Athene+-1

 ATHENA GODDESS OF WAR AND WISDOM __Overview__

Athena is the goddess of war and wisdom. She is also the daughter of Zeus, the mighty king of Olympus. She was born from Zeus' forehead. She does not have a mother, in result. Her mother is Metis, his first wife, but was eaten by Zeus. She is very fierce and brave especially in battle. Also besides the fact that she is very much in control of wars and the wisdom of the humans on earth, she is also the goddess of city, handcrafts, and architecture. She has invented many things in her peak of living such as the bridle, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yote, the ship, and the chariot. She is an excellent example of wisdom and purity. She was Zeus' favorite child, allowing her to use his weapons, including his thunderbolts. Her favorite city was Athens, since it was named after her. Her tree was the olive tree. The owl is designated as her bird. She is also a virgin goddess.

__Birth __  Early myths about the birth of Athena note that she was a goddess from Libya, whose worship came to the Greeks from Crete after arriving there as early as 4,000 BC. Athena was a daughter of Metis, the god of wisdom and knowledge. In order to avoid a prophecy made when that change occurred, that any offspring of his union with Metis would be greater than he, Zeus swallowed Metis to prevent her from having offspring, but Metis already was pregnant with Athena. Metis gave birth to Athena and nurtured her inside Zeus until Athena burst from Zeus’s forehead fully armed with weapons given by her mother.

__Intervention of the Gods__

Many gods intervened throughout history. Athena intervened with her titles. One of the big things she intervened in was the Trojan War. Zeus sent her down to Earth, to disrupt the peace. Troy, the leader of the Trojan War, was destined to fall, soon. "Disguised as Laodocus, the son of Antenor, Athena tricked Pandarus, leader from Zeleia, to kill Menelaüs. Pandarus was one of the best archers on the Trojan side. Pandarus thought he would gain glory for killing Paris' rival. So Pandarus fired his arrow at Menelaüs. Athena prevented the arrow from killing Menelaüs, only allowing the arrow to graze him."

__Athena's Family__ She comes from a big family. Every thing is easily shown on this [|family tree]. She has seven brothers and sisters: Apollo, Ares, [|Artemis], Hephaestus, Aphrodite , Hermes, and Dionysus

__Additional Facts__ The great Athena was the first to teach the science of numbers and all ancient women's arts, such as cooking, weaving and spinning. She was the goddess of wisdom and war, but, unlike the god of war Ares, she took no pleasure from battle, preferring instead to settle conflict through mediation.

__Athena and Poseidon__ We all know about [|Poseidon], the great ruler of the sea. You didn't know about Athena, his niece and his feud. Both of them competed for the affection of the Greeks by giving the people a gift contributed toward [|Greece]. Poseidon gave a horse and a salt-water spring. Athena gave an olive tree which gave them shade, oil, and olives. The Greeks chose her gift over Poseidon's naming the city after Athena. The city today is called Athens.



__Athena and Arachne__

There was a lady named [|Arachne], very skilled in weaving and embroidery. It was so nice to see when happening, and the final product. Arachne was constantly asked if Athena had taught her the amazing skills Arachne had harnessed. Being extremely vain, Arachne said no. She thought that her skills can not be compared to hers. Athena was extremely angrry with what she was hearing. She transformed herself into an old woman. She told Arachne to respect the gods. Arachne wanted nothing to do with this old woman so she dismissed her. Athena dropped her disguise and showed who she really was. Arachne did not care. She did not move. Athena shred Arachne's web with her shuttle and touched her on her forehead. Arachne then felt guilty and ashamed. Since all of this was so hard for Arachne, she hung herself. Feeling bad, Athena turned Arachne into a spider because Athena wanted Arachne to continue to hang.

__Modern Day__

Today, Athena portrayed in many ways, still in statues also. One of the most popular ways is through video games. She is portayed through a game called //Soul Calibur IV.// In this game, there are two girls who fight in the same way that Athena fights. The two girls' names are [|Cassandra] and [|Sophitia]. They do not follow Athena's dress code, but they do resemble their fighting styles. All of the moves are the same. These two characters are the safest players to use because they are safe, regardless of their looks.



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=WORKS CITED =

Bulfinch, Thomas. //Bulfinch's Mythology// New York: Modern Library //Cliffs Notes on Mythology// Lincoln, Nebraska: Cliff Notes Inc. Evslin, Bernard. //Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths// New York: Bantam, 1966 Graves, Robert. //The Greek Myths// Mt. Kisco, New York: Moyer Bell Hamilton, Edith. //Mythology// New York: Mentor, 1940. Pontikis, Nick. "MYTH MAN'S HOMEWORK,Help Center,Athena." __[|Http://thanasis.com/athena.htm]__. 26 Apr. 2009 . [] [] [] []