WEBVTT 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:35.439 Hello everybody and welcome to Lambda, the LGBT and Antiquity Podcast, your home for all things LGBT in the ancient world. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:41.119 I'm your host, Dominica Raven, episode 13, Athena the Non-Binary. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:46.960 It's been a little while since our last episode, and I wanted to take a minute and explain the situation. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:54.159 As I've mentioned before, I'm a contract archaeologist working from the road and spending about as much time as I can on this podcast. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:01:01.119 The issue that I ran into was that I had to move to a new location and a new job duty, which is pretty standard in the industry. 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:07.439 But as it is, I'm not really able to spend the appropriate amount of time per week to get a new episode out on time. 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:16.159 At this point, I'd rather slow the production schedule down a bit than try to keep up with content that is below the standard we've set for the show. 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:21.680 There's a lot more to talk about and we're just getting started, but that's no reason to get sloppy. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:27.280 So from now until the end of digging season, we've decided to evolve to a bi-weekly format. 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:29.359 Thank you for understanding. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:37.359 Early in the universe, Zeus defeated his father, Kronos, the Titan who was king of the universe before him. 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:43.359 Then Zeus married Hera, and the two became the new reigning monarchs of the entire universe. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:48.959 After they got married, the two made love wreathed in clouds for centuries. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:57.120 Their marriage had all the hallmarks of a happy one, and the two had many children, including Ares, the god of war, and Hebe, goddess of youth. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:00.239 But Zeus's eye continued to wander. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:09.840 Over time it became clear that though Hera was destined to be faithful only to Zeus, Zeus was under no such obligation to be faithful back to Hera. 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:16.960 Eventually Hera became spiteful and angry, and she tried to bear a child without Zeus at all. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:20.639 The result was Hephaestus, the god of the forge. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:32.719 From smithing to carpentry to gemstone inlay to palace construction, Hephaestus was universally heralded as the greatest craftsman in the universe. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:37.199 But this attempted asexual childbirth was imperfect. 00:02:37.439 --> 00:02:48.800 Alone, out of all the goddesses and gods on Mount Olympus, Hephaestus was born with a disability and his legs were deformed from childbirth. 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:58.639 He used a variety of tricks to help him move around, such as a walking stick and fashioning two helper drones wrought in gold to help support him as he moved around. 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:17.439 So Hera, the queen of the universe, attempting to have a child on her own without any mate, was still perceived as a failure, so much so that when she saw her own child, she was disgusted and distressed by the deformity and threw him out of Mount Olympus. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:25.919 But Zeus was too busy messing around with others to even notice his wife's unusual asexual reproduction. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:33.599 At the time when the story occurs, Zeus is already courting Metis, the original Titanus of thought. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:39.520 During the war between Zeus and his father Kronos, Metis had been one of his first allies. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.560 Now he courts her as one of his concubines. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:51.120 The only problem with this is that Metis already knows that if she were to have a child with Zeus, the child would be more powerful than him. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:55.199 But Zeus did not know this, so he pursued her anyway. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:04:03.039 Eventually, just like Kronos, Zeus realizes the truth and consumes Metis by absorbing her essence into his body. 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:06.639 Zeus now has the power to create life as well. 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:15.439 If you remember from the time Zeus consumed Phanes and the heart of Zagrios to birth Dionysus, something very, very similar is occurring here. 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:23.360 By consuming Metis, Zeus gains her powers of thought and her wisdom, as well as the baby she is carrying. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:32.480 Yes, prior to being absorbed by Zeus, Metis conceived a child, and now that child was carried to term in the body of Zeus. 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:36.000 When that child was ready to be born, Zeus gave birth. 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:49.040 A traditional image has Hephaestus breaking open Zeus's head with an axe, but other images include Hermes helping to deliver the child and Elethea, the goddess of childbirth, also being present. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:57.680 But one way or another, Zeus bore to term and birthed Pallas Athena on the shores of the river Triton in Boeotia. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:06.000 Now, when Athena was born, they were already in full battle armor and had a spear ready to go. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:13.680 As they stepped out of Zeus's body, the whole cosmos shuddered by the raw power present in this figure. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:21.600 As it turned out, Metis was correct, Athena is the most powerful offspring Zeus had up till that point. 