Archie Drummond
The ancient Greek goddess, Athena, is depicted here on ancient pottery from roughly 500 BCE armed with her famous Corinthian helmet, her shield (commonly referred to as her ‘Aegis’), and her spear (commonly referred to as her ‘dory’).
Depictions of Athena on statues around this time were very common, and the process for this piece in particular would have almost certainly been started by sourcing and chiseling the marble before being glazed and varnished in a layer of water and fine clay (also known as ‘slip’). The marble would have likely been sourced from a quarry close by to Mount Pentelicus which is very close by to Athens. Sculptors were very sought after artists in ancient Greece and their artwork was important to ancient Greek society.
There are many reasons why Athena would have been chosen to be displayed on statues such as this as artwork. Athena was the Greek goddess of warfare, strategy, protection, and often wisdom – she was also the patron god of Athens, of which the city gets its name from. The reasons as to why people may have wanted her portrayed through artwork and displayed within people’s homes, places of work, public property, as well as town centers would mostly have been to do with the symbolism brought on by her status. Artwork of Athena could have been seen as a symbol of protection to whomever this artwork was to look over. The artwork could have been seen to symbolizes strength and power to whomever owns or looks upon the artwork, and potentially (depending on the person’s line of work) the artwork could provide feelings of bestowing greater strategy in whatever goals they set out to accomplish – Athena’s attributes were distinguished, and having artwork of such a formidable goddess would have led to the belief that her attributes as a goddess could somehow become passed on to humans.
This artwork in particular would have belonged in a city center and Athena’s characteristics and trademark attributes would have been hoped to have been pinned onto the lifestyle of that particular household. Prosperity in working life, strategy in planning for the future, and wisdom in the running of a household and the raising of the next generation to oversee ancient Greece would have all been things this artwork would have been believed to have brought. For such a powerful and well known goddess, this prospect would have been well received and exciting in most households around ancient Greece.
Jada Edwards
In the video game, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Athena Promachos appears larger than life. Taking three years to complete, the game was created using a combination of historical research, scouting trips to Greece and by analyzing other games set in Ancient Greece. The game is part of a series for Ubisoft set in different famous cities during a long-forgotten period in time. The major appeal of these games is their open-word style that allows players to explore freely. For Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, you can travel across Ancient Greece by boat, horseback, and by foot. This allows the player a chance to get “lost” in history. One major point of interest is the replica of Athena Promachos. It towers over the surrounding scenery and casts an imposing figure over the surrounding landscape. In the game, you can climb the bronze statue, taking in the multitude of details assiciatied with Athena. During the in-game creation of the figure, developers were able to mix and match components together to form one image. “These "kits" also applied to statues as well, allowing the team to mix and match body parts and heads to create more than 1,000 compartmentalized statues in addition to the 120 unique statues throughout the world” (Maguid, 2019). This allowed creators to make the the basic form of the statue and then customize it create the Athena Promachos, combining technology with historical research.
Beginning a the foot of the statue we can see Athena as she is typically depicted. As mentioned in a Homeric Hymn “she was arrayed in her armor of war, all-gleaming in gold” (Morford et al. 94) during her birth. Athena is often replicated in full battle armor with her weapons, seeming to reference her status as a wise and fierce protector. Athena is frequently shown in more masculine poses with a stoic expression to show ties to her reputation as a deity of war. It can also be seen as a connection toward her unusual birth- being born from Zeus’s head ((Morford et al). Overall, I feel that this statue is a testament to how far we have come throughout history. Before the 21st century, the only reference we had to these amazing feats of art were a small number of surviving pieces, ancient texts, and ruins. Games like Assassin’s Creed have allowed people to step back in time and experience statues like the Athena Promachos in their glory and imagine the impact gods like Athena had over everyday people. Standing in the shadow of Athena Promachos, players can feel the greatness of the goddess as conveyed by the statue.
Works Cited
Maguid , Youssef. “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – the Game That Greece Built.” Ubisoft® - Official Ubisoft News, Previews and Features, 19 Apr. 2019, news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/22vdPhUVHV68b2FEjcotkW/assassins-creed-odyssey-the-game-that-greece-built.
Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. Available from: Oxford University Press, (12th Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2023.