ATHENA (Athene) - Greek Goddess of Wisdom, War & Crafts (Roman Minerva) Athena, Athenian red-figure lekythos C5th B.C., Museum of Fine Arts Boston ATHENE (Athena) was the Olympian goddess of wisdom and good counsel, war, the defence of towns, heroic endeavour, weaving, pottery and various other crafts. She was depicted as a stately woman armed with a shield and spear, and wearing a long robe, crested helm, and the famed aigis--a snake-trimmed cape adorned with the monstrous visage of the Gorgon Medousa (Medusa). MYTHS The more famous myths featuring the goddess Athene include:-- Her birth from the head of Zeus, fully-grown and arrayed in arms. << More >> Her contest with Poseidon for dominion of Athens in which she produced the first olive tree and he the first horse. << More >> The War of the Giants in which she buried Enkelados (Enceladus) beneath Mount Etna and made her aigis from the skin of Pallas.

<< More >> The attempted violation of the goddess by Hephaistos (Hephaestus), who spilled his seed upon the earth and produced Erikhthonios (Erichthonius), who she then adopted as her own son. << More >> The assisting of Perseus in his quest to slay the Gorgon and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece. << More >> The assisting of Herakles (Heracles) with his twelve labours. << More >> The weaving contest with Arakhne (Arachne) who was transformed by the goddess into a spider . << More >> The blinding of Teiresias (Tiresias) for seeing her naked while bathing. << More >> The Judgement of Paris in which she competed with Hera and Aphrodite for the prize of the golden apple. << More >> The Trojan War where she sided with the Greeks in battle, but attacked their ships with a storm when they failed to punish Oilean Aias (Ajax) for violating her Trojan shrine. << More >> Many other myths are detailed over the following pages.

ATHENA PAGES ON THEOI.COM This site contains a total of 9 pages describing the goddess, including general descriptions, mythology, and cult. The content is outlined in the Index of Athena Pages (left column or below). FAMILY OF ATHENA [1.1] ZEUS & METIS (Hesiod Theogony 887, 924; Apollodorus 1.20) [1.2] Born from the head of ZEUS (Hesiod Theogony 887, 924; Apollodorus 1.20, others) OFFSPRING NONE (she was a virgin goddess) CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES I) THE HOMERIC HYMNS Homeric Hymn 11 to Athena (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C.) : "Of Pallas Athena, guardian of the city, I begin to sing. Dread is she, and with Ares she loves the deeds of war, the sack of cities and the shouting and the battle. It is she who saves the people as they go to war and come back.

Hail, goddess, and give us good fortune and happiness!" Homeric Hymn 39 to Athena : "I begin to sing of Pallas Athena, the glorious goddess, bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart, pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia. From his awful head wise Zeus himself bare her arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they gazed. But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis, shaking a sharp spear: great Olympos began to reel horribly at the might of the grey-eyed goddess, and earth round about cried fearfully, and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves, while foam burst forth suddenly: the bright Son of Hyperion [Helios the Sun] stopped his swift-footed horses a long while, until the maiden Pallas Athena had stripped the heavenly armour from her immortal shoulders. And wise Zeus was glad. Hail to you, daughter of Zeus who holds the aigis!" II) THE ORPHIC HYMNS Orphic Hymn 32 to Athena (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C.

to 2nd A.D.) : "Only-begotten, noble race of Zeus, blessed and fierce, who joyest in caves to rove: O warlike Pallas, whose illustrious kind, ineffable, and effable we find : magnanimous and famed, the rocky height, and groves, and shady mountains thee delight: in arms rejoicing, who with furies dire and wild the souls of mortals dost inspire. Gymnastic virgin of terrific mind, dire Gorgon's bane, unmarried, blessed, kind: mother of arts, impetuous; understood as fury by the bad, but wisdom by the good. Female and male, the arts of war are thine, O much-formed, Drakaina (She-Dragon), inspired divine: over the Phlegraion Gigantes (Phlegraean Giants), roused to ire, thy coursers driving with destructive dire. Tritogeneia, of splendid mien, purger of evils, all-victorious queen.

Hear me, O Goddess, when to thee I pray, with supplicating voice both night and day, and in my latest hour give peace and health, propitious times, and necessary wealth, and ever present be thy votaries aid, O much implored, art's parent, blue-eyed maid." DESCRIPTIONS OF ATHENA Athena, Athenian red-figure nolan amphora C5th B.C., University of Pennsylvania Museum Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 14. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "I saw that the statue of Athena had blue eyes . . . For the Libyans have a saying that the goddess is the daughter of Poseidon . . . and for this reason has blue eyes like Poseidon." Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 8. 350 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) : "Athena from Olympos swooped to forest-mantled Ida. Quaked the earth and Xanthos' murmuring streams; so mightily she shook them . . .

From her immortal armour flashed around the hovering lightnings; fearful serpents breathed fire from her shield invincible; the crest of her great helmet swept the clouds." Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 12. 167 ff : "Ares to the fray rose first, and on Athena rushed. Thereat fell each on other: clashed around their limbs the golden arms celestial as they charged. round them the wide sea thundered, the dark earth quaked 'neath immortal feet. Rang from them all far-pealing battle-shouts; that awful cry rolled up to the broad-arching heaven, and down even to Hades' fathomless abyss." Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 14. 386 ff : "She [Athena] donned the stormy Aigis flashing far, adamantine, massy, a marvel to the Gods, whereon was wrought Medousa's (Medusa's) ghastly head, fearful: strong serpents breathing forth the blast of ravening fire were on the face thereof. Crashed on the Queen's breast all the Aigis-links, as after lightning crashes the firmament.

Then grasped she her father's weapons, which no God save Zeus can lift, and wide Olympos shook. Then swept she clouds and mist together on high; night over earth was poured, haze o'er the sea. Zeus watched, and was right glad as broad heaven's floor rocked 'neath the Goddess's feet, and crashed the sky, as though invincible Zeus rushed forth to war." Philostratus the Younger, Imagines 8 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) : "[From a description of a Greek painting :] Three goddesses standing near them--they need no interpreter to tell who they are; for Athena is recognized at a glance, clothed as she is in what the poets call the ‘panoply of her race,’ casting a ‘bright glance’ from under her helmet, and ruddy of face as well as masculine in general appearance." Ovid, Metamorphoses 6. 70 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C.

to C1st A.D.) : "[The artist] gives her [Athena] a shield, she gives a spear sharp-tipped, she gives a helmet for her head; the aegis guards her breast." Apuleius, The Golden Ass 10. 30 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.D.) : "[From a description of an ancient Greek play portraying the Judgement of Paris:] A second girl then burst in, whom you would have recognized as Minerva [Athene]. Her head was covered with a gleaming helmet which was itself crowned with an olive-wreath; she bore a shield and brandished a spear, simulating the goddess' fighting role . . . Each maiden representing a goddess was accompanied by her own escort . . . The girl whose appearance in arms had revealed her as Minerva [Athene] was protected by two boys who were the comrades in arms of the battle-goddess, Terror [Deimos, Terror] and Metus [Phobos, Fear]; they pranced about with swords unsheathed, and behind her back a flutist played a battle-tune in the Dorian mode.

