Moral Code

Athena’s morality could often be considered unjust to some and maybe this could be because of the concept of being fair and forgiving, but as many researchers will tell you these qualities did not so much embody this virtue of the Greek gods. Throughout the biographies of Athena that I have studied, she had the notion of a god that sought peace with the notion of obedience from her followers. For example, the story of Arachne and Athena’s tapestry contest, because Arachne boasted about her tapestries being better than Athena’s this resulted in Athena being merciless toward her or, we could dive into the curse that Athena placed upon King Cecrops’s daughters for making Erichthonios cry, which resulted in the death of the three. Athena was merciless when provoked and it seems that angering her would for sure result in the death of the aggravator, however, Athena was still considered to be a good goddess to many of the ancient peoples and this could be because of Athena’s protection qualities for the greek heroes. Such as her assistance in the feats of Heracles, Odysseus, and Perseus and not to mention even though the late stories of Medusa’s tragic fate, which was written by Ovid, described Medusa’s transformation into a Gorgon as punishment. Earlier stories provide the action of turning Medusa into a gorgon as an example of protection so that no harm could come to her again. When morality comes into play it has a dependence on who tells the story because there are various differences in the myths of Athena from early to late. I believe that Athena was in favor of who favored her through my research. I personally would not label her as a bad or good goddess because it seems that these stories entail human emotions and dependencies from Athena like acceptance and the lust for appreciation. 

Athena’s moral code to my understanding was to let life lead your learning experiences and taking on certain duties could lead to a battle within your own self to beat odds. I make this statement because in the beginning, Athena was born motherless, which could very well explain her being adapted to having more masculine than feminine qualities about her, being born without a mother only left her a father to look up to and Zeus was the ultimate father to her as she was always looking to make him proud knowing that she was his favorite out of his many children. But, while trying to make Zeus proud, it seems that she often battled with her womanhood, seeming to have to try to be as woman as possible in some scenarios where she did not feel comfortable. For example getting naked in front of Paris this led to her considering some of her own actions as a regret, but these did not sway her as the stories continue, it seems that her mind becomes sharper and through her learning experiences her thinking becomes quicker and this shows in her ability to think quickly when dealing with Medusa; varying in either story that you decide to believe, either way she did not waver in her thought process. She immediately took action and this can also be said for the stories of our Greek heroes. Lastly, the ultimate decision in my thinking is when Athena uprooted the olive tree from the ground to counter Poseidon’s hot spring as a gift to the people because the olive tree wasn’t fun nor was it exciting but, it was smart and it was fast thinking. The olive tree was truly a helpful tool to the people of Athens for its supply in the favor of trade and a useful tool for everyday life and making life easier brings peace. This action was the ultimate symbolization for her to solidify herself as a goddess for men and women by giving the men the lumber as needed and women the oil from the olive as needed. This solidified her as a goddess for both genders to hold in high regards, I believe this gave peace and clarity to her conscious to be herself in all matters of duty and life even if she does not fit the traditional role of what a woman should be or if she would never be accepted as having the same capabilities of what a man could do, she at least proved that wisdom has no sex. Athena is a true personification of beating the odds by raising a child even though she was a virgin, leading a male army even though she was a woman, and finding resolution even when there seems to be no resolve.

-Jameek Braggs