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:31.279 However, because Zeus and not Metis bore Athena, the child is still less powerful, and therefore no threat, to Zeus. 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:39.040 Almost immediately, Athena set aside their armor and took their place at Zeus's side. 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:49.600 After this, Zeus trusts Athena even to carry his own battle armor, the glorious Aegis cape, and his own weapon, the thunderbolt. 00:05:49.920 --> 00:06:01.040 This is because Zeus has confidence that Athena will fight in his name with his authority and never seek to upend his celestial rule. 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:11.600 Some scholars have chosen to approach the birth of Athena by reducing the whole story to a narrative of binary appropriations of attributes. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:22.000 Zeus gives birth a decidingly feminine thing to do, so in order for Zeus to not be effeminized by the experience, he's actually shown hyper-masculine. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:27.199 Zeus is often shown stoically seated, not wailing or crying out. 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.480 Normal women are rarely so calm in childbirth. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:40.160 There's a very real sense that though Zeus is experiencing the same thing, he's handling it in a more dignified, read, masculine way. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:07:01.360 While scholars can argue that Zeus is demonstrating a more perfect and appropriate way to give childbirth than the painful wailing so often present, Zeus is claiming childbirth from these women, and by so doing reasserts that males are ultimately the ones in charge of the birthing process. 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:08.639 Now, this is not an unreasonable way to interpret these stories, but it is rooted in a binary understanding of sexuality. 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:17.519 Athena is never so clearly male or female, and the story appears to be trying to describe these nine binary aspects from the start. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:30.480 Since Athena will not conform to the binary, it makes sense that something innate, something in their makeup, even from birth, can help us better explain the juxtaposition Athena represents. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:34.959 When we consider stories of Pallas Athena, one thing is very clear. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:39.680 A straightforward binary, masculine or feminine, doesn't quite work. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:52.959 Sometimes Athena shows very clear masculine attributes, specifically related to competition and fighting, and sometimes Athena shows skills associated with housework or weaving and homemaking. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:08:03.519 One of the things that's critical about this is that whether pursuing traditionally masculine-aligned or feminine-aligned pursuits, Athena always takes them to their zenith. 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:10.399 Athena could be seen as a rival craftsman for Hephaestus or a rival warrior for Ares. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:17.439 This ultra-competitiveness is a trait valued in the ancient world, especially for young men. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:24.959 In Homer, young Phaeacian men competed at the art of dance by throwing a glass ball as they leaped and bounded. 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:30.000 Even music and song allowed them to compete with one another. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:40.320 For another example, Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, boasts about how he could cut a furrow faster and straighter than any of the other men in the room. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:46.799 He also claims that he could fight better than any man if a war broke out randomly. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:53.039 As for women, there is a sense of competition as well, but it was rooted within that feminine sphere. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:09:02.799 For example, the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa leads the Phaeacian girls in a contest over who can wash her own brother's clothing the fastest. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.600 Then they play a sport with a large ball. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:12.960 Though Homer doesn't explicitly say it, it appears to be them practicing for the dancing we just mentioned a minute ago. 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:21.360 So as you can see, a slightly less than healthy amount of competition for men and women was required in the ancient world. 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:33.279 As so often happens in ancient literature and society, there's a greater emphasis on the competitive pursuits of young men, but this may just be because they were more visible in the community. 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:39.360 However, both young men and women were expected to be ultra competitive in their pursuits. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:51.759 So it is actually very reasonable for these young people to see Athena as a non-binary figure whose own competitiveness and striving for excellence they could see reflected in themselves. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:58.480 As so often happens with the gods, there's a need to show that reflection of society in the face of the god. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:03.840 Having a non-binary deity allows them to reflect their own lives and experiences. 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:12.399 Athena uses non-binary expressions to represent a concept wholly removed from any gender. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:13.840 Excellence. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:20.000 Let's discuss a few examples of Athena pursuing excellence in the craft of war. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.879 Early in the Iliad, Achilles steps back and refuses to fight anymore. