Athena is a major Ancient Greek goddess, representing wisdom, just warfare, civilization, strategy, and agriculture.
From the Greek Mythology website: (
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"Athena was the Greek virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature. She was the daughter of Zeus; her birth is unique in that she did not have a mother. Instead, she sprang full grown and clad in armour from Zeus' forehead.
She was fierce and brave in battle; however, she only took part in wars that defended the state and home from outside enemies. She was the patron of the city, handcraft, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She was the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. She was Zeus' favourite child and was allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. Her holy tree was the olive tree and she was often symbolised as an owl.
She became the patron goddess of Athens after winning a contest against Poseidon by offering the olive tree to the Athenians. It is evident that Athena and Athens derive from the same root; Athens (or Athenae) is in plural form, because it represents the sisterhood of the goddess that existed there. Similarly, Athena was called Mykene in the city of Mycenae (also a plural after the respective sisterhood), and Thebe in the city of Thebes (or Thebae, both plural forms).
Athena Is also called Minerva, Athina, Athene."
In sculptor Charles Whiffen's sculptural representation of the return of peace after the Great War of 1914-1918, Athena is returning peace, tranquility, and new life to a world torn apart by war Battlefields are repurposed as farms, replacing famine wth bounty of food.
From the Ornamental Passions Blog: (
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"Posted by Chris Partridge at 09:53
Location: Lambeth, London Borough of Lambeth, London, UK
Waterloo Station was in the throes of a rebuild when war broke out in 1914, a war that claimed the lives of 585 members of the railway staff. When peace came, it was decided to devote the only corner of the site that could be seen from any sort of distance to a memorial that would double as an imposing station entrance.
The sculpture was commissioned from the firm of Brindley and Farmer and may have been carved by Charles Whiffen.
. . .
On the right, 1918 brings peace. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, courage, strategy, civilisation and just warfare, holds the figure of Nike, the winged goddess of victory and extends the palm of peace to a globe in the lap of a warrior with a sheathed sword. Behind, corn grows. A couple hold their infant son. It must have seemed richly ironic in 1939."