Athena, daughter of Zeus, is the goddess of wisdom and warfare, patroness of craftsmen, and symbolized by an owl and shield. She was born from Zeus swallowing her mother, Metis. Athena won the patronage of Athens by planting the first olive tree. In a contest with Arachne, Athena turned her into a spider. She also played a significant role in the Odyssey as the patron of Odysseus.
In Greek mythology, Athena or Athene is one of the Olympian deities, usually numbering twelve, and like many Olympians – Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Apollo and Artemis – she is the daughter of Zeus. Sometimes known as Pallas Athena, she is the goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patroness of craftsmen, especially weavers. Her symbols are an owl and her aegis, or shield, which ultimately supported the head of Medusa. In Roman mythology, her counterpart is Minerva.
One of the well-known myths concerning Athena concerns how she was born. Metis, whose name means council, was the mother of Athena and the first consort of Zeus. When Zeus was warned that a son could overthrow him—and her family history would do nothing to allay that fear—he swallowed Metis. This resulted in both Zeus absorbing the wisdom of Metis and Athena being trapped inside her head.
In one version of the story, Hermes discovered that Zeus was suffering from violent headaches and figured out how to fix the problem. He caught up with Hephaestus, who split Zeus’s head open with a blow of his hammer, allowing Athena to emerge fully armed.
Another myth concerns the patronage of the city of Athens. Both Athena and Poseidon claimed the city and a contest was held for the honor of being its patron, with each contestant having a chance to earn the loyalty of the citizens. Poseidon created a spring of water by hitting the earth with his trident. But the fact that it was salt water diminished its value. Athena, in turn, chose to plant the first olive tree. Seeing that this unique gift provided them with oil, wood and food, the citizens chose Athena and the city was given the name of Athens. The famous Parthenon in Athens is a temple in honor of her.
Athena’s contest with Arachne is another popular myth. Arachne was an incomparable weaver, for a human being, in fact. People assumed that her skill must have come from Athena’s teaching. Arachne, however, claimed her gift as hers and said that Athena could come and compete with her if she dared. Athena, in the guise of an old woman, brings her a warning and gives her an opportunity to retract her boast, but Arachne insults her instead. Athena reveals herself and they begin weaving.
Arachne impudently chooses the faults of the gods as her theme, and though her weaving is faulty, her choice of subjects draws Athena’s wrath. Athena destroys the tapestry and breaks the loom. Arachne tries to hang herself, but Athena is too quick and turns her into a spider so that she can weave and spin non-stop, and this explains the name arachnid.
In addition to these brief encounters, Athena’s patronage of Odysseus forms an important element of the Odyssey. It is she, in the guise of Mentes, who appears at the beginning of the story and sends Telemachus in search of her father.
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