Artemis, Athena, Apollos and Ares

Ares

God of war (fighting/killing aspect)

Epithet: Man Slayer

Attribute: Weapons of war (swords, armor, etc)

Animal: Dogs and Vultures (scavenge leftover corpses)

Cult Centre: None, didn’t want to invite war

-But worshipped in Thebes as an ancestor (hence why he supports the Trojans)

Olympian gods largely disliked Ares since he enjoyed war, only Aphrodite liked Ares

-Not very smart in battle, defeated multiple times by Athena

Attendants of Ares

Eris - Translates as “discord/strife”, causes disagreements that lead to war

Deimos and Phobos - Sons of Aphrodite + Ares, deimos is “fear” in general while phobos is “panic war”

-Drives warriors to fight due to their fear/panic state

Athena

Goddess of palace, civilization/progress, cities, heroic kings, crafts; most importantly of wisdom (practical knowledge) and war (strategic aspect)

Epithets: Pallas (“warrior”), Glaucopis (“keen eyed”), Tritogeneia (“born on the 3rd day of the month), Potnia

Attributes: Military helmet, spear/shield, Aegis (cape decorated with snakes)

Animals: Snakes and owls

Plant: Olive tree

Cult Centres: Athens, Sparta, Troy

-Inherited wisdom from Metis and is second only to Zeus

-Often disguises herself as a person/animal to interact with humans

Structuralist Interpretation of Athena vs Ares

-Ares is the god of fighting/killing within war, takes delight in prolonged war

-Athena is the god of strategy within war, focuses on ending wars

Myth of Pallas

Pallas, another warrior deity, was friends with Athena growing up but they fell into a deep argument

-Pallas was about to strike Athena, but Zeus intervened and waves the Aegis over Pallas freezing her

-Athena then strikes Pallas which “kills” her

-Athena was grief stricken, so she decides to add Pallas to her name (her epithet) and creates a statue for her (called the Palladium) where it falls of Mt. Olympus and into Troy

-Trojans built a temple to Athena and placed the Palladium inside the temple, where it carried Troy’s destiny; as long as the statue remained in Troy it would survive

-During the Trojan war, it was removed from Troy resulting in Troy’s downfall

Artemis

Daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin of Apollos

-Goddess of nature (protecting nature) and hunting (sending animals to be hunted), also believed to be responsibile for children’s death (little girls) and for the death of women (all ages)

-Later takes Apollos’s plague attribute when she becomes associated with him

Epithets: Phoebe (bright and shining), delighted in arrows, Potnia

-Named “Potnia Theron” which translates to “mistress of wild animals”

Attribute: Bow and quiver of arrows

-Sometimes co-identified with Selene (the moon)

Animals: Qual and lioness (since the lioness is the one who kills) and boars

Cult Centre: Worshippe in mountains (where hunters were)

Artemis Structuralist Interpretation

Interpret her attributes as opposing each other; Protecting nature vs helping hunters kill animals

Apollo

God of athletics, music, medicine, plague/disease; most importantly god of philosophy and prophecy

Epithets: Phoebus, far shooter, lord of the silver bow, Delian, Pythian, Delphinian

Attribute: Bow and quiver of arrows, the lyre (from Hermes), tripod (priestess sits on a bowl with 3 legs to give prophecy)

-Uses his arrows to spread disease among men/little boys, but also believed that he knew medicine (since he could cause disease)

Animal: Wolf and Raven

Plant: Laurel Tree

Cult Centres: Delos (explains the epithet Delian), Delphi

-Most "handsome of the greek gods, represents young manhood (intelligence + athleticism)

-Stood of intellectual/rational thought, opposition between Athena who stood for practical knowledge

-Fathered ONE child; Ascelpius

Delphi Cult Centre Established

After Apollo was born on Delos, he travelled north to find a place to establish his oracle

-Reached Mt. Parnassus and drove away Themis’s temple, killing the Dragon “Python” who was guarding it (giving him the epithet Pythian)

-He then built a temple and recruited priests by transforming into a dolphin, boarding a ship, then leading it to the temple

-Turning into a dolphin gave him the epithet “Delphinian” (greek word for dolphin = delphi)

-Told the sailors they and their descendants would become priests

Apollos and Asclepius

Apollos like a mortal woman Coronis, but she married another man so he ordered Artemis to kill her during child birth

-Apollos feels bad, so he attempts to save her by saving her unborn child (Asclepius)

-Takes him to Cheiron (wise doctor/centaur), teaches Asclepius all aspects of medicine

-Replaces his father as the god of medicine

Asclepius and The Snake

Epidauros, site where Asclepius was worshipped; people often went for their illness

-Snakes were an important part of the cult since they “rejuvenate” themselves when they shed their skin

-Asclepius carried a staff which represents medicine

Delphi Cult Centre

Chief cult centre for Apollos, only lived there for 8 months (Dionysus lived for another 4)

-Located at the centre of Greece determined by Zeus

-Centre marked by a stone called Omphalos or “Naval Stone”

-Apollo’s priestess called Sibyls performed rituals, but at Delphi the sibyl was called Pythia (extra special as they conducted the oracle)

-Pythia answers were unclaer/ambiguous

-Question brought to thet shrine, given to the priest then to the Pythia who sits on the tripod

-She then enters a trance as if possessed before providing an answer

Croesus Myth

Building an empire south of the black sea, happened to interact with the Persian empire (lead by Cyrus)

-Croesus was concerned, so he sent messengers to ask the Oracle if he should cross the river to destroy the Persian empire

-It responded that if he crosses the river, the empire will be destroyed (unclear WHICH empire though)

-So he crosses the river, then is defeated and his empire is absorbed