He mingled shrill whistling notes with deep droning chords like a trumpet-blast, stirring the performers to lively and supple dancing." ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN ART ENCYCLOPEDIA Pallas Athena, Greco-Roman marble statue C2nd A.D., Musée du Louvre ATHE′NA (Athênê or Athêna), one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer Il. v. 880) calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any allusion to her mother or to the manner in which she was called into existence, while most of the later traditions agree in stating that she was born from the head of Zeus. According to Hesiod (Theog. 886, &c.), Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was the mother of Athena, but when Metis was pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea and Uranus, swallowed Metis up, and afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his head. (Hesiod, l. c. 924.) Pindar (Ol. vii.

35, &c.) adds, that Hephaestus split the head of Zeus with his axe, and that Athena sprang forth with a mighty war-shout. Others relate, that Prometheus or Hermes or Palamaon assisted Zeus in giving birth to Athena, and mentioned the river Triton as the place where the event took place. (Apollod. i. 4. § 6; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. vii. 66.) Other traditions again relate, that Athena sprang from the head of Zeus in full armour, a statement for which Stesichorus is said to have been the most ancient authority. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355; Philostr. Icon. ii. 27; Schol. ad Apollon. iv. 1310.) All these traditions, however, agree in making Athena a daughter of Zeus; but a second set regard her as the daughter of Pallas, the winged giant, whom she afterwards killed on account of his attempting to violate her chastity, whose skin she used as her aegis, and whose wings she fastened to her own feet. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. l. c.; Cic.

de Nat. Deor. iii. 23.) A third tradition carries us to Libya, and calls Athena a daughter of Poseidon and Tritonis. Athena, says Herodotus (iv. 180), on one occasion became angry with her father and went to Zeus, who made her his own daughter. This passage shows more clearly than any other the manner in which genuine and ancient Hellenic myths were transplanted to Libya, where they were afterwards regarded as the sources of Hellenic ones. Respecting this Libyan Athena, it is farther related, that she was educated by the rivergod Triton, together with his own daughter Pallas. (Apollod. iii. 12. § 3.) In Libya she was also said to have invented the flute; for when Perseus had cut off the head of Medusa, and Stheno and Euryale, the sisters of Medusa, lamented her death, while plaintive sounds issued from the mouths of the serpents which surrounded their heads, Athena is said to have imitated these sounds on a reed. (Pind. Pyth. xii. 19, &c.; compare the other accounts in Hygin. Fab.

165; Apollod. i. 4. § 2 ; Paus. i. 24. § 1.) The connexion of Athena with Triton and Tritonis caused afterwards the various traditions about her birth-place, so that wherever there was a river or a well of that name, as in Crete, Thessaly, Boeotia, Arcadia, and Egypt, the inhabitants of those districts asserted that Athena was born there. It is from such birth-places on a river Triton that she seems to have been called Tritonis or Tritogeneia (Paus. ix. 33. § 5), though it should be observed that this surname is also explained in other ways; for some derive it from an ancient Cretan, Aeolic, or Boeotian word, tritô, signifying "head," so that it would mean " the goddess born from the head," and others think that it was intended to commemorate the circumstance of her being born on the third day of the month. (Tztez. ad Lycoph.

519.) The connexion of Athena with Triton naturally suggests, that we have to look for the most ancient seat of her worship in Greece to the banks of the river Triton in Boeotia, which emptied itself into lake Copais, and on which there were two ancient Pelasgian towns, Athenae and Eleusis, which were according to tradition swallowed up by the lake. From thence her worship was carried by the Minyans into Attica, Libya, and other countries. (Müller, Orchom. p. 355.) We must lastly notice one tradition, which made Athena a daughter of Itonius and sister of Iodama, who was killed by Athena (Paus. ix. 34. § 1; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355), and another according to which she was the daughter of Hephaestus. These various traditions about Athena arose, as in most other cases, from local legends and from identifications of the Greek Athena with other divinities.

The common notion which the Greeks entertained about her, and which was most widely spread in the ancient world, is, that she was the daughter of Zeus, and if we take Metis to have been her mother, we have at once the clue to the character which she bears in the religion of Greece ; for, as her father was the most powerful and her mother the wisest among the gods, so Athena was a combination of the two, that is, a goddess in whom power and wisdom were harmoniously blended. From this fundamental idea may be derived the various aspects under which she appears in the ancient writers. She seems to have been a divinity of a purely ethical character, and not the representative of any particular physical power manifested in nature; her power and wisdom appear in her being the protectress and preserver of the state and of social institutions. Everything, therefore, which gives to the state strength and prosperity, such as agriculture, inventions, and industry, as well as everything which preserves and protects it from injurious influence from without, such as the defence of the walls, fortresses, and harbours, is under her immediate care.

As the protectress of agriculture, Athena is represented as the inventor of the plough and rake: she created the olive tree, the greatest blessing of Attica, taught the people to yoke oxen to the plough, took care of the breeding of horses, and instructed men how to tame them by the bridle, her own invention. Allusions to this feature of her character are contained in the epithets boudeia, boarmia, agripha, hippia, or chalinitis. (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1076; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 520; Hesych. s. v. Hippia; Serv. ad Aen. iv. 402; Pind. Ol. xiii. 79.) At the beginning of spring thanks were offered to her in advance (procharistêria, Suid. s. v.) for the protection she was to afford to the fields. Besides the inventions relating to agriculture, others also connected with various kinds of science, industry, and art, are ascribed to her, and all her inventions are not of the kind which men make by chance or accident, but such as require thought and meditation.

We may notice the invention of numbers (Liv. vii. 3), of the trumpet (Böckh, ad Pind. p. 344), the chariot, and navigation. [Aethyia.] In regard to all kinds of useful arts, she was believed to have made men acquainted with the means and instruments which are necessary for practising them, such as the art of producing fire. She was further believed to have invented nearly every kind of work in which women were employed, and she herself was skilled in such work : in short Athena and Hephaestus were the great patrons both of the useful and elegant arts. Hence she is called erganê (Paus. i. 24. § 3), and later writers make her the goddess of all widom, knowledge, and art, and represent her as sitting on the right hand side of her father Zeus, and supporting him with her counsel. (Hom. Od. xxiii 160, xviii. 190; Hymn. in Ven. 4, 7, &c.; Plut. Cim. 10; Ovid, Fast. iii. 833; Orph. Hymn. xxxi.

8; Spanh. ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm. i. 12. 19; comp. Dict. of Ant. under Athênaia and Chalkeia.) As the goddess who made so many inventions necessary and useful in civilized life, she is characterized by various epithets and surnames, expressing the keenness of her sight or the power of her intellect, such as optiletis, ophthalmitis, oxuderkês, glaukôpis, poluboulos, polumêtis, and mêchanitis. As the patron divinity of the state, she was at Athens the protectress of the phratries and houses which formed the basis of the state. The festival of the Apaturia had a direct reference to this particular point in the character of the goddess. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Apaturia.) She also maintained the authority of the law, and justice, and order, in the courts and the assembly of the people. This notion was as ancient as the Homeric poems, in which she is described as assisting Odysseus against the lawless conduct of the suitors. (Od. xiii.

