Mythology
Athene
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The goddess Athene was extremely gracious. First, Athene helped the hero Perseus in his quest to kill Medusa by giving him winged shoes to fly to distant places. She also gave him the knowledge through Hermes of where to get other weapons needed to defeat the evil Gorgon. This showed that Athene was kind enough to give a man, not a full god, a gift that she herself had made and gave him assistance without being asked. In another story, Athene answered the people of AthensŐ prayer to have a better patron god than Poseidon. She challenged the sea god to a gift-giving contest and won with the present of an olive tree. This gift not only gave the people of Athens the help they needed to be free from Poseidon, but it was also very useful and considerate because olives could be eaten, cooked, traded, or sold. A last example is that she gave man many tools including the ax, plow, ox-yoke, wheel, and sail. This proved that the goddess was caring because, though she had no reason to, Athene gave man valuable tools necessary for survival and the advancement of human civilization. In conclusion, Athene was a giving goddess in many ways: she helped heroes in their quests, cities in their need, and man in the beginning of his reign. |
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By Jessica, June 2006 |
