The Greeks had an intricate religion, filled with pantheons, monsters, demigod heroes, and magical artifacts. After Rome’s conquering of Greece, the Greek pantheon was absorbed by Roman religion, and many of ancient Greece’s deities were reborn in the new culture, most of the gods and goddesses keeping many of their original traits.

Athena in the Greek tradition was goddess of wisdom and reason first, and goddess of war second. In the Iliad, she appeared in the middle of the war to Diomedes and Odysseus at separate times to impart her wisdom. In more modern popular renditions of the Greek stories, such as Song of Achilles and Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Athena is characterized by her foresight and dedication to knowledge. In the latter, the goddess’ children are known for their intelligence; their war abilities are always mentioned second.

Athena was the patron goddess of Athens, a polis commonly referred to as the birthplace of democracy and known as an intellectual hub. In an earlier post, I discussed the contrasting idea of Athens and Sparta having been relatively equal on the intellectual level, and Athens’ image of being scholarly coming from their control over their own history. However, that desire to preserve themselves in such a way had to come from somewhere. Whether or not there was actually a notable academic environment in Greece, there was undoubtedly an aspiration for it, and it manifested itself in their reverence of Athena as the goddess of wisdom.

The Romans eventually conquered Greece and absorbed their religion along the way. The ancient Roman empire was more militaristic and had greater rights for their women. As a result, Athena, now known as Minerva, became better known for her military tactic than her wisdom and reason. In fact, she became their primary deity of war, overtaking Mars, whose Greek counterpart Ares was the foremost god of war. The differences between Minerva and Athena can’t be attributed to the change in the empire. The Romans’ Minerva was first adopted from the Etruscans, the civilization of ancient Italy that predated the Romans.

As Minerva wove her way through three powerful empires through time, she took on different images of herself, even taking on a different name in one civilization. However, her inner self remained the same: wise, tactical, and rational. Regardless of her name or physical characteristics, the ancient people’s belief in her gave them the clarity of mind and strength in war that they prayed to her for.