Athena

A remarkable birth

Zeus swallowed his first wife, the wise Titaness Metis, when he learned that her child might surpass him. Some time later he was struck by a splitting headache, and Hephaestus, or in some versions Prometheus, split his skull open with an axe. Out sprang Athena, fully grown and dressed in armour, giving a war cry that shook the heavens.

Wisdom in peace and war

Unlike Ares, who loved violence for its own sake, Athena stood for strategy, courage and the defence of the city. She was also the patron of weaving, pottery and every kind of skilled work. She favoured clever heroes, guiding Odysseus home and helping Perseus defeat Medusa and Jason build the Argo.

Key myths

• Her birth from the head of Zeus
• The contest with Poseidon for Athens, won with the gift of the olive
• The weaving contest with Arachne, whom she turned into a spider
• Her support for the Greeks at Troy

Worship

Athens was her city above all. The Parthenon, the temple of Athena Parthenos, crowned the Acropolis, and every four years the Great Panathenaia carried a newly woven robe through the city to her ancient olive-wood statue.