On one occasion, however, Minerva is represented, even when unattended by any other deity, as employing the foot-wings which Mercury commonly used, and they are said to carry her[143]:
τά μιν φέρον, ἠμὲν ἐφ’ ὑγρὴν
ἠδ’ ἐπ’ ἀπείρονα γαῖαν, ἅμα πνοίῃς ἀνέμοιο.
But there are no stages or intermediate points either here or elsewhere in her journey.
With the movements of Apollo and Minerva, thus conceived by the Poet, we may do well to compare those of Mercury (Od. v. 50–8), Neptune (Il. xiii. 17–31), and Juno (Il. xiv. 225–30).
Their independent power of punishment.
6. Again, an important difference prevails between the different divinities, in regard to the conduct they pursue when offended by mortals. In general, this is one of the points that prominently exhibits the sovereignty of Jupiter; for the common course is to appeal to him, and to obtain retribution either with his permission or by his agency. Not from greater self-will or a spirit of rebellion, but from higher dignity and a certain substantiveness of character and position, Apollo and Minerva always appear as acting for and from themselves, in vindication of their offended prerogatives.
Even Neptune, when he is incensed at the erection of the unconsecrated rampart of the Greek camp, and fearful that it will eclipse the renown of his own handiwork, the wall of Troy, appeals to Jupiter on the subject, and receives from him the permissive suggestion, that he should himself destroy it so soon as the war is over[144]. He pursues a similar course, when he is anxious to chastise the over-boldness and maritime success of the Phæacians[145]. Venus, wounded by Diomed, does not even by appeal attempt to obtain redress[146]. Mars, in the same condition, makes his complaint, both of Diomed and of Minerva, to Jupiter. It is true that afterwards, on the death of his son, he proposes to appear on the field of battle: but then he is in a state of fury[147], and is aware that the act would be one of rebellion against Jupiter: accordingly, it is rudely stopped by Minerva. Again, when Dionysus and his nurses are attacked by Lycoorgus, it is Jupiter that strikes the offender blind, and his life is short because he was become hateful to the gods[148]. Dionysus had made no appeal; but Jupiter avenged the insult to his order. The Sun, after his oxen have been eaten by the companions of Ulysses, lodges his appeal with Jupiter and the Olympian Council: and in this case Jupiter himself undertakes to give effect to the wishes of the offended luminary for vengeance[149]. When Aides, or Pluto, repaired to Olympus after the wound he had received from Hercules, the presumption perhaps arises, that it may have been not simply to obtain the healing hand of Paieon, but also to move Jupiter for redress.
There are indeed a certain set of cases in which the rule is probably different, that is to say, when a deity is thwarted or offended in the exercise of his or her own special function. Thus Neptune, though he would not touch the rampart without leave, yet of his own mere motion destroys Ajax when he is at sea. Venus threatens Helen with her summary vengeance, in case of prolonged resistance to the expressed command that she should repair to the chamber of Paris. The Muses, offended by Thamyris[150], proceed to maim him, probably in voice or hand, the organs connected with his profession. This power to punish within each particular province appears to form an exception to the general rule. It is probably under this exceptional arrangement, that Diana proceeds towards the Curetes, in the Legend of the Ninth Iliad: but some doubt may hang over her case on account of the fact, that she partakes radically of the traditional, as well as of the mythological character.
Offended by the omission to include her in the hecatombs offered to the Immortals, she sends a wild boar to desolate the country. She puts Ariadne to death on the application of Dionysus, without any notice of an appeal to Jupiter. In both these cases she may be acting in virtue of her particular powers. But when she is matched with Juno in the Theomachy, she appears as utterly unequal to her great antagonist.