Perhaps the most well known aspect of Athena is Parthenos, Virgin. This is not unexpected, since this aspect of the Goddess, untouched, inviolable, has one of the most famous temples in Greece, the Parthenon. But because of Christianity, the aspect of the Mother Goddess visible through Mary the Virgin, and by Mother Goddess I mean any Goddess, like Demeter, Ge, or Rhea, who is famous for bearing divine children, is respected throughout the world by nearly two billion people. This aspect, The Virgin, is highly adored and venerated because it is seen as a form of virtue, or purity.
This is true of Athena Parthenos as well, but understand too that Athena was also Areia, of war, and Parthenos, the virgin, was the inviolable, defender of cities, untouchable in battle. Her city might fall, but her people never give up and eventually rise up and take back what is theres.
The temple of Athena Parthenos on the Athenian Acropolis was not just a religious symbol, but a civic symbol of Athens’ power and inviolability. The Goddess protected her city, her state, just as it did her people. To this day Athens stands, and even if the old temples are in ruins, they remain a reminder that she is still protecting it.
But what does Parthenos do for a man like me, sexually free, gay, by no means even remotely pure or virginal in the classic sense?
Well, there is a part of each of us that is Parthenos. A part of us that no one can touch, no one can violate if we do not allow it, and that is deep in our own minds. That part of us that is the spark of thought, the spark of consciousness remains pure and inviolable because no matter what happens to any of us, that remains deep within us and we can rebuild better, stronger than we were before.
Parthenos is not just the virgin, but the kernel of the Goddess that remains unchanging, no matter what we call her, no matter what attributes we assign to her, and a reminder that we too possess such a kernel, a core, that remains us no matter who tries to damage us, destroy us, or belittle us. There we find her, the divine warrior virgin that will fight to get back what is hers.
