Athena, also known as Minerva, was the Greek goddess of war and wisdom. Athena is a Greek name, and based on her name, you can tell that she was represented by Athens, one of the most powerful city-states at the time. Athena was a goddess which had superhuman strength, immortality and eternal youth, and strategy. Athena was said to be found at her home on Mount Olympus and frequently in Athens because that was what she was represented by. Athena was extremely important to the Greeks at the time and was a goddess and a figure who the Greeks (and Athens) looked up to. First, Athena was part of the entire Greek god and goddess family. Her direct family includes many gods and goddesses who I am sure are known by people everywhere. Athena’s parents …show more content…
The Panathenaia was celebrated for Athena in more ancient times, which was similar to the Panathenaic festival, and was a tradition that brought people from the Attica (Attica translates to “region around Athens”) and other regions around Athens to praise Athena. As many may know, it was a common theme in Athena’s life as a goddess that she was the patron and protector of the city-state called Athens. According to How the Goddess Athena Became the Protector of Athens “Back in the days when Athens was ruled by kings, King Cecrops, the city's first royal leader, realized that the city needed a patron god or goddess.” (Greekboston.com). They chose Athena. Athena was chosen not for her incredible war skill, but for her wisdom that would help lead the city of Athens. Athena was highly praised and her influence amongst the Athenian people helped shape Athens into what it is today (even if she was just a myth). To this day, Athens is a powerful region and is Greece’s capital city. Athena was praised so much so that the Athenians built a temple made to worship her, called the Parthenon. According to history.com, “It was the largest and most lavish temple the Greek mainland had ever seen.” Athena was extremely important to the Athenians. She led them to …show more content…
The story of how she created the spyder was the “Legend of Arachne.” It was said that Athena was the most talented weaver in Greek mythology. One day, a shepherd's daughter named Arachne claimed that she was a better weaver than Athena was, which angered Athena, causing her to challenge Arachne to a contest seeing who the best weaver in Greek mythology was. It was said that Athena weaved a picture that promoted the idea that mortals should not present themselves as equals with gods, and Arachne weaved a picture that promoted the idea that gods use mortals unfairly. After the contest, Athena soon realized that the work of Arachne’s was better than hers, so she cursed Arachne and turned her into a spider. Athena has many characteristics that define who she is as a goddess. According to Athena Character Analysis in The Odyssy, “Athena is confident, practical, clever, a master of disguises, and a great warrior…” (Sparknotes). The most indistinctive characteristics are those of wisdom, bravery, and strength. She is one of Greek mythology’s wisest figures, which compliments her characteristics of bravery an strength, making her the perfect warrior. Most of Athena’s powers come from or base off of these main three traits, plus other less obvious ones. Athena herself has had many myths and stories based on her and about her characteristics in ancient Greek