#minerva pjo

[delicateasahorse]

My current minerva design. She currently looks like this in seven swords to kill the jester (my annabeth-centric fic, roman gods ≠ greek gods, no chb, revolution and all that jazz).

[aaaaalice]

Heroes of Olympus but instead of pretending like the Romans hated Minerva (capitoline triad, anyone?) she's causing extra problems because she's being torn between her connections to the Greek Athena and the Etruscan Menrva.

[englandsgirl18181234]

just had a random thought: what if Annabeth realized something was wrong with Minerva in Mark of Athena (in regards to the fact that Minerva is a manifestation of the suffering and deterioration of Athena’s body and mind due to the power Zeus stole that has been killing her in your AUs).

People like to say Athena disowned her daughter as Minerva, but when reading the book I’ve always gotten the sense that Minerva, between the stress of the Greek-Roman schism, the theft of her statue and the clear confusion that she would have to be displaying to stare at a map and not know how to navigate…is not in her right mind, and further, that her words should not be taken as something Athena would do or say and Annabeth should not have taken them to heart.

(As an aside, I dislike the way Athena is treated in the books and the tv show—she was not the villain in Medusa’s story originally—that was an invention of Ovid, and I don’t believe she would let a monster into her temple to punish children for something they did days ago. She’s wiser than that.

And in the Arachne myth, Athena did try to stop Arachne from giving into her own hubris before they ended up doing the weaving contest, from what I remember. She is wiser and more compassionate than some people think.)

sorry, I just, I have some strong feelings about Athena apparently. Love your AUs 🙂💜 they do Athena so much justice.

I totally agree with you on Athena's treatment in PJO! She's really treated as a villain a lot of the time with the Medusa thing, which is the Roman version of the myth as far as I can find? I know Medusa was born a gorgon in the original.

And especially in the books and show! She's seen as distant and cold because of her domain as the goddess of wisdom, staying hands off and treating everyone like chess pieces. Even her own children, which I both love and dislike her having if I'm being honest.

And it just doesn't make any sense to me, because she helps a lot of heroes in the myths! She was Odysseus's patron of course, but she also helped Heracles, Jason, Diomedes, the original Perseus, and a lot of others!

And as far as Minerva disowning Annabeth goes, at least in my fics? One thing I'm not certain has gotten across very well, especially since it hasn't come up in the actual fic yet, is that Athena and Minerva are basically different people because of how they're split.

Minerva is, like you said, the pain and suffering and deterioration caused by the damage to Athena's soul. She was formed from the tragedy and trauma of what the Romans did to Athena and the last of Odysseus and Penelope's descendants combining with the soul damage and Athena's own rage and helplessness. She's essentially the opposite of Athena as we know her, constantly loud and angry and grieving. She's absolutely not in her right mind*, you're totally right!

*Particularly in my version of the events of Mark of Athena**

**My version has Minerva much angrier, lashing out to hide how much pain she's in and how confused and foggy she feels. She hasn't been out since the last war between the Greeks and the Romans, she has no idea how the modern world functions. She's also actively trying to push Annabeth away so she doesn't get hurt again. She considers everyone around her a threat, but she's too weak to do anything but lash out verbally.***

***Something else I don't think I've mentioned is that Athena and Minerva are so separate from each other that Minerva doesn't see Athena's children as her own. The other gods all recognize their children as theirs, no matter what form they're in. Minerva doesn't. To her, Annabeth is only another threat.

But Athena's love for her children is so strong that even when Minerva is in control, it stops Minerva from lashing out at them physically. Any Roman gods or demi-gods would have been attacked outright, and any Greek ones would have had to step very carefully to avoid the same fate. Even Apollo has gotten attacked by her a few times.

And thank you, that's so kind of you to say!! I'm glad you're enjoying them!!

I'm also SO sorry this has taken me so long to answer. I swear I didn't forget about it, it's just been sitting in my drafts half finished because I couldn't figure out how to describe the relationship between Athena and Minerva. It's very complicated both internally and technically, and I still don't think I explained it all that well.

It's more like Minerva is the fragment of Athena's soul that Zeus broke off instead of just an alternate personality. She's the part that all of Athena's grief and anger and emotion gets shunted to when she goes numb. She's overwhelmed by painful emotions at all times and that's without the physical pain on top of it.

So yeah, sorry this took forever and a day. Thank you for it though, seriously!!! It really helped me figure out how I want to put Athena and Minerva's relationship into words!!

[anxiety0-0]

The Bones in an Owl’s Crypt au

Back again with a snippet from WIP of my au <3

“There's a good reason why none of them venture far into Rome, and she's staring it down right now. Minerva collects herself with a form that's softer around the edges, no armor even, and an olive leaf laurel —instead of a helm— settled on her head like a crown. As if she was a ruler and not a general.

A rattle tumbles out of their? her throat into the burned remains of the forest, seared away by a god's true form, low and dangerous. She can feel her feathers rising in discomfort, trying to make her look larger.

Wisdom and weaving lay heavy in the new clearing, refusing to attack either of their owners. Here, in the heart of Rome, their forms are able to split. For the Roman parts of them to become more than just parts. Two gods of the same concepts stare each other down, one Greek and one Roman. Athena wishes she could ditch Minerva to chase her daughter, but they're tied together. Two minds but one essence, even as two physical manifestations they cannot separate.”

