days, Theogony, Translated by Stanley Lombardo, Introduction and Notes by Robert Lamberton, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis/ London, 1993.

• The Illiad of Homer, Translated with an Introduction by Richmond Lattimore, The University of Chicago Press, 1961.

• Mythology, Edith Hamilton, The New American Library, New York, 1942.

• The Myth of the Goddess, Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, Arkana, Penguin Books USA, 1991.

• The Odyssey of Homer, A Modern Translation by Richmond Lattimore, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1967.

• Pandora, Ellen D. Reeder, Princeton University Press, 1995;. Published by the trustees of Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

• Photographis reproductions courtesy of The University of Haifa Library, 1995.