Athens, Athena and Me

"When Zeus swallowed his wife Metis she had been about to give birth to a child. Shortly afterwards Zeus was tortured by an intolerable headache. To cure him Hephaestus - split open his skull with a bronze axe and from the gaping wound, shouting a triumphant cry of victory, sprang Athena - fully armed and brandishing a sharp javelin. At the sight, all the Immortals were struck with astonishment and filled with awe. Great Olympus was profoundly shaken by the dash and impetuosity of the bright-eyed Goddess. The earth echoed with a terrible sound, the sea trembled and its dark waves rose. . . " (www.goddess-athena.org)
Here in the city named in her honor, Athena rules from high atop the Acropolis. Her Parthenon is the center of every view in Athens. Athena is everywhere here, not only in the hundreds of sculptures throughout the city but also in every Greek woman I see. The Athenian women are warriors, goddesses, fully armed and ready for battle. They walk with heads held high, voices steady and booming, showing no fear of any man or beast. Women, young and old, own this city. The men here might be the heads but the women are the necks, and the head moves in which ever way the neck tells it to. They all seem to be, just as Athena, born fully grown, ready to take on the world. Girls no more than 7 years old sit alone on the streets, playing music with no fear of the outside world. Old women bearing canes and crooked backs weave in and out of the hundreds of market goers, shouting orders over the crowds. The men here, young and old, see the goddess in them all and respect her with the fear she deserves.
I also feel the goddess Athena in the streets and in myself. Being born fully grown and ready for battle is something I'm sure my mother will will say embodies me perfectly. I have been ready to take on the world from the time I was born. When my father tells the story of my birth he makes a point to say that I came out bright-eyed and without tears, crying, or fear, ready to be a fighter in this world. I have always seen myself as "grown-up". My first memory is of running away from my mother at the age of 2. I remember vividly saying to myself, "I don't need Mom, I am going out on my own". I left her at the shopping mall and found a home of my own under a rack of dresses. I was "missing" for well over an hour, my panicked mother doing everything she could to find me while I sat peacefully in my new home under that rack of dresses in the middle of Bellvue Square. I feel the connection to the power of Athena. Her warrior attitude is something I carry with me everyday and feel has given me the fearless face to take on the world. I have traveled all my life with this feeling, not knowing exactly where it came from, but here in the city which bares her name, I have found my inner Athena.