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:28.559 The Greek army despairs, and many prepare to leave for home. 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.759 Hera and Athena see this and they talk. 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:36.720 Hera eventually sends Athena to restrain every man. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:40.720 Athena goes through the camps and finds their close friend Odysseus. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:47.519 Athena tells Odysseus to speak to those commanders, Agamemnon and Menelaus, and restrain the army. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:55.919 They follow Odysseus through the camp disguised as a herald, a young male companion, so they can build Odysseus up. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:00.320 Here's a key piece of the way that Athena puts their plans into action. 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:13.279 Athena could have just done all this alone and probably a lot more efficiently, but instead they chose to build others up, bringing along other heroes as they pursue the plan. 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:18.480 Athena is nurturing, so to speak, though it is a tough nurturing. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:31.039 As Athena says to Telemachus in the Odyssey, Telemachus, some things you must figure out for yourself, and some things a god or goddess may advise you on. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.919 Athena is not here to do it all for you. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:39.200 Athena is here to help you flourish into a better hero or heroine. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:45.600 A little later in the story, Athena will use the same strategy but to evil effect. 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:54.639 Now they appear as a Trojan hero named Laodicus and speak to Pandoros, urging him to fire a shot at Menelaus. 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:59.279 The war has been put on hold at the moment after Achilles has gone to Pautna's tent. 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:03.279 So Paris and Menelaus fight a duel to decide the whole conflict. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:13.200 Athena is technically encouraging the archer to fire a cheap shot at the back of Menelaus' head after swearing an oath not to harm the dueling combatants. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:21.039 So here we have a story where Athena's council is actually designed to deceive a hero into doing something wrong. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:26.799 This may seem a little surprising, but Athena is actually pursuing a much larger game. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:33.279 The deception levied on the Greeks will be cause for greater Greek heroics in the coming pages. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:41.200 Everybody is so furious about that broken oath that the war will reignite even without Achilles. 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:51.200 So it's ultimately the same maneuver, but using a foolish and convincible hero to achieve greater glory for other heroes. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:13:02.399 One of these heroes is Diomedes, who goes on an Aristea, which is what we call it when one hero goes berserk and kills a whole bunch of people during one single scene. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:11.600 At one point, Athena actually takes the reins of Diomedes' war chariot and charges Ares, the god of war himself. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:17.440 Diomedes thrusts his spear and Athena guides it into Ares' immortal flesh. 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:23.039 Ares is wounded by a mortal human being guided by Athena. 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:25.919 I want that to sink in for a second. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:40.559 The embodiment of conflict himself is defeated outright by a figure who adopts non-binary expressions to express greater power than this clearly masculine figure of conflict. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:46.480 This dynamic is even more visible a little later during the conflict of the gods. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:50.960 Towards the end of the Iliad, the gods jump into the battle at Troy. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:14:00.799 Up to this point it had been different subsets of the god taking the field at any point in time, and now everybody is free to attack whomever they wish. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:06.960 Ares joins on the Trojan side and seeks out Athena, who is always on the Greek side. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.519 The god of war shouts an insult. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:16.480 Ares will pay back Athena, for that time they encouraged Diomedes and wounded him. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:21.039 Then Ares lunges at Athena, who blocks it with a shield. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:27.360 Then Athena grabs an enormous gantuan stone and beats Ares over the head with it. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:35.200 Ares collapses and Athena taunts him, saying, I am much greater at conflict than you. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:38.399 Athena is known for clever strategies. 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:51.600 Sometimes they involve complex army movements, sometimes they involve weaving a funeral shroud, sometimes they involve giant plywood livestock, and sometimes they involve beating your own brother over the head with a rock. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:56.159 A true tactician takes advantage of all the local resources. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:02.559 Athena's cunning in the Iliad is not limited to warriors and fighting. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:07.519 Hera uses seduction to distract Zeus from the Trojan War. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:24.080 She adopts all sorts of feminine tricks to beguile Zeus, including Aphrodite's cestus and beautiful jewelry, but what stands out is a beautiful embroidered robe, made by Athena and given to the queen of the gods. