Athena's Role In Ancient Greek Mythology

What if you came into the world fully grown and dressed out of someone’s head? This is how the goddess Athena was born. Legends say since Zeus was warned he would be overthrown by his first son, when his first wife, Metis, became pregnant, Metis shape shifted into a fly and Zeus swallowed her. From there Metis began to make a robe and helmet for her daughter so she would survive. While she was making the needed clothing, “The hammering of the helmet caused Zeus great pain in the form of headaches and he cried out in agony. Skilled Hephaestus ran to his father and split his skull open” (Tuccinardi). Athena emerged and became the goddess of wisdom, war, and the arts. This story is one of the many myths the ancient Greeks have created as to how

I find Athena as the apotheosis of someone who never gives in and never settles for anything below the best. Though my experiences are nothing near as important as hers, every day I find myself trying to be the best of the people around me. At one point, a village in Greece, Athens, could not pick a patron god for their town. They were forced to choose between Athena and Poseidon. Since they couldn’t just pick between major gods, fearing they may anger one, the citizens held a contest to see which god would be most helpful to their town. “Athena caused an olive tree to spring up on the citadel of Athens, the Acropolis. Poseidon sought to outdo her by striking the ground with his trident and causing a spring of water to gush forth.” (Skidmore). Since Poseidon’s spring was salty, it was not useful; however, Athena’s olive tree served for many purposes such as oil, fuel, and soap, so they chose her to be the patron goddess of Athens. Growing up as a youngest child, I have never been able to settle for “Oh, that’s good enough.” I have always tried to push myself to the maximum, and of course be better than my two sisters, just as Athena was better than Poseidon. Through sports, school, and numerous activities, I have always found myself making goals for myself and trying to beat everyone. One prime example of my competitiveness was when I was about six and my sisters, mom, and I were playing pretend

The stories shared about of Athena haven't directly shown her learning; however, many stories demonstrate her using her cleverness and wisdom to solve problems. One astounding legend of Athena showing off her intelligence is when Perseus had to slay Medusa to fulfill a promise of bringing Polydectes her head. As killing someone isn’t daunting enough, Medusa was a gorgon who had snakes for hair with faces so ugly they would petrify you if you looked directly at them. Since Athena heard about his brave quest, she decided to help brave Perseus. Putting her wise traits to work, she found a way around looking at Medusa, while still being able to kill her. Legend says, “First Athena flew down from Mount Olympus, holding her dazzling shield of brass. She gave it to the astonished Perseus, saying, ‘You must use this as a mirror when you slay Medusa. In this way you will not look at her directly, but only at her reflection, and so you will not be turned to stone.’” (Low 87-88). This story also exhibits Athena's clever nature, as well as finding a wise way around a problem. Ever since starting pre-school, I have been ecstatic on the first day of school. One day I will always remember is the day I went into kindergarten. I woke up to my dad singing “It’s Time to Get Up,” as I did every school morning. I dashed out of bed in a state of euphoria because I knew today was the day I could finally go to the