Athena

ATHENE (Athena) was the Olympian goddess of wisdom and good counsel, war, the defence of towns, heroic endeavour, weaving, pottery and various other crafts. She was depicted as a stately woman armed with a shield and spear, and wearing a long robe, crested helm, and the famed aigis--a snake-trimmed cape adorned with the monstrous visage of the Gorgon Medousa (Medusa).

Myths

The more famous myths featuring the goddess Athene include:

• Her birth from the head of Zeus, fully-grown and arrayed in arms.

• Her contest with Poseidon for dominion of Athens in which she produced the first olive tree and he the first horse.

• The War of the Giants in which she buried Enkelados (Enceladus) beneath Mount Etna and made her aigis from the skin of Pallas.

• The attempted violation of the goddess by Hephaistos (Hephaestus), who spilled his seed upon the earth and produced Erikhthonios (Erichthonius), who she then adopted as her own son.

• The assisting of Perseus in his quest to slay the Gorgon and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece.

• The assisting of Herakles (Heracles) with his twelve labours.

• The weaving contest with Arakhne (Arachne) who was transformed by the goddess into a spider .

• The blinding of Teiresias (Tiresias) for seeing her naked while bathing.

• The Judgement of Paris in which she competed with Hera and Aphrodite for the prize of the golden apple.

• The Trojan War where she sided with the Greeks in battle, but attacked their ships with a storm when they failed to punish Oilean Aias (Ajax) for violating her Trojan shrine.

These and many other myths are detailed over on the Theoi Project page.