Conclusions and final thoughts...

  Well, I need to conclude my blog with some final thoughts. At the start of this blog I did not know very much about Ancient Greek Religion, so what have I learnt...?

  I believe I understand more about why Poseidon behaves the way he does, namely that he is god of the sea and so needs to represent the characteristics of the sea. The reason Poseidon's character is as it is is because he needs to fulfil the requirements of a god of the sea, so he is bitter and quick-tempered. The Ancient Greeks tried to explain his personality by having Poseidon lose out to his brother Zeus as head of the gods of Ancient Greece. I have tried to explain this using the diagram below. This is the advantage of assessing some work via blogs as it enables more versatility in putting across my opinion.

  This investigation into the role of Poseidon has led me to believe that the gods of Ancient Greece were created for aetiological purposes. The gods were created to explain the behaviour of nature. Poseidon, my vehicle for this module, the bitter god of the sea, has demonstrated that his role had to be as it was. A god of the sea would have to have a similar personality to reflect the power, unpredictability and capacity for destruction, which the sea would seem to have from the viewpoint of a person where much of the world was a mystery.

A 19th century historian's opinion

  A short while ago I bought a book called The Ancient City by Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges. I thought I had bought a newly written book as the cover seemed to present a new book. I found out that this was in fact a book originally published in 1864. I thought I would see what he said about Ancient Greek Religion. One part particularly interests me as it links very well with my discussion in the first post about whether Poseidon was wild or tamed, and the second post of this blog about how human the gods were.

  'Man, in the early ages, was continually in the presence of nature; the habits of civilised life did not yet draw a line between it and him. His sight was charmed by its beauties, or dazzled by the grandeur. He enjoyed the light, he was terrified by the night; and when he saw the "holy light of heaven" return, he experienced a feeling of thankfulness. His life was in the hands of nature; he looked for the beneficent cloud on which is harvest depended; he feared the storm which might destroy the labor and hope of all the year. At every moment he felt his own feebleness and the incomparable power of what surrounded him. He experienced perpetually a mingled feeling of veneration, love, and terror for this power of nature.' (de Coulanges (2006) 121)


  I find it interesting that I agree with the statement which was written nearly 150 years ago. From studying history and classical civilisation for three years I have witnessed that interpretations of the past frequently change, and to find that I agree with his statement shows that some interpretations are strong enough to stand the test of time. As I said in the first post, gods acquire the characteristics of their domains, whether they be positive or negative. In regards to Poseidon, people would be grateful for the sea's bounty of fish which supplied employment and an extra food source, yet would fear ferocious storms which he could bring about; the Greek gods have to be perceived in a time far removed from our post-enlightenment world. In Ancient Greece there was no understanding of weather patterns or plate tectonics, all they knew is that an event had happened. The most reasonable solution they could provide was that either a god approved of what they were doing, or disapproved.

Sources Used

Fustel de Coulanges, N. D. F., (2006) The Ancient City. Translated from French by Willard Small., 1955. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover.

Identifying Poseidon

  When I started University I had not studied anything about Ancient Greece. On a few occasions I have become confused and bewildered by trying to identify gods in depictions. I tried to make a game in which the player would hover over a part of a picture which they believed identified the figure as that of Poseidon, and a tag would appear confirming why that feature identified the figure as Poseidon; unfortunately, due to Blogger's formatting that has not been possible so instead I have put an assortment of pictures of Poseidon with different features to identify him with descriptions of how these features identify him.

  Just a general point, Poseidon is (usually) depicted as an elderly bearded man. This could be to identify him as one of the elder generation of gods, along with Zeus and Hades who are also depicted thus.

  Sometimes in a depiction the name appears near the character, clearly identifying who it is. This is the easiest way of identifying a deity. The word POΣΕΙΔΟΝ can be read above one character so it identifies the figure below as being Poseidon. (Poseidon 165 LIMC)

  The feature most commonly associated with Poseidon is the trident. It is greatly associated with Poseidon because one of its main purposes is for fishing and Poseidon's main role is as god of the sea. It may also reflect a warrior aspect of Poseidon as the trident has also been used as a weapon of war. (Louvre, Paris CA 542)

In this depiction Poseidon is riding a Hippocampus, a creature with the head of a horse and the tail of a fish. This is an appropriate creature for Poseidon to ride as he is the Greek god of the sea and horses. The Hippocampus combines features of two of his roles into one creature. Frequently, Poseidon is depicted on a horse but this can be misleading as numerous other deities are depicted with horses so the Hippocampus is a more certain identification. (British Museum, London B428)

  In this depiction Poseidon is riding a bull. This links to Poseidon sending the bull to King Minos as a sacrifice or possibly to the role of the bull as the sacrificial animal to Poseidon.

