Athena is the goddess of Wisdom among many other things. She is also the goddess of war, defense of towns, heroic endeavors, weaving pottery and other crafts (Atsma, 2011). Athena is a center point in a great deal of Greek myths, and plays character is much more. She is most often depicted in golden armor with shield and spear. Some myths even have her being born wearing that suit of armor.
There are a few variations on the birth of Athena, but the most common is that Athena is the daughter of Zeus and Metis. How she was born and who are her actual parents are up for debate. Classical Mythology by Mark Morford and Robert Lenardon, give two accounts of how Athena was born. Frist from Homeric Hynm28 “Wise Zeus himself gave birth to her from his holy head and she was arrayed in her armor of war, all-gleaming in …show more content…
In Egyptian Mythology, Neith wove the entire world into existence on her loom (Kinnes, 2015). Her controls over weaving and domestic arts are what I find to be most similar to Athena.
Finally Saraswati from Hindu tradition also has strong resemblance to Athena. Saraswati is a goddess of knowledge and wisdom. She is usually portrayed with the musical instrument a Venna. Athena was also known to be the inventor of the flute and had strong musical ties. Saraswati was praised for being pure and wise (Augustine), which is very similar to Athena’s virgin nature that is very often reference to.
It’s not surprising that mythologies across so many different early societies have a lot of common themes and shared deities. These stories of gods and goddesses would migrate with the early settlers as they moved throughout west Asia into the Middle East and into Europe. Along the way, the names and faces change but the underlying stories told for generations stay the
There are a few variations on the birth of Athena, but the most common is that Athena is the daughter of Zeus and Metis. How she was born and who are her actual parents are up for debate. Classical Mythology by Mark Morford and Robert Lenardon, give two accounts of how Athena was born. Frist from Homeric Hynm28 “Wise Zeus himself gave birth to her from his holy head and she was arrayed in her armor of war, all-gleaming in …show more content…
In Egyptian Mythology, Neith wove the entire world into existence on her loom (Kinnes, 2015). Her controls over weaving and domestic arts are what I find to be most similar to Athena.
Finally Saraswati from Hindu tradition also has strong resemblance to Athena. Saraswati is a goddess of knowledge and wisdom. She is usually portrayed with the musical instrument a Venna. Athena was also known to be the inventor of the flute and had strong musical ties. Saraswati was praised for being pure and wise (Augustine), which is very similar to Athena’s virgin nature that is very often reference to.
It’s not surprising that mythologies across so many different early societies have a lot of common themes and shared deities. These stories of gods and goddesses would migrate with the early settlers as they moved throughout west Asia into the Middle East and into Europe. Along the way, the names and faces change but the underlying stories told for generations stay the