Athena (or Minerva in Roman myth) was the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. She was also a member of the Twelve Olympians. She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis, but fearing a prophecy that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, Zeus ate Metis whole like the titan Cronus (Saturn) did to the Olympians. Eventually though Zeus experienced an enormous headache and one of the gods (either Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares, or Palaemon depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus’s head with the double-headed Minoan axe. From Zeus head leaped Athena fully grown and armed. While she was a virgin goddess with no children or lovers (like Artemis), She was the patron and helper of many heroes, including Odysseus, Jason, and Heracles. Athena was also patron of the city of Athens, Greece and the Parthenon was built as a temple in her honor. Athena was also responsible for turning Medusa and her sisters into Gorgons after Poseidon seduced Medusa in Athena’s temple.
Alias Athena
Real Names/Alt Names Athena/e (Greek)/Minerva (Roman)
Appearance List Literature: Homer’s Odyssey (c. 8th century BCE, English 1614), Homer’s Iliad (c. 8th century BC), Virgil’s Aeneid (29 to 19 BC), Metamorphoses (poem) by Ovid (8 CE), plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, Shakespeare, Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy (1308–1320), etc. Comics: Humdinger vol. 1 #4, Kid Eternity #16.
Sample Read Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch [Internet Archive]
Description Athena (or Minerva in Roman myth) was the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. She was also a member of the Twelve Olympians. She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis, but fearing a prophecy that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, Zeus ate Metis whole like the titan Cronus (Saturn) did to the Olympians. Eventually though Zeus experienced an enormous headache and one of the gods (either Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares, or Palaemon depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus’s head with the double-headed Minoan axe. From Zeus head leaped Athena fully grown and armed. While she was a virgin goddess with no children or lovers (like Artemis), She was the patron and helper of many heroes, including Odysseus, Jason, and Heracles. Athena was also patron of the city of Athens, Greece and the Parthenon was built as a temple in her honor. Athena was also responsible for turning Medusa and her sisters into Gorgons after Poseidon seduced Medusa in Athena’s temple.