394.) She was believed to have instituted the ancient court of the Areiopagus, and in cases where the votes of the judges were equally diviled, she gave the casting one in favour of the accused. (Aeschyl. Eum. 753; comp. Paus. i. 28. § 5.) The epithets which have reference to this part of the goddess's character are axiopoinos, the avenger (Paus. iii. 15. § 4), Boulaia, and aguraia. (iii. 11. § 8.) As Athena promoted the internal prosperity of the state, by encouraging agriculture and industry, and by maintaining law and order in all public transactions, so also she protected the state from outward enemies, and thus assumes the character of a warlike divinity, though in a very different sense from Ares, Eris, or Enyo. According to Homer (Il. v. 736, &c.), she does not even bear arms, but borrows them from Zeus; she keeps men from slaughter when prudence demands it (Il. i.

199, &c.), and repels Ares's savage love of war, and conquers him. (v. 840, &c., xxi. 406.) She does not love war for its own sake, but simply on account of the advantages which the state gains in engaging in it; and she therefore supports only such warlike undertakings as are begun with prudence, and are likely to be followed by favourable results. (x. 244, &c.) The epithets which she derives from her warlike character are ageleia, laphria, alkimachê, laossoos, and others. In times of war, towns, fortresses, and harbours are under her especial care, whence she is designated as erusiptolis, alalkomenêïs, polias, poliouchos, akraia, akria, klêdouchos, pulaitis, promachorma, and the like.

As the prudent goddess of war, she is also the protectress of all heroes who are distinguished for prudence and good counsel, as well as for their strength and valour, such as Heracles, Perseus, Bellerophontes, Achilles, Diomedes, and Odysseus. In the war of Zeus against the giants, she assisted her father and Heracles with her counsel, and also took an active part in it, for she buried Enceladus under the island of Sicily, and slew Pallas. (Apollod. i. 6. § 1, &c.; comp. Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm. i. 12. 19.) In the Trojan war she sided with the more civilised Greeks, though on their return home she visited them with storms, on account of the manner in which the Locrian Ajax had treated Cassandra in her temple. As a goddess of war and the protectress of heroes, Athena usually appears in armour, with the aegis and a golden staff, with which she bestows on her favourites youth and majesty. (Hom. Od. xvi.

172.) The character of Athena, as we have here traced it, holds a middle place between the male and female, whence she is called in an Orphic hymn (xxxi. 10) arsên kai thêlus, and hence also she is a virgin divinity (Hom. Hymn. ix. 3), whose heart is inaccessible to the passion of love, and who shuns matrimonial connexion. Teiresias was deprived of his sight for having seen her in the bath (Callim. Hymn. pp. 546,589), and Hephaestus, who made an attempt upon her chastity, was obliged to flee. (Apollod. iii. 6. § 7, 14. § 6; Hom. Il. ii. 547, &c.; comp. Tzetz. ad Lycophr. 111.) For this reason, the ancient traditions always describe the goddess as dressed; and when Ovid (Heroid. v. 36) makes her appear naked before Paris, he abandons the genuine old story.

Her statue also was always dressed, and when it was carried about at the Attic festivals, it was entirely covered. But, notwithstanding the common opinion of her virgin character, there are some traditions of late origin which describe her as a mother. Thus, Apollo is called a son of Hephaestus and Athena -- a legend which may have arisen at the time when the Ionians introduced the worship of Apollo into Attica, and when this new divinity was placed in some family connexion with the ancient goddess of the country. (Müller, Dor. ii. 2. § 13.) Lychnus also is called a son of Hephaestus and Athena. (Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 644.) Athena was worshipped in all parts of Greece, and from the ancient towns on the lake Copais her worship was nitroduced at a very early period into Attica, where she became the great national divinity of the city and the country. Here she was afterwards regarded as the thea sôteira, ugieia, and paiônia, and the serpent, the symbol of perpetual renovation, was sacred to her. (Paus. i. 23. § 5, 31.

§ 3, 2. § 4.) At Lindus in Rhodes her worship was likewise very ancient. Among the things sacred to her we may mention the owl, serpent, cock, and olive-tree, which she was said to have created in her contest with Poseidon about the possession of Attica. (Plut. de Is. et Os.; Paus. vi. 26. § 2, i. 24. § 3; Hygin. Fab. 164.) At Corone in Messenia her statue bore a crow in its hand. (Paus. iv. 34. § 3.) The sacrifices offered to her consisted of bulls, whence she probably derived the surname of taurobolos (Suid. s. v.), rams, and cows. (Horn. Il. ii. 550; Ov. Met. iv. 754.) Eustathius (ad Hom. l. c.) remarks, that only female animals were sacrificed to her, but no female lambs.

In Ilion, Locrian maidens or children are said to have been sacrificed to her every year as an atonement for the crime committed by the Locrian Ajax upon Cassandra; and Suidas (s. v. poinê) states, that these human sacrifices continued to be offered to her down to B. C. 346. Respecting the great festivals of Athena at Athens, see Dict. of Ant. s. vv. Panathenaea and Arrhephoria. Athena was frequently represented in works of art; but those in which her figure reached the highest ideal of perfection were the three statues by Pheidias. The first was the celebrated colossal statue of the goddess, of gold and ivory, which was erected on the acropolis of Athens; the second was a still greater bronze statue, made out of the spoils taken by the Athenians in the battle of Marathon; the third was a small bronze statue called the beautiful or the Lemnian Athena, because it had been dedicated at Athens by the Lemnians. The first of these statues represented the goddess in a standing position, bearing in her hand a Nike four cubits in height.

The shield stood by her feet; her robe came down to her feet, on her breast was the head of Medusa, in her right hand she bore a lance, and at her feet there lay a serpent. (Paus. i. 24. § 7, 28. § 2.) We still possess a great number of representations of Athena in statues, colossal busts, reliefs, coins, and in vase-paintings. Among the attributes which characterise the goddess in these works of art, we mention -- 1. The helmet, which she usually wears on her head, but in a few instances carries in her hand. It is usually ornamented in the most beautiful manner with griffins, heads of rams, horses, and sphinxes. (Comp. Horn. Il. v. 743.) 2. The aegis. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Aegis.) 3. The round Argolic shield. in the centre of which is represented the head of Medusa. 4. Objects sacred to her, such as an olive branch, a serpent, an owl, a cock, and a lance.

Her garment is usually the Spartan tunic without sleeves, and over it she wears a cloak, the peplus, or, though rarely, the chlamys. The general expression of her figure is thoughtfulness and earnestness; her face is rather oval than round, the hair is rich and generally combed backwards over the temples, and floats freely down behind. The whole figure is majestic, and rather strong built than slender: the hips are small and the shoulders broad, so that the whole somewhat resembles a male figure. Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. SOURCES (ALL ATHENA PAGES) Statius, Achilleid - Latin Epic C1st A.D. Statius, Silvae - Latin Poetry C1st A.D. Apuleius, The Golden Ass - Latin Novel C2nd A.D. BYZANTINE Photius, Myriobiblon - Byzantine Greek Scholar C9th A.D. Suidas, The Suda - Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D. OTHER SOURCES Source status of Athena pages:- 1.

