also supported by the Athena tendency to monitor events, note ef-
fects, and change a course of action as soon as it appears unproduct-
ive.
ARMORED ATHENA
Athena arrived on the Olympian scene in splendid golden armor.
And, in fact, being “armored” is an Athena trait. Intellectual defenses
keep such a woman from feeling pain—both her own pain or that
of others. In the midst of emotional turmoil or hard infighting, she
remains impervious to feeling as she observes, labels, and analyzes
what is going on and decides what she will do next.
In the competitive world, the Athena archetype has a decided
advantage over Artemis. Artemis aims for goals and competes, but
she is unarmored, as was the goddess Artemis, who wore a short
tunic. If a woman’s archetype is Artemis rather than Athena, she
takes personally any unexpected hostility or deception. She may be
hurt or outraged and may become emotional and less effective. In
the same situation, Athena coolly assesses what is happening.
CULTIVATING ATHENA
Women who are not innately like Athena can cultivate this arche-
type through education or work. Education requires development
of Athena qualities. When a woman takes school seriously, she de-
velops disciplined study habits. Mathematics, science, grammar,
research, and writing papers require Athena skills. Work has a
similar effect. To behave “professionally” implies that a woman is
objective, impersonal, and skillful. A woman who feels deeply for
others may enter medicine or nursing, for example, and may find
that that she has entered Athena’s territory and needs to learn dis-
passionate observation, logical thinking, and skills.
All education stimulates the development of this archetype.
Learning objective facts, thinking clearly, preparing for examinations,
and taking the tests themselves are all exercises that evoke Athena.
Athena can also develop out of necessity. A young girl in
Athena: Goddess of Wisdom Growing beyond the confining