HAPPY NEW YEARS-1918 Style

 

  Another New Years' Celebration full of lights in the sky. But on January 1, 1918, the fire in the sky wasn't from fireworks.

Rather it was from two sets of massive warring forces the Allies vs the Central Powers. Here an Imperial German 77mm field gun.

And its opposite number the famous French Soixante-Quinze (75) mm. None of those fighting in the Great War knew that 1918 would be the last year of the terrible conflict. Yet it was and New Year's Day 1919, saw a World that while not at total peace, as least saw the guns of the Great War silent.

These are metal pieces from Old Glory that I painted for my Great War Armies back in 2010.

May 2023 be a good one for you and yours, and hopefully the current guns of war will fall silent as they did in the Great War 125 Years ago.

Thoth-the Recorder of Lives

Thoth the scribe of the gods, creator of magic, writing, laws, religion, science and the recorder of the results of the judgement of the dead souls attempting to enter Osiris' realm of the Afterlife.

With the head of an Ibis or Baboon, his sacred animals, Thoth accomplished his duties with honesty and truth.

As one of the Major Egyptian Gods, he was critical to the maintenance of the Universe.

Thoth and his baboon are plastic pieces

All Crows are White, Right?

 

The God Apollo used his white crows (ravens) to give messages to and spy on humans.  When Apollo fell in love with the Thessalian Princess Coronis and made her pregnant he had his crows watch over her. 

 

Unfortunately for all, the crow witnessed Coronis have an affair with Ischys a mere MORTAL!

When informed of this infidelity Apollo flew into a god like rage and had his sister Artemis shower plague arrows on Coronis' palace, dooming her and her retainers to horrible deaths. 

He sent a white crow to see the result. When the crow retuned, he gleefully reported on Coronis' suffering, her begging Apollo's forgiveness and asking the god to save their child.  The crow ended his report with a laughing HA, HA, HA. Apollo was so angry with the glee the crow had for the pleas of Coronis that he cursed all white crows and turned them black. Apollo then raised Coronis into the heavens where she became the constellation "Corvus the Crow."

Since that day all ravens/crows have been black, and their once melodic voices turned into harsh cry's. Apollo did save his child, a son Asclepius who was a great healer, but that is another story.

I painted these two plastic pieces in 2022.

Hera, Queen of the Gods-and Revenge

 

Hera Queen of Revenge

Hera, Queen of the Gods, Daughter of Kronus and Rhea, wife of Zeus, Goddess of Women, Childbirth and Marriage and one very, very jealous wife.

Nothing angered her more than catching her over sexed husband having his way with humans, gods, immortals or any female period (seeing as Zeus had over 100 children that were not Hera's, she had a very busy time getting her revenge).

Even heroes like Herakles were victims of Hera's anger towards Zeus' philandering. 

Hera is a large plastic piece from Mystic Battles that I painted last July.

Tank, Cruiser, Mk VII, Cromwell (A27M)

 

What a mouthful of a title, let's just stick with "Cromwell." During the Second World War, British tank designs were designated as either "Infantry Tanks" or "Cruiser Tanks."  The former were slow AFV's (Armored Fighting Vehicle's) designed to travel with and give close support to infantry forces. While cruisers were fast attack tanks designed to create breakthroughs in the front or contain enemy assaults. With only 4000 units built, Cromwell's were not the most common tank in the British Army. Yet with its high speed of 64kn/h (40 mph), good armor of 76-100mm (3 to 4 inches) and a reliable 75 mm (2.953 inch) main gun, the Cromwell was popular with its crews. Cromwell's saw heavy service from 1944 to the end of World War II in Europe, as well as action in the '48 Arab Israeli War and the Korean War. After World War II, some Cromwell's found service with the Greek, Israeli, Polish and Portuguese Armies. By the mid-1950's, they were no longer frontline units in the British Army.

This is a plastic piece that I put together and painted in July '22.

Correcting an Infamous Statement

 There is an infamous saying about "those who do can and those who can't teach."  The truth of the matter is more- "THOSE WHO CAN DO AND THOSE WHO CAN'T BLAME THE TEACHER!"

Norseman Raider-that's Viking to You

 

The dreaded cry the "Vikings are coming" was enough to empty any Middle Ages village of its inhabitants as they took to countryside to escape the terrible raiders. For hundreds of years these fearsome men for the North plundered the coast lines of Europe.