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:34.399 The robe is an integral part of the trick Hera is playing, so that Zeus will allow the Greek army to start winning the war again. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:43.759 Just as Ares was rivaled by Athena in war, so was Hephaestus rivaled by Athena in arts and crafts. 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:48.240 One final scene from the Iliad is the death of Hector. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:56.720 Most of the Trojans have already retreated into the citadel, but Hector is running around the walls and trying to get away from Achilles. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:06.639 Athena appears near Hector as the hero Deuphibus, Hector's brother or half-brother, and says it's time to stand and fight. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:12.879 Deuphibus claims he will stand with the Trojan prince, and together they will defeat Achilles. 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:15.440 So Hector turns to fight. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:19.919 He calls out to Deuphibus, but Deuphibus is gone. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:25.039 Hector realizes he has been tricked by Athena and that his death is at hand. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.960 This scene really shows all of Athena's prowess as a warrior. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:36.960 They choose to encourage heroes, to get them to show their strength and ability rather than doing it themselves. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:41.919 Hector dies while rushing Achilles. 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:48.960 They use all sorts of tricks and traps, but well figure out a way to get the desired outcome. 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:52.159 Achilles will win the duel. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:58.799 A key trick Athena uses is to move between gendered expressions as a way to set a broad net. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:14.880 Athena can adopt a more manly looking expression to encourage heroes and get them to act in appropriately heroic ways, but they can also use more feminine-looking expressions to encourage feminine heroines to act in heroic ways as well. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.960 Athena's cunning was not linked to the battlefield. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:24.400 They were able to use all genders to make their plans work. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:28.960 This is most clearly shown in the homecoming of Odysseus. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:40.160 Odysseus was gone at the Trojan War for a full ten years, but then the war ended and the other heroes started trickling back after the war, but Odysseus never returned. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:49.440 After several years of waiting, the young men of Ithaca and the neighboring islands started to court Penelope, Odysseus' wife and the reigning queen of Ithaca. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:55.680 These men were too young to have sailed with Odysseus to Troy, but were now old enough to pursue a wife. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:05.519 Whoever marries Penelope is the king, though the rules of the monarchy over Odysseus' multi-island kingdom are not really clear as to why. 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:14.559 She made a vow to wait for Odysseus until Telemachus was a grown man, so now Penelope has to delay the suitors. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:20.160 Penelope begins weaving a funer shroud for Odysseus' father, Laertes. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:30.240 The story becomes a running gag in the Odyssey as the suitors believed she was taking her time and doing the finest weaving, but it wasn't so straightforward. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:36.960 Penelope was actually unweaving the shroud in the evenings, so it took as long as possible. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:44.160 Here, Penelope is literally using feminine arts as a tactic to delay the suitors. 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:51.119 It worked for a total of three years, but eventually the suitors find out the truth from one of the maidservants. 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:56.799 They barge in on Penelope, unreaving the shroud one night and force her to finish it. 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:03.599 When it was completed, the suitors all praised the shroud, saying it shone like the sun or the moon. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:12.319 It was by using the arts of Athena that Penelope bought her family years to make their plans for revenge. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:19.839 At this point in the story, twenty years after Odysseus left for Troy, Telemachus is finally a grown adult. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:27.200 He is starting to understand just how disrespectful and mean all the suitors are being, and he grows to resent them all. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:36.799 He knows he's not powerful enough to take on over a hundred suitors all by himself, but he doesn't see what he can do to help improve the situation. 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:45.599 It is in this moment of pain and despair that Athena comes to meet him, disguised as Mentes, an older friend of the family. 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:58.880 The first time Telemachus meets Athena, they encourage him to plan a trip abroad, meet the family friends, and see if anybody around the Mediterranean has heard about Odysseus. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:06.960 The two bond like a father and son, as Athena encourages Telemachus to find his own courage. 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:09.680 Athena then flies away like a bird. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:15.039 Later Telemachus is accompanied by Athena in another's guise, Mentor. 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:17.599 Mentor is another old friend of the family. 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:21.759 This time it's a grandfather Laertes, old companion. