@@tommystroupe8 We have an atheist over here! Somebody, quick, give a cup of hemlock to this heretic! (Oh, Lord Zeus, forgive this mortal, for he knoweth not what he said.)
Um, there are many different tellings of that myth. Some say that it wasn’t a curse to Medusa, but a way to protect her from other men who wanted her in the same way, Also the myth of Arachne, it was to save her life from hanging herself. So it depends on the myth you follow
Same thought here. I keep on wondering that they may really exist before in order to help the mortals (like Saints). But they've been so abusive of their powers so the most supreme of them all (GOD; not Zeus) punished all of them to be referred to by now as myths. I got these imagination after I've read from an encyclopedia (when I was in elementary) that what happened to Troy was true. It says there that the burnt city's remnants exists. If ever it's true, then the greek gods & goddesses were true (remember Eris? The goddess of discord who started the chaos) and nobody knows their fate because they were punished to be myths. hehe. too much imagination here.
My point is that even in ancient times we have this woman who could have used her power to do good but instead gave in to petty jealousies. That’s why people today (both male and female) are so disappointed in modern women leaders. History repeats itself.
Another version of Arachne is that after Athena destroyed her work, Arachne was so upset she hung herself. Out of regret, Athena turned her into a spider so she could continue to weave and create more beautiful works of art. It's also said that Athena's curse on Medusa was actually for protection since Medusa couldn't protect herself from Poseidon. Regardless, I love hearing different versions of Greek Mythology! 😀
I think the episode with Arachne reveals that while Athena does posses her mother’s wisdom, she also possesses her father’s temper. And she’s ultimately remorseful for this unseemly display, which is why it’s the only one.
In another version, the winner was undecided and in shame, Arachne tried to hang herself. Athena saved her and turned her into a spider so she could continue what she enjoyed.
nah that's ovid remakes.. but if you follow original ones which are written earlier then the most popular version of ovid who is a roman then yes you can say athena is some jealous and petty god.. but if you follow the original ones written by greeks then tell you what she isn't
Fun fact: Ovid is the person who made the story that athena turned medusa into a monster, and even back then it was consider a fan fic. The more well know and belived story is that medusa was one of three gorgon sisters.
Ovid wrote that version of the Medusa story to make Athena look bad because the Greeks favored her while the Romans favored Ares. To them, he was benevolent and wise.
Athena is a goddess I can resonate with. I am honored to have done a project on her when I was studying Greek mythology as a freshman in high school. Two of my classes were studying Greek mythology at the same time. English and history that year. English was when I did my Athena project and I remember talking about the clash of Poseidon and Athena and how Athena won the city (Athens) as well as her famous olive tree 🫒 . I remember getting an A on the assignment in my freshman year of high school. Even now, when times call, I can plan and execute in that way when I need to and Athena is worth mentioning here.
it would be so incredible to have a time machine and travel back in time to see the Acropolis in Athens. that giant bronze statue of goddess Athena. Ancient Greece was probably magical to see.
it would be so incredible to have a time machine and travel back in time to see the Acropolis in Athens. that giant bronze statue of goddess Athena. Ancient Greece was probably magical to see.
Take into consideration that Athena couldn't do a thing on Poseidon because he was her father's brother too. If she were to harm him, Zeus might've done something to her.
There are many many versions of Greek Mythology stories. In one version, it is said that Athena turned Medusa to a gorgon so that she could protect herself from other men. Athena gave Medusa the stare of petrification to make gods fear her. Besides, Athena couldn't possibly punish Poseidon, who was her uncle. She was wise to avoid bloodshed. Don't judge her just from knowing one version of the story .-.
