In ancient Greece, women had an inferior status in society, yet Athena (a goddess) represented  war & wisdom.?
114623
Athena represented not war but success in battle, and she was highly defeminized. Originally she was depicted as a lesbian, but the ruling men at the time didn't like this because it implied that women were better than men so they made her a celibate virgin instead. It's true that Mars aka Ares was the god of war, but Athena was the goddess of victory, so another thing the philosophers and religious leaders did is make Athena highly masculine and even a woman-hater!
162841
Yes. It has been thousands of years since women enjoyed major power positions. The earliest cultures seemed to have been matriarchal, where women were the ruling sex. Lineage was traced back through their ancestry and not the father's. They owned the land and made the decisions. The divine creator was also seen as being feminine. And you know what is really interesting? There is ample evidence that these cultures did not know war or violence. Think about that.
896882
When in doubt, use Wikipedia!\n\nIn Greek mythology, Nike (Greek Νίκη, pronounced /'nike/ "NEE-keh", meaning "Victory") , was a goddess who personified triumph. She was a daughter of Pallas (Warrior) and Styx (Hatred), and the sister of Cratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Rivalry). Nike and her siblings were all attendants of Zeus. According to myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the coming Titan War. Nike assumed the role of the god's personal charioteer, a role often portrayed in classical art. Her Roman counterpart is Victoria.\n\nWorship\nNike was often worshipped in conjunction with Athena, with whom Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The great statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon in Athens is thought to have depicted Nike standing in the hand of Athena, and the Parthenon complex included a Temple of Athena Nike, built around 410 BC. The Athenians also dedicated a statue to Nike at Delphi. The statue of Zeus at Olympia reportedly also depicted Nike. On occasions, Athena was depicted with Nike's attributes. According to Pausanias, the statue of Athena Nike depicted a wingless Nike ("Nike Apteros"), supposedly so that the statue could never leave the city of Athens. This temple has also provided a famous surviving depiction of the goddess, Nike unfastening her sandal ("Nike Slancio"), which was originally part of the temple parapret and is now on display in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.\n\nModern usage\nNike also presided over athletic as well as military contests. It was this meaning that prompted designer Jeff Johnson, the first man that US footwear entrepreneur Phil Knight hired, to borrow her name for the company, Nike, Inc., the clothing and sportswear manufacturer. Johnson had a dream about the goddess and Knight liked the idea.\n\nAn image of Nike appears in all Summer Olympics medals. In 2004 for the 2004 Summer Olympics an image of the goddess appears in the Panathinaiko Stadium [1]. The Jules Rimet trophy is in the form of an octagonal cup supported by a winged figure representing Nike.\n\nThe United States Army also borrowed her name for its Project Nike surface-to-air missile programme.
12721
It's because back then civilization saw women as inferior and merely property pieces of the men they married. You can see this through just about any literature up until about the 19th century. Men saw themselves as superior to women, and this is of course reflected in the bible.
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Athena, (Greek Ἀθηνᾶ Athēnâ or Ἀθήνη Athénē; Doric: Ἀσάνα Asána), the Greek goddess of wisdom, weaving, crafts, and war is attended by an owl, wore a goatskin breastplate called the Aegis given to her by her father, Zeus, and is accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. She is often shown helmeted and with a shield bearing the Gorgon Medusa's head, a votive gift of Perseus. Athena is an armed warrior goddess, never a child, always a virgin (parthenos); she never had a consort or lover, although once Hephaestus tried and failed. Athena appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus.\n\nIn her role as a protector of the city, Athena was worshipped throughout the Greek world as Athena Polias ("Athena of the city"). She had a special relationship with Athens, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city.[1] The Parthenon, on the Acropolis of Athens, is her most famous temple.\n\nIn Roman mythology, she was known as Minerva, which originated from her association with the Etruscan goddess Menerva.\n\ncheck out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena
