Athena and Minerva : a study in likenesses and contrasts between antiquities goddesses of war

This study will compare two prominent goddesses from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, Athena and Minerva. The purpose is to explore what differences and likenesses the two goddesses have with each other, to see if a major distinction can be made between the two using mythological descriptions. The reason for the study is to show to what extent the Roman goddess Minerva had her own mythological background, attributes and character as distinct from that of Athena. In academia the difference between Athena’s and Minerva’s characteristics are vague and unclear. Minerva’s Roman mythological background is often hard to point out since the Romans borrowed several mythological views of the gods and goddesses from the Greek perspective of the gods. With this comparison one will be able to more clearly know how the Romans viewed Athena’s counterpart by comparing the main Greek and Roman mythical description of the two. The materials used to compare the two will comprise of the Iliad, and the Aeneid. The fact that the ancient religions of Greece and Rome were different concerning their gods' character and place in the mythology of each culture is at times overlooked, albeit recognized. At instances they are simply lumped together as one and the same even though major differences might exist between them and the way they were viewed in their respective cultures. This habit of treating the gods in the respective sphere of Greek and Roman as the same is problematic because it takes away our understanding of them as gods from different religious cultures. This is particularly the case in our unconscious mind when we study Greek and Roman religion. The goal of this study is to identify what differences can be found and thereby get a clearer understanding of the similarities or differences between Athena and Minerva