He describes and analyzes some of the most powerful and ubiquitous symbols that have ruled the mythological thinking of East and West in many times and at many levels of cultural development.

    Karl Ker�nyi's careful rendering of the many aspects of her mythos demonstrates a profound understanding of feminine intelligence both in its fierceness and it darker animal nature - especially apparent in the symbolism of owl, goat, horse, and Gorgon. The archetypal image of Athene provides a mythological background of communal and political consciousness, individuality, and the power of mind.