Arachne was a highly skilled weaver, respected by both mortals and gods.
Minerva’s competition with Arachne is a popular myth in which the goddess appears. In addition to all her domains, she became the goddess of prudent restraint, good counsel and practical insight as well. She was also the patron goddess of heroic endeavors. Minerva was most specifically known for her skills in battle strategy and was commonly portrayed as a companion of famous heroes. Minerva’s Role in Greek MythologyĪlthough Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, she was also in charge of many other domains including courage, civilization, inspiration, justice and law, mathematics, strategic warfare, crafts, skill, strategy, strength and also the arts.
While most other goddess were depicted as elegant maidens, Minerve was typically portrayed as a tall, beautiful woman with a muscular build and an athletic appearance. The olive tree and snake also have similar symbolism but unlike the owl, they’re less commonly seen in depictions of her. Usually called the ‘owl of Minerva’, this nocturnal bird symbolizes the goddess’ association with knowledge and wisdom. She also created the olive tree, making this a prominent symbol of the goddess.Īfter Minerva began to be equated with Athena, the owl became her main symbol and sacred creature. Although she was a warrior, Minerva had sympathy for the defeated and is often portrayed offering an olive branch to them. The olive branch is another symbol associated with the goddess. Most sculptures of Minerva show her wearing a helmet, with a spear with one hand and a shield in the other, representing war as one of her domains. Minerva is usually portrayed wearing a long, woolen tunic called a ‘chiton’, a uniform commonly worn in Ancient Greece. She was always there to advise him and he listened to her every word. In some versions of this story, Metis continued to stay inside Jupiter’s head after Minerva was born and became the main source of his wisdom. Despite attempting to prevent her birth, Minerva would later become Jupiter’s favorite child. She was born as a fully grown adult, dressed completely in battle armor and holding the weapons that her mother had forged for her. Vulcan smashed Jupiter’s head with a hammer, in an attempt to remove the thing that was causing him pain and from this wound, Minerva emerged. Jupiter was in a lot of pain because of all the ringing and pounding that was constantly going on in his head, so he sought the help of Vulcan, the god of fire. While she was still inside Jupiter, Metis forged armor and weapons for her daughter.
Metis survived inside Jupiter’s body, however, and soon gave birth to a daughter, Minerva. To prevent this, he tricked Metis into shapeshifting into a fly and then swallowed her whole.
Jupiter feared that Metis was expecting a male child who would grow more powerful than himself and would take full control of the heavens. When Jupiter found out that Metis was pregnant, however, he realized that he couldn’t let her escape, because of a prophecy that his own son would one day overthrow him just as he had overthrown his own father. According to the myth, Jupiter raped Metis, so she tried to escape from him by shapeshifting. Minerva was the daughter of the Titaness Metis, and of the supreme god of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter.