Athena, who is she?

Question

Help me! I need to answer these questions:
Where does her name come from?
What are her symbols?
What is her area of domain?
Where did she come from?
What is her personality (I need this soo badly!!)
What are her talents (This is a very important question!)
Thanks soooo much!

Answer 1

When Zeus swallowed his wife Metis she had been about to give birth to a child. Shortly afterwards Zeus was tortured by an intolerable headache. To cure him Hephaestus - split open his skull with a bronze axe and from the gaping wound, shouting a triumphant cry of victory, sprang Athena

Daughter of Zeus, and only by him, the Goddess Athena was not generated by any woman. She leaped from the head of Zeus, already adult, dressed with her armor.

But the mother is not completely missing from the miraculous birth of Pallas Athena. According to Hesiod's account of the weddings of Zeus, the King of the Gods chose Metis as his first wife. She was of all beings "the most knowing" (as the word metis is interpreted), or "of many counsels" as translated in the sense of the Homeric epithet polymetis.

As she was about to give birth to the Goddess Athena, Zeus deceived his pregnant wife with cunning words and assimilated her into his own body. Mother Earth and Father Sky had advised him to do this so as to prevent any of his descendants from robbing him of his kingly rank. For it was destined that the most brilliant children were to be born to the Goddess Metis: first, the daughter Athena, and later a son, the future King of Gods and men.

In the most ancient account, the Iliad, Athena is the Goddess of ferocious and implacable fight, but, wherever she can be found, she only is a warrior to defend the State and the native land against the enemies coming from outside.

She is, above all, the Goddess of the City, the protectress of civilized life, of artesian activities, and of agriculture. She also invented the horse-bit, which, for the first time, tamed horses, allowing men to use them.

She is the favorite daughter of Zeus; and that's why he let her use his insignia: the terrible shield, the aegis and his devastating weapon, the ray.
The most used expression to describe her is "the bright eyed". She is the first of the three virgin Goddesses, also known as Maiden, Parthenos, and from this name was taken the name to the most important Temple dedicated to her, the Parthenon.

In poetry she is the incarnation of Wisdom, Reason and Purity.

Athens is her city; the olive tree, created by her, is her tree; the owl, is the birth consecrated to her.

The name of the Goddess may be understood directly from the Greek as the one "who comes".

(hope this helps...)

Answer 2

Athena (Greek: Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnâ, or Ἀθήνη, Athénē; Doric: Ἀσάνα, Asána), in ancient Greek mythology, was the goddess of wisdom, weaving, crafts, and war.

here go to this site
www.wikipedia.com
that should really help.

Answer 3

Pallas Athena

The goddess of wisdom, the practical arts, and warfare, and the protectress of cities, especially Athens.

Answer 4

The goddess of wisdom, greek, owl, she came from Zeus's head. She is also the goddess of war and very tempermental.

Answer 5

she watches over athens, greece. Well back in those days. Goddess of war. She was tough as ****.

Answer 6

greek goddess ow war wisdom and weaving...read about it here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena

Answer 7

She is the godess of war.

Answer 8

Athena (Greek: Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnâ, or Ἀθήνη, Athénē; Doric: Ἀσάνα, Asána), in ancient Greek mythology, was the goddess of wisdom, weaving, crafts, and war. Athena's wisdom encompasses the technical knowledge employed in weaving, metal-working, and war, but also includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of such trickster figures as Odysseus.

She is attended by an owl, wears a goatskin breastplate called the Aegis given to her by her father, Zeus, and is accompanied by the goddess of victory, Nike. She is often shown helmeted and with a shield bearing the Gorgon Medusa's head, a votive gift of Perseus. Athena is an armed warrior goddess, never a child, always a virgin (parthenos); she never had a consort or lover, although once Hephaestus tried and failed. Athena appears in Greek mythology as a helper of many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus.

In her role as a protector of the city, Athena was worshipped throughout the Greek world as Athena Polias ("Athena of the city"). She had a special relationship with Athens, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city.[1] The Parthenon, on the Acropolis of Athens is her most famous temple.

In Roman mythology, she was known as Minerva, which originated from her association with the Etruscan goddess Menerva. Quite apart from Minerva, the Romans knew her as Athena as well (illustrations above and below left).

History
Late Archaic Athena from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaea at Aegina, ca 500 BCE (Glyptothek, Munich)
Enlarge
Late Archaic Athena from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaea at Aegina, ca 500 BCE (Glyptothek, Munich)

Athena is associated with Athens, a plural name because it was the place where she presided over her sisterhood, the Athenai, in earliest times.[citation needed] Athena was probably a goddess in the Aegean in prehistoric times, although her name is not attested in Eteocretan. She has been compared to Anatolian mother goddesses like Cybele. There is evidence that in early times, Athena was an owl herself, or a bird goddess in general. In Book 3 of the Odyssey, she takes the form of a sea-eagle. Her tassled aegis may be the remnants of wings [1]: she is depicted with wings on Archaic red-figure pottery.