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"In Greek mythology, Medusa (Greek: Μέδουσα), was a monstrous female character whose gaze could turn people to stone.\n\nSome classical references describe her as one of three Gorgon sisters. Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale were monsters with brass hands, sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. The Gorgons and their other sisters the Graiae (and possibly the Hesperides) were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Some versions read that Medusa's sisters transformed themselves into monsters in order to protect Medusa.\n\nIn the most well known version of the myth, Medusa originally started out as a beautiful woman. She had sex with — or was raped by — Poseidon in Athena's temple. Poseidon was an arch-rival of Athena's since at one time he vied for patronage of Athens; the soon-to-become Athenians chose Athena's offering of the olive tree over Poseidon's offering of horses or a spring of water.\n\n Perseus beheads MedusaUpon discovery of the desecration of her temple, Athena changed Medusa's form to match that of her sister Gorgons as punishment. Medusa's hair turned into snakes and her glance would turn all living creatures to stone. She was banished beyond the Hyperborean lands.\n\nWhile Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon, she was beheaded in her sleep by the hero Perseus with help from Athena and Hermes, who supplied him with winged sandals, Hades' cap of invisibility, a sickle, and a mirrored shield. Perseus was either blindfolded or was able to slay Medusa by looking at her reflection in the mirror instead of directly at her to prevent being turned into stone. In any case, Perseus severed Medusa's head and from her neck came her offspring: Pegasus and Chrysaor. Perseus used Medusa's head to rescue Andromeda, kill Polydectes, and, in some versions, petrify the Titan Atlas. Then he gave it to Athena, who placed it on her shield Aegis.\n\nContents [hide]\n1 Medusa in art and legend \n2 Medusa as a sexual image \n3 Medusa in popular culture \n4 External links \n \n\n\n[edit]\nMedusa in art and legend\nMedusa is a well-known mythological icon throughout the world, having been portrayed in artwork as well as popular media over the ages.\n\nExamples of Medusa and the Perseus legend in art form:\n\nPerseus with the Head of Medusa (bronze sculpture) by Benvenuto Cellini (1554) \nPerseus with the Head of Medusa (marble sculpture) by Antonio Canova (1801) \nPerseus] (bronze sculpture) by Salvador Dalí \nMedusa (oil on canvas) by Arnold Böcklin \nMedusa (oil on canvas) by Caravaggio \n[edit]\nMedusa as a sexual image\nSome writers, including Camille Paglia, author of Sexual Personae, have characterized Medusa as a sexual image. For example, in Sexual Personae, Paglia writes, "It is against the mother that men have erected their towering edifice of politics and sky-cult. She is Medusa, in whom Freud sees the castrating and castrated female pubes. But Medusa's snaky hair is also the writhing vegetable growth of nature. Her hideous grimace is men's fear of the laughter of women."\n\n[edit]\nMedusa in popular culture\nMedusa is used as one of the many symbols of the haute couture house Versace. \nMedusa is the name of a Marvel comics fictional character. \n"Medusa" is a song by the thrash metal band Anthrax (band) from their classic 1985 album Spreading the Disease. \nMedusa is the name of the second solo album by Annie Lennox, released in 1995. \n"Medusa" is a song by the American indie rock band Helium, from their 1995 album The Dirt of Luck. \nMedusa's Path is a song of The Prodigy \nMedusa is the name of an inverted, high octane roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. \nMedusa appears as a charcter in numerous computer games, among them Heroes of Might & Magic II, Heroes of Might & Magic III and the Castlevania series. \nMedusa and other Gorgons appears as adversaries in the video game God of War for the Playstation
122569
If I'm not mistaken the parthenon was built to honor Athena the goddess of war. It was later used as a Christian Church
298294
I've always liked Athena of Greek mythology or Diana of Roman (same god) She's just cool. She's a virgin and never wanted to marry. In one story she caught a hunter watching her bath in a  river. She turned him into a deer and watched as his own hunting dogs tore him apart and ate him. She just had some of the coolest stories
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Homer was a male. But he was not a god. He was a poet. Read Greek history and you'll find out all about him.
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Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategy in war.  Her Greek name is Athena.  She is also the goddess of spinning.  Many gods and goddesses are portrayed in art, and in turn could end up as decorations on furniture.  You'll know it's Minerva if it is a lady wearing a helmet and breastplate.  The owl is also another one of her symbols.
711826
Supression of women happenes in any culture where the stuff that men do is prized more than the stuff that women do.  And since the cultures that tended to dominate were warlike, and men are better at killing other people than women, it's pretty obvious that the devaluing of women was inevitable.  And after that, it's easy to say that not only are women worthless, but they don't have a right to disobay men.
2172
Small minds that can't see that life is more important than a few square miles of scrubby desert. You see this throughout the middle east where sunnis fight shiites, Kurds fight Iraqis, Iraqis fight Kuwatis, Iranians fight Iraqis etc. etc. It is a tribal mentality that unfortunately values tribal rivalries more than life itself.  What makes a pregnant woman strap dynamite to herself and blow up a bunch of innocent bystanders?  The same pathetic mentality.
