The third version is by Herodotus, who claimed that Athena was the daughter of Poseidon and the Tritonian lake. Athena became angry at her father and gave herself to Zeus, who in turn made her his own daughter. At first, she was simply a protectress of Mycenean royal palaces, and the goddess of war. She then took on the added responsibility of the protectress of the new city-states in Greece. Athena is also portrayed as having an in-depth personality rather than just acting as an icon of her strengths, which include war strategies, wisdom, and her pride in feminism.
War is a battle of wits, whoever has the best strategy wins.
The best example of this can be found in Homer's The Odyssey , in which Athena tells the Greeks to build a huge wooden horse and give it to the Trojans. The horse was labled as a gift from Athena, and the message to the Trojans was that if they brought it inside their gates, they would win the war. Her shield is more than just protection from enemy weapons, it represents a halt in war by not letting it occur. However, Athena very seldomly sides with the losing side in a war. Athena is quite skillful and creative, not just in war strategy, but also in weaving and spinning.