But this Norseman, Karl Karlson, could have told their victims that "Viking" was not a nationality-it was a job description. To go "Viking" meant to go raiding. These "Viking"" raiders could be Norse (Northmen /Normans), Swedes, Danes or Friesians but none were from a land called Viking.

Karl here is a plastic piece that I painted in 2021.

Prometheus, the Giver of Fire

 

The Titan Prometheus, son of Iapetus & Clymeme, was one of the few titans to support the Olympian Gods in the massive and terrible conflict, the "Titanomachy.  The "Titanomachy" was a ten-year war between the Olympians under Zeus vs the majority of the Titans led by Kronos (as well as loads of monsters) for the control of the World.

With the aid of Prometheus, his brother Epimetheus, the Gigantes and the Cyclopes, Zeus and the Olympians won the war. As the Titan of forethought and crafty advice, Prometheus was given the task of molding mankind out of clay. From this time on he referred to mankind as his children and took particular care of them.

Zeus initially rewarded Prometheus for his loyalty and support, but when Zeus learned that Prometheus had given mankind the gift of fire, against Zeus's expressed orders, Zeus feared that with fire mankind would eventually rise up to challenge the gods themselves! Zeus went into a fierce rage at this betrayal by his favored Titan. Zeus's revenge was to be both complex and painful, the complex part included Pandora and a Jar (not a box), but that is another story. 

 

The everlasting pain Zeus ordered for Prometheus involved a hungry eagle, a Titans liver and eternal suffering. Prometheus was bound to Mount Kaukasos/Caucasus where an eagle came to daily tear out and eat the Titans liver, which would regrow overnight so the pain and suffering could continue forever.  Eventually Prometheus was rescued by Zeus' son Herakles/Hercules when the rage of Zeus had finally subsided.

This is a plastic model of Prometheus in all his "Titanomachy" warlike majesty that I painted in July of 2022. 

Hekate, Goddess of Magic

 

Well known as the goddess of magic and witchcraft, Hekate also held sway over the night, Moon, necromancy and ghosts. While she claimed Perses and Asteria as her parent's, rumors abounded that Zeus, Nyx, Demeter and Aristaios might actually have been her true parents. Known as a virgin goddess, rumors also suggested that Shylla, Kirke, Medea, and Aigialeus were her "secret" offspring. Well, what do you expect from the goddess of witchcraft! As a Master of Plant lore Hekate, knew those that could save life, as well as those that are deadly poison.

With three faces to better see the workings of the World, it was natural that Hekate was also the goddess of city walls, doorways, gates and roads. Hekate remained a popular goddess in the Pre-Christian Era of the Mediterranean for her benevolent relationship with her human followers.

Hekate is a plastic piece that I recently painted.

Beware Charybdis

 

Charybdis-Ships Doom

A threat to unwary sailors, the sea monster Charybdis, was one of the most fearsome beasts of Greek mythos. As an offspring of Gaia and Poseidon, Charybdis was caught in a quarrel between Poseidon and Zeus. Zeus cursed her, dooming her to becoming a monster that created giant whirlpools that sucked in ships and crews to their doom. Charybdis and fellow sea monster Scylla worked in tandem to make the Straits of Messina a mortal danger to shipping.

 This Charybdis is a plastic piece that I painted in June 2022.

Apollo, Protector-Poet-Oracle

 

Apollo is about to demonstrate why you don't want to anger the god of divine distance (retribution).

One of the most popular gods of the Greeks and Romans, Apollo had many aspects of power and responsibility. He was seen as the god of both religious and secular law, divine retribution, purification from quilt, crops, domesticated animals and protection from disease to name a few of his major responsibilities. As time marched on, Apollo was thought of as the Sun god, Helos, by the Greeks. A relationship that was not duplicated by the Romans and their Sun god Sol.

A lover of the lyre, Apollo was also the god of music, dance and poetry. 

His twin sister was Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. On the Isle of Pytho (Delphi) he killed the dreaded monster Python (World Historyprof: Python the Fearsome) and established the Oracle of Delphi

His byname, Phoebus, means "pure" or "bright" which inferred his connection with the Sun. He was also called Lyceius, for his protection of farmers herds from wolves (lykoi being the Greek word for wolves) as well as Nomios " herdsman."

