Athena the Nonbinary

This week we are going to interpret Athena as a nonbinary manifestation. Whether pursuing masculine-coded activities like conflict and competition or feminine-coded activities like weaving and homemaking, Athena strove for excellence. 

Athena-Mentor is kind and compassionate, encouraging everyone to strive to be their best, and to pursue the most excellent things they are capable. 

Athena’s nonbinary attributes allow them to be the kind of non-binary mentor we all need sometimes. 

Happy Pride Everyone!

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Hello everybody and welcome to Lambda, the LGBT and Antiquity Podcast, your home for all things LGBT in the ancient world. I'm your host, Dominica Raven, episode 13, Athena the Non-Binary. It's been a little while since our last episode, and I wanted to take a minute and explain the situation. 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. 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. 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. 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. There's a lot more to talk about and we're just getting started, but that's no reason to get sloppy. So from now until the end of digging season, we've decided to evolve to a bi-weekly format. Thank you for understanding. Early in the universe, Zeus defeated his father, Kronos, the Titan who was king of the universe before him. Then Zeus married Hera, and the two became the new reigning monarchs of the entire universe. After they got married, the two made love wreathed in clouds for centuries. 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. But Zeus's eye continued to wander. 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. Eventually Hera became spiteful and angry, and she tried to bear a child without Zeus at all. The result was Hephaestus, the god of the forge. From smithing to carpentry to gemstone inlay to palace construction, Hephaestus was universally heralded as the greatest craftsman in the universe. But this attempted asexual childbirth was imperfect. Alone, out of all the goddesses and gods on Mount Olympus, Hephaestus was born with a disability and his legs were deformed from childbirth. 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. 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. But Zeus was too busy messing around with others to even notice his wife's unusual asexual reproduction. At the time when the story occurs, Zeus is already courting Metis, the original Titanus of thought. During the war between Zeus and his father Kronos, Metis had been one of his first allies. Now he courts her as one of his concubines. 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. But Zeus did not know this, so he pursued her anyway. Eventually, just like Kronos, Zeus realizes the truth and consumes Metis by absorbing her essence into his body. Zeus now has the power to create life as well. If you remember from the time Zeus consumed Phanes and the heart of Zagrios to birth Dionysus, something very, very similar is occurring here. By consuming Metis, Zeus gains her powers of thought and her wisdom, as well as the baby she is carrying. Yes, prior to being absorbed by Zeus, Metis conceived a child, and now that child was carried to term in the body of Zeus. When that child was ready to be born, Zeus gave birth. 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. But one way or another, Zeus bore to term and birthed Pallas Athena on the shores of the river Triton in Boeotia. Now, when Athena was born, they were already in full battle armor and had a spear ready to go. As they stepped out of Zeus's body, the whole cosmos shuddered by the raw power present in this figure. As it turned out, Metis was correct, Athena is the most powerful offspring Zeus had up till that point. However, because Zeus and not Metis bore Athena, the child is still less powerful, and therefore no threat, to Zeus. Almost immediately, Athena set aside their armor and took their place at Zeus's side. After this, Zeus trusts Athena even to carry his own battle armor, the glorious Aegis cape, and his own weapon, the thunderbolt. This is because Zeus has confidence that Athena will fight in his name with his authority and never seek to upend his celestial rule. Some scholars have chosen to approach the birth of Athena by reducing the whole story to a narrative of binary appropriations of attributes. 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. Zeus is often shown stoically seated, not wailing or crying out. Normal women are rarely so calm in childbirth. 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. 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. Now, this is not an unreasonable way to interpret these stories, but it is rooted in a binary understanding of sexuality. Athena is never so clearly male or female, and the story appears to be trying to describe these nine binary aspects from the start. 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. When we consider stories of Pallas Athena, one thing is very clear. A straightforward binary, masculine or feminine, doesn't quite work. 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. 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. Athena could be seen as a rival craftsman for Hephaestus or a rival warrior for Ares. This ultra-competitiveness is a trait valued in the ancient world, especially for young men. In Homer, young Phaeacian men competed at the art of dance by throwing a glass ball as they leaped and bounded. Even music and song allowed them to compete with one another. 