Athena | God of War Wiki | Fandom

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Birth

Someday Zeus experiences a severe headache; when the pain becomes unbearable, his skull is split open, and Athena comes out of his head, donned with armor and having a spear and shield in her hand, letting out a war cry. [ 2 ]


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Personality

Of all the gods on Mount Olympus in the God of War series, Athena was arguably the least selfish and was in fact, very noble, putting everyone else before herself [ 8 ] , as was displayed not only by her deep love for her people and her horror of Ares' siege on Athens, but also her deep concern and love for the rest of humanity; as shown in God of War III , she stated that she intended to "liberate" mankind with the power of Hope. She also was seen loving her family - particularly her father, Zeus, deeply, and even sacrificed her own life to save him, although it is possible that she only did so to save the world, as the death of Zeus would have meant the death of Olympus, and thus the destruction of the entire world.
Athena even cared greatly for Kratos, whom she knew as her half-brother, despite his violent nature and reputation and his earlier attack on one of her villages under Ares' servitude: She saved his life when he was a young boy when Ares attempted to kill him after he retaliated when Deimos was being taken away and apologised to him for doing so, elevated him as a god, shielded him from Olympus' wrath, always wanted to help and guide him on his quests, and remained his closest ally in all of the games, and continued watching over him even after he fell out of Olympus and lost his status as a god. According to the official God of War I Novelization, she always wanted Kratos to get freedom from his nightmares; she was tricked by Zeus into believing forgiveness would end his visions, and she tries her best to convince Zeus. [ 9 ] She saves him from suicide; if he committed suicide, not only would he still suffer from his nightmares in the underworld [ 10 ] but he would also get tortured by Hades.
But in God of War III , her motives somewhat changed. For some reason, she desired the death of Zeus and motivated Kratos' quest for vengeance. It was possible that she was affected by the evil, Greed, when Kratos opened Pandora's Box, which changed her motives to personal gain. However, she did not show any of that evil in God Of War II while she was alive, indicating she was resisting it with all she had until her death; however, according to the novelization of God of War II she noticed she was becoming irrational as of late and was losing control over herself. She also claimed to have had a message for humanity. The possible reason for her sudden greed could be her corruption by the powers of higher existence [ 11 ] which could have been further fueled by the evils.
It was unknown what she ultimately had in mind, but most likely she wished the destruction of the Olympians so that she could rebuild the world and rule mankind as its sole all-powerful deity [ 12 ] . Furthermore, according to Erin Torpey, Athena's voice actress for God of War III , she considered Athena as "Trying to do some good to the world, but ultimately wants to take it over," which further lent to the possibility that she was not as benevolent as she presented herself to be.
In God of War (2018) , Athena while appearing in front of Kratos as an illusion, retained her greed and anger towards him, continuously taunting Kratos about his terrible past and about the person he currently was, claiming he was only pretending. Kratos at this point, however, now resented her and was unfazed at her illusion and coldly told her he may be a monster but he was no longer her monster.


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Powers and Abilities

As the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena was one of the most powerful gods on Olympus; with a large variety of abilities, she was just as powerful as her sworn rival, Ares. However, after sacrificing her life for Zeus, her ultimate selfless act caused her to not only be resurrected but allowed her to reach a " higher existence ", which made her powerful than every other god, Olympian and Titan alike.