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:28.880 Again, the older man gives kindly advice and aids Telemachus on his first voyage as a young hero. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:36.880 The two visit old Nestor, and there Athena reminds Telemachus he is a man now and has to think for himself. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:40.319 Here is where that quote comes from from earlier. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:43.440 Athena is not here to talk for him. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:48.720 Athena is here to assist him in becoming a hero in his own right. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:21:01.039 Athena thus becomes the archetype of a mentor, encouraging and kind, pushing Telemachus to be their best and to learn from what is happening. 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:04.559 All while Athena helps whenever they can. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:10.640 Athena is the type of gentle guide for so many heroes across stories. 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:16.400 Other scenes show Athena using more traditionally feminine wiles as well. 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:24.640 As Telemachus is visiting old family friends, Odysseus is finally sailing from the island where Calypso had kept him imprisoned. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:29.359 Poseidon smashes his raft, and Odysseus barely makes it ashore. 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:39.039 Sheltering in the forest for the night, Athena sees his plight and plans his rescue with the help of a local princess named Nausicaa. 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:47.359 Athena takes on the form of Diomus, a young girl who was dear to her heart, nothing homoerotic intended, I'm sure. 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:57.200 Athena guides Nausicaa to the laundry pool in the river, not far from where Odysseus is sheltered, and leads to his rescue. 00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:59.759 In this scene, Athena uses a pharaoh. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:07.119 Feminine guise to impact the situation using the feminine task of doing the laundry. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:13.359 After the events of the Odyssey, Telemachus will return and marry Nausicaa. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.599 So this is technically the first step in Nausicaa's story, too. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:24.799 Athena strives to elevate males and females when they're graced with their plans. 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:31.440 Nausicaa brings Odysseus into town where Athena appears as a young girl carrying a water pitcher. 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:36.000 Athena shows Odysseus the town and guides him up to the palace. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:42.880 This child is meant to put Odysseus' mind at ease as he learns of the goodly king who awaits him in the palace. 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:50.240 They walk in the hall of mist through town so that nobody else can see them until they're at the palace. 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:57.519 Athena then appears as a young herald again to rouse up the town and build up Odysseus. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:01.599 Everyone comes down to the palace and sees this stranger. 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:05.279 Then the Phaeacians start a track and field contest. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:12.160 When Odysseus doesn't want to participate, they taunt him until he throws a discus farther than anybody else. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:17.599 Athena then appears as a young man and shouts out some encouragement to Odysseus. 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:28.720 Just as with Telemachus, Athena is encouraging the hero to become a better version of himself, rather than just make the situation work out in his favor. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:36.640 Once Odysseus returns to Ithaca and learns the situation in his own house, he works with Athena to set a trap for the suitors. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:43.759 Here, Athena appears before him as a young shepherd, not exactly a man, but a young male, a Phoebe. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:47.119 Athena describes Ithaca to Odysseus. 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:53.200 Now they take on a different form, that of a young woman skilled in handicrafts. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:24:00.799 Odysseus acknowledges Athena at his side for the first time, and the two weave a plan to end the suitors. 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:09.200 When they finally spring the trap and Odysseus attacks the suitors, Athena is right by his side in the form of Mentor again. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:13.839 Mentor spurs on Odysseus, who charges and throws a spear. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:17.440 Then Athena displays the great Aegis. 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:22.880 This is Zeus' own battle cape, which they were allowed to carry for special events. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:34.160 The Aegis induces a mad panic in the suitors, sending every one of them fleeing in terror as Odysseus charges and cuts them down one by one. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:41.759 But their victory threatens to be short as all of the suitors' fathers form a posse to claim vengeance on Odysseus. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:50.559 Athena appears as mentor one last time in the Odyssey, and this time encourages Odysseus' aged father Laertes. 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:58.079 The old man is pushed to remember his old strength and prowess by Athena, and he casts his spear. 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:05.839 Odysseus' father kills the father of one of the suitors, but then the story stops at its fitting ending. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:10.400 Mentor Athena stands up and shouts for everybody to stop fighting. 