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. He also claims that he could fight better than any man if a war broke out randomly. As for women, there is a sense of competition as well, but it was rooted within that feminine sphere. For example, the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa leads the Phaeacian girls in a contest over who can wash her own brother's clothing the fastest. Then they play a sport with a large ball. Though Homer doesn't explicitly say it, it appears to be them practicing for the dancing we just mentioned a minute ago. So as you can see, a slightly less than healthy amount of competition for men and women was required in the ancient world. 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. However, both young men and women were expected to be ultra competitive in their pursuits. 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. As so often happens with the gods, there's a need to show that reflection of society in the face of the god. Having a non-binary deity allows them to reflect their own lives and experiences. Athena uses non-binary expressions to represent a concept wholly removed from any gender. Excellence. Let's discuss a few examples of Athena pursuing excellence in the craft of war. Early in the Iliad, Achilles steps back and refuses to fight anymore. The Greek army despairs, and many prepare to leave for home. Hera and Athena see this and they talk. Hera eventually sends Athena to restrain every man. Athena goes through the camps and finds their close friend Odysseus. Athena tells Odysseus to speak to those commanders, Agamemnon and Menelaus, and restrain the army. They follow Odysseus through the camp disguised as a herald, a young male companion, so they can build Odysseus up. Here's a key piece of the way that Athena puts their plans into action. 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. Athena is nurturing, so to speak, though it is a tough nurturing. 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. Athena is not here to do it all for you. Athena is here to help you flourish into a better hero or heroine. A little later in the story, Athena will use the same strategy but to evil effect. Now they appear as a Trojan hero named Laodicus and speak to Pandoros, urging him to fire a shot at Menelaus. The war has been put on hold at the moment after Achilles has gone to Pautna's tent. So Paris and Menelaus fight a duel to decide the whole conflict. 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. So here we have a story where Athena's council is actually designed to deceive a hero into doing something wrong. This may seem a little surprising, but Athena is actually pursuing a much larger game. The deception levied on the Greeks will be cause for greater Greek heroics in the coming pages. Everybody is so furious about that broken oath that the war will reignite even without Achilles. So it's ultimately the same maneuver, but using a foolish and convincible hero to achieve greater glory for other heroes. 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. At one point, Athena actually takes the reins of Diomedes' war chariot and charges Ares, the god of war himself. Diomedes thrusts his spear and Athena guides it into Ares' immortal flesh. Ares is wounded by a mortal human being guided by Athena. I want that to sink in for a second. 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. This dynamic is even more visible a little later during the conflict of the gods. Towards the end of the Iliad, the gods jump into the battle at Troy. 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. Ares joins on the Trojan side and seeks out Athena, who is always on the Greek side. The god of war shouts an insult. Ares will pay back Athena, for that time they encouraged Diomedes and wounded him. Then Ares lunges at Athena, who blocks it with a shield. Then Athena grabs an enormous gantuan stone and beats Ares over the head with it. Ares collapses and Athena taunts him, saying, I am much greater at conflict than you. Athena is known for clever strategies. 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. A true tactician takes advantage of all the local resources. Athena's cunning in the Iliad is not limited to warriors and fighting. Hera uses seduction to distract Zeus from the Trojan War. 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. 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. Just as Ares was rivaled by Athena in war, so was Hephaestus rivaled by Athena in arts and crafts. One final scene from the Iliad is the death of Hector. Most of the Trojans have already retreated into the citadel, but Hector is running around the walls and trying to get away from Achilles. Athena appears near Hector as the hero Deuphibus, Hector's brother or half-brother, and says it's time to stand and fight. Deuphibus claims he will stand with the Trojan prince, and together they will defeat Achilles. So Hector turns to fight. He calls out to Deuphibus, but Deuphibus is gone. Hector realizes he has been tricked by Athena and that his death is at hand. This scene really shows all of Athena's prowess as a warrior. They choose to encourage heroes, to get them to show their strength and ability rather than doing it themselves. Hector dies while rushing Achilles. They use all sorts of tricks and traps, but well figure out a way to get the desired outcome. Achilles will win the duel. A key trick Athena uses is to move between gendered expressions as a way to set a broad net. 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. Athena's cunning was not linked to the battlefield. They were able to use all genders to make their plans work. This is most clearly shown in the homecoming of Odysseus. 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. 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. These men were too young to have sailed with Odysseus to Troy, but were now old enough to pursue a wife. Whoever marries Penelope is the king, though the rules of the monarchy over Odysseus' multi-island kingdom are not really clear as to why. She made a vow to wait for Odysseus until Telemachus was a grown man, so now Penelope has to delay the suitors. Penelope begins weaving a funer shroud for Odysseus' father, Laertes. 