The Similarities and Differences of Minerva and Athena

• Minerva was not considered a war goddess in Roman Mythology.
• The Roman had their own war goddess, Bellona, that they worshiped instead. Bellona was entirely Roman and was not connected to the Greeks.
• Athena was a very large part of Greek mythology, while Minerva is a lesser goddess of arts.

Athena: Basic Info

• She was born from the head of Zeus's head.
• Hesiod, Theogony 924 ff : "But Zeus himself [shortly after his marriage to Hera] gave birth from his own head to Athena.
• Athena was the goddess of Wisdom, War, and crafts.

Latin Passage

Olim Medusa, puela pulchra, in terra obscura habitabt ubi neque sol negue luna apparebt. Terra obscura grata non erat. Medusa igitur Minervam adoravit.

"Dea sapientiae, audi me," puella misera oravit. "Juva me! Terra obscura, ubi habito, mihi grata non est. Pulchra sum; pulchram comam atque faciem pulchram habeo. Nemo autem in terra obscura me videre potest. Desidero in terra clara habitare."

Dea autem Medusam juvare recusavits. Tum puella irata Minervae dixit, "Invudiosa es quod tam pulchra sum! Populum me videre non desideras!" Tum dea irata pulchram comam puella e mutavit.

"Tu fuisti superba propter comam pulchram atque faciem pulchram. Ego comam tuam in serperntes mutavi, dea dixit irata. "Non jam tua coma erit pulchra. Tua facies erit pulchra, sed nemo te spectare poterit. Insaxa tua facies viros mutabit."

Minerva: Basic Info

Latin Translation

Similarities

• Minerva was born directly from Jupiter's brain.
• The goddess of Wisdom, crafts, and art.
• The owl, a bird seeing in the dark, was sacred to Minerva; this is symbolical of a wise man, who, scattering and dispelling the clouds of error, is clear-sighted where others are blind.

Once upon a time Medusa, a beautiful girl, was living on a dark land where neither the sun or the moon appeared. The darkerefore land was not pleasing to the girl. Therefore Medusa adored Minerva.

"goddess of wisdom, hear me," the miserable girl begged. "Help me! The dark land, in which I have lived, is not pleasing to me. I am beautifu; I have beautiful hair and a beautiful face. However no one is able to see me on this dark land. I want to live on the bright land. However the goddess refused to help Medusa. Then the angry girl said to Minerva, "You are jealousbecause I am so pretty! The people do not want to yu to see me!"

Then the angry goddess changed the beautiful hair of the girl. "You were arrogant because of beautiful hair and a beautiful face. I changed your hair to serpents," said the angry goddess. "Your hair will no longer be beautiful. You will be made beautiful, but no one will be able to see you. You will make men change in stone."

• Both Minerva and Athena were born from their father's head.
• Both were born fully clothed in armor.
• Both are known for their chastity.
• Both turned Medusa's hair in snakes.
• Both turn Arachne, a girl who had boasted that she was better at weaving, into a spider.

Sources

• www.ancient.eu/Menerva/
• http://romanandgreekmythology.weebly.com/athenaminerva.html
• https://imythology.wikispaces.com/Minerva
• http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AthenaMyths.html
• The Meridan Book of Classical Mythology by Edward Tripp
• Classical Mythology (Fourth Edition) by Stephen L. Harris and Gloria Platzner

Differences

What Happened to it?

• The Athena Parthenos is the lost statue of Athena. It is a mystery that has not been figured out yet.
• The statue was made out of ivory and gold. It was
• There are a few theories about happened to the large statue. Some say that the Roman stole the statue from the Greeks. Others say that the statue was broken apart and the pieces sold.

Athena Parthenos

The Similarities and Differences Between Minerva and Athena

By Kyleigh Petersen