[ Aphrodite ]  [ Apollo ]  [ Ares ]  [ Artemis ]  [ Athene ]  [ Hades ]  [ Hephaestus ]  [ Hera ]  [ Hermes ]  [ Hestia ]  [ Poseidon ]  [ Zeus ] 

Athena-Matthew Probert's Encyclopedia. Image Used With Permission. Athene was a very important Olympian. She was associated with many things; among them as the goddess of war, peace, compassion, architects, sculptors, horses, oxen, olives, prudence, and wise counsel. She was also the patron of the arts, crafts, spinning, weaving, and Athens.

Pronunciation: a-THEE-nuh

Birth: The popular story of her birth is that of springing fully armed from the head of her father Zeus. Zeus had previously swallowed her mother Metis, fearing that her child would one day rule the world. Another story tells of her birth involving a cloud. Zeus struck it with his head and caused Athena's birth. Yet another tale tells of her birth near the lake of Triton, and raised by three nymphs.

Father: Zeus

Mother: No mother, born of Zeus' forehead; indirectly Metis

Other Name: Minerva, Hephaistia

Special Objects: Aegis (a shield), Spear, and Helmet

Plants: Olive Tree

Animals: Wise Owl, sometimes the Snake

Cult Center: Crete, Mycenae, Athens, Rome

Myths: The Odyssey, Bellerophon, Perseus and Medusa, Argus and the Argo, Cadmus and the Dragon's Teeth, Diomedes and Tydeus, Homer, Virgil, Pausanius, Ovid, Aeschylus, Sophocles, The Illiad

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