Posienden vs Athena

capital of Greece, ace of the chief urban center-states of solely of antiquated Greece, was a city crackingly desired by two powerful deities genus Athene and Poseidon. The apologue that shows how this dispute was settled is depicted in numerous trends. This story can go depending on which moving picture is being observed. there ar slight discrepancies between the Grecian variance of this invention, the Roman fluctuation, and the sculpt shown on the Parthenon in Athens. With close scrutiny of this myth, it is sack up that nuance, clock period, and musical musical genre wholly are priming coats for this myths disparity.This myth starts with a office named Crecrops, who is half(a) man and half snake. He is the king of a flourishing unnamed city state in need of a patron god. He turns to Poseidon and genus Athene who some(prenominal) want to be the patron theology of this thriving city. Quickly a bout arises between these two powerful gods. The archetypica l discrepancy between the Greek version of this myth (Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3 14. 1) and the Roman version of this myth (Ovid, Metamorphoses 6. 70) is that when Athena and Poseidon are closely to go to war everywhere this divergence these two myths pay a distinct deity suggesting an alternative course of action.In the front Greek depictions of this myth Athena decides to obligate a appointment of who can summate most to King Crecrops and his city-state. After they had assumption their gifts (an olive tree from Athena and a salt water spring from Poseidon Poseidons spring that he created also serves as an aetion of how a specific river was created near Athens. The river or spring is named Erektheis) the king would decide the schoolmaster the patron deity of his state. In Ovids Metamorphoses, it is Jove who decides to hold a contest, and the judges of the contest are Olympian gods and goddesses.One reason for this difference of opinion is that the larn Ovid is giving a s a good deal respect to Jove as he can. He was being precise wary non to disrespect Jove in any focussing, for he did non want to end up deal Prometheus. With his limbs bound upon the big(a) rocks by vexing fetters of bronze, Prometheus fed with his liver an eagle that incessantly rushed venture to its prey. (Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2. 1245-1247). This is a very common principle that came about more in the Roman era. In earlier Greek generation, often times heroes would act their positive deeds by having hubris or excessive pride.The idea of hubris is clearly shown umpteen times in Homers Odyssey. A prime example of this is when Odysseus is escaping from the island that Polyphemus is on and he shouts back at him, vaunt in a way, and ends up close getting hit by a boulder thrown by Polyphemus and set about the wrath of Poseidon as his journey continues. On the work on the westerly pediment of the Parthenon, Jove isnt depicted at all. Some whitethorn sa y that this is an act of disrespect, but that is merely false. The Parthenon does show Jove in a sculpture of the birth of Athena on the due east pediment of the building, which is actually the front of the building.The fact is that the Parthenon was create to honor Athens patron goddess Athena. The west pediment of the building is an aetion for how Athens got its name Athena named it afterwardsward herself after winning the contest. The sculpture, which was created dogged after this original myth was told, does non show the spring that Poseidon created most in all probability because sculpting that on the top of the Parthenon would be a very challenging task. Because of this, the sculpture looks more of a battle than a contest.Another reason why a battle motif can be felt by dint of with(predicate) this sculpture is because the Parthenon was build somewhere in between 447 and 438 B. C. E. The Parthenon embodied the triumph of the Greeks, peculiarly the Athenians, over the Persians who had destroyed the acropolis earlier in 480 B. C. E. The time period in which a sealed myth is write or a sculpture sculpted in can see us a undischarged deal about the themes bathroom each respective work. As written whole works are passed down through the ages, each time period pass on interpret the document in a diametrical way, relating to their own lives and culture.Poseidon takes losing the contest very harshly and acts drastically. In the Greek depiction of the contest between Athena and Poseidon, Poseidon, after coming up short in the competition, gluts the Thriasian plain and drowns Attica under his salty ocean in a fit of rage. Athena created the olive tree, and the two divinities disputed, until the gods assigned Attica to Athena. Poseidon, outraged at this, caused the country to be inundated. (Herod. viii. 55 Apollod. iii. 14. 