Also of interest is the fact that he is holding a fish in his left hand. This is a key identification associated with Poseidon's role as god of the sea. (Poseidon 150 LIMC)

  This is a coin found at Katane (Catania) in Sicily. It is dated to the 2nd - 1st century BC. The reverse side shows a dolphin. This is another animal which is associated with Poseidon due to the shared relationship in the marine sphere. (Calciati III, 95, 4)

  It seems that Poseidon's role as god of the sea is not Poseidon's only role and that he was a lot more versatile than I previously believed. Maybe the use of epithets was to identify a god's specific role for assistance in a specific sphere. A person who wanted aftershocks occurring after an earthquake to stop would not want to ask Poseidon Hippios, god of horses, for assistance. They would want to ask Poseidon Seischthon, Poseidon the earth-shaker for assistance. To me it sounds like a way to gain specific assistance from the god.

  Where my argument becomes weakened is the example of Manteneia. Poseidon Hippios was the patron and guardian deity of Mantineia, an inland settlement in the Peloponesse, yet on the city's official coinage, rather than a horse being depicted were tridents and dolphins. If he was worshipped for his role as god of horses then why was he identified by his marine attributes? Bruit Zaidman and Schmitt Pantel suggest that it was his role as master of underground water and of horses that made him the appropriate patron 'in a city where drainage was a common problem and horse-raising was a major economic activity of the wealthy.' (Bruit Zaidman and Schmitt Pantel (1992) 212) Walter Burkert counters a suggestion that Poseidon's role as god of the sea was secondary to his role as god of horses:

'...even the birth of the horse is associated with water; there is the Horse Spring, Hippou Krene, which was struck by the hoof of the first horse; the horse is born where the deeps open up. Conversely, horses must be drowned: in the fresh-water spring which rises in the sea, the Whirlpool in Argos, horses are drowned for Poseidon.' (Burkert (1985) 138)

  Burkert makes a convincing argument that Poseidon's primary role is as god of the sea as it appears that all his roles regarding horses require some involvement with the sea, but his role as god of the sea does not require the inclusion of horses. In Mantineia, Poseidon conveniently reflects the culture of the horses, but his primary role is to solve the issues caused by drainage failures.

Sources Used

Bruit Zaidman, L. and Schmitt Pantel, P., (1992) Religion in the Ancient Greek City.   Translated by Paul Cartledge. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

Burkert, W., (1985) Greek Religion. Translated by John Raffan. Basil Blackwell: Oxford.

Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC) / Rédaction : Hans Christoph Ackermann, Jean-Robert Gisler], Zürich: Zürich : Artemis, 1981]-

Images from Websites

Nguyen, M., 2006. Poseidon Penteskouphia Louvre CA452. [online] Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Poseidon_Penteskouphia_Louvre_CA452.jpg> [Accessed on 16/03/2013 ].

Theoi Greek Mythology, 2011. Ancient Greek Art: Poseidon Riding Hippocamp. [online] Available at: <http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K2.4.html> [Accessed on 16/03/2013 ].

Herakles Numismatics, 2013. Sicily, Katane. Poseidon/Dolphin. [online] Available at: <http://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/herakles_numismatics/71/product/sicily_katane_poseidondolphin/144846/Default.aspx> [Accessed on 16/03/2013 ].

A confusing depiction of Poseidon

  I got this picture from the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (Poseidon 159).  I assumed that Poseidon was riding Pegasus due to what looks like a wing at the rear of the creature. When reading what the commentator, Ingrid Krauskopf says, apparently it is not Pegasus but a creature called a Hippalectryon, a half-horse half-cockerel. I gazed a bit longer at the image to see if I disagreed with the commentator's definition. When looking at the back two legs they do not seem very 'horse-like'. They seem to be too thin and the leg joints do not seem to bend as much as a horse's may when it is just standing on the back two legs. I then decided to do some research on this creature on THEOI Greek Mythology Encylopedia.