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. Penelope was actually unweaving the shroud in the evenings, so it took as long as possible. Here, Penelope is literally using feminine arts as a tactic to delay the suitors. It worked for a total of three years, but eventually the suitors find out the truth from one of the maidservants. They barge in on Penelope, unreaving the shroud one night and force her to finish it. When it was completed, the suitors all praised the shroud, saying it shone like the sun or the moon. It was by using the arts of Athena that Penelope bought her family years to make their plans for revenge. At this point in the story, twenty years after Odysseus left for Troy, Telemachus is finally a grown adult. He is starting to understand just how disrespectful and mean all the suitors are being, and he grows to resent them all. 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. It is in this moment of pain and despair that Athena comes to meet him, disguised as Mentes, an older friend of the family. 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. The two bond like a father and son, as Athena encourages Telemachus to find his own courage. Athena then flies away like a bird. Later Telemachus is accompanied by Athena in another's guise, Mentor. Mentor is another old friend of the family. This time it's a grandfather Laertes, old companion. Again, the older man gives kindly advice and aids Telemachus on his first voyage as a young hero. The two visit old Nestor, and there Athena reminds Telemachus he is a man now and has to think for himself. Here is where that quote comes from from earlier. Athena is not here to talk for him. Athena is here to assist him in becoming a hero in his own right. Athena thus becomes the archetype of a mentor, encouraging and kind, pushing Telemachus to be their best and to learn from what is happening. All while Athena helps whenever they can. Athena is the type of gentle guide for so many heroes across stories. Other scenes show Athena using more traditionally feminine wiles as well. As Telemachus is visiting old family friends, Odysseus is finally sailing from the island where Calypso had kept him imprisoned. Poseidon smashes his raft, and Odysseus barely makes it ashore. Sheltering in the forest for the night, Athena sees his plight and plans his rescue with the help of a local princess named Nausicaa. Athena takes on the form of Diomus, a young girl who was dear to her heart, nothing homoerotic intended, I'm sure. Athena guides Nausicaa to the laundry pool in the river, not far from where Odysseus is sheltered, and leads to his rescue. In this scene, Athena uses a pharaoh. Feminine guise to impact the situation using the feminine task of doing the laundry. After the events of the Odyssey, Telemachus will return and marry Nausicaa. So this is technically the first step in Nausicaa's story, too. Athena strives to elevate males and females when they're graced with their plans. Nausicaa brings Odysseus into town where Athena appears as a young girl carrying a water pitcher. Athena shows Odysseus the town and guides him up to the palace. This child is meant to put Odysseus' mind at ease as he learns of the goodly king who awaits him in the palace. They walk in the hall of mist through town so that nobody else can see them until they're at the palace. Athena then appears as a young herald again to rouse up the town and build up Odysseus. Everyone comes down to the palace and sees this stranger. Then the Phaeacians start a track and field contest. When Odysseus doesn't want to participate, they taunt him until he throws a discus farther than anybody else. Athena then appears as a young man and shouts out some encouragement to Odysseus. 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. Once Odysseus returns to Ithaca and learns the situation in his own house, he works with Athena to set a trap for the suitors. Here, Athena appears before him as a young shepherd, not exactly a man, but a young male, a Phoebe. Athena describes Ithaca to Odysseus. Now they take on a different form, that of a young woman skilled in handicrafts. Odysseus acknowledges Athena at his side for the first time, and the two weave a plan to end the suitors. When they finally spring the trap and Odysseus attacks the suitors, Athena is right by his side in the form of Mentor again. Mentor spurs on Odysseus, who charges and throws a spear. Then Athena displays the great Aegis. This is Zeus' own battle cape, which they were allowed to carry for special events. 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. But their victory threatens to be short as all of the suitors' fathers form a posse to claim vengeance on Odysseus. Athena appears as mentor one last time in the Odyssey, and this time encourages Odysseus' aged father Laertes. The old man is pushed to remember his old strength and prowess by Athena, and he casts his spear. Odysseus' father kills the father of one of the suitors, but then the story stops at its fitting ending. Mentor Athena stands up and shouts for everybody to stop fighting. Zeus has decreed there will be a lasting peace on Ithaca. So the parents of the suitors make up with their king Odysseus, and the story ends on a bittersweet moment for everyone involved. As with every other time Athena appears as mentor, it is about encouraging another hero to do something heroic. Athena mentor appears when there is a hero who must do something heroic. But Athena Mentor never fixes any problems themselves. In this moment, Athena brings three generations of the family together. Laertes, Father Odesseus, Mother Penelope, and son Telemachus, all together united in defeating the suitors. 