@@pxmens9430 if that's the case she shouldn't curse medusa because she didn't do anything medusa ask her for forgiveness and she didn't forgive her she cursed her Medusa didn't deserve all of this she's innocent
Story telling reflects more the story teller "telling" the story than the tale itself. Realize Athena was a goddess of strategic warfare, she did not make emotional or irrational decisions but rather mindful conclusions as to the best outcome, jealousy was reserved for mere mortals. With Arachne, she had outstanding talent, it was believed that she wove her tapestries with gold thread that was said to reflect life, they gave the illusion of movement when looked upon. She was revered far and wide and had many followers and admirers. Arachne went so far as to boost that she had done more in weaving than Athena had ever done and was far better at it than the goddess herself. Athena went to Arachne in the disguise of an old woman to remind her that although she did have true talent, her skill was no where near that of a god. Arachne boasted that if Athena felt she could out weave her than she should come down from the heavens and challenge her herself. Athena stood up straight and removed her old woman disguise revealing all her majestic glory and with that she said: Very well than, I accept your challenge, we shall weave side by side for all day from dawn till dusk and be judged but the nymphs and the people of the town, and whoever they feel has more talent will be decided the winner. The mortal and the Goddess took their places at there respective looms and began to weave. It was said that both of then moved with such skill and accuracy that their hand and the shuttle seemed to float across the loom as they created images of wonder. As night began to fall upon the two contestants, they concluded with the final knot of there threads. Arachne stood up from her loom and let them gaze upon her scene within the tapestry, it depicted the follies and foibles of the gods when intermixing with mere mortals, The tapestry seemed to move as it made fun of the gods for their short comings when playing among mere men, the towns people and the nymphs laughed and applauded Arachne's beautifully humorous tapestry. Athena then stood back from her loom and the onlookers stood transfixed at the image before them. It was a tapestry of soft pure black silk with flickering flecks of bright gold and silver, that sparkled and glittered against the jet black background. Once they had a good look, Athena tore the Tapestry from the loom and flung it into the sky. She had woven the new night scene with heavenly points of light known as "stars". The points of light reflected the same stories as Arachne, but they were fables of the strengths and challenges that man had overcome and to remind all onlookers as to what can be achieved when you made the impossible possible, all one had to do was simply reach for the stars. Athena had created the night tapestry called: The Milky Way, as we know it today. Startled and amazed the nymphs and mortals cried sweet tears of wonder as they had beheld a miracle of divine creation. Arachne was so overcome with emotion at having been beaten so badly and ashamed of her shortcomings, she ran down into the forest to the nearest tree to hang herself. Athena followed and seeing the lifeless body of Arachne swaying from the tree limb, she felt sorrow for her. Athena reached out and touched Arachne's forehead and blessed her with the ability to weave for all eternity and those of her kin would have the same skill as hers....a reminder to all that follow that they did indeed have skill as weavers...but not the skill of a god that created them. Athena had turned Arachne into the worlds first spider.
You haven't heard of the whole story. There are a lot of iterations, and most are about her turning Medusa to a gorgon to protect her. Besides, different writers means different interpretations,and the one who wrote about the tale of Medusa wasn't very fond of our goddess of wisdom, strategy and weaving here.
Actually, the myth about Medusa was written down by a misogynist who detested the fact that a female goddess was associated with war and therefore detested Athena herself. A different version of the myth says that Athena didn't change Medusa out of anger or jealousy but to help her protect herself from the predatory men in her life.
Yeah I think you have wishful thinking. War hasn't been seen as something bad by the greeks and most stories covering Athena, she's always in wars on the good heroe's side, for example helping Odysseus. Ares (who is male) already fitted the bad (bloodlusty) side of war. Don't make mental gymnastics to make ancient gods fit into your woke modern views.
@@bm-ub6zc it doesn't matter if you believe or not in the existence of different gods , but myths aren't 100% true. They are written by humans for humans with the purpose of giving everyone an idea about how the gods came into existence and their personalities. Some parts can be true others can serve just as a fictional short story. Another myth that portrays Athena as evil is the one about Arachne. Many interpret it as showing how jealous Athena is because someone else is doing something better than her ,so she punishes Arachne by transforming her into a spider. The true meaning of the story is about hubris and how humans should not think of themselves as being above gods. Some myths are also written by poets who are artist so their work isn't to serve as a historical source for teaching about gods but rather as enjoyment, where gods are just used as characters.