I painted this plastic model of Apolo in the Spring of 2022.

Nature Time With Pan

 

Pan the Greek God of Nature, Mountains, Shepherds and Nymphs. Pan was known to use his wild nature inspired music to induce humans to lose their inhibitions and enjoy all the aspects of natural urges.

Pan and his fauns are plastic pieces from  Monolith, Mystic Battles that I painted in 2019.

Age of Victoria Part Four -Industrial Revolution/Inventions 1867-1901

A version of Mucha's Zodiac calendar that he did for La Plume in 1897.

Victorian Age Inventions 1867-1901

1867- Karl Marx, Das Kapital. I/P Dynamite (TNT)

1868- I/P Traffic Light, Tungsten Steel, Typewriter

1869- Suez Canal completed. Transcontinental Railroad completed, 1st college football game-Rutgers 6 vs Princeton 4.

1870- Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I/P Stock Ticker

1871- Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles.  Darwin, Descent of Man(Text). 

1873- Ashanti Revolt. I/P Barbed Wire

1874- Benjamin Disraeli becomes the Conservative PM. Britain annexes Fiji Islands.

1875- Britain takes control of Suez Canal, creating a British protectorate over Egypt. Dakota gold find.

1876- Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. Belgium claims the African Congo, USA Centennial.  I/P-Telephone, Carpet Sweeper, National League (Baseball) founded

1877- Reconstruction ends. I/P Recorded Sound, Moving Pictures

1878-79- 2nd British-Afghan War.

1879- Zulu War. I/P Lightbulb 

1880- France claims Tunis. 1st Boer War. I/P Toilet Paper, Seismograph

Art Nouveau style appears

188-2 France took control of Algeria & claimed French Somaliland. American Chinese Exclusion Act. I/P Metal Detector, Standard Time Zones 

1884- Sudan Mahdi War. Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn (Text). I/P Rayon, Steam Turbine, Cash Register, Fountain Pen, Maxim Machinegun 

1884-1885- Germany established a protectorate over Southwest Africa, Togoland, Cameroons and East Africa. Britain claimed British Somaliland.

1885- Berlin Conference-Bismarck established “ground rules” for dividing Africa. 3rd Burma War. I/P Automobile, Rabies Vaccine

1886- Britain made Burma a province of India after winning the 3rd Anglo-Burma War.  Haymarket Riot, American Federation of Labor formed. I/P Dishwasher, Coca-Cola

1887- Britain claimed Nigeria. I/P Contact Lenses

1888- Kaiser Wilhelm II ascended to the throne of the German Empire. I/P Drinking Straw

1889- Italy claimed Italian Somaliland, Britain claimed Northern and Southern Rhodesia’s. I/P Cordite

1890- Kaiser Wilhelm II “retires” Otto von Bismarck, Britain established the colony of Uganda, Sherman Anti-trust Act.

1891- I/P Naismith creates Basketball at Springfield College Mass.

1892- I/P Reliable Internal Combustion Engine, Escalator

1893- France took Laos, with Cambodia & Vietnam the area is called French Indo-China. I/P Zipper

1894- Britain claims Zimbabwe. Sino-Japanese War, Japan took Taiwan from China and became a European style colonial power.

1895- Britain established the colony of Kenya, 1st Italian-Abyssinian War. I/P X-Rays

1896- Klondike Gold Rush

1896-99- English Sudanese War, England claims the entire Sudan.

1898- Britain obtains a 99-year lease for Hong Kong from China. Spanish American War-US “liberates” Cuba, takes Puerto Rico, Guam & Philippines. US annexes Hawaii. Fashoda Incident-France and Britain divide all unclaimed North Africa. H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds. I/P Rollercoaster 

1899-1902- 2nd Boer War, Britain invents the concentration camp.

