Also, I have done my research about the possibile meanings and associations which are considered “standard” interpretations.
What I am wondering about is if there are any unwanted associations because she has been co-opted by hate groups, weird stories or, basically, any other odd stuff that doesn’t stem from the original mythological figure. With the war connotation I could, for instance, immagine people taking it to places where I would not want to go, so this is due diligence.
Again, I am not looking for opinions on whether this is a good idea or whether the standard attributes are a good fit, just whether there are any unexpected associations that I might not know of.
I am not sure that tattoos in general were viewed in a positive light in ancient Greece, so it stands to reason the cult of Athena would not have adopted them.
As for associations, if The Lady was good enough for Odysseus then you have nothing to worry about in that respect. I suppose that if there were some weird modern syncretism we would have heard of it?
As a matter of principle; the only meaning that means anything to me is the meaning my ink means to me.
I have a piece on my back that includes the word “refuse”, which has several very different meanings and pronunciations. The meaning/pronunciation that I assign the word is all that matters.
One meaning out of a few. I used a mirror to look at the piece just now (not easy to view your own back). Along with “refuse” there’s a rubber duckie, classic ship’s anchor, balloons, confetti, and a personal floatation device.
What would a tattoo of Athena look like? I suppose there exist statues and paintings, but none of them well-known enough so that I, personally, would be able to look at a tattoo and think, “Oh, that’s Athena.”
Yeah, I get that and I agree up to a point. But then again, symbols like the swastika and, up to a point, the Celtic cross would lead people to make assumptions that I really wouldn’t want and because they are known associations I think it is fair to say a person with those tattoos is seeking them out purposely. However, I would only feel that way if it were a fairly common thing. If there is a fringe group of loonies then that wouldn’t necessarily stop me. But I am, for example, not very up on my pop culture - things like Marvel, fantasy TV etc - so was just checking if anything stands out immediately.
I’m unaware of Athena being adopted by any particularly unsavory modern group. The only negative connotations I can think of are lethal trickery (The Trojan Horse and the death of Hector) and spiteful vanity (Arachne).