In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead. The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus transformed Metis into a fly and swallowed her immediately after lying with her. He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. Metis immediately began making a helmet and robe for her fetal daughter. The hammering as she made the helmet caused Zeus great pain and Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes or Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe (labrys). Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed, and Zeus was none the worse for the experience.


Name and etymology

Athena's name is possibly of Lydian origin.[2] In Mycenaean Greek, She possibly appears in a single inscription in the Linear B tablets: A-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja /Athana potniya/ appears on a text from the LMII-era "Room of the Chariot Tablets" in Knossos, the earliest Linear B archive anywhere.[3] Though this phrase is often translated as "Mistress Athena", it literally means "the potnia of At(h)ana", which perhaps means "the Lady of Athens";[4] but it is uncertain whether there is any connection to the city of Athens.[5] We also find A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja /Athana diwya/, the final part being the Linear B spelling of what we know from ancient Greek as Diwia (Mycenaean di-u-ja or di-wi-ja) "divine" (see dyeus).[citation needed]

In his Cratylus, Plato fancifully derived Athena's name from A-θεο-νόα (A-theo-noa) or H-θεο-νόα (E-theo-noa) meaning the mind of God (Cratylus 407b). Plato also incorrectly identified Athena with the Egyptian goddess Neith.

Epithets and cult titles

In poetry, Athena's most common epithet is glaukopis (γλαυκώπις), which is usually translated "bright-eyed" or "grey-eyed". It is a combination of glaukos (γλαύκος, meaning "gleaming," "silvery," and later, "bluish-green" or "gray") and ops (ώψ, "eye," or sometimes, "face"). It is interesting to note that glaux (γλαύξ, "owl") is from the same root, presumably because of its own distinctive eyes. The bird which sees in the night is closely associated with the goddess of wisdom: in archaic images, she is frequently depicted with an owl perched on her head. In earlier times, Athena may well have been a bird goddess, similar to Lilitu and/or the goddess depicted with owls, wings and bird talons on the Burney relief.

In the Homeric Hymns and in Hesiod's Theogony, she is given the curious epithet Tritogeneia. The meaning of this term is unclear. It seems to mean "Triton-born," perhaps indicating that the sea-god was her father according to some early myths, or that she was born near Lake Triton in Africa. Another possible meaning is "triple-born" or "third-born," which may refer to her status as the third daughter of Zeus.

In her role as judge at Orestes' trial on the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra (which he won), Athena won the epithet Athena Areia.

She was often referred to as Pallas Athena (Παλλάς Αθηνά). The epithet derived from an ambiguous figure named Pallas, sometimes male, sometimes female, never mentioned apart from Athena. The goddess killed Pallas, in some versions by mistake, and ever after wore her/his goatskin fringed with chthonic serpents, as the protective aegis. She may have absorbed and supplanted Pallas more gently: Walter Burkert says "she is the Pallas of Athens, Pallas Athenaie, just as Hera of Argos is Here Argeie> [6]. For the Athenians, Burkert notes, she was simply "the Goddess", he theos, certainly an ancient title.

Athena was given many cult titles. She had the epithet Athena Ergane as the patron of craftsmen and artisans. With the epithet Athena Parthenos ("virgin"), Athena was worshipped on the Acropolis, especially in the festival of the Panathenaea. With the epithet Athena Promachos she led in battle. With the epithet Athena Polias ("of the city"), Athena was the protectress of Athens and its Acropolis.

Athena was often equated with Aphaea, a local goddess of the island of Aegina, located near Athens.


Athena in classical art
Athena was depicted on the obverse side of a coin of Attalus I, depicting the head of Attalus' great uncle Philetaerus.
Enlarge
Athena was depicted on the obverse side of a coin of Attalus I, depicting the head of Attalus' great uncle Philetaerus.

Athena is classically portrayed wearing full armor, carrying a spear and a shield with the head of the gorgon Medusa mounted on it. It is in this posture that she was depicted in Phidias's famous gold and ivory statue of her, the Athena Parthenos, now lost to history, in the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. Athena is also often depicted with an owl (a symbol of wisdom) sitting on one of her shoulders. The Mourning Athena is a relief sculpture that dates around 460 BC and portrays a tired, emotional Athena.

In earlier, archaic portraits of Athena in vase-paintings, the goddess retains some of her Minoan character, such as great birdwings.


Athena in mythology


Birth

Hesiod's Theogony gives the most complete account of Athena's birth. Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus played a game with Metis. She transformed into many creatures, big and small. When Metis transformed into a fly, Zeus swallowed her immediately after lying with her. He was too late: Metis was already pregnant. Metis immediately began making a helmet and robe for her fetal daughter. The hammering as she made the helmet caused Zeus great pain and Hephaestus cut open Zeus's skull with the double-headed Minoan axe (labrys). Athena leaped from Zeus's skull, fully grown and armed, and Zeus was none the worse for the experience.