No they were deeply flawed, as opposed to all other Gods which are presented as supposedly ideal. That's hard to understand for the modern human, probably raised under the dogmas of Christianity, Islam or Buddhism (in other words around 80% of the world) but points to the uniqueness of ancient Greek culture and thought.
@@andreasm.1126 Greeks were afraid of their Gods coz they were really interactive with them (in a good way or bad) other religions are like , be good and you will have good afterlife be bad and you will suffer forever. the point is that today ppl are thinking more about the afterlife but then they thought more of this life.
I prefer to say that Athena gave Medusa the stare of petrification to make gods fear her. But Athena losing even after her victories is a bad look. She won because of female suffrage, but allows the men to subjugate women.
true but she couldn't really do anything about that. the city depended heavily on the sea and they pretty much lost access to it due to now worshiping Athena. It was either the woman loses the right to vote or the whole town basically collapses over time
Well in some version of Medusa’s story Athena makes her a gorgon so that she can protect herself. Also in some versions of the story of Arachne, she tried to take her own life because of criticism of Athena but Athen saves her by turning her into a spider.
That's the point, anyone who looked at her allegedly turned to stone...interesting and I believe this stuff but these are all gods with a little "g" and are all essentially pagan, not the ultimate God, creator of humans and heavens and earth and all in it they hold no authority over human souls for only YHWH Yahweh does that and jesus christ was sent by Yahweh to save our souls so as interesting as all this is, it's all wicked and evil and holds no bearing to the God above ALL gods, the one true loving God, Yahweh. Praise him!!
@@siobhanc777 Jews call Him Yahweh, Christians simply refer to Him as Heavenly Father (of Jesus) or simply God and Muslims call Him Allah, among many names.
I heard there were multiple versions of this story including one where Athena turns Medusa into a monster to protect her from men, her gaze only working on men and not women.
@@happycat8082 Medusa's name mean guardian , protector . Her curse allowed medusa to protect herself , because no men mortal or immortal could get near her ever again
Athena was originally much more tame in mythology, beforehand cursing Medusa and her sisters for their vanity. It was Ovid that revamped her personality to be a cruel goddess.
Ovid wrote the priestess version to make Athena look bad because the Greeks favored her while the Romans favored Ares. To them, he was benevolent and wise.
Fun fact that myth of Athena cursed Medusa was actually created by a Roman poet, an exiled Roman poet who had strong feeling toward authorities. In early Greek myths, Medusa is the youngest of three Gorgon sisters, all children of primordial sea god, all has snake hair and hatred of mortal man. She was also the only mortal one hence she was only one be killed by Perseus.
There are many many versions of Greek Mythology stories. In one version, it is said that Athena turned Medusa to a gorgon so that she could protect herself from other men. Athena gave Medusa the stare of petrification to make gods fear her. Besides, Athena couldn't possibly punish Poseidon, who was her uncle. She was wise to avoid bloodshed. Don't judge her just from knowing one version of the story .-.
In most versions Athena does that to her so that she now has a way to protect herself against men. Ovid is the one who popularized the demonization of Athena as a jealous and irrational woman when in reality, the Greek characterization was much more sympathetic as I just stated.
Athena is the greatest goddess with her intellectual mind she could have taken over Olympus but she rather use it to not control Olympus but to help mortals that is in my opinion a true hero.
@@shirokun4742 There are many many versions of Greek Mythology stories. In one version, it is said that Athena turned Medusa to a gorgon so that she could protect herself from other men. Athena gave Medusa the stare of petrification to make gods fear her. Besides, Athena couldn't possibly punish Poseidon, who was her uncle. She was wise to avoid bloodshed. Don't judge her just from knowing one version of the story .-. And also, Arachne completely deserved it because she was extremely boastful, and she prided herself in her work so much that she said she was better than even the Gods, Athena even disguised as an old lady to warn her, but Arachne didn't listen. Then, Arachne made a tapestry literally insulting all the Gods and so Athena punished her for her pride and ungratefulness to the Gods. Arachne's work wasn't better than Athena's, both works were equal perfect. Athena was furious by the hubris of Arachne to insult the Gods. Then Arachne, after Athena's hit, realizes her mistake and hung herself. Athena looses the loop, spreads Arachne with Hecate's cream and transforms Arachne to the bug, cursed to be hung forever, and always her web will be destroyed.
