Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Article review - Essay Example For example, whereas prize vases from the 4th century are engraved with Athena Polias, while the headings of alliances and treaties done on marble were engraved with Athena Parthenos. Athena personifies Athens not as a goddess but as a symbol of the city’s power (Murray, 1890). However, the Parthenos was not only symbolic if the city was partaking in an act of peace, such as the Parthenos holding the acrostolion. Usually, the Parthenos as used to personify Athens was a likeness of Pheidas’ earlier creation, in which she is taking the hand of an allied state. The author considers the likeness of the Parthenos as found on an engraved gem in Cyprus created during the 4th century. She represents Athens, standing in an aegis and helmet, while she has a spear and shield to her left, as well as a serpent to her left (Murray, 1890). However, this particular Athena digresses from the usual Parthenos as created by Pheidas, as she holds an acrostolion in her right hand, rather than a victory figure, such as that on the stern of a naval ship. The acrostolion was known as being symbolic of a naval victory. While there were other symbols of naval victories, such as the bronze mast with three gold stars at the corner or at an angle, the author contends that, the Athena gem from Cyprus symbolized a naval victory because the acrostolion was a well-known emblem for the same purpose (Murray, 1890). The writer also uses the example of a silver coin from Cyprus that also showed the Athena Parthenos used as a symbol of naval victory. In this case, the Athena is quite similar to that from the earlier example but sits on a ship’s prow as she holds the acrostolion in her right hand (Murray, 1890). The coin, he argues, is commemorative of a battle victory for a town in Cyprus aided by Athens. As he stated earlier, this coin could have been used to symbolize an alliance with the town, thus the use of Athena Parthenos. He also argues against the