  According to the website, the Hippalectryon only appear on early Athenian vase painting, and it is surmised that it may be an early artistic rendering of Pegasus. The cockerel was apparently a prophylactic symbol, a symbol to ward away disease that used solar power to ward away demons in the morning, maybe associated with the cockerel's wake-up call marking the end of the night. Horses, especially ones with wings, were associated with guiding the souls of the dead. It is also surmised that they had apotropaic qualities as the strange combination of a horse and cockerel was supposed to make people laugh.

  Marcel Detienne suggests identifying the complementary differences between two divine powers to identify the relationship between two beings (Detienne (1971) 161). Poseidon is associated with the sea, horsemanship and earthquakes. Susan Deacy has suggested that as Poseidon was the rapist/lover of Medusa, the quintessential apotropaic figure, that the combination with the Hippalectryon is to combine two beings with apotropaic qualities (pers. comm.). I am not sure I agree with this. Male deities seem to be rarely defined by their spouses, except a few possibilities such as Hades and Persephone, who seem to appear more often as a couple than in individuality. If Poseidon was to be defined by a partner it would be Amphitrite. The coupling of Poseidon and Medusa would only affect the attributes of their offspring, Pegasus and Chrysaor.

 If we look back at the siring or horses in Greek mythology, the first one, Sciphius, was born of Earth, by the seed of Poseidon (Bonnefoy (1992) 81). The horse Sciphius would be seen as a chthonic power. Poseidon may be depicted riding a horse-like creature to portray that his realm is not just the sea, but also the land.

  Perhaps, as has been suggested, these depictions of the Hippalectryon are for laughter, a depiction of the god Poseidon, known for wrecking ships at sea and flooding the Attic plain, riding a half-horse half-cockerel, may have been a way of encouraging laughter and warding away evil.

Sources Used

Bonnefoy, Y. (ed.), (1992) Greek and Egyptian Mythologies. Translated under the direction of Wendy Doniger by Gerald Honigsblum, Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Detienne, M., 'Athena and the Mastery of the Horse'. Translated by A. B. Werth, In: History of Religions, Vol 11, No. 2 (Nov., 1971), pp. 161-184
Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC) / Rédaction : Hans Christoph Ackermann, Jean-Robert Gisler], Zürich: Zürich : Artemis, 1981]-

Poseidon: Member of Triumvirate or just brother to the King...?

'All things were split three ways, to each his honour, when we cast lots. Indeed it fell to me [Poseidon] to abide forever in the grey sea water; Hades received the dark mist at the world's end, and Zeus the open heaven of air and cloud.' (Il. 15.187)

  This speech by Poseidon in the Iliad would suggest that he perceived his relationship with his brothers as equal. The splitting of reality between the three was done in such a way that no one individual had too much power.

  I have created this .gif to show two of the possible ways of interpreting the hierarchy of the Olympian gods. Of course, there are also other possibilities involving other deities, but for the sake of feasibility, I have shown two possibilities, which struck me as likely. 

  Today's discussion was particularly about Zeus and his role as leader, but I thought that I could bring this back to his relationship with Poseidon, and also look into the role of their brother; Hades.

  I will start with one point I thought would be relevant to make now, as it is also appropriate to my comparison to Michaelangelo's Adam and God from my last post. Zeus is described as Zeu Pater meaning Zeus father (Il. 1.503, 3.31, 3.276, Ody. 20.112). This is of course notable as the Christian God is often referred to as Father or sometimes as Abba Father, approximately meaning Daddy. This suggests that Zeus was seen as head of the family. In a patriarchal society like Ancient Greece, a strong male figurehead would have been noticeable as the head of the godly household. Zeus may be seen as the eldest since he was not swallowed by his father when he was born, whereas his siblings had to be re-born.

  Noriko Yasumura's book Challenges to the Power of Zeus in Early Greek Poetry draws attention to a number of examples from the Iliad which show how Zeus is portrayed as the superior and Poseidon as the inferior.

'...he [Poseidon] is no match for Zeus, whose superior strength is repeatedly emphasised by Poseidon's own words, and by Zeus.' (Yasumura (2011) 60)

  The evidence for this point can be found in the Iliad. Poseidon expresses his doubt in his ability to overcome Zeus, who seems to fully understand his power over Poseidon.

