Athena may be the most well-known of the Greek goddesses, associated with war, wisdom, and many crafts. Closely related to the Roman goddess Minerva, her many epithets reveal aspects of the goddess.
Likely, Athena was originally an Aegean goddess linked to the palace who presided over household crafts and protected the king. She is mentioned in a surviving Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos in Linear B. There is also evidence that she appeared in Minoan Linear A inscriptions, but the language has still never been translated.
Athena Tritogeneia – The Triple Born
Athena was one of the daughters of Zeus and was considered his favorite child. Zeus may have given birth to Athena on his own, or he may have impregnated his first wife, Metis. She was a Titan and considered the wisest among all gods and men.
Gaia, the earth goddess, shared the prophecy that Metis would give birth to children wiser than their father. This worried Zeus, so he decided to swallow Metis. Undenounced to Zeus, Metis was already pregnant with Athena. After a period of time, Zeus started having a terrible headache and consulted all the gods for a way to reduce the pain. Eventually, the pain ended when Athena exploded out of his head fully grown and fully armored.
She was therefore triple-born, as she was born from Zeus, Metis, and herself. She was also incredibly wise as the daughter of the counselor Metis and the head of Zeus. She may have also been Zeus’ third child after Artemis and Apollo, though other sources say that she was his first child.
Athena Polias – Patron of the City
Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens, and it is unclear whether the goddess was named for the city or the city was named for the goddess.
According to myth, Athena and Poseidon competed for the patronage of Athens, with both offering the city and gift, and they would decide which was the best. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident, causing a saltwater spring to appear. This gave Athens access to the city, but the salty water was undrinkable. Athena gave the Athenians the olive tree, which gave them wood, light, and food. The Athenians chose her as their patron. The olive tree became a symbol of Athena and a symbol of the prosperity of Athens.
Athena’s principal temple in Athens was the Parthenon on the Acropolis, and a sisterhood called the Athenai was devoted to her worship. One of her main festivals was the Panathenaia, celebrated in midsummer for her athletic and military prowess. Another major festival was the Plynteria, the feast of the bath and washing. During this five-day festival, the priestesses called Plyntrides performed cleansing rituals in the Erechtheion, a temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon. The state of Athena was undressed, her clothes washed, her body purified, and redressed. Athena was always represented clothed.
Athena was the patroness of various other cities, including Pergamon, Argos, Sparta, Gortyn, Lindos, and Larisa. At Sparta, she had a major temple of the Acropolis with a bronze statue and bronze walls, representing her as the goddess of metalworkers.
Athena Pallas – The Warrioress
Reportedly, Athena killed a warrior called Pallas and assumed the name for herself, and it became one of the epithets most commonly linked to her in her guise as a warrior.
As a warrior, she was also a protector, and the Palladium was a statue of Athena in her temple on the Trojan Acropolis. It was said that Troy would never fall while the statue stood there, and the princess Cassandra held onto the statue while the Greeks were capturing Troy, but Ajax ignored this and took her anyway. This violation angered Athena, who then sent a storm to destroy the Greek fleet and scatter its ships across the Aegean.
Athena was also instrumental in the start of the Trojan War. It starts with the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, to which many gods and mortals were invited. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited, but she turned up anyway with a golden apple inscribed “for the fairest.” Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera all claimed that honor, and when they could not resolve the issue, Zeus told the Trojan prince Paris to choose. The goddesses bribed him. Hera offered him power in Europe and Asia. Athena offered him glory in battle. Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. He took Aphrodite’s honor, taking Helen as his wife. While this was the catalyst for the war, the angry Athena and Hera also contributed.
Athena was on the side of the Trojans during the war, helping in particular the warrior Diomedes and Achilles against the Trojan prince Hector.
Athena Promachos – The Frontline Warrior
As Athena Promachos, the goddess let soldiers into battle. But she was associated with the strategic side of war, rather than the bloody side, which was the domain of Ares, the god of war. Zeus specifically assigned the two gods’ domain over war. Athena was more respected as a war goddess than Ares, as she represented the civilized side of war to end disputes and ensure prosperity, plus Ares was considered a foreign god.
The qualities of victory in war were depicted on Athena’s famous aegis, which was probably her breastplate, but this is not entirely clear; these were fear, strife, defense, and assault.
Athena Hippia – The Equestrian
Athena is also credited with inventing the bit, bridle, chariot, and wagon. She reportedly gave Bellerophon the bit to help him tame the winged horse Pegasus. She is also credited with a variety of other inventions, including the sailing ship and navigation.
Athena Glaukopis – The Bright-Eyed One
This was actually Athena’s most common epithet and is believed to link her to the bright-eyed owl as the goddess of wisdom. There is some evidence that she may have evolved from an ancient owl or bird goddess and retained some of these features. Some of the oldest depictions of Athena show her with wings, and she takes the form of a sea eagle in some of her interactions with the hero Odysseus.
The owl became one of Athena’s most common attributes, and she is often shown holding an owl. An owl on its own could also be a symbol of Athena (and her Roman counterpart, Minerva). The owl became a symbol of wisdom.
Athena Parthenos – The Virgin
Athena was one of the virgin goddesses alongside Hestia and Artemis. This elevates the goddesses in some ways within a patriarchal belief system. According to one story, Hephaestus desired Athena and tried to rape her. He failed, and his semen fell on her leg. Athena wiped it off with some wool and threw it into the dust. This resulted in the earth goddess Gaia becoming pregnant and giving birth to Erichthonius, an early ruler of Athens. Athena adopted the baby and set serpents to protect him. Serpents are also common symbols of Athena.
As a virgin, Athena was also considered an enforcer of sexual modesty and ritual mystery, even though she was not associated with the mystery cults.
Athena Atrytone – The Unwavering
Another epithet of Athena was the unwavering, and one aspect this can be linked with is her patronage of many of the heroes from Greek mythology. As well as helping Bellerophon tame Pegasus, she helped Argos build the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts. She helped Perseus defeat Medusa, despite having created the Gorgon herself. Medusa was one of her priestesses who was raped by Poseidon. She gave Perseus a shiny bronze breastplate, which allowed him to track Medusa without looking at her directly and turning to stone.
She seems to have helped Heracles in several of his labors. In the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, she appears in four of the 12 scenes depicting the hero’s labors.
Athena also had a soft spot for Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey. He was known for his cunning and shrewd nature, which appealed to Athena. Among other things, she told Odysseus what he needed to know to win back his wife Penelope and his kingdom when he finally made his way home.
Athena Ergane – The Industrious
Athena was also considered the patron of many arts, including metalworking and weaving. In one famous story, one of Athena’s devotees, Arachne, was a beautiful weaver and claimed that she weaved even more beautifully than the goddess. The two then competed in a weaving competition, and Athena could find no flaws in Arachne’s work. As either a reward or a punishment, she turned Arachne into a spider so that she could weave for eternity.
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