In this study of the Greek goddess Athena, mythologist Karl Kerényi examines the apparent contradictions of a deity who is simultaneously virgin, mother, warrior, protector and patron of craftsmanship.

Kerényi reconstructs the religious imagination from which everything emerged, investigating how Athena's various cults, symbols and mythological associations reveal changing understandings of femininity, divine authority and social organisation in ancient Greece.

Drawing on classical literature, religious practices, archaeological evidence and comparative mythology, Kerényi moves between Athena's martial authority, her association with weaving and pottery, and her relationships with Zeus, Hephaestus and the older traditions of goddess worship. Particularly interesting is his attention to the ways patriarchal structures reshape feminine divinity, and how older religious meanings persist within apparently contradictory representations. A compact but substantial work of mythological scholarship, concerned as much with the historical transformations of religious consciousness as with the goddess herself.

Edition/Condition: Spring Publications, Dunquin Series No. 9, 1996. Third printing of the 1978 English translation. Paperback in good condition, with minor shelf wear and light marks to the covers. Interior appears clean and unmarked.