The evolution of the myth of Athena: from Libya to patriarchal Athens

Throughout the centuries, religion has been a very useful tool for rulers to establish a moral and political corpus for the governed. Controlling the moral framework of the subjects allows the construction of a favorable value system that not only justifies the social system but also the political one. The relationship between the state and religion has been for the most part one of symbiosis. History abounds with examples such as the case of the Spanish Inquisition, a tool at the service of the monarch of Castile with the validation of the Pope. However, the case study of this article occurred long before the aforementioned case, it is the origin of the Hellenic patriarchy through the myth of Athena.

From matriarchy to patriarchy

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, reason, military strategy and many more attributes that were added to her over time. She is known, above all, for being the patron saint of the city of Athens. Or at least, that is what the latest version of the myth tells us. The origin of Athena is far removed from the Balkans and even more from the patriarchal society that appropriated her.

In the oldest versions of the myth, Athena was born from the river Tritonis in Libya and was raised by three nymphs. As a child, while fighting in a friendly combat with spear and shield against her friend Pallas, she accidentally killed her. She would later adopt her name in her honor and migrate to Athens to settle there. This original myth has several elements that deserve special consideration from a gender perspective. The first is that the origin of the goddess of wisdom and reason stems from a river, a traditional source of wealth (water, food, defense and trade) for any human community. The second is the role of Athena as a woman with skill with weapons, which although it will be maintained in later versions, in this story she acts autonomously and without male tutelage. Finally, in this version, the goddess has no father, or is not known, and yet she is educated by three nymphs dressed in goatskin, symbolizing that the goddess of wisdom did not require a father figure. These three elements, as we will see below, support a foundational myth of a matriarchal society.

On the other hand, we find the Hellenic version of the myth of Athena, which is completely different. In this version, Athena has a clear father and that is Zeus, the father god par excellence. It is narrated as follows: “Zeus coveted the Titaness Metis, who took many forms to elude him, until at last he caught her and left her with child. An oracle of Mother Earth then declared that she would give birth to a girl and that, if Metis conceived again, she would give birth to a male child who was destined to dethrone Zeus, as Zeus had dethroned Cronus and Cronus had dethroned Uranus. Accordingly, having urged Metis with honeyed words to lie down upon a bed, Zeus suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed her; this was the end of Metis, though he pretended afterwards that she was advising him from within her womb. When the due time had elapsed, Zeus felt a furious headache as he went to the shores of Lake Triton, so much so that it seemed as if his skull would burst, and he uttered such angry cries that the whole firmament resounded with their echo. He ran to meet him Hermes, who immediately guessed the cause of Zeus' discomfort. He persuaded Hephaestus, or, as some say, Prometheus, to take his wedge and his hammer and open a breach in the skull of Zeus; out of it came Athena, fully armed and uttering a mighty cry.”

As we see, this version is radically different and it is because this time it was made from a patriarchal society. The first thing to note, and it is a constant in the myths where Zeus is a participant, is the normalization of sexual violence, since the most common is that the multiple relationships that the father god has are based on deception, kidnapping and rape. The second is the moment when Zeus eats Metis and it is pointed out that wisdom is not lost. This is related to the suppression of the cult of the Titans by the Achaeans and their subsequent attribution of qualities to Zeus. Mythology, as a way of telling the story, is full of modifications that the victors of a conflict used to impose their story.

Birth of the goddess Athena according to the Greek myth

The last part of the patriarchal myth of Athena's birth presents the situation where the goddess of military strategy and intelligence is born from the head of Zeus, a man. This myth substitutes the river for the head of Zeus, her training and upbringing with the nymphs for a gestation inside Zeus.

Conclusion

The construction of the myth of Athena and its subsequent modifications are a product of the political and social changes of the societies that had a cult of the goddess. The case of Athena is especially significant because it symbolizes the defeat of matriarchal societies against patriarchal ones. Even in the very structure of the cult, it went from being worshipped by priestesses to a cult led by priests. To immortalize the patriarchal victory, narratives were established where the man clearly prevails over the woman. The subordination is not limited to the myth of her birth, but Athena is also presented as the creator of “feminine arts” such as cooking, spinning or weaving. Although she is the goddess of military strategy, she does not like war and, if she has to make use of weapons, she always asks Zeus for permission before using them. As we can see in the history of religions, there is a pattern of similar explanations of the origin of woman as an extension of man. The best known case is that of Eve, who was born from a part of Adam and was the cause of the expulsion from Eden, causing all people to be born in sin for posterity.

Social structures and the idea that they are eternal and immovable are nothing more than another myth created by those who emerge victorious from a cultural, military or other type of victory, which allows them to establish a system that favors them and perpetuates them in power.