Fully quoted: Hesiod; Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle & Homerica, Apollodorus, Pausanias, Strabo, Orphic Hymns, Quintus Smyrnaeus, Parthenius, Aelian (On Animals),; Ovid (Metamorphoses), Hyginus (Fabulae), Apuleius, Aesop; 2. Partially or not quoted (Greek): Homer (Iliad & Odyssey), Pindar, Greek Lyric (Fragments), Greek Elegaic (Fragments), Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Plato, Herodotus, Apollonius Rhodius, Callimachus, Diodorus Siculus, Antoninus Liberalis, Theocritus, Lycophron, Plutarch, Philostratus & Callistratus, Nonnus, Oppian; Tryphiodorus, et. al.; 3. Partially or not quoted (Latin): Hyginus (Astronomica), Ovid (Fasti), Cicero, Statius, Colluthus, Propertius, Valerius Flaccus, et. al.

Athena, goddess of wisdom Athena, goddess of wisdom Though Hercules had an enemy, Hera, on Mount Olympus, he also had a friend. Dewing 1595, silver Athenian tetradrachm (=4 drachmas), ca. 449 - 420 B.C. The goddess Athena, wearing a helmet. Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Dewing Greek Numismatic Foundation Athena, the goddess of wisdom and military victory, and also the patron of the city of Athens, was Hercules' half-sister. Her parents were Zeus and Metis, a nymph. Zeus heard a prophecy that the child Metis bore after she gave birth to Athena would become the lord of heaven, so, to prevent this from happening, he swallowed Metis while she was still pregnant with Athena. When the time came for Athena to be born, the smith god, Hephaistos, opened Zeus' head with an axe, and Athena stepped out, in full armor. The birth of Athena was a favorite topic of Greek vase painters. Boston 00.330, Attic black figure panel amphora, c. 540 B.C. The birth of Athena.

The goddess leaps, wearing armor, from the head of her father, Zeus. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. H. L. Pierce Fund Athena often helped heroes, like Jason and Perseus. She wore an aegis, a goatskin shield which had a fringe of snakes. When Perseus killed the gorgon Medusa, whose face turned men to stone, he gave the gorgon head to Athena, and the goddess placed it on her aegis. Toledo 1963.26, Attic black figure calyx krater, c. 520-515 B.C. Athena wearing her aegis, with its snake-fringe and gorgon head Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Toledo Museum of Art When Hercules went mad and killed his children, Athena stopped the disaster from getting worse. Just as the insane hero turned to kill Amphitryon, Athena threw a stone at Hercules, knocking him unconscious, so his mortal father was spared. Athena also helped Hercules at many points during his Labors.

She provided him with the krotala he used to scare the Stymphalian Birds , and she carried the apples back to the garden of the Hesperides. (md) Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom in Greek Mythology Parents: Goddess Athena was a daughter of Zeus , the King of the Gods, and Metis, the first wife of Zeus, who was keeping inside herself all the world's wisdom. [ Read the story of her birth... ] Athena never married and had no children. The Role of Athena Athena was the goddess who taught mankind various skills such as weaving and sewing to the women and agriculture and metallurgy to men. She was always giving precious advice and stood by on any danger. Athena protected the heroes as they went out to war and saved them on their coming back. Athena and the City of Athens After competing against the Greek god Poseidon , Athena officially became the patron deity of the city of ancient Athens and the Parthenon was built in her honour. She was known as "Athena Nike" (Athena the victorious), as she was believed to have given the Athenians the victory during the Persian War.

Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom Goddess Within Other women, however, seldom feature as allies in the stories of Athena who seems to have been firmly accepted as part of the patriarchy. The most notable exception was her childhood friend, a girl called Pallas. The two, both tomboyish, were inseparable as children, practicing their fighting skills and sharing playful adventures. Once during a practice session, according to Greek mythology Athena accidentally wounded Pallas. The injury eventually proved fatal. In deep grief over the loss of her friend, Athena took Pallas' name to add to hers. Thereafter she was often referred to as Pallas Athena, in honor of her childhood friend. The Greek goddess Athena was frequently called upon to settle disputes between the gods or various mortals. "Athena Goddess of Wisdom" was known for her superb logic and intellect. Her decisions were usually well-considered, highly ethical, and seldom motivated by self-interest. Not only the goddess Athena's decisions demonstrate her wisdom, but they revealed her great compassion as well. Once, when a man called Teiresias accidentally walked in upon the goddess Athena while she was bathing (an act usually punished by death), Athena took pity on the poor mortal.

Not wishing his death, she instead covered his eyes with her hands, thus simultaneously blinding him and giving him "inner sight", i.e., the gift of prophecy. As a result he became one of the most revered oracles in ancient Greece. The Greek goddess Athena identified with the patriarchy and usually cast her power and support on their side during any dispute. In the first jury trial in recorded history, she cast the deciding vote to acquit Orestes of the murdering his mother to avenge his father's death. Athena was persuaded by Apollo's argument in Orestes' defense that the death of a mother was of less importance than a father's death since the woman simply nurtured the seed while it was actually the man who planted it. Motherless herself, the goddess Athena usually placed patriarchal principles above maternal bonds. Athena the Greek Goddess of Wisdom [ ? ]Subscribe To This Site Athena the Greek goddess of Wisdom Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom was the daughter of Zeus and of the Titaness Metis, who was a goddess of wisdom and thought herself. Her Roman counterpart is Minerva. Most of the gods were born normally, but can you guess how was Athena born?

Zeus was in love with Metis and so he married her (she was his first wife). But Gaia and Ouranus prophesized that, should Metis have first a daughter, after that she would have a son who would be more powerful than his father. Metis was already pregnant and Zeus was very afraid of losing his position as a ruler of the gods. He finally came with a "brilliant" idea: he just swallowed her and that's that! But then he started to have horrible headaches, because the baby would continue to grow... inside his head. All the gods and the nymphs were gathered around him. Nobody could help him, except Hephaestus , who came with his hammer and split Zeus' head open. (Of course, what would a Greek myth be without versions? Others say it was Prometheus who struck Zeus's head). Athena jumped out fully grown up, clothed and armed, and gave a fiery cry that made the skies and the earth tremble. Her birth place is considered the river Triton. Zeus was looking at his offspring feeling very proud of her. Even Hera looked admiringly. Athena's armour was most beautiful, it had many changing colours.

Hephaestus was trying to figure out what kind of gift he could bring her, in order to gain her favous, but he couldnìt come up with anything, because she already had this marvellous armour. Athena was also the goddess of warcraft, but she represented strategic war actions planned carefully and fighting for a good cause, and as such she was different from Ares , who fought for the sake of fighting and for the pure lust of bloodshed. The Greek goddess Athena was also a goddess of the arts and literature and a patron of the female arts and crafts. She was the protector of weavers, spinners, embroiderers. Athena and Poseidon had a contest for the city of Athens (which, at that time, didn't have a name yet). Poseidon struck the earth and made a salty spring, which he gave as a gift to the inhabitants. Athena the Greek goddess of wisdom made the olive tree, which gave people wood, oil and food. Her gift was very appreciated and she became the patron of the city, which took her name, thus becoming Athens.

