What is it about?
The article examines the myth of Athena's birth from her head—that is, the myth that Athena was born from the head of her father, Zeus. It examines whether this myth is not merely a mythological story but also offers a "neurocognitive interpretation" that suggests ancient cultures developed an intuitive or symbolic answer to the question "where is wisdom/intelligence?" That is, it explores whether, from the perspective of modern neuroscience, there is a cultural intuition about the relationship between "wisdom" and the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex.
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Why is it important?
The article essentially attempts to bridge the gap between "mythology" and "science/neuroscience." This demonstrates that the symbolic narratives of ancient cultures intuitively or metaphorically reflect the brain-intelligence relationship we understand scientifically today. This perspective reveals that abstract concepts such as wisdom, reason, and consciousness can have both cultural and biological dimensions, and that myths, though ancient, can convey profound insights into the nature of the human mind.
Perspectives
It was a great pleasure for me to write this article.
Professor Tayfun Hakan
University of Health Sciences, İstanbul
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Wisdom, mythology, and the prefrontal cortex: a neurocognitive interpretation of Athena’s birth, Postgraduate Medical Journal, September 2025, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/postmj/qgaf155.
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