1116460
Different views about Athena's personality:\n\n-- Athena was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. Metis was the guardian of the planetary power of Mercury, which is associated with wisdom. The name Metis means "counsel" or "practical wisdom". Zeus was the highest god and the most feared god of them all. Therefore, it is no surprise that Athena's personality was a combination of the infamous qualities of these two parents.\n\n\n--Her Personality\nShe has an even temper, and she is intelligent and thoughtful. She like to help people who use wisdom and reason. She is very self-sufficient and even makes her own clothes. \n\nA goddess can affect whatever personality she wants. You have to recognize her by her realm. \n\nShe was sweet and considerate to people who were sincerely seeking wisdom, but fierce and destructive to the ignorant. \n\nThe personality of a goddess depends upon the nature of the realm which she personifies. This is in addition to the ideal traits that characterize every goddess. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom. She was also the goddess of industries and prudent intelligence in war. Athena had a gentle, but levelheaded nature. And she was quick to punish or reward. \n\nA goddess such as Athena gets her personality from her realm which she personifies. As the goddess of wisdom she she is wise, steady, and patient. \n\n\n--Although she is a virgin goddess, Athena uses this towards her warrior character and does not become emotionally or intimately attached. Her personality is twofold though, and reveals a sensitive, feminine aspect. In her artistic crafts like weaving and wool working her feminine attributes are most strong but she also carries a maternal aura that is evident in the story of the goddess and Hephaestus. \n\n\n--Her side personality --> Athena's personality: Medium-humored almost impossible to impress, easy to please, patience, can act proud and vain. Strict but forgiving VERY cruel and vicious if angered, short-fused over certain things, neggish, and fussy and sometimes acts bossy. Nice, loving, happy most of the time, Extremely smart, Gentle like Rebecca slightly.
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Perhaps you can derive your story from the history of Joan of Arc.....or perhaps from the play Medea by Euripides (although Male, often referred to as the early feminist and ridiculed for his plays)
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A lot of battles took place for Athens.Which one do you mean?I could tell you about the battle between the god Posidon and the godess Athena for the name of Athens.Posidon offered water and Athina the olive tree which is considered the tree of life.It's obvious who won.
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Aphrodite - goddess of beauty, one of the twelve Olympians \nApollo - god of poetry, music, the sun, an Olympian \nAres - god of war, an Olympian \nArtemis - goddess of the hunt, later also goddess of moon, an Olympian \nAthena - goddess of wisdom, defensive war, Athens, an Olympian \nKronos - (Cronus/Cronos) god of time, father of the first six Olympians, a Titan \nDemeter - goddess of the harvest, nature, often considered an Olympian \nDionysus - god of wine, took Hestia's place as an Olympian \nEris - goddess of discord \nEros - god of love (Cupid) \nEos - goddess of the dawn \nGaia - primordial goddess of earth, mother of the Titans \nHades - god of the underworld, often considered an Olympian \nHebe - wife of Heracles \nHekate - goddess of witchcraft, crossroads \nHelios - god who drives of the sun \nHephaestus - god of smiths, an Olympian \nHera - chief goddess, goddess of marriage, an Olympian \nHeracles-porter of Olympus \nHermes - messenger of the gods, an Olympian \nHestia - goddess of the hearth, gave up seat at Olympus to Dionysus \nPan - god of shepherds and forests \nPersephone - daughter of Demeter, queen of the dead \nPoseidon - god of the sea, an Olympian \nRhea - mother of the first six Olympians, a Titan \nSelene - goddess who drives the moon \nThanatos - god of death \nUranus - primordial god of the heavens, father of the Titans \nZeus - god of sky and air, chief Olympian \n\nGreek or traditional demigods\nAchilles \nAeacus \nAeneas \nAlexander the Great \nAmphion \nArcas \nBritomartis \nClymene \nDardanus \nThe Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces \nEpaphus \nHarmonia \nHelen \nHeracles (also known by the Roman spelling, Hercules) \nIapetus \nIasion \nLacedaemon \nMinos \nMemnon \nPerseus (mythology) \nRhadamanthus \nSarpedon \nTheseus \nTityas
629493
This may not be universal truth. However, history shows that women have been the biggest enemies of women! whether socially, financially or otherwise. So you can imagine that if one gender does not respect itself, what could be the consequences. I think women very well understand this yet....?!