Thought process below

Okay so I love Rick but he should’ve played with the Greek-Roman split more. Secondly! Minerva was literally anything but a minor god, she’s basically the Princess of gods. The nuances between her and Athena are so incredibly interesting. It sucks that she was simply Athena w/o war. Like the ruler and general symbolism was right there!!

But anyway, I go deeper into the differences between them, particularly the different flavors of wisdom they have. Or how Minerva is much more involved in crafts (she was THE craftsmanship goddess in Roman) rather than just weaving.

Circling back to fic progress, it’s currently 7.5k words. Uhhh I’m planning to split it into two chapters, with Annabeth’s first life as part 1 and the rest of her lives as part 2. So probably expect chapter one to drop within 3-7 days?

[percabeth4life]

Just saw you answer about Athena and now I'm curious, why would you make Minerva having children and not Athena? I always had the feeling RR did Minerva dirty but I never was able to put my finger on why, could you expand it a bit please?

Athena is a Goddess who by nature is very masculine. She is a War Goddess, a Goddess of the Palace, a Goddess of the Kings, a Goddess of the Heroes. All of these are uniquely masculine, she is a War Goddess, and for the Ancient Greeks this is odd. They did not give women the same position as men, the women had their place and the men their own.

She is a Goddess of Culture, both men and women, she is a Goddess of Wisdom, used by men and women alike, she is a Goddess of Women's Arts, but also of Men's Arts. While her womanly aspects exist, they are balanced neatly by manly aspects. In turn, she has many more aspects beyond those womanly aspects that were and are far more associated with men.

She was a contradiction, a combination of man and woman nature, yet far more associated with men than woman. Alongside that, however, she was a woman which is strange. Some have suggested it is because she was meant to be beyond anyone, man or woman. Her being a woman makes her unlike the men, meaning they could not aspire to be her as they could one like Ares, yet her being so masculine meant that she was still in their field of being. Her being a virgin Goddess meant she was unattainable by any means, she was beyond them.

And Athena has been a virgin Goddess for her entirety of existence from what can be seen, at the very least since very very early in her existence. Pallas Athene, Athene Parthenos- she is a virgin and beloved as one. She cannot be dominated, she is a Goddess of War, she cannot be conquered, she is a Palace Goddess. She is a wily Goddess of Wisdom and cannot be tricked or cajoled.

Her very nature means that she cannot lower herself, lessen herself, to be under the power of another. While I have found some claims to her being a motherly Goddess... it is not towards children, but instead towards patroning cities, arts, and even heroes. She mothers nations, but she does not mother them as a parent. To be a mother would be to put another, man or woman, in a position of power over her, no matter how small.

Her very nature denies that, she is a unique Goddess, she is beyond reproach, she is unattainable by men or women, yet presides over arts of both. For her to have a child would be in defiance to everything she represents. She is too independent as a Goddess to have a child. It is a defining characteristic for her to be Virgin, in all manner. She is independent, she is a figure of power and authority standing on her own. Her closest relationship is her Father, the King of the Gods, the only one with authority over her.

It means that it's... not right for her to have children, it isn't in her nature at all. But that is not the same for Minerva.

Of all the Roman Gods and Goddesses, Minerva is the one who I would argue represents Rome the most. In the beginning she wasn't even really comparable to Athena. I wrote a piece on her before, but she came from Menrva and was not a war Goddess.

Yes, she was still a virgin, but her association with Athena, her Hellenization, didn't come till later, and as it came she superseded Ares as the War God of Rome. And because of this, while she would still be unlikely to have a child, she is still more likely than Athena. Athena was no part of her till much later in her existence, she was a different Goddess entirely, and while having children is not her nature... it is because she is a virgin, not because of her unique balance of positions, her necessary independence, her defiance of all norms. Minerva is more of a Womanly Goddess than Athena, and as such having a child would be more her nature than Athena.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

[zazzander]

Children of Minerva Headcanon

It's rare to see a child of Minerva pass Lupa's trials, even rarer for them to be accepted into the legion. But once every generation or so, one of them makes it.

And they will eventually receive the Mark of Minerva. This is usually passed down from one child of Minerva to the next. If they all die, the magic of the coin wills itself into the next generations hand.

This mark is associated with the legends that new Rome has, but since children of Minerva are rare and distrusted it's mostly rumour.

A secret kept for hundreds of years.

This might also be way the laws against going to the ancient lands were put in place because children of Minerva kept leading quests there - only for everyone to die.

[percabeth4life]

If you were writing HOO how would you have liked Minerva to be characterized?

Okay so- honestly- she's like the Goddess of Rome there. Right up there with Jupiter and Juno.

It honestly might've fit better for her to assign the quest rather than Mars. Or both together to emphasize how this is a war to go out, and a war to guard the home.

She should be stern, but kind. She is the Goddess of a Thousand Works, and that should've been reflected.

She's not diminished, she's a shield. She is a peaceful Goddess who knows how to go to war when needed. She is wise, she understands what must be done.

In this she could even be the one giving Annabeth her quest, giving her a quest to bring peace and stop the war. Because she is a war Goddess, but she is also the Goddess of Peace.

Let it be reflected, let it be shown, she is more than Rick showed her, she is so much more. Honestly she could be displayed as one truly torn, a powerful respected Goddess no matter her aspect, torn between her people's and trying to get peace for all of them.

Of course, if I were writing HOO then... I would not have the Greek and Roman Gods in one being, they'd be separate, just connected.