I’ve recently become interested in Greek mythology, especially Greek gods and goddesses. I think that each deity is different and all of them have unique, interesting personalities. However, I do prefer some of them over others.
Athena, goddess of the olive, a symbol of peace and victory, and the owl, a symbol of wisdom, mystery, intelligence, protection, and secrets is my favorite goddess. She is cunning and intelligent. For example, Athena tricked Hector so that Achilles could kill him by turning into Hector’s favorite brother, Deiphobus. As Deiphobus, Athena told Hector to face Achilles in battle because Deiphobus would be fighting alongside him. Hector agreed to face Achilles, but as Deiphobus was not actually there, Achilles won the battle. I admire her traits of cunning and wisdom because it means she has a sense of self-preservation, unlike many gods who seem to be focused mainly on brute strength. Furthermore, by being logical and intelligent, she wouldn’t act impulsively based on hatred, but would calculate her decisions and usually achieve her goal. Athena is also sympathetic at times. After Arachne committed suicide because of the guilt Athena tried to give her over the weaving contest, Athena was sorry for being the cause of Arachne’s hanging and turned her into a spider after her death so she could weave eternally. Another example of her kindness was when she gave Teiresias the ability to understand birds after accidentally blinding him because he had seen her naked. She normally considers the feelings of others. However, when she is feeling vengeful, she may forget about other people at times and simply focus on her own target. For example, when Paris insulted her beauty and said that Aphrodite was fairer than her, Athena fueled the entire Trojan War in The Odyssey. Although Athena occasionally feels vengeful, most of the time she is rational and rewards intelligence and cunning with her help. Unlike Ares, she is the god of defensive war and strategy.
My least favorite god is Ares; he likes to fight and destroy buildings, lives, landmarks, and more. He is impulsive and warlike, but he acts on instinct instead of with rational thought. Unlike Athena, he rushes into battle without thinking about how he might be able to avoid it. As the god of war, he is very violent, but doesn’t consider the consequences of his actions or how they might negatively affect other people. As the patron of offensive war, he is easily angered and likes to start wars, not a very good trait for an important person with a lot of power. His symbols are the vulture and offensive weapons. The vulture represents death or impending death, which means that Ares brings death. I do not particularly like the concept of dying, as it can emotionally hurt many people who will not see those that they love again. The people who die will also never have another chance at life, so death in battle can ruin futures that could have helped others or contributed greatly to society. Ares was a god of destruction, and he created mayhem and destruction in his wake. He destroyed many lives, and buildings. I do not think that wanton destruction is a good thing; it tears down meaningful creations that might otherwise have been valuable or rare in the future. Ares is often arrogant and doesn’t usually care for others’ feelings. Unlike Athena, he is the god of offensive war and destruction.
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