1899- 'Open Door Policy' in the Far East, 1st Hague Peace Conference. US annexes Wake Island. Freud, Interpretations of Dreams. I/P Vacuum Cleaner

1900- Boxer Rebellion-united armies of Europe & Japan crush the Chinese, capturing & looting Peking. US annexes American Samoa. I/P Zeppelin, Tractor

1901- Death of Victoria age 81. Aside from Ethiopia, Japan, Persia, Siam and parts of China the entire world is under European control. I/P Safety Razor, Radio Receiver

By 1910, Queen Victoria’s grandchildren were on the thrones of the following states:

Wilhem II, Kaiser of the German Empire, George V King of Great Britain, Emperor of India, Nikolai II Aleksandrovich, Tsar of All the Russia's, Maud Queen Consort of King Haakon VII of Norway, Sophie, Queen Consort of King Konstantinos I of the Hellenes, Marie, Queen Consort of King Ferdinand I of Romania, Victoria Eugenie, Queen Consort of King Alfonso XIII of Spain 

In addition, other grandchildren held the following major royal ranks:

11 were titled prince, 2 were titled princess royal, 8 were titled princess, 2 were titled Grand Duchess, 1 was titled Grand Duke, 2 were titled Duke, 1 was titled Countess and 2 were titled Marquess.

 I/P- Inventions/Patents

Age of Victoria Part Three- Industrial Revolution/Inventions 1800-1865

Colored pencil version of Much's 1898 Job cigarette paper ad.

19th Century Inventions/Patents 1800-1865

1800 I/P Volta-Battery, Jacquard-Silk Loom
1804 I/P Winzer-Gas Light (coal gas)
1806 I/P "French Press" Coffee Pot-inventor is disputed
1807 I/P Forsyth Caplock System for Firearms
1809 I/P Davy-Arc Lamp
1810 I/P Durard-Tin Can
1814 I/P Stephenson-Steam Locomotion, Fraunhofer-Spectroschope & Niepce-1st Photograph (camera obscura)
1815 Davy-Miners Lamp 
1817 Baron von Drais-Velocipede (pre--bicycle)

1819 I/P Laennec-Stethoscope
1824 I/P Faraday Toy Balloons & Aspdin Portland Cement

1825 Erie Canal. I/P Sturgeon-Electromagnet
1827 I/P Walker-Safety Matches & Wheatstone-Microphone

1828 I/P 1st US Railroad-B & O. 
1829 I/P Braille-Printing for the blind
1831 I/P McCormick-Reaper & Sturgeon-Electric Dynamo
1833 I/P Morse-Telegraph 
1835 I/P Merrick-Wrench & Babbage-Mechanical Calculator

1836 I/P Colt-Revolver & Ericsson & F.P. Smith-Propeller 
1837- I/P Hill-Postage Stamp

1839 Poe: "Fall of the House of Usher." I/P Goodyear-Vulcanized Rubber, Daguerreotype-Photography & Grove-Hydrogen Fuel Cell
1840 I/P Herschel-Blueprint
1841 I/P Slocum-Stapler

1843 I/P Perkins-Ice Maker-Refrigeration

1845 I/P Morton-Anesthesia, Howe-Sewing Machine & Thompson-Pneumatic Rubber Tire
1947 Marx and Engels: "The Communist Manifesto(Text)" I/P Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis-Antiseptics & “germ” theory of infection

1849 Henry David Thoreau: "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" 

1850 I/P Hunt-Safety Pin 

1852 I/P Foucault-Gyroscope & Singer-Sewing Machine
1853 I/P Cayley-Glider
1854 I/P Tyndall-Principles of Fiber Optics

1856  I/P Cayley-Glider Pasteur-Pasteurization & Bessemer-Steel Process

1857 I/P Pullman Sleeping Car
1858 I/P H.Smith-Washing Machine & Lenoir-Coal Gas Internal Combustion Engine

1859 "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin is published and promotes the theory of "natural selection."  I/P 1st Steam Powered Ironclad "Glori," Imperial French Navy

1860  I/P Silliman, Jr. Cracking(distillation)

1861  I/P Otis-Elevator & Yale-Cylinder Lock

1862 I/P Gatling-Machine Gun, Parkes 1st Man Made Plastic & USS Monitor, 1st Turreted Ironclad Warship
1863 I/P French "Boneshaker" Pedal Bicycle possibly by Lallement

1865 Lewis Carroll: "Alice in Wonderland(Text)"

Age of Victoria Part Two-Political 1868-1901

 

Victorian Era Events 1861-1901

1861 Victor Emmanuel II proclaimed King of Italy. 

1862 Otto von Bismarck becomes Prime Minister of Prussia. 

1863-67 France occupies Mexico. Homestead Act.

