Why Was Athens Named After Athena What Is The Name Of Her Shrine?

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When ancient Athens was not called Athens, the gods Athena and Poseidon fought for the right to take possession of the city.

“Our country deserves praise not only from us, but from all men, for various reasons, but above all because it is loved by God” . The battle of the God who fought for them and his judgment testify to the truth of our statement. » Plato

In this passage Plato refers to none other than the legendary battle. between Athens and Poseidon around the city of Athens. It was one of the founding myths of ancient Athens and a popular story also known as "The Name of Athena".

As the winner of the competition, Athena became the city's patron deity and was honored on the sacred hill of the Acropolis. However, Athens' holiest temple, the Erechtheion, was shared by Athena and Poseidon.

The protagonists: Who were Athena and Poseidon?

Athena

Athena, or Minerva to the Romans, was the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, more specifically strategic warfare. Athens is a special case. Her father was Zeus and her mother was the nymph Metis. Strangely, however, it was not the Métis who originated it.

The myth says that Zeus he heard a prophecy that his son Metis would rule the heavens. Since Zeus himself was the ruler of the sky, he could not allow this. Then the Métis swallowed it all.

Some time later, Zeus began to suffer from headaches that worsened until they became unbearable. Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and forging, decides to help his father. Then he did something that may have seemed strange, but was no big deal to an immortal god. He took an ax and split Zeus' head. Athena came out of mind, not as a girl, but as a grown woman in armor and with her weapons, spear and shield. Zeus quickly came to his senses. Furthermore, he was immortal.

The symbolism of the father of the gods who gives birth to the goddess of wisdom from his head is evident.

Although Zeus feared that Athena would challenge his rule, she had little interest in becoming Queen of Heaven. Eventually, Athena became Zeus' favorite daughter.

In Greek mythology, Athena often appears as an assistant to heroes such as Jason, Perseus, Hercules and others. His sacred animal was the owl and his symbols were the owl, the olive tree and the Gorgoneion (i.e. the head of Medusa), which he carried with him as an aegis after helping Perseus kill the legendary Medusa.

Poseidon

Unlike Athena, Poseidon (or Neptune for the Romans) was the brother of Zeus, descendant of Cronus. and Rhea, who was the king. and queen of the gods before the arrival of the 12 Olympians.

When Cronus ate his children, Poseidon was freed by his brother Zeus. By defeating Kronos and the Titans, Zeus divided the three kingdoms of the sky, the sea and the underworld between himself and his two brothers Poseidon and Hades. Zeus had the best of the three, the sky, Poseidon the sea and Hades the worst, the underworld. As such, Poseidon was seen as equal to Zeus, with his kingdom, albeit smaller. The god ruled his kingdom with his wife Amphitrite and the company of sea nymphs, the Nereids and the Tritons, half human and half fish.

Poseidon was one of They. of the most revered Greek gods, which makes sense for a people who were as dependent on the sea for travel and trade as the Greeks. Another important aspect of Poseidon was his devastating powers. Just as Zeus was considered the source of thunder, Poseidon was considered the source of earthquakes, an extremely common and catastrophic phenomenon in the eastern Mediterranean. He was also the god of horses.

Poseidon also appears to have preceded the other Greek gods. The cult of him appears to have existed since the Late Bronze Age and throughout the Mycenaean period. Its main symbols were the trident, the horse, the dolphin and the bull.

Athena against Poseidon: the battle for ancient Athens

Kingdom of Cecrops

The story of the fight between Athena and Poseidon is one of the founding myths of ancient Athens. The story begins in a mythical era, when the city had just been founded. Their first king was Cecrops, a man of great interest and importance to the ancient Athenians.

The Greeks generally believed that some people were indigenous, born directly on Earth . This meant that someone had natural rights to certain land, and many Greek city-states boasted that their ancestors were indigenous. Cecrops was one of these cases. He was a legendary king whose native was so strong that he was half serpent and half human. If this seems strange to you, it wasn't strange to the Athenians. Because snakes crawled, they were considered creatures closer to the earth. In this case, the fact that Cecrops was half-snake suggested that he was inextricably linked to the land on which ancient Athens was built.

Cecrops was an extraordinary ruler. Indeed, his reign marked the beginning of a golden age so grand that even the gods noted the size of his city. According to Apollodorus, the king gave the name to the city Cecropia, while his ancient name was Acté. However, the city has not officially received the protection of a god and therefore its name could still change.

Athena and Poseidon claim the city of Cecrops

The two gods who were interested in the city of Cecrops were Athena and Poseidon. Both believed they had the right to take the city under their protection, give it their name and claim its fame.

The two gods were therefore determined to ensure that Zeus, fearing that his disagreement might lead to an argument, decided to intervene. The solution he proposed was a competition between Athena and Poseidon, with Cecrops (other authors speak of the twelve Olympian gods or simply Zeus himself) as judge. The price would be the city.

The competition begins

“Twelve celestial gods surrounded Jupiter on high thrones; and all the features of her face were so well defined that each of them could be distinguished. — Jupiter appeared as monarch of the judging gods. » Metamorphoses 6.70

Athena and Poseidon met on the sacred hill of the acropolis. Zeus, the Olympians and the people of Athens gathered to watch the show.

Poseidon was the first to act. In one swift motion, he threw his trident to the ground. The earth shook and an underground sea emerged. Water flowed from the hole in the ground and this was Poseidon's gift to the Athenians (although according to some ancient sources his gift was a horse). However, the sea god's gift was sea water, of little or no use to ancient Athens, a city with access to many rivers and close to the sea. As a result, Poseidon's gift was received with little enthusiasm.

But now it was Athena's turn. The goddess knelt down and planted something on the ground. Everyone held their breath. Within moments, a mature tree emerged from the ground. It was a gift from Athena; an olive tree The tree was a source of high-quality wood, while its fruits were nutritious and could be used to produce olive oil for various uses.

Athena's gift was undoubtedly superior. . Without hesitation, Cecrops declared Athena the winner of the competition and the goddess of wisdom named the city after her, which was therefore called Athens.

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Answered 10 months ago Olivia ScarlettOlivia Scarlett