'I [Poseidon] would not dream of pitting all the rest of us against Lord Zeus. He overmasters all. (Il. 8.210-11).
'...for all his might, he does not have it in him to oppose me [Zeus]. I am more powerful by far than he. He has forgotten this, claiming equality with me.' (Il. 15.164-6)

  This does not just suggest that Zeus is stronger than Poseidon, it suggests that Zeus is stronger than all other deities put together. Perhaps Poseidon's aetiological role makes him weak. There is a need to explain why the sea is so apparently hateful, which causes it to destroy ships and flood the coast. The explanation resides in the fact that Poseidon is bitter about losing out to his brother Zeus. Poseidon is weaker because he is used in an aetiological context to explain the behaviour of the sea. Where Poseidon's power is finite, Zeus's is infinite, yet there is one example which may weaken Yasumura's argument.

'A time came when Zeus's pride and petulance became so intolerable that Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, and all the other Olympians, except Hestia, surrounded him suddenly as he lay asleep on his couch and bound him with rawhide thongs, knotted into a hundred knots, so that he could not move. He threatened them with instant death, but they had placed the thunderbolt out of reach and laughed insultingly at him.' (Graves (1992) 13. c)

  This is a very interesting extract; it suggests a number of things. Firstly, it suggests that Zeus is not omniscient as he is not aware of actions whilst he is asleep, in this way he is different to the Judeo-Christian God. Secondly, it suggests that rather than Zeus being omnipotent, it is his thunderbolt that is omnipotent. Zeus is the owner of the thunderbolt so he becomes omnipotent. Without his thunderbolt, the other Olympians are able to laugh insultingly at him without any fear of being struck down. Zeus is powerless in this situation and Poseidon sees that he is stronger for the time being, though he may require the support of the other Olympians to maintain this power over Zeus.

  Now I will turn the attention to Hades.

'Hades fell in love with Core, and went to ask Zeus's leave to marry her. Zeus feared to offend his eldest brother by a downright refusal, but knew also that Demeter would not forgive him if Core were committed to Tartarus, he therefore answered politically that he could neither give nor withhold his consent.' (Graves (1992) 24. c)

  Zeus's fear to offend his brother could have two meanings; either he cared for his brother and did not want to upset him by refusing him, or he feared his eldest brother's wrath. The second option is interesting; firstly, it points out that Hades is his eldest brother, even though this may still mean the eldest of his younger brothers. The use of the adjective 'eldest' may suggest that Zeus feels threatened by Hades as a rival. On the other hand, Hades also asks for Zeus's leave so he seems to be deferring to the most important brother, though that could just be an example of asking the father's permission to wed his daughter. This extract also suggests he has some fear of upsetting his sister Demeter. This extract suggests that Zeus's power is not unchallengeable, and that he has to occasionally act with caution to maintain his power.

  Zeus seems to be portrayed as an autocratic, tyrannical leader, very reflective of Ancient Greek kings and dictators. He does not accept rebellion from his subordinates, and does not allow anyone to have power rivalling his, yet he may just have power over the other gods and goddesses because of his ownership of the thunderbolt which he seems to have obtained by luck. When the thunderbolt is taken from him he seems powerless. Sometimes even when he has ownership of the thunderbolt he still seems to show fear of his brother Hades, he does not act as someone who is totally unchallengeable.

So going back to the .gif...

Equal or not equal...?

Equal and not Equal; Zeus is unchallengeable with the lightning bolt, but challengeable when it is put out of his reach, but also fears the rivalry of his siblings.

Sources Used

Dowden, K., (2006) Zeus, London: Routledge

Graves, R., (1992) The Greek Myths, London: Penguin.

Homer, The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald., 1984. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Yasumura, N., (2011) Challenges to the Power of Zeus in Early Greek Poetry, London: Bristol Classical   Press 

How Human were the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece?

  Today's discussion got me thinking about what humans require from gods. From a Christian background, I believe the primary aim of a god needs to be his love for the people he created, and the guidance to lead them into a better place after death. The purpose of Greek deities seems to lie more in the aetiological; their purpose is to explain why things exist, and why things behave as they do. The gods need to acquire characteristics of the things they are associated with, yet the character must be made more human to enable people to understand them. 

  The top picture is that of the Ancient Egyptian god Horus standing opposite a Pharaoh. In this picture they can be seen as very similar, the only real difference between the figures which distinguishes the figure on the left as being mythological is that the god has the head of a falcon. This may be an example of making the gods similar to humans, but also distinct enough to make them other. I would also expect this to be true with Ancient Greek deities.

