Athena’s Garden: Channel Story

Mar 2

Welcome to Athena’s Garden, A community to nurture & support one another as a creative, conscientious person in a global world. I’m your host, Liz Chang.

I’d love to share how I came up with the Channel Name. If you stumbled here and thought this was a gardening channel or website,, I’m sorry this isn’t the channel with technical details of how to grow and nurture your home garden! Originally I wanted to create a podcast as my side hustle about creative women entrepreneurs, but COVID-19 happened and all the complications that came with a global pandemic happened, and I experienced creative paralysis. In 2020, like many creatives entrepreneurs, I had to restart at the drawing board and decide what I wanted to do with my life!

As mentioned in my (re) Introduction, I’m a person with a lot of interests and passions, and for the last 14 years, my main passion and source of income was working as a makeup & hair artist, doing editorials, story telling, uplifting the person sitting in my chair and getting them ready for their big event, whether it’s a wedding, a press junket, a performance or a big corporate conference.

For that reason, of course, I would love to share product reviews, discuss the ins and outs about my profession as a makeup/hair artist, running an Artist Agency, and my experience as a creative women entrepreneur. But additionally, I want to explore all my interests with topics like Spirituality, Creativity, Social Psychology, Business Strategy, Interpersonal Relationships (both personal and professional), Communication Techniques, Gender Issues, just to name a few to start. I want to dig into how self-assessment tools like the Myers-Brigg, Enneagram, Astrology & Zodiac and other patterns of behavior that pertain to understanding the diverse minds of creative & conscientious people and how we can use those tools to be a productive person in this global world. It’s a Garden because it’s about Growth, it’s about a work-in-progress, it’s about the Beauty of Being with a capital B.

So why Athena’s Garden? When considering the title for my then podcast, I called upon the muses for inspiration, as artists’ do, and that thread of brainstorming led me to Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Justice and War, and based on internet sources which I will link at the bottom. I’m just going to list them right here, she is also associated with: courage, inspiration, civilization, law, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts and crafts. I couldn’t think of a better representation for this community I hope to create.

Moreover, the myth and story about the naming of Athens is for me the perfect representation and narrative of her resourcefulness, which is inspiring to me. Here’s a quick summary of that myth re-told to the best of my ability.

The mythical King Cecrops who ruled over the region Atticus, established a new city and he was looking for a patron deity and protector for his new city. Poseidon who was the powerful God of the Sea and Athena Goddess of Wisdom, both stepped forward, interested in this honor. It was decided that there will be a contest between Poseidon & Athena, in front of the people of Attica. They were to each provide one gift to humanity, and King Cecrops and the people will deliberate based on the gifts usefulness, and the winner will have the city named after them.

Poseidon was the more popular deity in the region, as many of the citizens were fishermen and ancient Athens was known for their naval prowess. It made sense that Poseidon was favored as he ruled the Sea, Storms and Earthquake. Poseidon stepped forward first, and with his trident, he struck a rock and a spring of salty water bursted through. I believe the intent was for people to be impressed with his strength and power, and to create a communal space to worship him before their journeys to the sea...and the spring was a symbol of his blessings of Sea power for the citizens. The problem was the salt water was not drinkable nor can it be used to fertilize crops.

It was Athena’s turn - she steps forward and plants an Olive Tree. The olive fruit can be food or pressed into olive oil for cuisine. Olive oil can be used as fuel for lamps, used to make soaps and detergents, and! As skin lotion to moisturize and protect the skin. The leaves and tree branches that are pruned after harvest can be used as firewood for cooking and warmth, AND the wood can also be used to build houses, boats and furniture. Furthermore, the olive tree is resilient in draught conditions, and provides shade on a hot summer day.

I think there was a clear winner which gift was quote “The Greatest Gift to Humanity.” Athens was then named after Athena.

I always thought this story as an example for resourcefulness and thinking outside the box. There is a quiet power in being crafty, creative and detail-oriented, which are traits I think we can always aspire to. It contrasts with Poseidon’s gift, which to me was more of a showcase for power, military capability, and displays of strength and assertiveness, traits that are traditionally associated with you know, Patriarchy. I find that at least in Western Cultures being louder, raising your hand first, or jumping in, asserting yourself, is rewarded behavior - like it’s a reflection of confidence.

This is not a Man vs. Woman hierarchy contest. What I’m saying, in this community that I want to build, I want to highlight Athena’s strategy, thoughtfulness, and resourcefulness, and for those of us who are not always the first to raise our hands or chime in in a business meeting, our voices and ideas are valuable, they should be heard as well.

Calling this community a Garden spoke to me because a garden is like a place to play, relax, maybe meditate and be creative. Like a sandbox or playroom idea - you brainstorm, you try things, you plan a layout and lay down roots. If it doesn’t work out, just uproot it, maybe take a break, and start anew. Or...it could be like a secret garden to talk about ones fears and secrets! I don’t know - I thought this was a good title that resonated with me so I’m gonna run with it!

I hope you stick around to explore with me! Thank you so much for reading and watching, I’ll see you in the next blog & video.