I find it hard to believe that Athena goddess of knowledge would subject Medusa to such a terrible fate. I think because Medusa always had unwanted eyes and men gasp on her she gifted her the gift of defending herself the turning anyone to stone with just her stare.
@@7daysaweekeobseo975 exactly I'm thinking, she wouldn't have help in defeating her if she wanted to protect her. And Ok ok she wanted medusa to protect herself that's why she gave her the stone eyes power but why snake head? It wasn't needed ,was it?
@@7daysaweekeobseo975 I some cultures its considered a sign of respect to have a symbol of a fallen loved one with you, so maybe that's one reason why she had it on there?
After learning the truth about medusa my opinion of Athena changed. She is a weak and jealous goddess and has betrayed her fellow women. Disappointing really.
O'shea There are alot of verisons I believe it’s Athena protecting Medusa but theres always this verison and also Medusa comparing her beauty to Athena is one too!
The tale that I remember was that Medusa requested never to be looked upon by men again and Athena answered that, but I'll admit that this one is the lesser expressed myth from this and most likely is a cover up for the victim blaming nature of the source. Also, for the tail of Arachne, I've always heard that 'while technically better, the voters casted their votes for Athena due to the nature of the tapestry that Arachne spun as to not anger the gods.' And Athena even commented that it was technically better but she failed to account for the views of the judges before submitting her piece. Arachne tried to commit suicide, but Athena saved her so that she could continue her weaving because of how talented she was.
To be born from the head (mind) represents a concept or an idea, in this instance Athena born from the mind of Zeus to mimic the ancient Earth Goddess of wisdom Sophia.
I've been long wondering about this. I can't find a reference in Jung's work. If you ran across it in any of Jung's or Campbell's stuff, and you remember where, I'd appreciate it if you shared.
Your Arachne story is incorrect. Athena had a moment of jealousy and lost her temper, not because Arachne was better, but because she was arrogant. The actual story is that Arachne was boasting she was better than the goddess that gave her, her talent. Athena heard about the boasting and being "curious" she disguised herself as an old lady. When she saw Arachne, Arachne was boasting that her works are definitely better than Athena's. Athena (disguised) said nicely that she shouldn't say she was better than the goddess because it was not nice. Arachne then started spinning and making a beautiful tapestry which showed all the gods and their lovers. Athena (still disguised) looked and saw a very beautiful tapestry, to which she found no flaw at all and momentarily even felt jealous that she couldn't compete. In her anger she smashed Arachne's room and stormed out. (Arachne until Athena started smashing things had no idea the old lady was Athena). When Arachne realized it was the actual goddess she insulted and not boasting to a normal old lady, she was terrified. Because she did indeed admire and honor Athena. In her sadness, she went home and hanged herself. When Athena realized she was overreacting, she went to find Arachne and found her hanging lifeless in her home. She then took a potion and dropped some on the hanging girl, and she turned smaller and smaller, losing her human form and turning into a spider. She then awoke the spider and said "Now you may continue to hang, since that's what you chose and you can eternally weave your beautiful talent" and also became the protectress of Spiders. That's the original version. P.S. By the way, the Medusa story is also not accurate.
