He swallowed lettuce. How foolish, I still was born.
Behold! I emerged from his head. Fully armed and fully grown.
With a cry, so mighty, so fearsome, that Uranus and Gaia were shaken with terror.
Not a son, Zeus thanked.
Goddess of war and wisdom. I can fight you. I can teach you.
In ancient Greek religion, Athena is the Olympian goddess of wisdom, war, and military strategy.
The goddess of good counsel and practical insight, the protector and patron of the city of Athens.
She is identified by the Romans with the name Minerva, and also associated with handicrafts,
most especially spinning and weaving.
Athena was the daughter of the king god, Zeus, and was born in a very unusual circumstance.
Zeus had swallowed Mattis, the goddess of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena,
on learning that her child may overthrow him.
But when the time came, Zeus felt a tremendous headache.
When he couldn't bear the pain anymore, Hephaestus, the fiery god, struck him with his axe, and, lo!
Athena leapt out of Zeus' forehead, fully grown. A powerful goddess, she was Zeus' favorite.
Athena was one of the most important Olympians, known under many different names,
some of which include Pallas, the unwearying one, the one of the city,
the one with gleaming eyes, and the one who fights in front.
She is always depicted as a majestic lady, having grey eyes, with an attractive but stern face,
unsmiling lips, and a graceful build, emanating power and authority.
She is often clad, either in full armor, with a crested Corinthian helmet, a long spear in one hand,
and an aegis in the other, or in a regal robe with a spindle.
At the center of Athena's aegis, is an image of the gorgon's head, Medusa,
signifying the gift of Medusa's head she got from Perseus.
And just like Medusa's eyes, Athena's shield can also turn her enemies to stone.
As a symbol of her wisdom, there is usually an owl, flying alongside Athena, or sitting on her shoulder.
And sometimes, there may also be a snake, or an olive branch.
Athena represented the intellectual and civilized side of war, and the virtues of justice and skill.
Thus, she had moral and military superiority to Ares, the god of war, who represented mere bloodlust.
Just like her sister, Artemis, and her aunt, Hestia, Athena was not swayed by love or passion.
She was a virgin deity, and could not be violated. She neither had a consort, nor offspring.
Some story versions claim that Erechthonius was her son, however, Athena was only his foster mother.
According to this version, Hephaestus had tried to force himself on Athena,
but the warrior goddess fought him off, so he spilled his semen over the earth, which impregnated Gaia.
And when Erechthonius was born, Athena took him under her care.
Now, just like the other gods, Athena had a terrible wrath.
She dealt unpleasant punishments to any mortal who invoked her anger.
The most famous myths of her victims are the story of Arachne, the mortal craftswoman,
who was turned to a spider because she had boasted that she was more skillful than Athena herself,
and the story of Medusa, the beautiful woman who was turned into a hideous gorgon for defiling her temple.
Nevertheless, Athena was benevolent.
The wisdom and war goddess was most often the main helper of ancient Greek heroes.
She guided Odysseus during his ten year long journey back to Ithaca,
and also helped many others, like Heracles, Perseus, Jason, Diomedes, Bellerophon, Argus, and Cadmus.