1 Paus. i. 24. 3, &c. Hygin. Fab. 164. In a variant translation of the story, not only does Poseidon flood Attica, but he also puts a curse on the city so that it will be forever be in a drought after the flood. This, coming from a afterward Roman text, can be considered an etiology. It is not hard to believe that Attica, during a certain time period, had a drought. They used the aetion of Neptune cursing them for dateless drought to explain why this all was happening. Earlier time periods probably did not ready problems with water so the aetion was not needed. They did not need to explain why they had water because it was a natural occurrence.The genres of these works also have a great influence on how they are perceived. Ovid writes in a completely diametric genre then earlier writers such as Hesiod. Ovids Metamorphoses poke fun at, in a way, of epic poems. There is more of a sense of humor in Ovids works then that of Hesiod. The later depictions of this contest between Minerva and Neptune are approximately wittier then their earlier counterparts. Ovid, being the learned poet that he was , was sure to still have the ultimate level of respect for two(prenominal) of these gods however, his other works such as Pygmalion (Ovids Metamorphoses, 10).Ovid knew when it was acceptable to be witty in his writings, and when the utmost respect was required. Popular genre often shows the general moral of a group at a certain time. The sculpture of Minerva and Neptune seemingly showing battle ready gods was not a mistake. Greece and Athens especially, was celebrating an enormous victory over Persia. The Parthenon was built to honor Athena who contributed a great deal too Athenian triumphs. This sculpture could have been portrayed in a million antithetic ways establish on the sculptors mood, which was popular genre at that time.Over changes in culture, time, and genre different aspects of different myths are subject to change. However, just because many another(prenominal) myths vary does not mean that these myths have nothing in common. In fact, many different myths, Roman and Greek, have the said(prenominal) underling principles principles that are sometimes over looked. It is obvious that Roman and Greek myths both honor gods and they both have the a corresponding(p) aspects about the underworld, but what often times goes unrealized is that each myth regarding a particular god or goddess is connected.As shown in the myth previously discussed, Athena and Poseidon were not playing for the same team so to speak. The tenseness between them is present in other works however, it may sometimes be overlooked. One example of this tension is shown in Homers Odyssey. Odysseus, who is a Greek hero from the Trojan War, is a very cunning warrior much like Athena. She favors him and tries to help him in any way she can. Poseidon, on the other hand, despises Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus, and does all in his power to hinder Odysseus in his journey basis. The journey back to his home town Ithaca takes Odysseus ten years.After battling with monsters like Scylla a nd Charybdis, Odysseus at long last returns home to find his kingdom in ruin. Athena is there to provide advice and promote him in the establishment of order back in his home town. Each myth is different in its own way and has something to contribute. Everything about a myth from its genre to the time it was written conveys differences about the culture of the people who created it. The disparities in Ovids description of the contest between Minerva and Neptune and the accounts from Apollodorus, Bibliotheca show a great difference in culture, time periods, and genre.The sculpture on the Parthenon again communicates something different all together. With close scrutiny of the different aspects of a myth, it is unbelievable what can be discovered. There are unknown aetions wait to be uncovered. Undiscovered connections between ancient heroes and gods ready to be made known. It is inborn to dive into these myths and discover everything they have to tell us. Bibliography Frazer, J. G.. NOTES ON BOOK 3 OF THE program library OF APOLLODORUS. http//www. theoi. com. Theoi E-texts Library Copyright 2000 2011, Aaron Atsma. Web. 17 Oct 2012. lthttp//www. theoi. com/Text/Ap3d. hypertext markup language. Morford, Mark P. O. , Robert J. Lenardon, and Micheal Sham. Classical Mythology. 9th Edition. Oxford Oxford University Press Inc. , 2011. 177-180. Print. Anonymous, . ATHENA MYTHS 1 . http//www. theoi. com. Theoi hear Copyright 2000 2011, Aaron J. Atsma, New Zealand. Web. 17 Oct 2012. http//www. theoi. com/Olympios/AthenaMyths. html Anonymous, . Mythagora Home Page. www. Mythagora. com. Copyright 2012- All rights reserved. Web. 17 Oct 2012. http//www. mythagora. com/bios/prometheus. html.