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The Birth of Athena
by Stephen Marsh
The three figures on the Attic cup can be identified in
different ways. First, there are many conventions that offer clues
to who these figures are. Second, identifying the scene being
played out gives an even better idea of who these figures are. The figure
depicts Zeus sitting on his throne, while Athena
is being born, and Hephaestus, assists.
We know the sitting figure is a
male elder god because he is a black figure and has a beard.
He can further be identified as Zeus by the attribute
he holds in his right hand. He has his hand
held back ready to throw the conventional representation of a thunderbolt. The fact that
he is sitting in a throne is also
a sign that it is Zeus.
The figure above Zeus is
white, which tells us that it is a woman, however it
is hard to tell anymore than that without recognizing the
story being portrayed. The story being presented here is that of Athena being
born out of the head of Zeus. The story tells
that she was born fully grown and in full armor.
The pot shows the woman coming out of Zeus’ head fully grown, and armed
with a shield, helmet, and spear. Knowing this
myth allows us to identify Athena.
Hephaestus is commonly present in the
myth with an axe used to split Zeus’ head open.
On the pot Hephaestus can be identified by the bearded
black figure carrying an axe, and walking away after he has opened Zeus’ head.
He is not shown lame because he was
not usually depicted with a deformity.
Several clues exist to help identify
these figures, but the story of Athena’s birth
best helps us identify the figures.
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