There are many things we don’t know about the past of people all around the world or how the world even started. Although we don’t know the entire history we do know some beliefs people had based on the artifacts historians have found or discovered. Now the beliefs I’m talking about are who they believed in, what they believed in, and what they did to show others the story of who they believed in. Now the people I will be talking about are people from ancient Greece and their important goddess named Athena the Olympian Goddess.

You might be wondering how she came into this world. Well “the birth of Athena all started when Zeus, a sky and weather god, ate his wife Metis because he heard that their second child would be more powerful than him. After a while Zeus felt the most painful headache so Hermes told Hephaestus (both are other gods) to cut Zeus’s head open to stop the pain. When he did  “Athena, the daughter of Zeus.. emerged full-grown from his forehead” as stated from the website Britannica.com. From this we learn that she came into this world fully clothed and a grown woman, full of knowledge, and born with a weapon in her hand. 

Now that you know how she was born, you might be wondering what she was known for?  Well, according to greekmythology.com it states, “Athena is the Olympian goddess of wisdom and war and the adored patroness of the city of Athens. A virgin deity, she was also – somewhat paradoxically – associated with peace and handicrafts, especially spinning and weaving. Majestic and stern, Athena surpassed everybody in both of her main domains. In fact, even Ares feared her; and all Greek heroes asked her for help and advice.” From this we learn that she had her own city, known for wisdom and war, and surpasses most. Ares the war god (known for violence) feared her (this shows how powerful she was), and heroes asked for her help (like Hercules, who was known for his incredible strength, courage, and intelligence).

To better understand how or why she was associated with the city of Athens you first have to know about the competition for it. This means that Athena and Poseidon had a competition about giving the unclaimed city the best gift and the people choosing who they wanted to be their leader. Poseidon, the sea god, struck the rock with his trident and produced a salt spring or a horse for his gift while Athena grew the people an olive tree. They chose the olive tree because they saw it as a more helpful gift since it could be used as medicine and many other things that were helpful to them. I got this information from Worldhistory.org and it states, “She is closely associated with Athens, the city named in her honor after the people of Attica chose her as their patron following her gift of the olive tree, symbol of peace and plenty.”

From all of this information we can conclude that Athena the Olympian goddess of wisdom and war was born from Zeus head fully grown and was known for surpassing other gods/goddesses such as Ares the god of war. Also known for her gift of the olive tree to the city of Athens to rule them with the competition of the best gift with Poseidon. She was very powerful and important to her people because according to Britannica.com it states, (she) “inspires and fights alongside the Greek heroes; her aid is synonymous with military prowess. Representing the intellectual and civilized side of war, she is the divine form of the heroic, martial ideal and personifies excellence in close combat, victory, and glory.” 

I interviewed Jeshuah De Dios and asked him what he thinks about Athena and how she was portrayed in the religion. He said that he likes how she was known for being strong and looked as a role model since heroes asked for her help and that Ares feared her. Another thing he said was that it’s kinda weird that she was born out of his forehead, a full grown woman, and how she was fully clothed.