Honors Program Theses

Award Winner

Recipient of the 2023 Mary Ann Bolton Undergraduate Research Award - Runner-up.

To go to the Mary Ann Bolton Undergraduate Research Award page, Click here.

Year of Award

2023 Award

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Robert Dise Jr.

Keywords

Athena (Greek deity); Civilization, Classical;

Abstract

This paper will begin with an examination of Greek culture and religion, in order to provide the context that is important for understanding the peculiarities of Athena. That examination will start with a look into the pre-Greek and early Greek civilizations in Greece, the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, before looking at ancient Greek civilization as a whole. It will then dive deeper into the roles of ancient Greek women, taking into account the Athenian bias that colors most of our sources for Greek civilization. The paper will then turn to briefly look at ancient Greek religion, giving important context for the pantheon in which Athena resided, before focusing on women in ancient Greek religion, and then finally, on Athena. After an overview of Athena and what she meant to the ancient Greeks both in myth and in cult, the paper will turn to looking at Athena’s origins. It will do this by considering the impact that other cultures had on the early Greeks, in particular the Egyptians and the Phrygians. It will then conclude with a brief look at the way Athena was seen in Rome, where the Romans adopted her as one of their goddesses, named Minerva.

Year of Submission

2023

Department

Department of History

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

5-2023

Object Description

1 PDF file (65 pages)

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