Athena: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: Well thought through with 'to the heart' word choices
Review: Athena is an excellent book for undergraduates and for anyone looking for a thoughtful overview of diachronic changes in religious beliefs from the Bronze to the Heroic Age. The view is through the eyes of Athena with a focus on the Trojan war, 'Athena's war.' Through the goddess' relationship with Odysseus, the author reveals changes in Athena's personality (function) as portrayed in the Iliad and Odyssey. The author links Athena's transition from war goddess to goddess of justice, wisdom and civility to societal changes including a shift of emphasis from personal bravado to civic honor and from individual to community spirit and responsibility.

Through lively word choices and a deep sense of needs and concerns of humans of all eras, the author makes relevant to us the religion of the ancients. They, like we, struggle to control forces surrounding us. Through 'Athena' we better appreciate the ancient Greek need and concern for religion and, accordingly, we realize a! ll the more that we share today their same fears and life questions.

Rating:
Summary: modern introduction to ancient mythology
Review: Lee hall has provided an excellent auxillary reading for students in the humanities and social sciences. ATHENA is a book that opens up an exciting multidisciplinary dialogue that combines a splendid story--supernatural beings, mythical heores, and heroic events--with a solid focus on parallel social struggles in modern times. First and foremost, ATHENA is an exciting story--well written and fun to read. Familiar and obscure myths combine to make this "biography" of the great warrior goddess a more useful reading for students, especially students in Classical Studies, than the usual mythology sources (Graves & Hamilton). Using a modern "voice," Lee Hall shows how Athena changes identities over the centuries, reflecting the development of ancient civilization as well as telling us much about our own contemporary identity stuggles. ATHENA was a pleasure to read, integrating a vast amount of mythological stories into a creative statement about the processes of civilization itself.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable history about the goddess Athena.
Review: This book was a fascinating look at the history of the greek goddess Athena from her beginning as an African deity. Athena is my favorite of all the greek pantheon.