Athena

Athena is a major figure in ancient Greek religion and mythology, revered as the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and crafts, and as the patron deity of the city of Athens. She is commonly described as the daughter of Zeus; in most traditions she was born fully grown and armored from Zeus's head, after he swallowed her mother Metis. As a virgin goddess, she is known as a parthenos and is one of the twelve Olympians.

Athena's symbols include the owl and the olive tree. Her principal weapons are the shield and the spear, and she is often depicted with her helmet and the aegis, sometimes bearing the Gorgoneion. Her major cults and temples were in Athens, where she was revered as Athena Polias and Athena Parthenos. The Parthenon on the Acropolis housed a celebrated chryselephantine statue of her, and the Panathenaic festival celebrated civic and religious life in her honor.

In myth, Athena played a decisive role in many tales. She supported heroes such as Perseus and Odysseus, offered strategic counsel in war, and aided in the founding of cities and institutions. She argued with Poseidon in the myth of the city's patronage, offering the olive tree as a symbol of peace and prosperity. She was also associated with crafts, including weaving, and in the tale of Arachne punished a mortal for hubris by transforming her into a spider. Her aid to Perseus extended to providing a polished shield to view Medusa's reflection, and the head of Medusa was later placed on her shield or aegis.

Across antiquity, Athena's influence extended into art, philosophy, and education. In Roman tradition she is identified with Minerva. Her legacy continues in modern culture as a symbol of wisdom, strategic thinking, and civic guardianship.