Athena
by CTCWeb Editors
Protectress and Patroness
Athena plays the role of patroness and protectress to many people in myth and history. Athena’s identity is based on her work as a protecting force for heroes, gods and cities. Students should examine this aspect of the goddess using the information below as start-up for their own investigations. The list below is broken into people whom Athena protects. Textual and archaeological examples are cited.
This list is not complete and should be added to as a class project. Each time this assignment is done in class additions and corrections should be made to the list.
Protectress and Patroness of Herakles
Boston 63.473, Harvard 1960.312, London E162, Malibu 77.AE.11, Munich 2301, Munich 2648, Worcester 1966.63.
Denman Collection (Shapiro No. 26), Vase Description.
Apollodorus 2.4.11, 2.5.6.
Pausanias 1.15.3, 5.17.11, 6.19.12, 6.25.2, 8.18.3, 9.11.6.
Hesiod Shield of Herakles lines 124, 451.
Protectress and Patroness of the Athenians
9.4.6 The Parthenon.
Aeschylus Eumenides line 881.
Apollodorus 3.14.1.
Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae, lines 1140-1142.
Lycurgus, Speech 1: Against Leocrates, 1.17.
Pausanias 1.26.6, 3.17.2.
Protectress and Patroness of Diomedes
Homer Iliad Book 5.1. Homer Iliad Book 6.288.
Protectress and Patroness of the Family of Odysseus
Homer Odyssey, Homer Odyssey Book 3.218. Homer Odyssey Book 13.370. Homer Odyssey Book 15.416.
Protectress and Patroness of the Gods
Homer Iliad Book 15.124.
1. Why do you think Athena was chosen as the patron god of Athens?
2. What personality traits do Athena and Odysseus share? Do you think this has something to do with their close association?
3. Why is Athena the patroness of Diomedes?
4. As a patroness, does Athena ever forsake a hero because of his actions? See Sophocles’ Ajax.
5. At what point in Herakles’ life does Athena become his patroness and protectress?