  The second picture down is Michaelangelo's picture of The Creation of Adam. This picture shows the otherness and nearness between a human and the Judeo-Christian God. The hand of Adam and the hand of God are so close yet they do not quite touch. God is very near, yet remains other. This seems to be a theme in Ancient Greek Religion. The gods sometimes get close to being human but have to retain some distance so that their power can be feared and their actions made incomprehensible.

  I tried to find a depiction of Zeus with an equivalent motive and this was the closest I could find (Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, Zeus 74). I thought this depiction may be appropriate (though the woman on the right is Athena rather than a mortal) as Zeus seems to be giving something from his right hand to the woman, but the woman seems to be rejecting his gift. I believe this depiction can also reflect gods' relationships with humans. Zeus can be seen as the 'heavenly father' of Athena, equivalent to the Judeo-Christian God as 'heavenly father' of humanity, thus the relationship could be seen as equivalent. Athena, the metaphorical human, tries to maintain distance from her father whilst her father desires closeness.

  Karim Arafat makes some suggestions about this depiction:
'Athena's haste and the way she looks back at Zeus suggest that she is not going to fetch an oinochoe and wine to fill Zeus's phiale, but we do not know of any ill feeling between them such as is brought to mind by such a flight.' (Arafat (1990) 102)

  Zeus appears to be trying to close the distance between himself and his daughter, yet she moves to maintain the distance. This can also be seen in Michaelangelo's painting as God's hand appears stretched whereas Adam's hand is limp; suggesting the desire for a relationship is predominantly from God's side, whereas Adam desires distance from God.

  This distancing has a purpose. It is easier to say "It is the will of the gods" if it is in your understanding that the gods do not hold the same moral values as you do. Humans make the distance between themselves and the gods to allow for understanding of the inhuman actions, such as death, disasters, famine and disease.

  The bottom picture is of Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. The discussion in class had got me considering how the character of a god is constructed. The best solution I thought was to look at god-like characters in fiction. I considered the character of Aslan to show the human construct for a god. In Narnia, a world of talking beasts, it makes sense that the god of this realm would be a lion, a creature at the top of the food chain, an animal like the others but stronger than the others. In this way he is relatable to his subjects yet is also above them. His characteristics have a balance between zoomorphic traits and anthropomorphic traits. He bites the neck of the White Witch to kill her, representative of how lions kill, but at times he shows attributes of caring which are very "un-lionlike", such as seeking comfort from Susan and Lucy's company before he is killed at the Stone Table, which is done for the purpose of saving the life of Edmund.

  In Ancient Greek Religion, a god or goddess needs to have characteristics to fear, such as Poseidon's causing of storms at sea, yet also human characteristics, such as his raising of fresh water springs. Each god appears to have a metaphorical "carrot and stick". The "carrot" involves what the god does to encourage humans to praise and worship; this could include actions, or characteristics that make them more human. The "stick" is the action which the deity uses to demonstrate its displeasure; an action defined as typically inhuman.

Sources Used

Arafat, K. W., (1990) Classical Zeus: A study in art and literature, Oxford: Clarendon.

Images from Websites

Gill, N.S., 2013. Pharaoh Hatshepsut making an offering to Horus. [online] Available at: <http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/egypt/ig/Ancient-Egypt/Horus-and-Hatshepsut.htm> [Accessed on 31/01/2013 ].

Peebles, E., 2013, Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam. Books and Blueberries, [blog] 8^th Feb,

Available at: <http://booksandblueberries.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/michelangelos-creation-of-adam.html> [Accessed on 31/01/2013 ].

Children’s Theater of Wellington, 2012, Aslan is on the Move!. Children’s Theater of Wellington, [blog] 19^th Oct, Available at: <http://ctwellington.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/aslan-is-on-move.html> [Accessed 31/01/2013 ]. 

Poseidon: Wild or Tamed?

  Writing a blog about Ancient Greek Religion is as much about me learning about it, as you reading it. As such the best way for me to start it is to take a gamble, pluck an interesting character who I find interesting, and investigate that character's role in Greek religion.

   A figure that interests me is Poseidon. For the Myths and Mythology module I investigated Athena; from this investigation I came to perceive her as "one of the good guys", a character on the side of the heroes, worthy of worship and veneration.