At the wedding of Thetis and Peleus , when the golden apple was thrown in the middle of the guests by Eris, Athena was one of the three goddesses who claimed she was entitled to the apple (together with Aphrodite and Hera). After the judgement of Paris (you can read about it here ), as she was not chosen, she decided to fight on the side of the Achaeans and against the Trojans. -- to be continued -- Custom Search Athena: Greek Goddess of Wisdom Athena Goddess of Wisdom Birth Athena was the daughter of Zeus and Metis . But there was a problem, Zeus checked up on Metis and found out that if he had a son by her this son would be mightier than him (you know, the same way he was greater than his daddy and his daddy was greater than his grandpa). So he tricked Metis and ended up swallowing her when she turned into a fly and figured she was no longer a threat. However, Metis was pregnant with Athena and when Athena was born, this turned into quite a problem. Soon Zeus was plagued with killer headaches and he ran to Hephaestus (Smith God) and begged him to open his head.

Hephaestus did as he was told, and out popped Athena, full grown and ready for battle! Other versions peg her father as Pallas (who later attempted to ravage her and she killed him without hesitation and took his name and skin). Some say her daddy was Itonus, a King of Iton. Some say her biological father was Poseidon, but that she begged to be adopted by Zeus. No matter what the story is, she never has a real mother. Athena's birth "is a desperate theological expedient to rid her of matriarchal conditions" says J. E. Harrison. She was the Goddess of Wisdom, and the daughter of the Titaness who basically personified it. By having her born only from Zeus, it gave males authority and power over something that had previously only been a female realm. Zeus swallowed Metis, and so was able to assimilate her crafty wisdom. Athena did not have any loyalty to a mother figure, which probably played a major role in her self-description as misogynist . Realm Athena was, as I said earlier, the Goddess of more things than I can shake a stick at. But they can be pretty easily summarized into three things.

She was the Goddess of Wisdom, Goddess of Military Victory (war with good tactics and winning strategies, not just fighting, like Ares), and Goddess of Crafts. I need to elaborate a little more on that last one, just so you can understand her coolness. Athena invented the flute, the trumpet, the earthenware pot, the plough, the rake, the ox-yoke, the horse-bridle, the chariot, and the ship. Now that's just the "guy" stuff. She was also the first teacher of the science of numbers, and all women's arts: weaving, cooking, and spinning. If you are looking through paintings and you think you might have found something that is Athena, here is some of her iconography: the aegis (shield/fringed cloak, sometimes with the head of Medusa on it), a shield (again, sometimes with the head of Medusa), bronze armor, a helmet (this is very common), and a spear (also very common). Athena was also one of the three Virgin Goddesses on Olympus, something you might want to read more about .

The Naming of Athens I am telling this story here (briefly) because it is important to Athena (I think), but there is a much better version of this, for your reading pleasure, in the Myth Pages . So! Wayyyyyy back in the day the city of Athens belonged to Poseidon. He had claimed it by coming in, striking a rock with his trident and establishing a spring. But the spring only gushed salt water, and so it wasn't very useful, even if it was kind of pretty. Many years later, during the reign of Cecrops (a half-snake dude who was the king there), Athena came in and planted an olive tree, thus claiming the land for herself. Poseidon was totally pissed off, and challenged Athena to mortal combat (he would have got his ass kicked) and Athena was about to accept except that Zeus stepped in and stopped them (he probably didn't want Poseidon killed). Instead they went before the Gods with Cecrops presenting the evidence. The Gods voted. All the males voted for Poseidon and all the Goddesses voted for Athena, except for Zeus - who refused to give his opinion. Therefore, Athena won the decision by one vote.

Poseidon was pissed, and - like the stupid boy he was - threw a temper tantrum and flooded another one of Athena's cities (called Athenae on the Thriasian Plain). So Athena moved to Athens, took residence there and named that city after herself too. But, to help Poseidon's ego, the women of Athens were deprived of their vote, and men were no longer to carry their mothers' names. Love and Kids and Virginity Athena was loved by most everyone, and was a very loving person herself. But she loved everyone in the filial sense (like a sister), and was completely uninterested in sex. There were tons of Gods who would have given their eyes to marry her, but she was completely disgusted by the idea. Once, during the Trojan War, Athena had to ask Hephaestus to make her a set of armor and weapons. She offered to pay him, but Hephaestus insisted that his only payment would be love. She completely missed the sexual innuendo and agreed. When she came to Hephaestus' smithy to pick up her stuff, he came at her and tried to ravage her. Obviously that didn't happen.

Don't think to badly of Hephaestus though, it really wasn't all his fault. Poseidon had played a joke on him and told him that Athena was on her way to the smithy hoping to make violent love to him. Athena totally ran away from the unfortunate Hephaestus, but she didn't move quite fast enough and he ejaculated on her leg. Athena was completely grossed out, and wiped it off with a piece of wool that she then dropped on the Earth. That would be Gaia , and she was fertilized by the semen on the wool. Gaia was revolted at the very idea of it, and so she refused to bring the child up. Athena was fine with this and decided to bring the kid, who she named Erichthonius ("Earth-born"), up herself. There is more to this story (involving love, suicide, and people getting turned into stone), but if you want to know it, you better check it out in the Myth Pages. Unfortunately it is not there yet, so you're just gonna have to wait. Kindness and Temper In general, Athena was a really nice goddess. She was very modest, like Artemis , but much more generous.

Athena, like Artemis, was surprised by an enraptured onlooker while bathing, but she didn't kill him or transform him or rip him to shreds or anything. She laid her hands over his eyes and blinded him, but gave him inward sight and the ability to understand the birds' signs to tell the future. As a result, Teiresias (that was his name) was highly respected and revered from then on. So that wasn't bad at all. Athena was, as I said, generally cool. But every once in a while she got all pissy (as gods tend to get) and lashed out. Once, was a rather minor incident when she invented this double stemmed flute. She was really excited about it, and went around playing it everywhere. That is, until someone happened to mention that she looked absolutely ridiculous with her cheeks puffed out like that to play. She was furious and threw the flute onto the ground where it was picked up by Marsyas , but that's another story. The one time Athena really lost it for something petty was in the story of Arachne, and that story isn't even really Greek. Arachne was this Lydian princess who was a fabulous weaver.

She was so good that people said she was better than Athena. Athena heard and was all like, "Excuuuuuuse me? Please girl, I was weaving before humans existed," and challenged Arachne to a weave-off. They both made beautiful tapestries, and both were completely flawless, except Arachne's made fun of the Gods. Athena was bitter and very pissed and ripped Arachne's work to shreds in a cold, vengeful rage. Arachne totally didn't mean to upset her heroine and hung herself, but Athena remembered herself, and saved the girl by turning her into a spider and giving her the ability to weave forever. In a variation on the same theme, Servius reports that Athena loved this Attic chick, but the girl (Myrmex) went out and betrayed Athena's trust by claiming to have invented the plow herself, when it was really Athena. See, if they were both mortal, there would have been all this drama, someone would have gone home crying ... but Athena just turned the girl into an ant for being so presumptuous and that was the end of that.

