Thursday, August 26, 2010

Pallas Athene

“...Her terrible eyes shining...” (Iliad I.200)

The above quote from the Iliad talks about the gaze of Greek goddess Pallas Athene, whose worship was the state religion of ancient Athens. Athene was the goddess of wisdom and war, not an entirely logical combination, but her personality and appearance was suited for the mix. She was an almost asexual goddess, by some called a man in a woman’s body, an androgynous deity. However, she was also the favorite of heroes and artists, would-be heroes and poets.

Klimt’s depiction of Pallas Athene is less sexually laden than other female portraits produced by the artist. It is not the sheer sexuality of the goddess that is in focus, though it could be said that the power exhumed from her alone is enough to cause some sexual tension.

Behind the goddess, we see numerous of the characters of Greek myth. There is Heracles, the Medusa, and her own totem owl. None look fit to in any way compete with the power of the goddess, she is above and beyond them all. She is the guardian of Athens and the thought alone of going up against her should intimidate any man. Her eyes alone, as also explained in the Iliad quote above, show the futility of going against her will. Klimt makes sure we see that her gaze alone is more than can be taken by mortal man. See more Gustav Klimt paintings which you can have painted as reproduction artwork for your home.

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