1864 Danish-Prussian War results in quick Prussian victory. Prussia and Austria respectively rule Schleswig and Holstein. 

1866 Austro-Prussian War breaks out over the Austrian administration of Holstein. Prussian victory in seven weeks. 3rd Māori War. 3rd Italian War for Independence.

1867 Dual Monarchy established in a compromise between Austria and Hungary. US purchases Alaska claims Aleutian Islands & annexes Midway Island. 

1869 Japanese Boshin War, Suez Canal completed. Transcontinental Railroad completed.

1870 the Italian state annexed Rome. Italian unification completed. France declares war on Prussia over Ems dispatch. France was defeated at Sedan and Emperor Napoleon III captured.  Third French Republic proclaimed. 

1871 Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles.  

1873 3rd Anglo-Ashanti War.

1874 Benjamin Disraeli becomes the Conservative PM. Britain annexed Fiji Islands.

1875 Britain took control of the Suez Canal, creating a British protectorate over Egypt. Dakota Gold Rush.

1876 Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. Belgium claimed the African Congo. 

1877 Reconstruction ends. 

1878-79 2nd British-Afghan War.

1879 Zulu War. 

1880 France claims Tunis. 1st Boer War. Art Nouveau style appears

1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, France controlled Algeria, claiming French Somaliland. Chinese Exclusion Act.

1884 Sudan Mahdi War. 

1884-1885 Germany established a protectorate over Southwest Africa, Togoland, Cameroons and East Africa. Britain claims British Somaliland, Sino-Franco War.

1885 Berlin Conference-Bismarck establishes “ground rules” for dividing Africa. 3rd Burma War. Serbo-Bulgarian War

1886 Britain made Burma a province of India after winning the 3rd Anglo-Burma War.  Haymarket Riot, American Federation of Labor formed. 

1887 Britain claims Nigeria. 

1888 Kaiser Wilhelm II ascends to the throne of the German Empire. 

1889 Italy claimed Italian Somaliland, Britain claimed Northern and Southern Rhodesia’s. 

1890 Kaiser Wilhelm II “retires” Otto von Bismarck, 1st Fanco-Dahomean War, Britain established the colony of Uganda, Ghost Dance War, Sherman Anti-trust Act.

1892 2nd Franco-Dahomean War.

1893 Franco-Siamese War, France takes Laos, with Cambodia & Vietnam the area is called French Indochina. 

1893-94 1st Matabelle-Spanish War.

1894 Britain claims Zimbabwe. 1st Sino-Japanese War, Japan takes Taiwan from China, becoming a European style colonial power.

1895 Britain established the colony of Kenya, 1st Italian-Abyssinian War. 

1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War.

1895-96 4th Anglo-Ashanti War.

1896-99 English Sudanese War, England claims the entire Sudan.

1897 Greco-Turkish War

1898 Britain obtains a 99-year lease for Hong Kong from China. Spanish American War-US “liberates” Cuba, takes Puerto Rico, Guam & Philippines. US annexes Hawaii. Fashoda Incident-France and Britain divide all unclaimed North Africa. 

1899-1902 2nd Boer War, Britain invents the concentration camp.

1899 'Open Door Policy' in the Far East, 1st Hague Peace Conference. US annexes Wake Island. 

1899-1913 Philippine-American War

1900 5th Anglo-Ashanti War (War of the Golden Stool), Boxer Rebellion-united armies of Europe & Japan crush the Chinese, capturing & looting Peking. US annexes American Samoa. 

1901 Death of Victoria age 81. Aside from Ethiopia, Japan, Persia, Siam and parts of China the entire world is under European control. 

By 1910 Queen Victoria’s grandchildren were on the thrones of the following states:

Wilhem II, Kaiser of the German Empire, George V King of Great Britain, Emperor of India, Nikolai II Aleksandrovich, Tsar of All the Russia's, Maud Queen Consort of King Haakon VII of Norway

Age of Victoria Part One- Political 1818-1867

 

19th Century World Events 1819-1867 Age of Victoria Begins

1819 Birth of Victoria. US annexes Florida. 

1820 "Missouri Compromise"
1823 "Monroe Doctrine."

1825 Erie Canal.

1828 Greece gains its independence (lost in 338 B.C.). 
1833 Great Britain Abolishes Slavery

1836 Texas gains its independence from Mexico. 

1837 William IV dies, accession of Queen Victoria. age 18; Britain refuses to grant more home rule in Canada, leading to the Rebellions of 1837.

