Athene (or Athena), known to the Romans as
Minerva, was born of one of the many liasons of
Zeus with the goddesses of
Mount Olympus.
Zeus lay with
Metis, the goddess of thought, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesised that
Metis would bear children more powerful than
Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences ,
Zeus swallowed
Metis immediately after laying with her. He was already too late.
Metis immediately conceived a child. While the exact circumstances are unclear, shortly afterwards either
Prometheus, Hephaestus
?, Hermes
? or Palamoan
? (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with an axe at the the river Triton. Athene leaped from
Zeus's head fully armed.
Zeus was none the worse for the experience. Athene was patron of the crafts, wisdom and battle. Unlike
Ares, who was hot-headed in battle (as well as cowardly), Athene's domain was strategy and tactics . She took the side of the Greeks in the war against
Troy. Following the [Trojan war]
?,
Athene assisted
Odysseus on his journey home, for
Odysseus had angered
Poseidon by blinding his son,
Polyphemus the Cyclops
?. Both the Trojan war and the journey of
Odysseus are recounted by the Greek writer
Homer in the epic poems 'The Illiad
?' (Illium being the ancient name for
Troy) and 'The
Odyssey' (Available in Penguin classics among others, and a very good read).
Athene became the patron goddess of the city of Athens, in a competition with Poseidon, god of the sea. Poseidon offered the Athenians a pool of salt, whereas Athene offered them an olive tree. The Athenians accepted the olive tree and along with it, Athene as their patron. This is thought to remember a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, at one point defeating the Persian fleet at Salamis? in a sea battle. Athene was also the patron goddess of several other cities, notably Sparta?.
Athene is usually portrayed wearing full armor and a shield, and carrying a lance. It is in this visiage that she was depicted in Phidias's famous golden statue of her, now lost to history, which was stored in the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis.
Athene is also often depicted with an owl (a symbol of wisdom) sitting on one of her shoulders. It is interesting to note that while Homer's epithet for Athene is usually translated "owl-eyed", is can also be translated as "grey-eyed" or "wise-eyed".