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Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Warcraft. Brilliant, strong and pure. Well… two out of three isn’t bad.

Born the daughter of Zeus, Athena springs out of her father’s head, clad as a warrior and brandishing her weapons with skill. Smart, gutsy and rebellious, she is a misfit in an age that demands that females be gentle and submissive. Undaunted, Athena fights to prove herself and assert her independence, but her autonomy comes at an unexpected price.

When she wins patronage of the city of Athens in a battle of wits, Athena comes into her own and matures into the goddess that we know from legend: a brilliant and principled immortal with dominion over wisdom, warfare, strategy and creative inspiration.

However, Greek mythology itself has been deliberately sanitized. It hides a darker story in which Athena must make difficult choices and outwit the other gods to protect herself and those she loves.

The golden age of ancient Greece is eventually threatened by a new military power growing in the west. When the Roman legions arrive, greedy for Greece’s wealth and offering to adopt the Greek gods as their own, Athena and her fellow gods have a diabolical choice to make: Do they stand by the Greek people, or betray them to safeguard their own interests?

In defiance of her father’s wishes, Athena rebels one last time and sets forth to change the course of human history itself.

Author Daphne Ignatius takes us inside the mythology and reveals a personal side of Athena that can’t be found in textbooks. For the first time, we delve into her world and see civilization unfold through her eyes.

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Who is Athena?

Athena is the favorite daughter of Zeus, king of the Greek gods. She is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. On the side, she also served as a champion for the famous heroes of old. As you see, she had a finger in practically everything! Minerva is the Roman goddess identified with Athena and in this book, they are one and the same.

Why is Athena important?

In ancient Greece there were few divine beings more important, and more generous, to humanity than the virgin goddess Athena. She was the protector of the city of Athens, once considered the center of civilization, learning and philosophy. The name Athens is derived from her name, confirming how much she was respected. Ancient Greek coins featured her profile on one side and her symbols (the owl and an olive branch) on the other, so it is clear that the Athenians valued her protection highly.

The Parthenon, now a major tourist attraction in Athens, was originally a temple dedicated to Athena. A large ivory and gold statue of her (lost in ancient times) was housed within the Parthenon and was dressed in fine garments woven by the women of Athens. Once a year, there would be a major festival in which the statue would be dressed in new finery. It is revealed in My Life as Athena that this statue was the cause of much consternation on Athena’s part!

Free on 18th - 22nd Oct 14
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Reviews:

"definitely aimed at the Young Adult group, and those who enjoy very light fantasy will enjoy this book."

Reviewer: .


Putting aside the inaccuracies for the moment, if you accept it as a complete retelling of the Greek myths, it's not a bad story. The lead character is hardly flawless: she can be a hypocrite, and the idea of the virgin goddess is completely discarded. This is definitely aimed at YA readers: the politics is fairly tame, the violence extremely limited, and the characters feel like teenagers rather than adults. By halfway through I dubbed this Athena - Valley Girl edition.

Regarding historical inaccuracies, there are many. This story is as true to the myth as Xena or Hercules and just as sanitised for daytime TV. Do not expect the violence, politics and deviousness of the original myths. The Norse pantheon is closer to the Marvel universe than myth when it appears. Around the time the Norse gods (from Norseland - no mention of Asgard in this) show up I seriously started to wonder about timing - there's a few hundred years between the two and while Egyptian, Greek and Roman myth crossed (they were trading partners) Norse myth did not.

The cover is a shot of the main character and, like the main character, she's not wearing a helmet and she's not Athena. There's nothing to complain about in the formatting and cover, but nothing to write home about either. That, to be honest, is how I feel about the story. If it were retold with original characters, I'm not sure the story would be strong enough to stand on its own.

Those who know anything about Greek myth will want to throw it at a wall - hard. However it's definitely aimed at the Young Adult group, and those who enjoy very light fantasy will enjoy this book.

Rating: 2



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Discussion

Kindler (7 March 2017)
But is she better than Athena-the Xena addition. One of these days someone might actually write something similar to the myths of 2000+ years ago instead of transplanting a name into a modern setting. Even Percy Jackson was closer.

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