1840 Britain claims New Zealand, 1st Opium War (Britain vs China).

1841-42 1st British-Afghan War (total destruction of the invading English Army of 16,000).

1843 Britain claims Natal, 1st Māori War. 

1845 US forces Japan to open to foreign trade, Japanese chose to copy European concepts, & technologies-especially military. US annexes Texas.

1845-1850 Potato Famine in Ireland 1/3 of the population dies 1/3 immigrates (largely to the USA).

1846-48 Mexican American War. 

1848 Year of Revolutions, French 2nd Republic proclaimed, California Gold Rush.

1848-1864 Taiping Rebellion kills between 25 and 30 million Chinese.

1849 England annexes Punjab.

1850 "1850 Compromise."

1852 2nd Burma War. Napoleon III becomes Emperor of France. 

1853-1856 Crimean War: Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire vs. Russia. Russia's expansion into the Balkans is blocked and the 'Concert of Europe' destroyed.

1856 The Treaty of Paris ends the Crimean War, 2nd Opium War (GB & Fr vs China), Britain vs Persia War. 

1857-59 Sepoy or Indian Mutiny. 

1858 Victoria proclaims permanent British rule of India. Colorado gold & silver finds.

1859 War of Piedmont and France against Austria. 

1860 Garibaldi lands his forces in Sicily invades southern Italy. These southern states join the northern union forged by Piedmont under the direction of Camillo Cavour. 2nd Maori War. 

1861-1865 American Civil War.

1861 Victor Emmanuel II proclaimed King of Italy. 

1862 Otto von Bismarck becomes Prime Minister of Prussia. 

1863-67 France occupies Mexico. Homestead Act.

1864 Danish-Prussian War results in quick Prussian victory. Prussia and Austria respectively rule Schleswig and Holstein. 

1866 Austro-Prussian War breaks out over the Austrian administration of Holstein. Prussian victory in seven weeks. 3rd Māori War. 

1867 Dual Monarchy established in a compromise solution between Austria and Hungary. US purchases Alaska claims Aleutian Islands & annexes Midway Island.  

Goddess of the Hunt

 

The Greek Goddess, Artemis, the huntress, goddess of wild animals, plants, childbirth and (as a virgin) chastity; takes aim at her latest quarry.

She and her twin Apollo were the children of Zeus and Leto. Artimes was a popular goddess among the common people, especially those who lived off the land.

To the Romans she was Diana with most of the same traits as the Greek Goddess with the addition of her being a patron of the people of the lower classes.

           This is a large plastic model that I painted in March 2021.

Herald of the Gods - Hermes

 

Messenger of the Gods

Hermes, herald to the Greek Gods, was also the patron of travelers, merchants, commerce, public speakers and thieves.

As the son of Zeus and Maia, his status as the messenger of the Olympian gods was enhanced. He also relayed messages from the gods to their human worshipers. 

As with all messengers, not all of his news was popular with the recipients, especial as he was often the guide to the entry of the underworld.

Regardless, Hermes delivered his communications professionally, speedily and with as little emotion as possible. To the Romans he was Mercury (Mercurius) with much of the same responsibilities.

Hermes is a large plastic miniature from Mystic Battles that I finished in November of 2021.

Athena

                                                 

Athena (Minerva to the Romans) Goddess of Wisdom and War.

Sprouting full grown from the head of her father Zeus (Jupiter to the Romans) with armor, shield and spear, Athena became one of the main gods of the Greek-Roman pantheon.

With her owl as symbol of her wisdom, Athena soon became the both the goddess of wisdom and military tactics.

Patron goddess of the city of Athens, Athena was also the half-sister of the hero Herakles (Hercules to the Romans).

She was a great supporter of many Greek hero's such as Jason, Perseus and of course her sibling Herakles.

She was especially helpful with Herakles' 12 tasks and Perseus' attempt to save his love Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus.

When Perseus beheaded the gorgon Medusa, he presented the head to Athena a thanks for her assistance in his quest. She placed the head upon her aegis (shield).

Be it wisdom, war or handcrafts, Athena was seen in the Greek World as one of the best of the 12 Olympian Gods.

I painted this model of Athena in 2020.