Tuesday 11 September 2007

TO THE CITY OF ATHENA

It is time to say farewell to Emporios for another year and head off for the ruins of the glory that once was, and is, Athens...


In case you've ever wondered why Athens is named after a popular poster shop from the 1960s, here's the True Story behind the city's naming...
Athena and her uncle Poseidon were both very fond of a certain city in Greece. Both of them claimed the city and it was decided that the one that could give the finest gift should have it.

Leading a procession of citizens, the two gods mounted the Acropolis. Poseidon struck the side of the cliff with his trident and a spring welled up. The people marveled, but the water was as salty as Poseidon's sea and it was not very useful. Athena's gift was an olive tree, which was better because it gave the people food, oil and wood.
And so Athens was named for Athena - although I've always thought that Athena's personal history gave her something of a head start...
Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. She was the favorite child of Zeus. She had sprung fully grown out of her father's head.

Her mother was Metis, goddess of wisdom and Zeus' first wife. In fear that Metis would bear a son mightier than himself. Zeus swallowed her and she began to make a robe and helmet for her daughter.

The hammering of the helmet caused Zeus great pain in the form of headaches and he cried out in agony. Skilled Hephaestus ran to his father and split his skull open and from it emerged Athena, fully grown and wearing her mother's robe and helmet. She is the virgin mother of Erichthnonius.
Interestingly, many equally curious and surprising things still go on in Greece to this very day!

Blogging will be resumed in a few days...


Images: © David Weeks, 2007

3 comments:

Boll Weavil said...

You forgot to say that Poseidon, in a fit of pique and by way of revenge, bestowed upon humanity a series of truly terrible disaster movies in the 1970's.

Brian Sibley said...

JEN comments...

Wishing you a safe & hassle free return journey!

Thanks for all your thought provoking & visually delightful blogs! I enjoyed them so much

Riddley Walker said...

You gotta love the absurdity...

INT. CAVE - AFTERNOON.

Zeus: “Bloody hell, my head hurts! Christ*, this is killing me!”

Hephaestos: “Hmm, looks like you’re having a migraine, dad. I told you not to stay in here hammering all day without proper ear protection.”

Zeus: “Don’t lecture me, you little shit. I can’t bloody work like this. This helmet isn’t going to finish itself, you know.”

Hephaestos: “Stay there and calm down. I’ve got something that should help.”

Hephaestos returns with an axe and, telling Zeus to hold still and look the other way, takes a run-up and belts him one in the side of the head.

Hephaestos: “Ah, I can see what the problem is now. You’ve got a fully-grown woman in your head. Would you mind stepping out, love? My dad’s trying to do a spot of DIY, and we need him to look at the washing machine later...”

*All irony intentional.