AJAX [ay’jaks] or AIAS, son of OILEUS [o-il’e-us], was prince of Locris and a leading warrior whose chief role in the saga occurred in the sack of Troy, when he violated Cassandra, who had taken refuge at the altar of Athena. He died during the return home, having offended both Athena and Poseidon.

Why did Athena punish Ajax?

For his crime of dragging King Priam’s daughter Cassandra from the statue of the goddess Athena and violating her, he barely escaped being stoned to death by his Greek allies. Odysseus knew that Athena would be angry and advised the Greeks to put Ajax to death.

Who punished Ajax?

Poseidon hears this boastful claim and becomes enraged with the mortal clinging to the rocks. Poseidon approaches Ajax, desperately clinging to life, and strikes the rocks with his mighty trident. Ajax is cast off of the stones and drowns beneath the Aegean, a punishment for his defiance and his disrespect.

Who did Athena go to for help with her anger?





Not one Greek protested against the sacrilege. Athena’s wrath was deep. She went to Poseidon and laid her wrongs before him. “Help me to vengeance,” she said.

Who is Ajax in the Aeneid?

Type of Villain



He appeared in Homer’s Iliad, Virgil’s Aeneid and Euripides’ The Trojan Women. As one of the heroes of the Trojan War, he incurred the wrath of the goddess Athena after he raped a Trojan princess in her temple, resulting in his death.

What was Athena’s punishment?

Athena Created Medusa



As punishment for defiling her sacred space, Athena turned Medusa’s hair into snakes and cursed her to turn any man who looked at her head into stone (Ovid, Metamorphoses IV).

How did Athena punish the Greeks?



As punishment for the sacrilege she drove them mad and they leapt to their deaths from the heights of the Akropolis. LOKROI (Locrians) The people of Opuntian Lokris (central Greece) were struck down by a deadly plague sent by Athena, as punishment for the desicration of her Trojan temple by their king Aias.

Who punished Prometheus?

Zeus



How did Zeus punish Prometheus? According to one tale told by Hesiod, Zeus avenged himself on Prometheus by having him nailed to a mountain in the Caucasus and then sent an eagle to eat his immortal liver, which constantly replenished itself.

Who punished hold the sky?

Atlas

According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Atlas was one of the Titans who took part in their war against Zeus, for which as a punishment he was condemned to hold aloft the heavens.

Who was Ajax in love with?



While at Troy, Ajax captured a young princess, Tecmessa, and took her as his concubine. Together they had a son named Eurysaces. In one lesser-known tradition, Ajax also had a lover named Glauce, with whom he had a son named Aeantides (which simply means “son of Ajax”).

Did Athena punish Medusa or help her?

The Medusa we know was raped by Poseidon in the goddess Athena’s temple. Athena then punished her for desecrating her sacred space by cursing Medusa with a head full of snakes and a gaze that turns men to stone. Then, a heroic Perseus severed the serpent-headed Medusa, turning her into a trophy.

Why did Athena punish Odysseus?

524), Athena is the one who first sent Odysseus on his wanderings as part of the punishment for a desecration of her temple by one of the Greek warriors at Troy.

Who did Athena fall in love with?

Hephaestus



She never had a true lover or someone to hug and hold her; all she had was her loving mother, caring father and most of all her brothers and sisters. For some very strange reason it was hopeless that she would fall in love; Hephaestus tried once, yet failed. Athena was well known for giving advice/mentoring heroes.

Why did Athena punish Arachne?

The story suggests that she is punished not because her skill at weaving is equal to that of Athena — in fact, Athena accepts that Arachne’s tapestry is better than hers — but because of the failure to acknowledge her debt to Athena and because she was so self-confident (hubris, as the Greeks called it).

Why did Odysseus fight Ajax?

Ajax and Odysseus fight against Trojans to reclaim the body of Achilles so that he may receive a proper burial. They are successful, but both try to claim his armor as a reward. It is decided by the gods that Odysseus should receive the armor, a decision that drove Ajax mad.

Why does Athena become angry?

She was angered by the idea that someone would say that they were more talented than a god so Athena hatched a plan to confront Arachne. A few days later, disguised as an old woman, Athena knocked on Arachne’s door. “I have come to warn you,” Athena rasped.

Why did Athena punish Medusa?

She was lovely, according to the poem—until she was raped in Athena’s temple by Poseidon. Athena then punished her for this violation, by turning her into the monstrous, stony-glanced creature that we know. Yes: punished for being raped.

Who violated Medusa?



Poseidon

Medusa. The Medusa we know was raped by Poseidon in the goddess Athena’s temple. Athena then punished her for desecrating her sacred space by cursing Medusa with a head full of snakes and a gaze that turns men to stone. Then, a heroic Perseus severed the serpent-headed Medusa, turning her into a trophy.

How did Medusa get pregnant?

Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon.