Athena patronizes those striving for knowledge, cities and states, sciences and crafts, intelligence, dexterity, and helps those who pray to increase their ingenuity in a particular business. At one time, she was one of the most revered and beloved goddesses, competing with Zeus, since she was equal in strength and wisdom to him. She was very proud that she was forever a virgin.
Athena's birth
She was born in an unusual way, like most divine creatures. According to the most common version, the Almighty Zeus heeded the advice given by Uranus and Gaia, after which he absorbed his first wife Metis-Wisdom at the time of her pregnancy. A son could be born who would overthrow the thunderer as a result. After the absorption from the head of Zeus, his heiress Athena was born.
Description
The warrior goddess differed from her companions in the pantheon in that she had an extremely unusual appearance. Other female deities were gentle and graceful, while Athena did not hesitate to use the male attribute in business. So, she was remembered for wearing armor. Her spear was also with her.
Even the patroness of urban development kept an animal beside herself, to whom a sacred role was given. She put on a Corinthian helmet, on the top of which was a high crest. Her wearing of aegis is characteristic of her, which was fitted with the skin of a goat. This shield was adorned with a head that in the past was lost by Medusa (gorgon). The winged goddess Nick is the companion of Athena. The ancient Greeks considered the Holy Tree to be an olive tree and connected it directly with this deity. The symbol of wisdom was an owl, which was not inferior in this crucial role to the snake.
According to legend, Pallas had gray eyes and blond hair. Her eyes were great. In addition to beauty, she also had good military training. She carefully polished the armor, she was always ready for the fight: the spear was pointed, and the chariot was ready to rush to the battle for justice. In preparation for the battle, she turned to the blacksmiths for help.
Shrines erected in her honor
She came to us from antiquity, but they worship the goddess today. Widely revered Athena. The temple is the place where everyone can come and turn to it. People try to keep these places of worship.
One of the most significant buildings glorifying the goddess can be considered the temple created by Pisistratus. Archaeologists have excavated two pediments and other details. Built Hekatompedon in the sixth century BC. The size of the cella reached a hundred feet. It was found in the nineteenth century by German archaeologists.
On the walls of the building there were paintings from the mythology of the ancient Greeks. For example, there you can see Hercules in the fight against terrible monsters. Extremely picturesque place!
When the Marathon battle took place, the construction of the Opitodom, also dedicated to the warrior, began. Construction could not be completed, since the Persians soon attacked and plundered the city. Column drums were discovered from the northern walls of the Erechtheion.
Parthenon is also considered one of the most significant architectural monuments of Ancient Greece. This is a unique building erected in honor of the Athena Virgin. The construction dates from the middle of the fifth century BC. Kallikart is considered the architect.
The old Parthenon left behind some details that were used to build up the Acropolis. Phidias did this when the era of Pericles was going on. Due to the wide veneration of Athens, the temples in her honor were numerous and pompous. Most likely, many of them have not yet been found and will pleasantly please us in the future. Although now there are a large number of buildings representing a rich historical heritage.
The Erechtheion Temple in Athens can be called an outstanding monument. It was built by Greek architects. There is a temple of Athena-Pallas in the north - near the Parthenon on the Acropolis. It was built between 421st and 406 years BC, according to archaeologists.
Athena inspired people to create a beautiful building. The temple is an example of an ionic order. In addition to the goddess of war and knowledge, in these walls you can read the lord of the seas of Poseidon and even the Athenian king Erechtheus, which we can learn from legends.
History reference
When Pericles died, Greece began to build the temple of Athens, whose construction was not such an easy task and was completed at a time when the city suffered a crash.
According to legend, at the point where the building was built, the warrior goddess and Poseidon once argued. Everyone wanted to become the ruler of Attica. Information about the Temple of Athena includes references to the most important relics of the polis stored here. Previously, the archaic Hekatompedon, which was built during the reign of Pisistratus, was assigned to this.
The temple was destroyed during the Greco-Persian confrontation. For this place, the goddess Athena also played a large role. The temple included her wooden idol, which was supposed to have fallen from heaven. Hermes was also revered here.
The temple attached great importance to the flame of a golden lamp, which never died out. It was enough to pour oil into it only once a year. The temple was named in relation to the remains, which were formerly the coffin of Erechtheus. In addition to all of the above, there were many other shrines, which, however, were not so important.
Service to the Warrior Goddess
The temples and statues of Athena as one of the most important Greek deities are numerous and impressive. The olive tree was associated with the goddess, which was burned in 480, but it grew from the ashes and continued its life.
The tree grew near the temple sanctuary dedicated to the nymph Pandros. Having come to a holy place, one could look into the waters of a well replenished from a salt water key. It was assumed that the god Poseidon himself knocked him out.
Transfer of ownership of the temple
The goddess Athena did not always reign in these walls. The temple for some time belonged to Christians who held their services here during the existence of Byzantium.
Until the 17th century, the building was monitored, supported and looked after. The damage was done when the troops of Venice brought to Athens in 1687. During the siege, the shrine was damaged. When the independence of Greece was restored, fragments that fell, put in the right places. At the moment, nothing but ruins, unfortunately, was left. You can still see old features in the portico of Pandrosa, which is located on the north side.
Lord Elgin, who was sent by the British to Constantinople in 1802, received permission given by Sultan Selim III to export from the country all found parts of the shrine on which inscriptions or images could be found. One caryatid of the temple was transported to Britain. Now this relic, like the Parthenon frieze, is an exhibit of the British Museum.
Architectural design
This sanctuary has an unusual asymmetric layout. This is due to the fact that there was a difference between the heights of the soil on which the construction took place. From south to north, land levels are declining. There are two cellas. An entrance was to be built in each of them. Abundantly fill the structure of relics of antiquity. Parishioners entered from two entrances: north and east. The Ionian porticos were their decoration.
In the eastern part of Erechtheion, which was located higher, there was a space dedicated to the guardian of the city, which was Athena Polyada. The image of the goddess made of wood was stored here. When the Panathenites passed, they made an offering of new ash to him. The portico of this cella has columns whose number is six.