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:14.240 Zeus has decreed there will be a lasting peace on Ithaca. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:22.319 So the parents of the suitors make up with their king Odysseus, and the story ends on a bittersweet moment for everyone involved. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:30.400 As with every other time Athena appears as mentor, it is about encouraging another hero to do something heroic. 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:36.720 Athena mentor appears when there is a hero who must do something heroic. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:41.279 But Athena Mentor never fixes any problems themselves. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:46.880 In this moment, Athena brings three generations of the family together. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:57.200 Laertes, Father Odesseus, Mother Penelope, and son Telemachus, all together united in defeating the suitors. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:21.759 This is Athena's greatest tactic, a family defeating a much larger force with a combination of restraint while waiting for the right time to strike, resilience against outrageous adversity, bold heroic skills honed into excellence by training and experience, and the foresight to design a whole strategy and make it work out in the end. 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:26.480 Restraint, resilience, excellence, strategy. 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:36.480 These are the keys that the non-binary mentor Athena teaches to the heroes they interact with. 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:43.039 So now you see why the Odyssey is actually a glorious hymn to Athena's non-binary attributes. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:54.480 Athena is able to embody male and female to get three full generations of Odysseus' family to flourish and achieve a seemingly impossible task. 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:58.240 Penelope used her cunning to buy time for the family. 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:01.440 Telemachus takes his first steps as a hero. 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:15.200 The wily Odysseus has returned and shown his patience, resilience, and resourcefulness, and old Laertes has remembered a bit of his old strength for his last heroic acts. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:21.519 It is a remarkable showing of the whole family's attributes, abilities, and excellence. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:33.759 No matter what they are doing, the house of Odysseus was one where males and females excelled because Athena could aid them by manifesting both male and female attributes. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:46.559 Duty to protect one's family, striving for excellence in whatever one does, ignoring gender binaries to seek a fulfilled life, and bring others up while you're doing it. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:52.240 Athena represents an excellent non-binary role model for us all. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:28:00.240 Ultimately, Athena is a figure we can discuss in masculine or in feminine terms, and both are correct at different points in the story. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.680 But this is not Athena in a disguise. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:10.559 They are not a young woman putting on male clothing, but a deity putting on a male body. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:19.119 Athena is able to become a man or a woman entirely, which makes them fascinating to consider in a non-binary lens. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:25.039 Athena can be talked about and identified as male in the context, and there is no mistake made. 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:47.920 For a quick example, the very first time Athena appears to Telemachus as Mentes, the narrative voice says within a few lines that she appeared as a male guest, Mentes, and that Telemachus was the first to see them, and then that Telemachus says, Hello, male visitor. 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:57.279 In the original Greek, the poem uses she, they, and he within a few lines to describe Athena. 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:06.400 What stands out is that Athena manages to manifest male and female at once without ever really losing themselves in either gender. 00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:14.880 This makes Athena different from Dionysus, whose queerness can manifest masculinity or femininity or something else completely. 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:28.240 Dionysus is gender queer beyond any attempt to categorize, but Athena represents man and woman and the way that they can bring out the best attributes of both. 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:34.720 When Athena needs to, they can take down Ares in a show of manlike prowess. 00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:42.960 But through this masculine aggression, Athena maintains the feminine compassion and desire to inspire others. 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:49.200 Athena would rather bring up as many people as possible rather than just solving a problem. 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:55.359 But when Athena needs to, Athena can weave like no other person in the universe. 00:29:55.599 --> 00:30:02.720 Yet within this feminine art, Athena is able to weave a trap for the suitors, resulting in mass bloodshed. 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:08.079 So we have a feminine art displayed with violent, masculine intents. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:20.240 In each context, Athena is able to bring out the best of masculine or feminine figures by showing their trademark mix of both gendered attributes at the same time. 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:31.599 Athena mentor is kind and compassionate, encouraging everyone to strive to be their best and to pursue the most excellent things they are capable of. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:39.039 Athena's non-binary attributes allow them to be the kind of non-binary mentor we all need sometimes. