Editing Athena (section)

{{short description|Goddess of wisdom and war in ancient Greek religion and mythology}}
{{For|the capital city of Greece|Athens}}
{{redirect-several|Athena|Athene|Athina}}

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{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
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{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Athena
| image = Mattei Athena Louvre Ma530 n2.jpg
| caption = ''Mattei Athena'' at [[Louvre]]. Roman copy from the 1st century BC/AD after the Greek original [[Piraeus Athena]] of the 4th century BC attributed to Cephisodotos or [[Euphranor]].
| god_of = Goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft
| member_of = the [[Twelve Olympians]]
| abode = [[Mount Olympus]]
| tree = Olive
| animals = [[Owl of Athena|Owl]], serpent, horse
| symbol = [[Aegis]], helmet, spear, armor, [[Gorgoneion]], chariot, [[distaff]]
| parents = [[Zeus]] alone, or Zeus and [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]]{{efn|In other traditions, Athena's father is sometimes listed as [[Pallas (Giant)|Pallas]], [[Cyclopes|Brontes]], or [[Itonus|Itonos]]. [[Poseidon]] is also sometimes listed as her father, by the nymph Tritonis. Herodotus 4.180, Pausanias 1.14.6 }}{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|pages=121–122}}
| children = [[Erichthonius of Athens|Erichthonius]] (adopted)
| Roman_equivalent = [[Minerva]]
| equivalent1_type = Egyptian
| equivalent1 = [[Neith]]
}}
{{Contains special characters}}
'''Athena'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|θ|iː|n|ə}}; [[Attic Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Ἀθηνᾶ}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Athēnâ}}'', or {{lang|grc|Ἀθηναία}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Athēnaía}}''; [[Epic Greek|Epic]]: {{lang|grc|Ἀθηναίη}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Athēnaíē}}''; [[Doric Greek|Doric]]: {{lang|grc|Ἀθάνα}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Athā́nā}}''}} or '''Athene''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|θ|iː|n|iː}}; [[Ionic Greek|Ionic]]: {{lang|grc|Ἀθήνη}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Athḗnē}}''}} often given the [[epithet]] '''Pallas''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|æ|l|ə|s}}; {{lang|grc|Παλλάς}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Pallás}}''}} is an [[ancient Greek religion|ancient Greek goddess]] associated with wisdom, warfare, and [[handicraft]]<ref name="Merriam-Webster">{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature |date=1995 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |isbn=9780877790426 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=eKNK1YwHcQ4C&pg=PA81 81]}}</ref> who was later [[syncretism|syncretized]] with the [[Roman goddess]] [[Minerva]].{{sfn|Deacy|Villing|2001}} Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of [[Athens]], from which she most likely received her name.<!--PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS TO SAY ATHENS WAS NAMED AFTER ATHENA. Walter Burkert, a major authority on ancient Greek religion, states: "Since -ene is a typical place-name suffix - Mykene, Pallene, Troizen(e), Messene, and Cyrene - the goddess most probably takes her name from the city; she is the Pallas of Athens, just as Hera of Argos is Here Argeie." Thank you.-->{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=139}} The [[Parthenon]] on the [[Acropolis of Athens]] is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include [[Owl of Athena|owls]], [[olive trees]], snakes, and the [[Gorgoneion]]. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear.

From her origin as an Aegean [[tutelary deity|palace goddess]], Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as ''Polias'' and ''Poliouchos'' (both derived from ''[[polis]]'', meaning "city-state"), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified [[acropolis]] in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numerous other temples and monuments. As the patron of craft and weaving, Athena was known as ''Ergane''. She was also a [[Women in ancient warfare|warrior goddess]], and was believed to lead soldiers into battle as ''[[Athena Promachos]]''. Her main festival in Athens was the [[Panathenaic Games|Panathenaia]], which was celebrated during the month of [[Attic calendar|Hekatombaion]] in midsummer and was the most important festival on the Athenian calendar.

In [[Greek mythology]], Athena was believed to have been born from the forehead of her father [[Zeus]]. In almost all versions of the story, Athena has no mother and is born from Zeus' forehead by [[parthenogenesis]]. In a few others, such as [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Zeus swallows his consort [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], who was pregnant with Athena; in this version, Athena is first born within Zeus and then escapes from his body through his forehead. In the [[founding myth]] of Athens, Athena bested [[Poseidon]] in a competition over patronage of the city by creating the first olive tree. She was known as ''[[Athena Parthenos]]'' "Athena the Virgin". In one archaic [[Attica|Attic]] myth, [[Hephaestus]] tried and failed to rape her, resulting in [[Gaia]] giving birth to [[Erichthonius of Athens|Erichthonius]], an important Athenian founding hero Athena raised. She was the patron goddess of heroic endeavor; she was believed to have aided the heroes [[Perseus]], [[Heracles]], [[Bellerophon]], and [[Jason]]. Along with [[Aphrodite]] and [[Hera]], Athena was one of the three goddesses [[Judgement of Paris|whose feud]] resulted in the [[Trojan War]]. She plays an active role in the ''[[Iliad]]'', in which she assists the [[Achaeans (Homer)|Achaeans]] and, in the ''[[Odyssey]]'', she is the [[tutelary deity]] to [[Odysseus]].

In the later writings of the Roman poet [[Ovid]], Athena was said to have competed against the mortal [[Arachne]] in a weaving competition, afterward transforming Arachne into the first spider, and to have transformed [[Medusa]] into the [[Gorgon]] after witnessing the young woman being raped by Poseidon in the goddess's temple. Ovid also says that Athena saved the mortal maiden [[Corone (crow)|Corone]] from the same god by transforming her into a crow.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |author=Ovid |title=Metamorphoses |pages=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D2%3Acard%3D531 2.569–88] |via=perseus.tufts.edu |accessdate=}}</ref>{{sfn|Sax|2003|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jYDxAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 45–46]}} Since the [[Renaissance]], Athena has become an international symbol of wisdom, [[the arts]], and [[Classics|classical learning]]. Western artists and [[allegorists]] have often used Athena as a symbol of [[freedom]] and democracy.

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