Higher-Dimensional Existence: Following her sacrifice to save Zeus, she ascended to a higher level of existence, which Cory Barlog elaborates to be a higher plane of existence to everyone else, even Zeus and Gaia. Astral Projection: After she sacrificed herself for Zeus, Athena was able to return in an Astral Form to guide Kratos. To her account, it also gave her a different outlook on the world and caused her to "finally have seen the truth". Conceptual Embodiment: As a God, she is considered the embodiment of Wisdom, Reason, and Purity. Immortality: Like all Olympian Gods, Athena was immortal and thus was unable to age or die from natural causes or mortal weapons. Divine weaponry, like Pandora's Box and the Blade of Olympus, as well as her fellow Olympians, Titans or Primordials could kill her. However, after reaching a "higher existence", she appears to have become truly immortal due to having an astral body. Object Possession: Her favorite method of communicating with her servants and subjects was by taking possession of a statue that represented her. She did that through the series, to guide Kratos. Power Bestowing: Athena was able to bestow her servants with incredible power, she was even able to make Kratos the new God of War, turning him from a mortal demigod into a full-fledged god with many powers. Power Conjuration: Athena was able to conjure magic, such as the Power of Hope , which was stated to be the most powerful weapon in the world. Which can be justified by the fact that the power was powerful enough that a Demigod and possibly powerful Mortals who held the power, were able to kill powerful gods. Hope was more powerful than even the evil, Fear. For example, Zeus was the most powerful god among the Olympians, and even he was killed by that power. Acausality: The laws of time and space work differently for the Gods of Olympus. Self-Sustenance: Gods have no need to eat, sleep , or drink, nor do they need to breathe. Precognition: Athena was the goddess of foresight, and she was able to see a future vision in which even had Artemis and Poseidon joined her in opposing the actions of the God of War, Ares, they would have failed. Weapon Creation: As the Goddess of War, Athena was able to create incredible weapons of war, when she was alive and when she was in her Astral Form. Those weapons were the Blades of Athena and the Blades of Exile. It was possible that she also crafted the Blade of the Gods as it was found in her city and the blade was held by a statue of her. She also bore two swords on her hips, which she used for fighting. Flight: She actually showed that ability in her Astral Form, but she probably had that ability when she was alive. Considering the fact that she was able to reach the Summit of Sacrifice , it could be assumed that she truly did have that ability. Telekinesis: In the first game, when Kratos attempted to commit suicide, Athena used that ability and placed him on solid ground. Another example was when she lifted Pandora toward Kratos. Transmutation: The instruction manual for the first game mentioned how she transformed several women into gorgons as punishment for their infidelity, and in her Astral form, Athena was able to transform the rusted Blades of Athena into the Blades of Exile. Intangibility: While in Astral Form, Athena was able to phase through objects at will, and could become tangible at will. Pyrokinesis: Seeing as how her weapons were imbued with fire and the fact that the God of War had possessed that ability, it was likely that she had pyrokinetic abilities as well. Superhuman Strength: As a god, she was far stronger than any mortal and even stronger than most demigods and possibly many Gods. [ 13 ] In her confrontation against Kratos, she was able to block a blow from the Blade of Olympus. When they were locked together, she held her ground when Kratos tried to push her, and in return, she was able to push him back until he shoved her to the side. She was also able to restrain Hades from pushing Poseidon. It's safe to assume she was relative or even stronger than Kratos in that confrontation. Divine Wisdom: As the Goddess of Wisdom, she had a genius level of intelligence. Her extreme intelligence allowed her to be able to do the following: figure out challenges and puzzles, come up with great ideas and plans, overcome her opponents, figure out questions or not-so-obvious causes, and guide people. When Zeus barred her from killing Ares herself, using her intelligence, she manipulated various gods such as Poseidon, Artemis, and Aphrodite, making them bestow various powers upon her champion, Kratos, so he could kill Ares. When Ares drove Kratos into her temple to kill his family, she was able to figure out Ares' plans long before any Olympian could. Then Athena tricked Ares; she got control over Kratos, trained him for 10 years, and utilized him to finally put an end to the insane God of War. She was able to predict the future accurately and figure out better plans to avoid prophecies than other gods. Superhuman Stamina: As a god, she had incredible stamina and could keep fighting without tiring. Superhuman Speed: As a god, she possessed speed that surpassed that of any mortal, most demigods & most gods. Athena, with a twitch of will, she bursts from her chamber and descends from Mount Olympus to Athens at the speed of thought, which even makes Hermes flabbergasted. She's a warrior with fighting speed like Zeus. [ 14 ] Shape-Shifting: Based on the fact that Kratos assumed that the Eagle that attacked him in Rhodes was Athena (later revealed to be Zeus), it can be assumed that she was able to take on any form that she saw fit. Prayer Empowerment : Athena used to gain power from mortals praying to her, which is similar to the other gods and titans. Armies Control: Athena had control over the armies of humanity, which was originally possessed by the God of War, Ares. She had won the power by besting Ares in a contest called "The Challenge of War Gods". [ 15 ] Invisibility: Athena was able to make herself invisible. [ 16 ] Teleportation: She was able to teleport anywhere at her will. [ 16 ]

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Greek 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. She helps men & women alike throughout the literature, such as Coroneis, Auge, Nyctimene, Daedalus, Jason, and many more. However, she is not without anger; when Medusa sleeps in her temple with the sea lord Poseidon out of her will, Athena transforms her beautiful hair into hideous snakes. 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.