Names and Stories Athena is often referred to in mythology, but if you don't know her names, sometimes these references can be hard to catch. She is often called Pallas, or Pallas Athene. This name comes from a childhood friend she had, a nymph, who she accidentally killed when they were having a mock battle. Athena was distraught and carried her friend's name with her forever more. The name, Pallas, means Maiden. And as Athena is often referred to in this form - which can refer to her Virginity, her Youthful Strength, or her Independence - you should definitely know what it means. Often you will find references to her as "gray-eyed", a reference which seems linked only to Athena and may have something to do with her wisdom. There is one weird reference by Pausanias about Athena having blue eyes. That comes from a Libyan story that Athena was the daughter of Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, and because of that has blue eyes like her father. But this story is not generally accepted, and you aren't going to find a blue-eyed Athena anywhere except on one statue next to a specific Temple of Hephaestus, so don't worry about it.

Sometimes she is called "bright-eyed" but that is common to all Gods. In Cylarabes there is an Athena called Pania. This name, I am guessing, comes from her discovery of the flute. In Athens they called her Athena Ergane (Worker) and were very devoted to her because of her crafts. The story of her patronship of Athens is really cool, and I told it above . She was called Athena Aethyia (Gannet, a type of bird), and I don't know why yet, but there was a Rock dedicated to this where the hero Pandion died. Tritogeneia was another name of Athena's. It could have come from three different sources. Geneia means "born" in Greek, and so it could be a reference to the idea that Athena was born from the Lake Tritonis. It also could have been from tritô, the Aeolian word for "head", therefore "head-born" - which would make a lot of sense. The other idea is that the trito was from the root meaning "three" and that she was the third child (she was the third Olympian daughter of Zeus after Artemis and Apollo).

Okay - there are SO many epithets of Athena that I don't have room or patience to discuss all of them in detail, but here's a list I copied directly out of Robert E.

Bell's Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary (BUY IT!): Acraea, Aethyia, Ageleia, Agoraea, Alalcomeneis, Alcimache, Alcis, Alea, Amublia, Anemotis, Apaturia, Areia, Asia, Assesia, Axiopoenos, Boulaia, Budeia, Chalinitis, Chryse, Cleidouchos, Colocasia, Coryphasia, Cydonia, Ergane, Glaucopis, Hellotia, Hippia, Hippolatis, Hygieia, Iasonia, Itonia, Laosos, Laphria, Larissaea, Lindia, Longatos, Magarsia, Munychia, Narcaea, Nedusia, Nice, Onca, Ophthalmitis, Optiletis, Oxydercis, Paeonia, Pallas, Pallenis, Panachaea, Pareia, Parthenos, Phrygia, Polias, Poliuchos, Polyboulos, Promachorma, Pronaea, Pylaitis, Saitis, Salpinx, Sc

iras, Soteira, Telchinia, Triton, Xenia, Zosteria.

Athena • Facts and Information on Greek Goddess Athena Athena Greek Goddess of Wisdom and War Athena, also referred to as Athene, is a very important goddess of many things. She is goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. She is known most specifically for her strategic skill in warfare and is often portrayed as companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavour. Athena was born from Zeus after he experienced an enormous headache and she sprang fully grown and in armour from his forehead. She has no mother but one of the most commonly cited stories is that Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, and then swallowed her whole as he feared she will give birth to a child more powerful than him because of a prophecy – but she had already conceived. Facts about Athena Athena was the Goddess of War, the female counterpart of Ares. She was the daughter of Zeus; no mother bore her. She sprang from Zeus’s head, full-grown and clothed in armor. She was Zeus’s favorite child. According to Homer’s account in the Iliad, Athena was a fierce and ruthless warrior.

In the Odyssey, she was angry and unforgiving. In the course of the Trojan War, she struck Ajax with madness. Known for protecting civilized life, she was the Goddess of the City. According to some sources, Athena was praised for her compassion and generosity. Athena was a patron of the arts and crafts, especially when it came to spinning and weaving. In later poetry, Athena embodied wisdom and rational thought. Athena served as a guardian of Athens, where the Parthenon served as her temple. Zeus trusted her to wield the aegis and his thunderbolt. Her most important festival was the Panathenaea, which was celebrated annually at Athens. She is referred to in poetry as “gray-eyed.” The owl was her bird, and the olive tree was hers. She turned the weaver Arachne into a spider after the mortal woman insulted Athena and the Olympian gods. Athena reared Ericthonius, son of Hephaestus. He was half man, half serpent. Athena put the infant in a chest and gave it to others to watch over, forbidding them to open it. When they did, she drove them mad as punishment.

She is one of three virgin goddesses; the other two were Hestia and Artemis. Athena invented the flute, but she never played it. Hermes and Athena went to the aid of Perseus in his quest to kill Medusa. Looking directly at Medusa would turn any man to stone, so Athena provided Perseus with her polished shield. Using it, he was able to see Medusa as if looking in a mirror. Again, Athena guided his hand as he cut off Medusa’s head with his sword. Hera and Athena fought against Paris in the Trojan War since he had awarded the Golden Apple to Aphrodite. The sacred image of Athena, a wood statue called the Palladium, protected the Trojans as long as they had it. Odysseus and Diomedes executed a plan to steal the image, greatly encouraging the Greeks in their hopes to end the long-suffering war. Athena helped Hercules when, as a part of his penance, he was required to drive away the Stymphalian birds. She got them moving, and Hercules shot them.

Link/cite this page If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content. <a href="">Athena: - Greek Gods & Goddesses, September 19, 2014 Link will appear as Athena: - Greek Gods & Goddesses, September 19, 2014 Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom and War ATHENA FACTS Athena (Minerva) – Greek Goddess of Wisdom and War. | Greek Mythology Pantheon Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by chatgr Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by chatgr Athena (Roman equivalent is Minerva) was the goddess who symbolized wisdom. She was also the goddess of war. The Greeks were the first people who achieved logical thinking and formulated global laws for the operation of the universe. It was natural to coin a goddess who personified the wit and wisdom. Besides, even the way of the birth of the goddess was such that testified her properties. The grey-eyed daughter sprang from the head of omnipotent and omniscient Zeus.

The nymphs of the mountain and the Oceanids in Crete, without the knowledge of Cronus, raised Zeus, the father of gods and men. By that time, he chose to fall in love with Metis. She was the most prudent of all her sisters. With her advices, she decisively helped Zeus to get the final victory. She gave Zeus the magical herb, which forced the terrible child-eater Cronus to pull out of his stomach all the gods he had swallowed. Metis was the first wife of Zeus or according to others, the first mistress. At a feast held in Olympus to formalize their relationship, Uranus and Gaia revealed to their grandson that Metis would give him firstly a daughter and then a son who would become so strong, that he would be the first of the gods. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by GenzoMan Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by GenzoMan The oracle from his ancestors put him into thinking. Therefore, when he saw that Metis was pregnant, he could not settle down. So Zeus asked for an herb from his grandmother Gaia.

