Claim: Athena is a patron goddess of heroic endeavor.

Athena -LRB- -LSB- əˈθiːnə -RSB- Attic Greek : Ἀθηνᾶ , Athēnā , or Ἀθηναία , Athēnaia ; Epic : Ἀθηναίη , Athēnaiē ; Doric : Ἀθάνα , Athānā -RRB- or Athene -LRB- -LSB- əˈθiːniː -RSB- Ionic : Ἀθήνη , Athēnē -RRB- , often given the epithet Pallas -LRB- -LSB- ˈpæləs -RSB- Παλλὰς -RRB- , is the goddess of wisdom , craft , and war in ancient Greek religion and mythology . In later times , Athena was syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva . Athena was portrayed as having a calm temperament , and moving slowly to anger . She was believed to only fight for just causes and never fight without a purpose .   In ancient Greek literature , Athena is portrayed as the astute companion of heroes and as the patron goddess of heroic endeavour . She is also the patroness of Athens . The Athenians constructed the Parthenon atop their Acropolis as a temple to Athena ; it takes its name from her epithet Parthenos , which means `` Virgin '' .   Veneration of Athena was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to cultural changes . In her role as a protector of the city -LRB- polis -RRB- , many people throughout the Greek world worshipped Athena as Athena Polias -LRB- Ἀθηνᾶ Πολιάς `` Athena of the city '' -RRB- . While the city of Athens and the goddess Athena essentially bear the same name -LRB- Athena the goddess , Athenai the city -RRB- , it is not known which of the two words is derived from the other .