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. Restraint, resilience, excellence, strategy. These are the keys that the non-binary mentor Athena teaches to the heroes they interact with. So now you see why the Odyssey is actually a glorious hymn to Athena's non-binary attributes. Athena is able to embody male and female to get three full generations of Odysseus' family to flourish and achieve a seemingly impossible task. Penelope used her cunning to buy time for the family. Telemachus takes his first steps as a hero. 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. It is a remarkable showing of the whole family's attributes, abilities, and excellence. 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. 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. Athena represents an excellent non-binary role model for us all. Ultimately, Athena is a figure we can discuss in masculine or in feminine terms, and both are correct at different points in the story. But this is not Athena in a disguise. They are not a young woman putting on male clothing, but a deity putting on a male body. Athena is able to become a man or a woman entirely, which makes them fascinating to consider in a non-binary lens. Athena can be talked about and identified as male in the context, and there is no mistake made. 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. In the original Greek, the poem uses she, they, and he within a few lines to describe Athena. What stands out is that Athena manages to manifest male and female at once without ever really losing themselves in either gender. This makes Athena different from Dionysus, whose queerness can manifest masculinity or femininity or something else completely. 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. When Athena needs to, they can take down Ares in a show of manlike prowess. But through this masculine aggression, Athena maintains the feminine compassion and desire to inspire others. Athena would rather bring up as many people as possible rather than just solving a problem. But when Athena needs to, Athena can weave like no other person in the universe. Yet within this feminine art, Athena is able to weave a trap for the suitors, resulting in mass bloodshed. So we have a feminine art displayed with violent, masculine intents. 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. 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. Athena's non-binary attributes allow them to be the kind of non-binary mentor we all need sometimes. This week we focused on Athena's non-binary manifestations within the context of early poetry and mythology. 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. There is a lot more material when we get into the classic and later periods in antiquity. Next week we're going to continue this theme following Athena's role in later myth and literature. We'll see you two Mondays from now. But we did just use Artemis as a lesbian. 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. But that doesn't lessen any of Artemis' non-binary aspects, it just reflects a production choice. 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. A full-length discussion of Artemis' non-binary attributes would be an excellent topic for another time. The story of Hera bearing Hephaestus without any intercourse is found in Hesiod's Theogony, verse 929a. Hephaestus uses a walking stick and a golden drone maid in the Iliad, Book 18, verses 415 through 421. 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. 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. The familial drama surrounding Athena's birth is also found in Hesiod's Theogony, 929E through J. Athena being born ready for battle, then setting aside weapons, comes from Homeric hymn number 28 to Athena. The Odyssey Book 8 features Odysseus being entertained in the house of Elcinous, the Phaeacian king. He entertains Odysseus, and eventually the young men dance for Odysseus, showing him the mastery of their art. Odysseus the Beggar boasts about beating the suitors in farm chores in Book 18, verse 395 through 375. He boasts about being able to outdo the young men at war in Book 18, verse 379. Athena recruits Odysseus to help rally the Greeks in the Iliad, Book 2, verse 155 through 280. The line from Athena to Telemachus is from the time they enter Nestor's house in Pylos. Telemachus is a young man and has significant self-doubts about his ability to talk with an older hero. Athena's solution, compassionate encouragement. It's from the Odyssey Book 3, 26 through 27. Athena convinces the Trojan to break his oath in the Iliad, Book 4, verse 85 through 129. Athena takes the reins of Diomedes' chariot and wounds Ares in the Iliad, Book 5, verse 840 through 866. Athena beats up Ares at Iliad, Book 21, verse 390 through 414. Hera uses Athena's robe for her own deception in the Iliad, Book 14, verse 175 through 181. Athena convinces Hector to turn and fight at Iliad Book 22, verse 225 through 300. 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. 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. Odysseus escapes Calypso in the Odyssey Book 5. Athena and Nausicaa come to rescue Odysseus in Book 6. Athena guides Odysseus through town in the Odyssey Book 7, verse 18 through 78. Athena encourages Odysseus in Book 8, verse 8 through 28, and calls out his discus throw in Book 8, verse 195 through 201. Athena plans with Odysseus in Book 13, verse 221 through 350. Athena appears as mentor to encourage Odysseus in the Odyssey, Book 22, verse 205 through 304. Athena mentor encourages Laertes in Book 24, verse 515 through 520. Mentor Athena calls the war to an end in the very last part of the Odyssey, Book 24, verse 526 through 548. The line where Athena is described as he, they, and she comes from the Odyssey Book 1, lines 103 to 124. That's all for this week. We'll see you in two weeks for our continuing coverage of Athena the Non Binary.