Athena

Athena is a character from Final Fantasy XIV, serving as the main antagonist of the Pandæmonium questline. She was the first chief keyward of Pandæmonium, the wife of Lahabrea and mother to Erichthonios. Her ambitions of attaining godhood would drive her to commit unspeakable acts against the very interests of the star.
==History==
===Early life===
Athena was a brilliant scholar, her research outshining those of the other members of the Words of Lahabrea. Such was her dedication to her work that she forgot to have her meals and even sleep. In her endless search for knowledge, she became obsessed with uncovering the secrets of life after coming across a mysterious rock of unknown origin that landed on Etheirys. Deciding on the term "auracite" for the rock, she eventually created the Heart of Sabik, a black piece of auracite that was comprised of vast aether reserves.
She would come to converse regularly with Lahabrea, who was leader of the Words, about transcending their being and the various theories associated with it. Lahabrea believed she bore true affection for him, and was blind to her true intentions. What started as a platonic relationship grew into something more, and the two wed, with Athena giving birth to Erichthonios some time later. 
When Pandæmonium was built, Athena requested to lead the researchers, with Lahabrea approving her request. It is implied that Lahabrea was aware of the auracite's influence on Athena, and in fact constructed Pandæmonium to keep her away from the general ancient populace. Yet he still loved her, and thus she was given free rein to conduct whatever experiments she could devise. In a series of hidden chambers under Tartaros, Athena constructed a secret laboratory that she used to continue to experiment on the Heart of Sabik, as well as Erichthonios, in her continuing efforts to become a god. These experiments served to make Erichthonios more amenable to her demands, and ensured he would feel a cloying affection for his mother.
When Lahabrea discovered the laboratory, he threatened to strike Athena down if she did not release their son. Although Athena was willing to die by her husband's hand, she wished for him to know the reasons behind her actions, and the two merged their consciousnesses temporarily. Athena's latent desire to continue her research, without a single thought spared for others and for the star, terrified Lahabrea to the extent that he splintered his soul to prevent her corruption taking root. Athena smiled shortly before being killed.
Unknown to Lahabrea, prior to her death, Athena had imprinted her memories onto the Heart of Sabik as a failsafe, intending those memories to interact with Erichthonios should the opportunity present itself for her work to continue. She had also enthralled her fellow keyward, Hegemone, which caused the latter to eventually release the splintered Hephaistos, letting him cause chaos within Pandæmonium. The enthrallment would eventually be removed by Lahabrea, who had chosen to reabsorb Hephaistos to gain the strength to dispel Athena's tinkering.
===Post-Endwalker===
When Lahabrea met his end at the hands of Thordan VII at the Aetherochemical Research Facility, the Heart of Sabik remained abandoned in Azys Lla. Athena's essence within it reached out to Claudien, the reincarnation of Erichthonios, and manipulated him to going to Azys Lla to retrieve the Heart. Afterward, Athena seized control and made him her vessel. She teleported a portion of the facility to the aetherial sea, and remade it into Pandæmonium's image.
After the Warrior of Light slayed Kokytos, an aether-hungry beast that emerged from Pandæmonium's gates, Athena made her presence known to them, claiming to have no ill intent but confessing to kidnapping Claudien for her research. To teach the Warrior about her ambitions, as well as to unlock the secrets of their strength, she created simulacra of Lahabrea and Erichthonios, and also recreated Themis, but bound him under her control. She intended to observe and test the Warrior of Light's usefulness to her experiments via combat.
The Warrior bested the twisted form of the Pandæmonium facility and Themis, before defeating Athena. Confirming that Erichthonios was nothing but a tool to replace life upon Etheirys with superior beings of her creation, she attempted to destroy the aetherial sea with powerful magicks. Erichthonios rushed headlong into her, reawakening Claudien's will and expelling Athena from his body.
Her control over Claudien lost, she was left a powerless phantom and the space around the area began to collapse. In her last moments, she gazed upon what remained of the Erichthonios simulacra, commenting that he was useless until the end. Erichthonios replied that she made him that way.
== Characteristics ==
=== Appearance ===
Athena bears the same grey robes and white mask that the majority of the Ancients wore but possess light brown hair and hazy light blue eyes. When confronted at Anabaseios: The Twelfth Circle, she assumed a pale white butterfly-like humanoid creature, bearing a similar body structure as Garuda, with shades of dark blue and purple on her wings, a blackhole like halo above her head and soulless black eyes with white irises.
In the Savage version of her Trial fight, the orb in her chest is revealed to be the Heart of Sabik and she tears open the strands of flesh containing it to reveal her second form as Pallas Athena, causing a large mass of tentacles to grow from her limbs and bundle together behind her.
=== Personality ===
Though regarded as a dedicated and brilliant scholar, Athena is the most sociopathic, callous, and megalomaniacal of the Ancients the Warrior of Light has encountered. Athena is completely driven to discover the secret of creating life from nothing and has no qualms on the means to achieve it, showcasing a strong determination that Lahabrea considered to be her most dangerous trait as she would let nothing stop her. She will break any and all ethical barriers to advance her research. 
Using others as disposable tools, including those considered family, Athena has no love for her former husband and son, seeing them only as disposable means for her to become a god. She pretended to love Lahabrea so she would be allowed to oversee the Pandemonium facility, giving her free rein to continue her twisted experiments. Despite her son once believing her to be a loving and supportive mother, she willfully conditioned Erichthonios to be aetherically weak and deferential to her whims, making him dependent on her and unable to effectively rebel. Once he no longer served her interests, she cast him aside without a second thought. Erichthonios continued to believe that there was some good in Athena and that the Heart of Sabik corrupted her, but Lahabrea reveals that Athena was always a monster, the Heart merely removing what few inhibitions she had and intensifying the twisted desires that were already present within her, meaning that the mother Erichthonios loved never really existed.
Athena is obsessive and controlling, exhibiting traits of a perfectionist, similar to the other Ancients but taken to a new extreme. Her god complex has led her to believe what she is doing is justified. She aspires to be a new creator god whose creations would be the "perfect stewards" of the Star as she had come to believe the Ancients were flawed and must be wiped away. When called out on her methods only serving herself and not the Star, Athena justifies that it would make her no different from those of the Elpis facility who cast judgment on failed experiments. Her arrogance leaves her open to "miscalculations", as after taking control of her son, she never anticipated Erichthonios resisting her will, nor believe the Warrior would have the power to defeat her. Athena believes herself infallible and any flaws in theories were not of her doing but that of others or the whole world was to blame. As a result, Athena could not comprehend the Warrior's resolve and sheer persistence against her, especially as she began to falter when battling them. In the end, she posited that if creation will not follow her direction, it is not fit to exist. Even after her plans are laid in ruin, left alone and dying, Athena remains unrepentant, only offering a final spiteful remark towards her son.
== Gameplay ==
Athena is the boss encounter of and its Savage mode. Her second form, Pallas Athena, is fought exclusively in its Savage mode.
==Etymology==
Athena is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was regarded as the patron of various cities, particularly Athens.
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy XIV
Category:Antagonists
Category:Ancients in Final Fantasy XIV
de:Athena