Who Was Athena in Greek Mythology?
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Ask who was Athena in Greek mythology and you get a goddess of wisdom, craft and strategic warfare who was born fully grown from the head of Zeus. She was clever rather than violent, practical rather than showy, and she gave her name to one of the most influential cities in history.
How she was born
Zeus was warned that a child of the goddess Metis would be greater than him, so he swallowed Metis. Some time later he developed a terrible headache, his head was split open, and Athena stepped out fully armed.
It is a strange story, but it tells you what the Greeks thought Athena was. She came from thought itself, arrived complete, and needed no upbringing. In Greek mythology she is almost always the calm one in the room.
A different kind of war goddess
Greek mythology has two war deities and the contrast is deliberate. Ares represents the chaos and bloodshed of battle. Athena represents strategy, discipline and the defence of a city.
That is why heroes tend to receive help from Athena rather than Ares. She advises Odysseus, guides Perseus and steadies Heracles. Athena rewards planning, and the myths where she appears usually turn on cleverness rather than strength.
Athena and the city of Athens
The most famous story about Athena is her contest with Poseidon for the patronage of a new city. Poseidon struck the ground and produced a spring of salt water. Athena produced an olive tree, offering food, oil and wood.
The people chose the olive tree, and the city took her name. Whether or not it happened, that story tells you what the Athenians valued and how they wanted to see themselves. The Parthenon was built for her, and her owl became a lasting symbol of wisdom.
Her symbols
Athena is easy to recognise in Greek art once you know what to look for:
- •The owl, standing for watchfulness and wisdom
- •The olive tree, her gift to Athens
- •The aegis, a protective cloak or shield
- •A spear and helmet, worn calmly rather than aggressively
Athena and Arachne
One story complicates the picture of Athena as the reasonable one. A skilled weaver named Arachne claimed she could weave better than the goddess and was challenged to a contest.
Accounts differ on whether Arachne actually lost. In the best known version her weaving was flawless but depicted the gods behaving badly, and Athena destroyed the work and struck her. Arachne hanged herself, and Athena transformed her into a spider so she could weave forever. It is a reminder that Greek gods were not safe to compete with, however wise they were said to be.
The takeaway
Athena in Greek mythology is the goddess of wisdom, craft and strategy, patron of Athens and the steady adviser behind many famous heroes, which makes her one of the most useful figures to know when you start reading Greek myths.