Goddess Mythology
United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and the Greek goddess of wisdom Athena are two women whom the author would like to compare. These two personalities exhibit uniqueness and similarities that make them special in their own right. Both of them possess a strong personality and serve as protectors of their land. They have different duties to perform and in helping the people. They have proven to be capable of standing up for others, fighting for what is right and conquering all evil and injustice that threaten to destroy their their land.
They are very strong and intelligent to make some decisions. Besides being known as the goddess of wisdom, Athena is the warrior goddess of Athens, the goddess of heroic endeavor as well as the goddess of victory and known as (Athena) Nike in that capacity. She is daughter of Zeus who is the lord of all gods in Mount Olympus; her mother is Metis who is one of the Titans, a mighty race of beings who were the adversaries of the Olympian gods (Hoena, 2003, p. 9).
Being Zeus’ daughter assures her of her place among the pantheon of gods and goddesses. Among Athena’s deeds and achievements is her generosity and helpfulness in dispensing advice and counsel to mortals and even fellow deities and Titans such as Prometheus. Because of her divine wisdom, the ancient Greeks regarded Athena as a genius who invented many technological wonders for them from chariots to triremes which they would use to advance their civilization and build an empire later on during the time of Alexander the Great (Hoena, 2003, p.
10). Athena has the ability to endow heroes with her “blessings” and protection such as the adventurer Jason who was endowed with many gifts from Athena, among these, his ship Argo which he used on his quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Despite being depicted as a war goddess, she is an advocate of peace, preferring this as the first measure to be taken; fighting would be the last resort. Hilary Clinton serves as an example of a successful female politician in modern times.
She possess a great deal of courage and poise which is essential for a woman of her stature that entails dealing with a wide variety of people. She was born Hillary Rodham on October 26, 1947 to Hugh Rodham, a businessman and Dorothy Howell, a homemaker. Throughout her life, she has steadily risen to prominence from being a brilliant student in high school and college to a very promising political career the moment she married Bill Clinton which saw her rise from First Lady of Arkansas, then First Lady of the United States and Senator from New York.
She was poised to become the Democratic presidential candidate but yielded to the up and coming Barack Obama. Following Obama’s election as President, she was appointed the 67th Secretary of State (White, 2010). Clinton, like Athena, possesses sharp intelligence, political sensibilities, and persistence in pursuing her agendas. As Secretary of State, she is the chief diplomat of the United States and as such her job requires her to seek friendly relations with other countries and seek peaceful solutions to global problems and issues rather than resorting to war.
Like Athena, Clinton is also known for her generosity and sincerity to help people since her lawyer days. She may not have provided people with materials or technology but as First Lady, she was instrumental in having laws passed such as State Children’s Health Insurance Program, The Adoption and Safe Families Act and other similar laws that promote and protect the sanctity of the family (White 2010).
The similarities of Clinton to Athena is they have both are intelligent and wise women. She fights what she thinks the best and right for everybody just as Athena will fight and support just wars. Like Athena, she has proven to be very helpful to anyone who is in need of it dating back during her time she worked as a pro bono lawyer where she would freely dispense legal advice and counsel to the needy and indigent like Athena.
In her positions as First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has wielded considerable power like Athena, making her more or less an Olympian deity in her own right but like Athena, she has learned to use these powers judiciously in the service of others rather than for her personal gain. The only difference between two is, as stated before, Athena is regarded as an inventor and promoter of technology. Clinton’s domain is the rule of law and she may not create useful instruments, she oversaw the passage of several laws that would benefit the public.
It can be inferred that Hillary Clinton can be considered a goddess of the Olympian kind as she appears to possess similar qualities as the Greek goddess Athena and given her track record, she is well on her way to leaving her mark in America’s political history and assure her place among the pantheon of prominent Americans like the deities of Mount Olympus. References Hoena, B. A. (2003). Athena. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press. White, D. (2010). Profile of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State. Retrieved 10 May 2010 http://usliberals. about. com/od/liberalpersonalprofiles/p/HillaryClinton. htm.
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