According to the myth, whoever ate that herb would become as small as the size of a little finger. Gaia did not refuse to the favor he asked and she gave him the herb. Then Zeus ran on Metis and gave it to her to swallow, saying that this herb would help her give birth to strong children. Metis believed him, but shortly after swallowing the herb, she began diminishing. Zeus then opened his huge mouth and swallowed her. He did the same trick as his father, but he quashed both his wife and the child that was in her womb. Once Zeus swallowed Metis, he immediately gained all the wisdom of the world. He knew every moment what was good and what was bad. After a few days, something began to bother him in his head. He felt like a little sword gently touching his mind. Nevertheless, as time passed the discomfort became more intense and the head ache stronger. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by TaekwondoNJ Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by TaekwondoNJ Zeus was in terrible pain. All goddesses tried to soothe him with magic herbs, but nothing seemed to ease the pain.

He screamed and knocked on the ground, so that the whole Olympus echoed and trembled by his harrowing voices. One night, Zeus could not bear it anymore and called Hephaestus to come to his palace with his huge hammer. His son arrived sweaty and grimy. Zeus was in terrible pain. All goddesses tried to soothe him with magic herbs, but nothing seemed to ease the pain. He screamed and knocked on the ground, so that the whole Olympus echoed and trembled by his harrowing voices. One night, Zeus could not bear it anymore and called Hephaestus to come to his palace with his huge hammer. His son arrived sweaty and grimy. The moment Zeus saw him, he said: "Quickly Hephaestus, give my head a strike with your hammer in order to save me once and for all from this torment." Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by zelda994612 The divine blacksmith paused, rolled his eyes, and refused to do so. However, Zeus was not joking. Enraged, he threatened Hephaestus that he will throw him for the second time from Olympus.

The terrified young god said: "Forgive me father, forgive me mother Hera and all you Olympians. But as you also see, I cannot do otherwise." Shortly after, he picked up his huge hammer and hit it with all his strength at the head of his father. Then in front of the amazed eyes of the Olympians sprang from the head of Zeus a beautiful, fully armored, grey-eyed daughter. She was holding shield, wearing a helmet and waved menacingly a spear. It was Athena, goddess of war but also patroness of wisdom. Athena inherited her father's omnipotence and wisdom of her mother, Metis. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess at sunset - Art Picture Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess at sunset - Art Picture At the time of her birth, Athena took out a war cry that made whole Olympus to tremble and reached to the ends of the world. The earth shook, the sea was agitated, and huge waves rose menacingly. Helios (Sun) stopped his golden chariot and watched the goddess until she pulls off the armor from her weak body. Shortly after, the commotion caused by the birth of the new goddess stopped. The whole nature calmed.

Zeus, relieved by the terrible headaches, saw his new daughter and smiled. Athena, in a short time, grew and gained his divine glory in its entirety. The gods welcomed their new companion with a glorious feast. Athena was the first to start their dance. According to another myth from Crete, the goddess was born on the island from a cloud that Zeus hit with thunderbolt. Others said that Athena was the daughter of the giant Pallas or daughter of Poseidon and Tritonis. Many times, they called her Pallas. Regarding this name, the following myth exists. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess at dawn - Art Picture Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess at dawn - Art Picture The first years of her life, Athena grew up with a girl called Pallas. They had become very favorite friends. They learned the martial art together and played quite violent games. One day that they quarreled, Pallas was about to strike Athena. However, Zeus seeing the incident was scared for his little daughter and protected her with his Aegis. The girl was startled when he saw lands in front of the terrible shield. The little goddess took advantage of the turmoil and fatally struck her.

When Athena realized that her friend had died, she burst into inconsolable crying. To honor her young friend, she created a statue that looked like her and placed it next to her father. She named the statue, which was made of wood, Palladium. Eventually, however, Zeus threw the statue from Mount Olympus and it fell to Troy at the time the Trojans were building the city. Ever since, this statue was protecting the area. Because it had fallen in the temple of Athena, they called the goddess Athena – Pallas. Many cities in ancient times claimed to have Palladiums and that enjoyed Athena's protection. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess resting - Art Picture Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess resting - Art Picture Athena was the favorite child of Zeus and spent her entire life dedicated to her father, whom she loved and adored. Her help at the Giants' War was valuable, where she killed and skinned the giant Pallas and crashed Sicily upon giant Enceladus, burying him underneath. Only Athena stood beside Zeus when the terrible Typhon (Hurricane) swooped on Olympus. Only once, she participated in the conspiracy of Hera, Poseidon, and Apollo versus her father.

Then she was the only one who did not experience the wrath of Zeus and so the love and affection continued without any other problems. Athena loved martial arts and she was giving herself constantly to them. She had no love affairs and symbolized the eternal virginity. This is why the Athenians called the temple of the goddess on the Acropolis, Parthenon (parthenos in Greek means virgin). Only once Hephaestus tried to annoy her erotically, but the goddess resisted bravely. From the seed of god, which fell to the earth, Erichthonius was born, a celebrated hero of Athens. The goddess was behaving as if he was her son. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Alayna Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Alayna Others claim that the Erichthonius was the son of Gaia who confided him to Athena to raise him. They say that the hero established the Panathenaic festival, the largest festival in honor of Athena. They also believed that the goddess taught him to drive the chariot that is pulled by four horses. Her most favorite city is Athens, which got its name from her.

A myth says that Poseidon was the first to arrive in Attica. He struck with his trident a rock of the Acropolis and immediately gushed forth a spring of salt water. Then Athena that was also claiming the sovereignty and protection of the area planted an olive tree. Then the other Olympians entered as judges to the conflict of the gods and decided in favor of Athena. According to another myth, an olive tree grew on the Acropolis and a little further gushed a spring. Cecrops was the lord of the area and requested the advice of the oracle. The oracle informed him that the tree represented the Athena and the spring represented Poseidon. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Michael C Hayes Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Michael C Hayes Then, Cecrops called a popular assembly of men and women in order to come to a decision. All men voted for Poseidon and all women for Athena. But the women were more than men and so the city was given to Athena. Poseidon was very angry and flooded the area. Men, then, decided to punish women, forbidding them to participate in meetings and vote. However, the most common version of the myth is the following.

The gods told the litigants that the one who would earn the city would be he who made the most useful gift to residents. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by J Rickey Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by J Rickey The martial goddess stood alongside many famous heroes of antiquity. Heracles (Hercules) was one of them that Athena was protecting. Athena saw him for first time, when the mortal hero ran into the side of Zeus to face the Giants. She immediately liked him. With her valuable advices he managed to kill Alcyoneus. Nevertheless, later also, when Eurystheus assigned to Heracles the test of the twelve labors, Athena also helped him. She gave him the cymbals that were the work of the divine artisan Hephaestus. Hitting the cymbals, the hero startled the Stymphalian hens that flew from their hidden nests and thus killed them with his arrows. In order to delight Athena, Heracles devoted to her the golden apples that he had cut from the garden of Esperides.

Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess marching to war - Art Picture Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess marching to war - Art Picture With the help of the goddess, Perseus managed to kill the Gorgon. She was a monster that had snakes instead for hair and her eyes caused terrible panic or petrify anyone who was facing them. The hero, when he went to face the horrible monster, was equipped with the shiny shield that Athena gave him. Therefore, while he had turned his gaze elsewhere, he was watching the Gorgon's image mirrored onto the shield and managed to fight and behead her. He offered the Gorgon's awesome head to Athena, which was retaining its properties although it was cut off. The goddess placed the head onto the aegis (shield) she had, her father's gift. She collected the blood that popped from the veins of the monster and gave it to Asclepius, who used it as a medicine. Others say that she had given two drops of blood to Erichthonios. One drop was causing death and the other one had therapeutic properties.

Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Nero tbs Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Nero tbs A myth says that when Perseus beheaded the Gorgon, her sisters, Stheno (Valence) and Euryale, who were immortal, mourned a lot for her. However, this wailing came from the snakes they had for hair and not by themselves. Athena tried to find a way to imitate this wailing. Therefore, she took the bone of a large deer they had sacrificed to her, opened some holes and blew rhythmically into the new musical instrument that she called flute. Thrilled, Athena ran to Olympus and showed her invention to the other gods. However, Hera and Aphrodite ironically broke out in laughter. Athena could not explain their behavior and was very angry. Then they explained her that while playing the flute, her cheeks turned red and big, disfiguring her face and it was very funny. The stubborn goddess ran into a creek and mirrored herself in the waters while playing the flute. Athena immediately understood that the other goddesses were right to mock her and furiously threw her music instrument.

Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess with Nike - Art Picture by Green Cat Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess with Nike - Art Picture by Green Cat Pegasus, the winged horse, was son of Gorgon and Neptune. A hero, Bellerophon, once asked the help of Athena to capture and tame the horse. One night that the hero slept in her temple, she appeared in his dream and gave him a bridle with which he managed to tame it. Athena was very shy with men. Therefore, one day that Tiresias saw her nude, bathing in the waters of a lake with the Nymph Chariklo, she avenged him mercilessly. With a simple touch to his eyes blinded him for his entire life. However, her friend begged her to pity him. Since Athena could not cancel a divine decision, decided to favor Tiresias in a different way. She cleaned his ears so well, so he could even hear the chirping of the birds and gave him a stick, which helped him to walk as people who were able to see. Since then, Tiresias became the most famous seer of antiquity.

The martial goddess was active in the Trojan War, where she was protecting the camp of the Greeks, and that because she was outraged by the judgment of Paris regarding the most beautiful goddess. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Valeskamoura Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Valeskamoura Her favorite warriors were Diomedes, Achilles and Odysseus. Athena stood by their side in all their difficult moments. Especially, when there was a high risk she resorted to miracles to save them. She made divine fire coming out of the Diomedes‘s helmet and covered the head of Achilles with a fiery cloud. Indeed, in the most difficult moments she transformed herself into a Trojan warrior and went to the concentrations of rival generals, giving them wrong advices. Nevertheless, when there were divisions and disagreements within the Greek camp, Athena always managed to prevent the worst from coming. She does not let Achilles slay Agamemnon although he had severely insulted him.

Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Rudyao Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess - Art Picture by Rudyao Athena helped Odysseus both during the war and during his ten-year journey of return. In the Odyssey, Athena intervenes with transformations. She takes the form of Mentor and gives valuable advice and guidance to Telemachus. She also sends dreams. Athena appears in Nausicaa’s sleep and advises her to go to wash her clothes in the river, the day Odysseus was approaching the island of Corfu. She endows her protégé with supernatural beauty to seduce the princess and accommodate him in the palace of her father. Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess under sunlight - Art Picture Athena (Minerva) Greek Goddess under sunlight - Art Picture In other cases, she rouses Zeus to help Odysseus. With Athena’s intervention, Calypso receives orders to leave the hero free and gives him the means to set sail again into the sea. Orestes, son of Agamemnon, in order to avenge the murder of his father killed his mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.

However, Erinyes (Furies), obscure deities who punished the murderers, chased Orestes, who arrived in Athens and took refuge in the temple of the goddess. Then a court took place in the Areopagus (Supreme Court) to judge the young matricide. Athena was the president of the court. The vote ended in a tie, but eventually the court acquitted Orestes because the vote of Athena, which was “Not Guilty”, was counting as double. Since then, there is a law in the court that a tie in the votes counts in favor of the accused. Athena was protecting all artisans and craftsmen. She was also an amazing weaver. Once, Arachni (Spider), a girl from Lydia, who had gained a great reputation in the art of weaving, called the goddess in a competition. Greek Goddess Athena (Minerva) armored on top of pillar Statue Greek Goddess Athena (Minerva) armored on top of pillar Statue Initially the goddess appeared to the girl transformed into an old woman and advised her to show modesty. However, Arachni was still cocky and Athena got upset, took her normal form and the contest began.

The Pallas portrayed on her woven the daily life of the gods. At the edges, she drew scenes that revealed the debacle of mortals when they did not obey the immortals. The young woman from Lydia portrayed in her fabric the sex life of the gods and especially their extramarital relationships. Athena did not find any flaw in the work of Arachni, although she spent her entire time examining it. From anger and jealousy, Athena transformed her to the namesake bug that constantly spins and weaves with the tip of her thread. Greek Goddess Athena (Minerva) Statue Greek Goddess Athena (Minerva) Statue Once, the goddess had a dispute with Apollo on the art of divination. Thries, the winged nymphs of Parnassus, had taught Athena to foretell the future from the stones that the torrents swept away. However, Apollo complained to Zeus and he decided in favor of his son. Then, the embittered Athena flew the stones in the valley and that area was named Thriassion. Athena – Pallas symbolize some of the most important ideals of the ancient Greek spirit. She combined strength and bravery with prudence and intelligence.

Her favorite symbols were the aegis, the spear, the owl and the olive tree. Please leave a comment if you liked this article 🙂 All pictures are also uploaded in Albums on the Greek Mythology Pantheon page on Facebook, visit us at : Athena Athena See More Athena Pictures > Athena was the Greek virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature. She was the daughter of Zeus ; her birth is unique in that she did not have a mother. Instead, she sprang full grown and clad in armour from Zeus ' forehead. She was fierce and brave in battle; however, she only took part in wars that defended the state and home from outside enemies. She was the patron of the city, handcraft, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot. She was the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity. She was Zeus ' favourite child and was allowed to use his weapons including his thunderbolt. Her holy tree was the olive tree and she was often symbolised as an owl.

She became the patron goddess of Athens after winning a contest against Poseidon by offering the olive tree to the Athenians. It is evident that Athena and Athens derive from the same root; Athens (or Athenae) is in plural form, because it represents the sisterhood of the goddess that existed there. Similarly, Athena was called Mykene in the city of Mycenae (also a plural after the respective sisterhood), and Thebe in the city of Thebes (or Thebae, both plural forms). Athena Is also called Minerva, Athina, Athene.

Question: Who was the Greek goddess of wisdom?
Answer: Athena