The Origin and Formation of the Image of the Goddess Athena within the Olympian Pantheon

Abstract

The article considers the formation of the image of the goddess Athena as a member of the Olympian pantheon of gods. It should be noted that many aspects of ancient Greek religion and mythology still remain controversial. In particular, while the historiographical tradition has dwelled in relative detail on the cult of the goddess Athena and the Panathenaea, the essential origins of her image and theonym remain less studied and open to question. However, the investigation of this issue can help trace the transformation of the image of the goddess and determine her role and place among the Olympian gods. Analysis of the sources suggests that the image of the goddess Athena is quite ancient and dates back to the Cretan-Mycenaean era, while the theonym itself, according to linguistic analysis, is of Indo-European origin. Already in the Mycenaean period, the goddess was well known to the ancient Greek population; cities were named after her. The sources show an essential affinity between the image of the goddess Athena and the Minoan supreme female deity – here one can cite in particular the traces of zoomorphism in descriptions of her appearance and her association with the aegis – goat-skin shield. Statues depicting a goddess holding snakes have also been found in Crete, and most Greek myths register a close connection between Athena and snakes. This becomes more convincing when we consider the functional similarity between the Minoan deity and Athena proper. Further, the author offers an archetype analysis of the image of the goddess, highlighting such archetypes as the warrior, patroness of women’s and men’s crafts, and the personification of wisdom. Archetype analysis plays a supporting role in the article, making it possible to investigate the evolution of the functional characteristics of the goddess. Thus we can say that, although the theonym of the goddess is of Indo-European origin, the essential roots of her image go back to the Minoan religion.