@@dominic1730 it goes like this physic and her two other sisters were the most beautiful things in the land physic's older sisters got married but physic remained single one day her father went to a temple (I forget which one) and asked if she will ever get married and the god/goddess (i forgot which one) said that she will be married to a horrid monster that will be the cause of her death so she got dressed up in her wedding garments and she went to the cliff the right wind picked her up and flew her to a beautiful castle that night when she was sleeping she felt someone there but it did not feel like a monster he was loving but when she woke every morning he was gone after this happened for a while she went home and brought her sisters when she came back she told her sisters about the mystery man and they reminded her about the profici that the god/goddess had spoken of and that this man would be the cause of her death so they told her to take a knife and slit his throt
This video was really good, helped my daughter a lot with her homework project, create a PowerPoint on a Greek god/ goddess of your choice, thank you for such a great video! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
In Greek Mythology Gods are not unmistakable.. Athena regrated treating Medusa like that she knew she was wrong with her. She believed in justice and she knew she didn't stick to her believes because of her emotions . Thats why Athena made Medusa 1 of her New symbols and out of honor towards her and a way to try to apologize (something most gods never do :P ) she made Medusas Head one of her symbols and decided to placed it on her favorite shield. Thats why Athena is represented with Medusas head on her shield.
They should make the statement that these stories are one of a few different views. The two main stories that paint Athena as jealous also stem from those stories being changed throughout history. Roman poets painted Athena as a more vindictive character and changed Ares (Mars) to actually be more like Athena. The story of both Medusa and Aracne have different storylines when coming from the original Greek lore and not the Roman changes.
For those who are curious about the split personality of the goddess of wisdom. Check to see which myth are from Rome and which ones are from Greece. Specifically theirs one roman guy who wrote down athenas myth (can't remember his name, sorry) Who seems to highly dislike her and wrote her as jealous and cruel aka half the myth you just heard in the story above. I dont know if this was just his view of her or a popular opinion in rome. However the greek versions was of a more benevolent goddess. Medusa was giving the snakes to protect her from men; which is why greek woman wore talonsmen with her face on it. And arachnid was turned into a spider so she could forever weave beautifull things after hanging herself. While Rome and Greece worshipped essentialy the same gods their were major differences for some of them. So you have the Roman version. The Greek version. And then the translated, highly edited Christian version when they got all obsessed with Greece.
I never heard of the second child's prophecy. Gaia talks about only one child who'll be stronger and wiser than Zeus but doesn't mention the child's gender. Once Athena is born, as she is wise, she doesn't desire to dethrone her father and Zeus loves her more for that.
It's funny how some people only know one version of a myth that shows a bad side of Athena and somehow decided to not take into consideration the other version of the myths where she was not actually a bad guy, but tried to help Medusa.
I feel like you could have said this version for Athena and Medusa, because the one you choose is victim blaming. Athena wasn’t enraged by Poseidon for the act because she felt it was man’s nature. And to save Medusa from being hurt by more men, Athena turned Medusa’s hair into snakes and gave her a petrifying gaze. Athena didn’t punish Medusa, she saved her from more pain from men.
So true. Athena is pretty much standard levels of jealousy among the gods, but it also seems strange to call her wise, like if Zeus was the god of “being faithful to your wife”...
I've heard the version of the Medusa and Arachne where she curses them is actually Minerva, her Roman counterpart and the versions of the stories where she changes them was for protect/save them.
I mean- honestly she isn't that bad if you really do more research and think about it. Yeah I mean it's not great to get mad at so little things but y'know it's just her personality. There are many ways on why she did that to Medusa.
(This is something I heard from Overly Sarcastic Productions in the video explaining the myth of Io, so I recommend you watch that to get my point in this comment) The story of Medusa and Arachne obviously depict Athena as cruel and jealous. However, the man that wrote those stories absolutely loved to hate on the Gods. He made these stories to paint Athena in a horrible light, which doesn’t make sense compared to her in other myths. As for Medusa, the earliest depictions of her was that she was the third gorgon sister, so she was a monster from the start. Being the goddess of wisdom, her being jealous over these things don’t line up with her personality.
I heard another version of this story which says that Athena actually transformed Medusa into that monster able to stone people with the only purpose to protect her from men. Because she judged that her beauty will give her a lot of pain in her life. That’s why Medusa lived alone on her island as a monster. No men to hurt her. t’s a real sad story anyway.
