ATHENE

Come forth, Athene, Sacker of Cities,

Athene, helmeted in gold,

Athene, who rejoices in the crash of horses and shields

Athenian invocation to Athene

Athene [or Athena] is the Greek goddess of wisdom and domestic crafts, a virgin goddess who prefers the company of men. She is the goddess of war, guardian of Athens, the city named for her; the defender of heroes, and the champion of justice and civil law.

Zeus, the King of the Gods chose Metis ['Cunning'] as his first wife. But it was prophesied that she would give birth to only the most brilliant children, first a daughter, then a son who would be king of gods and men. Fearing for his own position, Zeus swallowed the pregnant Metis whole. It wasn't long before he developed a violent headache, so bad that he begged Hephaestus to split his head open with an axe. Springing from the wound, with a triumphal cry, came Athene, fully armed and brandishing a spear.

She is usually depicted wearing full armour, a golden helmet, a shield decorated with Medusa's snake-haired head, and holding a spear. Over her shoulder she slings the aegis which some say was made from the skin of the goat Amaltheia, fringed with snakes and which causes thunder when shaken.

She delighted in battle, often taking part in the conflicts herself, and once bested the war god Ares in a fight. At her festival in Libya, girls would hold a ritual faction fight with sticks and stones.

Athene was the patron and protectress of many mortal heroes who earned her regard by their courage. She helped Herakles complete the labours that Hera had set him, giving him the bronze cymbals to frightened the birds of Lake Stymphalus, and escorting him when he brought the three headed dog Cerberus from the underworld. When Herakles became insane and murdered his own children, Athene prevented him killing his mortal 'father' Amphitryon, by knocking him out with a well-aimed stone. When he died, she welcomed him as a god to Olympus.

Athene also helped Perseus against the monstrous gorgon Medusa, guiding his arm so that he could strike her without looking at her, since this would turn him to stone. Perseus gave Athene the gorgon's head, which she placed on her shield.

However, Athene had no romantic interest in men. She was strictly chaste, immune to the enchantments of Aphrodite, and fierce in defence of her virginity and modesty. One day when she was bathing naked in a spring with the nymph Chariclo, the nymph's son Teiresias accidentally came upon them. In her rage at having her modesty affronted, Athene struck him blind. The nymph mourned over her poor son's eyesight, and Athene took pity, explaining that the laws of Cronus demanded a heavy price from any mortal who beheld the gods. For friendship's sake, she bestowed the gift of prophecy and interpretation of omens on Teiresias, along with a long life and honour in the afterlife.

The smith god Hephaestus once developed a passion for Athene and once tried to rape her when she visited his forge. She had little trouble fighting him off, and the god ejaculated on the earth, which shortly afterwards gave birth to a son, Erichthonius. Athene found the baby and shut it up in a basket, giving it to the daughters of Cecrops to look after. Erichthonius grew to manhood and became king of Athens, establishing the cult of Athene there. On the Acropolis, she has, besides the Parthenon, two other temples: the temple of Athene Nike and the Erechtheum.

Though Athene will make war in a just cause, she devotes most of her times to domestic skills and clever inventions. She invented the plough harness and it was she who showed the people of Cyrene how to tame horses, and later invented the chariot harness and horse-bit. She also invented the potters' wheel and producing the first vases. She was the patroness of spinners and weavers, crafts at which she herself excelled. She was the originator of the flute, piercing holes in a stag's horn and blowing into it to make a plaintive sound. However, the other gods laughed at the face she made when she puffed out her cheeks and pursed her lips to play the instrument, so she tossed it aside and laid a curse on anyone who picked it up.

Above all, she protects civilisation based on rational principles. Her favourite city is Athens, which is named for her, but the sea god Poseidon once disputed her right to it. King Cecrops was appointed to decide between the two gods, and declared that he would rule in favour of whichever gave the city the best gift. Poseidon struck the rock of the Acropolis and a useful freshwater spring gushed out. However, Athene gave the city the first olive tree and thereby won the contest.

A five day long celebration was held at the beginning of spring every year in Athens, from March 19^th to 23^rd, when the goddess was honoured. A new peplos [robe] was woven and embroidered for the statue of Athene and spread like a sail on a mast, placed on a wagon in the form of a ship, and taken in procession. The new robe was then draped on the statue. The first evening included a foot race with torches, the second day gymnastic competitions, the third day, saw a musical festival, and on the fourth day, poets competed with each other in four theatrical plays. The last day a comedy was performed in her honour, since laughter is one of her gifts. The prizes awarded were vases of olive oil, from her sacred olive trees.

The oldest representations of Athene were the palladia, stones which were said to have fallen from the sky and which guaranteed protection and security for its possessor. One was owned by the city of Troy. When the Greeks laid siege to Troy they realised that the city would never fall as long as it retained its palladium, and one of the exploits of cunning Odysseus was the theft of the statue, though some say that it was only a replica he stole, and the real one was taken to Rome by Aeneas, where it was kept at the shrine of the Vestals.

Athene's taming and harnessing of the horse is a metaphor for the intellect, which tames the raw instinctual, animal side of human nature, and harnesses it into a useful form with the bit and bridle of will and intelligence. Athene's gift is the use of intellect, which takes the raw idea, inspiration or intuition, and crystallises it into a form capable of being applied. For this reason Athene is the patroness of artists, sculptors, potters, spinner, weavers, craftspeople and architects; all people who take the creative spark and use their intelligence to make it manifest in the world. Her wisdom earned her the epithets Boulaia ['Counsellor'] and Agoraia, goddess of the assembly, showing that her gifts were applied to diplomacy and negotiation. She brings good order and good government, whether within the home or a wider sphere, but always through the use of intelligence, clear thinking and diplomacy. Athene's clear insight earned her the epithet Pronoia ('The Foreseeing'). Athene takes an interest in domestic crafts, but only because she wants to. She is fiercely independent and rules her own life, having adventures whenever and wherever she will. Though she is often portrayed as a serene, severe goddess, one of her gifts is laughter, and the festival of Athene always finished with a comedy play. Athene takes a close interest in the affairs of humankind, but she only helps those who prove themselves worthy. You might say that the goddess helps those who help themselves. There was a Greek proverb 'In league with Athena set your own hand to work'.

NB: This short article is not from my more comprehensive Goddess Encyclopaedia