1. Write an essay describing your understanding
of your muse deity based on your research and personal experiences (1000-1200
words)
When I first decided to approach this study
program, one of my biggest decisions was in choosing which deity I wanted to
work with as my “muse.” As someone with
a Hellenic hearth, I considered the muses themselves, but that didn’t feel
“right”. I considered searching other
pantheons, but couldn’t find a connection.
In the back of my mind, I kept coming back to Athena. For as long as I can remember, I have been a
devotee of Athena. I work with her
regularly to make strategic decisions and explore different study
programs. She stands beside me and helps
me feel strong with I have had to fight my own personal battles. But despite all of this I have never worked
with her “craftier” side and I was hesitant to do so for some reason. I even tried looking at different aspects of
Athena, looking into the Roman Minerva and Etruscan Menrva. However, after
spending a lot of time in meditation and doing some in depth introspection, I
knew that Athena was the right deity for me to work with for this study
program. I don’t know why I was so
hesitant to do so, but I am so thankful that I did. This gave me the opportunity to dig even deeper
into my relationship with her and to research and learn more about her in a way
that I wasn’t as familiar with.
With my uncertainty out of the way, I dove
right into the research to learn “who is Athena?” Athena is most often thought
of as the goddess of wisdom and war, which is definitely a part of who she is,
but she’s also so much more than that.
Theoi.com describes Athena as “the Olympian goddess of wisdom and good
counsel, war, the defense of towns, heroic endeavor, weaving, pottery, and various
other crafts” (Theoi Project) . As someone with a Hellenic hearth, I know I
am very lucky to have a wealth of resources to pull information from. Because of this, I was fortunate to find many
references to Athena in her role as the goddess of arts and crafts. I began by looking at the Orphic Hymns. In Hymn XXXI – To Pallas, we see a
description of Athena as someone with a terrific mind, who is kind, and seen as
the “mother of arts” (Orpheus) . I
found this phrasing interesting as it seems to indicate that she is the one who
created the different types of arts and crafts.
By looking at things this way, creating art seems like a good way to
honor her.
One of the resources that I have used most thoroughly
in my work with Athena is the Odyssey.
Throughout this book you can see Athena take on the role of guide to
heroes, standing by Odysseus’s side and helping to guide his actions. However, in book VI we also see a very brief
reference to her artistic abilities as well. “As a clever craftsman, taught his
art by Hephaestus and Pallas Athene, overlays silver with gold to produce a
graceful finish” (Homer 169) . This gave me yet another perspective to view
Athena’s role in crafts. Not only has
she created the arts, but she is also a teacher of them, so working with Athena
as my muse for this study program began to feel more and more natural.
From here, I began exploring a reference that
I am less familiar with called Description
of Greece by Pausanias. This book is
a traveler’s guide to the sites and myths of Greece. In this book there is a description of one
aspect of Athena known as Athena Ergane, or Athena the worker. This aspect of Athena was found in temples
for those who “prefer artistic workmanship” (Pausanias) . This was Athena in her role as the patron
goddess of craftsmen and artisans. So
again, not only is she the creator of the arts, and a teacher of them, she also
watches over those people who choose to make crafts or arts. This description led me to feel like Athena’s
work with the arts was all-encompassing.
All of the texts I’ve referenced so far only
reference Athena’s title specifically, while not actually delving into any of
the myths associated with her. I believe
one of the most well-known myths of Athena in her role with arts and crafts
would be the tale of Athena and Arachne.
This myth has several different interpretations and translations, but
ultimately it can be summarized as a myth where a young woman has become a
skilled weaver and believes that she is better than Athena. After boasting and disrespecting the gods in
her weaving work, Arachne is turned into a spider by Athena. In Athena: Image and Energy, the author
theorizes that by turning Arachne into a spider, she would be prevented from
further developing her understanding of weaving, while also “caught in the web
of her own devising” (Shearer 20) This book also explores the offerings given
to Athena in this aspect, and expresses
the idea that she is pleased not by gold or fancy things, but instead by the
work of her craftsmen such as “something woven”. (Shearer 31)
After doing all this research, working with
Athena as my muse felt completely appropriate for me. I began making offerings to her prior to
doing any artistic work, and felt that relationship grow. I had previously been familiar with the myth
of Arachne, but it wasn’t until I was doing this research that I began to
consider weaving as my own form of artistic expression. As I began weaving, it was almost as if I
could feel Athena singing joyfully in the back of my head, and I could feel her
loving touch on my hands. I did some
weaving when I was in high school, but hadn’t touched it in many years. I forgot how beautiful and natural this medium
felt for me. Working with Athena has not
only helped keep me dedicated to creating art, but researching her and trying
to find ways to honor her has also allowed me to find a medium that I am
extremely happy to work with, but may not have considered if I choose to work
with a different deity.
Works Cited
Homer. The Odyssey - Translated by A.S. Kline.
2004.
Orpheus. The Hymns of Orpheus - translated by
Taylor Thomas. University of Pensylvania Press, 1999.
Pausanias. Description of Greece - Translated by
W.H.S. Jones. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1918.
Shearer, Ann. Athena: Image & Energy. New
York: Viking Arkana, 1996.
Theoi Project. Athena. 2017. October 2018.
<http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Athena.html>.
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