Athena

## Mythology

**Athena** or **Athene**, often given the epithet **Pallas**, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear.

From her origin as an Aegean palace goddess, Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as *Polias* and *Poliouchos* (both derived from *polis*, meaning "city-state"), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified acropolis in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numerous other temples and monuments. As the patron of craft and weaving, Athena was known as *Ergane*. She was also a warrior goddess, and was believed to lead soldiers into battle as *Athena Promachos*. Her main festival in Athens was the Panathenaia, which was celebrated during the month of Hekatombaion in midsummer and was the most important festival on the Athenian calendar.

In Greek mythology, Athena was believed to have been born from the forehead of her father Zeus. In some versions of the story, Athena has no mother and is born from Zeus' forehead by parthenogenesis. In others, such as Hesiod's *Theogony*, Zeus swallows his consort Metis, who was pregnant with Athena; in this version, Athena is first born within Zeus and then escapes from his body through his forehead. In the founding myth of Athens, Athena bested Poseidon in a competition over patronage of the city by creating the first olive tree. She was known as *Athena Parthenos* "Athena the Virgin", but in one archaic Attic myth, the god Hephaestus tried and failed to rape her, resulting in Gaia giving birth to Erichthonius, an important Athenian founding hero. Athena was the patron goddess of heroic endeavor; she was believed to have aided the heroes Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, and Jason. Along with Aphrodite and Hera, Athena was one of the three goddesses whose feud resulted in the beginning of the Trojan War.

She plays an active role in the *Iliad*, in which she assists the Achaeans and, in the *Odyssey*, she is the divine counselor to Odysseus. In the later writings of the Roman poet Ovid, Athena was said to have competed against the mortal Arachne in a weaving competition, afterward transforming Arachne into the first spider; Ovid also describes how she transformed Medusa into a Gorgon after witnessing her being raped by Poseidon in her temple. Since the Renaissance, Athena has become an international symbol of wisdom, the arts, and classical learning. Western artists and allegorists have often used Athena as a symbol of freedom and democracy.

## Links

* Athena on Wikipedia.
* Athena from SkyBen's Ragnarok roster.
* Athena from Doumasimp's Ragnarok roster.
* Athena from Ripcordkill345‎'s Ragnarok series.
* Athena from NSPunny's Ragnarok roster.
* Athena from Luffydmonkey100's Ragnarok series.
* Athena from Fervor55's Ragnarok roster.
* Athena from NSPunny's Second Ragnarok roster.
* Athena from GodSlayer9699's Ragnarok roster.
* Athena from Blursucks's Ragnarok roster.
* Athena from ProfessionalAxolotl's Ragnarok series.