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:48.319 This week we focused on Athena's non-binary manifestations within the context of early poetry and mythology. 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:57.680 Homer and Hesia do not get us out of the archaic era, and yet there is so much to work from from this early period. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:04.000 There is a lot more material when we get into the classic and later periods in antiquity. 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:12.000 Next week we're going to continue this theme following Athena's role in later myth and literature. 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:14.720 We'll see you two Mondays from now. 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:40.880 But we did just use Artemis as a lesbian. 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:51.119 Now I don't know if any references were show or even hint at homoeroticism in Athena's stories, where they do in Artemis's, so the choice was made. 00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:57.599 But that doesn't lessen any of Artemis' non-binary aspects, it just reflects a production choice. 00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:10.960 If I were to make the comparison, Athena might be thought of as a vaguely masculine aligned non-binary, like a demi-man, where Artemis is a loosely feminine aligned non-binary, or demi-woman. 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:17.920 A full-length discussion of Artemis' non-binary attributes would be an excellent topic for another time. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:26.240 The story of Hera bearing Hephaestus without any intercourse is found in Hesiod's Theogony, verse 929a. 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:35.519 Hephaestus uses a walking stick and a golden drone maid in the Iliad, Book 18, verses 415 through 421. 00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:49.759 Homer gives us the tale where Hephaestus was thrown out of Olympus because Hera was so appalled when she saw that he was born with a disability in the Iliad, Book 18, verse 349 through 408. 00:32:50.319 --> 00:33:01.680 In the Odyssey, Book 8, 309 through 314, Hephaestus claims again that he has misshapen legs from the day he was born, and that it was his parents' fault. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:10.079 The familial drama surrounding Athena's birth is also found in Hesiod's Theogony, 929E through J. 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:19.920 Athena being born ready for battle, then setting aside weapons, comes from Homeric hymn number 28 to Athena. 00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:26.400 The Odyssey Book 8 features Odysseus being entertained in the house of Elcinous, the Phaeacian king. 00:33:26.559 --> 00:33:32.480 He entertains Odysseus, and eventually the young men dance for Odysseus, showing him the mastery of their art. 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:41.039 Odysseus the Beggar boasts about beating the suitors in farm chores in Book 18, verse 395 through 375. 00:33:41.279 --> 00:33:47.920 He boasts about being able to outdo the young men at war in Book 18, verse 379. 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:12.719 Athena recruits Odysseus to help rally the Greeks in the Iliad, Book 2, verse 155 through 280. 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:18.400 The line from Athena to Telemachus is from the time they enter Nestor's house in Pylos. 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:24.719 Telemachus is a young man and has significant self-doubts about his ability to talk with an older hero. 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:28.400 Athena's solution, compassionate encouragement. 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:32.719 It's from the Odyssey Book 3, 26 through 27. 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:39.760 Athena convinces the Trojan to break his oath in the Iliad, Book 4, verse 85 through 129. 00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:48.480 Athena takes the reins of Diomedes' chariot and wounds Ares in the Iliad, Book 5, verse 840 through 866. 00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:55.519 Athena beats up Ares at Iliad, Book 21, verse 390 through 414. 00:34:56.159 --> 00:35:04.239 Hera uses Athena's robe for her own deception in the Iliad, Book 14, verse 175 through 181. 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:12.719 Athena convinces Hector to turn and fight at Iliad Book 22, verse 225 through 300. 00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:25.280 The example of Penelope's weaving trick from the Odyssey is found in Book 24, verse 125 through 150, and is recounted by the suitors when they're being led into Hades by Hermes. 00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:38.639 First four books of the Odyssey are called the Telemachia, in which Athena appears before Telemachus as an older man twice, each time encouraging and assisting Telemachus on his first journey. 00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:41.920 Odysseus escapes Calypso in the Odyssey Book 5. 00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:46.159 Athena and Nausicaa come to rescue Odysseus in Book 6. 00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:53.440 Athena guides Odysseus through town in the Odyssey Book 7, verse 18 through 78. 00:35:53.599 --> 00:36:03.519 Athena encourages Odysseus in Book 8, verse 8 through 28, and calls out his discus throw in Book 8, verse 195 through 201. 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:10.000 Athena plans with Odysseus in Book 13, verse 221 through 350. 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:18.400 Athena appears as mentor to encourage Odysseus in the Odyssey, Book 22, verse 205 through 304. 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:25.599 Athena mentor encourages Laertes in Book 24, verse 515 through 520. 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:36.079 Mentor Athena calls the war to an end in the very last part of the Odyssey, Book 24, verse 526 through 548. 00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:46.320 The line where Athena is described as he, they, and she comes from the Odyssey Book 1, lines 103 to 124. 00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:47.519 That's all for this week. 00:36:47.679 --> 00:36:52.639 We'll see you in two weeks for our continuing coverage of Athena the Non Binary.