  When it came to deciding a character for study in this module Poseidon struck me as an interesting polar opposite. In the Odyssey Poseidon is portrayed as a villain; all of his efforts go into stopping the hero Odysseus from getting home after Odysseus blinded Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polythemus. He seems very different from Athena, the goddess who aids heroes, such as Herakles. It seems odd, from a Christian background, to believe in a god who may, at some points, be against you, though it has also to be acknowledged that the Judeo-Christian God also destroys whole civilisations numerous times as well as flooding the whole world once in the Bible, so a destructive and vengeful god is not totally alien to my preconceptions.

This image was taken from the 

game Rome Total War (2004) 

by Activision.

 Nevertheless, I thought about what it was that might have made Poseidon important to the Ancient Greeks. Greece has an incredibly irregular coastline; its coast is huge compared to its total land mass. Sea trade was a big part of Ancient Greek culture and so asking the sea to be calm would be a common demand. The picture I have chosen is of a Trireme, a boat that Thucydides claimed originated in the city of Corinth and was used for centuries afterwards due to its technological superiority over other boats. 

Susan Deacy says '...the sea was regarded as violent, dangerous and "desolate" (atrugetos). These qualities were reflected in the nature of the god who was assigned the sea as his domain...' (Deacy (2008) 48-49)

  Deacy suggests that Poseidon is a metaphor for the sea and as his characteristics are akin to those of the sea this can be expected to true. This point could be furthered; the sea is untamed, dangerous and unpredictable, so the god whose domain it is must also have these characteristics. This would explain why the sea behaves as such, and why this god is not necessarily always on the side of mortals. Poseidon's purpose seems aetiological rather than  for salvation, a purpose associated with the Judeo-Christian God, though aetiology plays a big part in the role of the Judeo-Christian God as well. This is why I chose the two pictures which make up the background of this blog; on the left is the calm sea, on the right is its polar opposite the stormy sea. Both are the sea, but they are different from each other, Poseidon needs to have characteristics of a tame sea and a tumultuous sea.

Deacy says 'Poseidon's operations are guided by his role as an elemental force. Athena, in contrast brings to bear a duality between the 'civiliser' of the sea who promotes skilled activities and the power able to create violent storms.' (Deacy (2008) 50)

  I would now like to go back to the comparison between Poseidon and Athena. Deacy describes Poseidon's actions as temperamental as the sea, a force that cannot be quelled by reason; Athena is a sentient force who promotes human activity to overcome the elemental force of the sea. In Greek mythology, Athena invented the horse bit, which she uses to ride Pegasus, a creature whom Poseidon was involved in the creation, which shows many of the same untamed characteristics of Poseidon. This could be a demonstration of human ingenuity overcoming nature. Poseidon and Athena may both be included in the sphere of horsemanship, yet where Poseidon represents the wildness of the horse, Athena represents the taming.

'The key to the mode of intervention peculiar to Athena lies in the mythical representation of this instrument [the bit], a power at once technical and magical over the creature of Poseidon.' (Detienne (1971) 175)

  This seems to suggest that the Greeks perceived ingenuity as greater than nature. The invention of the trireme links well with this. Human ingenuity overcomes the force of the sea. Robert Parker makes a different observation:

'Poseidon embodies the power of the horse, the power needed to tame horses, and the potential of horses to resist control. Athena comes to the horse via skill and technology' (Parker (2011) 94)

  This statement initially made sense when I read it, but I have found it difficult to perceive Athena as only representing intelligence, when she is known as a warrior goddess, a role which requires a great deal of might.

 It could possibly be showing Athena subduing Pegasus, a metaphor for Poseidon, with intelligence. Maybe Athena's domination over Pegasus is a lesson to people to tell them to use both intelligence and might to overcome the forces of nature, rather than assuming might will be enough, and in a more precise message, to tell people how horses were tamed and how they should still be ridden. Where Poseidon is used for aetiological contexts, Athena's purpose is a combination of aetiology and education.

Sources Used

Deacy, D., (2008) Athena, Oxon: Routledge.

Detienne, M., 'Athena and the Mastery of the Horse'. Translated by A. B. Werth, In: History of Religions, Vol 11, No. 2 (Nov., 1971), pp. 161-184

Detienne, M., 'The 'Sea-Crow', In: R. L. Gordon (ed.) (1981) Myth, religion and society, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
Parker, R., (2011) On Greek Religion, Cornell University Press: New York.