| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Hero name "Alalcomeneis" | Greek | A surname of Athena, derived from the hero Alalcomenes, signifies "powerful defender". |
| Goddess name "Allat (goddess)" | Pre - Islamic northern / central Arabian | Astral and tutelary goddess. One of the three daughters of ALLAH. At Palmyra she was regularly invoked as a domestic guardian either as Allat or ASTARTE with whom she is closely linked. At Ta'if she was symbolized in the form of a white granite stone. In Hellenic times she became syncretized with ATHENA or, according to Herodotus who called her Alilat, with APHRODITE.... |
"Androgeus" | Greek | A son of Minos and Pasiphae, or Crete, who is said to have conquered all his opponents in the games of the Panathenaea at Athens. Greek |
"Apaturia" | Greek | That is, the deceitful. A surname of Athena, whic was given to her by Aethra. Greek |
| Goddess name "Arachne" | Greek | A Lydian maiden who challenged Athena to a weaving contest. Arachne produced a piece of cloth as and Athena could find no fault with it, she tore the work to pieces, and Arachne in despair hung herself. The goddess loosened the rope and saved her life, but the rope was changed into a cobweb and Arachne herself into a spider, the animal most odious to Athena. Greek |
| Goddess name "Ares" | Greek | God of storms and war. Ares is a lesser known member of the Olympic pantheon of great gods, the son of ZEUS and HERA, who allegedly lived in Thrace. As a warrior god he is contrasted with the more prominent and successful goddess ATHENA who fought and vanquished him in a war between the gods. Although Athena stands for victory in battle through glory and honor, Ares epitomizes the evil and more brutal aspects of warfare. In the eyes of Zeus he is the most hateful of gods. |
"Asia" | Greek | 1. A surname of Athena in Colchis. Her worship was believed to have been brought from thence by Castor and Polydeuces to Laconia, where a temple was built to her at Las. 2. A daughter of Oceåñuś and Tethys, who became by Japetus the mother of Atlas, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. (Theogony of Hesiod 359.) According to some traditions the continent of Asia derived its name from her. |
"Athena" | Greek | One of the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any allusion to her mother or to the manner in which she was called into existence, while most of the later traditions agree in stating that she was born from the head of Zeus. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was the mother of Athena, but when Metis was pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea and Uråñuś, swallowed Metis up, and afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his head. |
| Goddess name "Athena/ Athene/ Pallus Athena" | Greek | A goddess of war, architecture, astronomy, science, of horses, intellect & wisdom, oxen, of purity, reason & spinning |
| Goddess name "Auge" | Greek | Princess of Arkadia and a priestess of Athena, who birthed her illegitimate son within the sacred precincts of the goddess. As punishment for the sacriligeous act, Athena made the land barren until the king had the girl exiled and sold into slavery. Greek |
| Goddess name "Belisama" | Gaul | Goddess connected with lakes and rivers, fire, crafts and light. Identified with Minerva / Athena and has been compared with Brigid. Gaul |
| King name "Coronis" | Greek | 1. A daughter of Phlegyas and mother of Asclepius. 2. A daughter of Phoroneus, king of Phocis; she was metamorphosed by Athena into a crow, for when she was pursued by Poseidon, she implored the protection of Athena. Greek |
"Coryphasia" | Greek | A surname of Athena, derived from the promontory of Coryphasion, on which she had a sanctuary. Greek |
| God name "Enceladus" | Greek | A son of Tartarus and Ge, and one of the hundred-armed giants who made war upon the gods. He was killed, according to some, by Zeus, by a flash of lightning, and buried under mount Aetna and according to others, he was killed by the chariot of Athena, or by the spear of Seilenus. Greek |
"Gorgo" | Greek | According to the Odyssey, was one of the frightful phantoms in Hades. In the Iliad the Aegis of Athena contains the head of Gorgo, the terror of her enemies. |
| God name "Harmonia" | Greek | A daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, or, according to others, of Zeus and Electra, the daughter of Atlas, in Samothrace. When Athena åśśigned to Cadmus the government of Thebes, Zeus gave him Harmoia for his wife, and all the gods of Olympus were present at the marriage. Cadmus on that day made her a present of a peplus and a necklace, which he had received either from Hephaestus or from Europa. Greek |
| God name "Hephaestus" | Greek | The god of fire, was, according to the Homeric account, the son of Zeus and Hera The Romans, when speaking of the Greek Hephaestus, call him Vulcan or Vulcåñuś, although Vulcåñuś was an original Italian divinity. Later traditions state that he had no father, and that Hera gave birth to him independent of Zeus, as she was jealous of Zeus having given birth to Athena independent of her. Greek |
"Iodameia" | Greek | A priestess of Athena Itonia, who was changed into a block of stone on seeing the head of Medusa. Greek |
Table of Gods
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Athena (In Rome Minerva)
Athena is the Greek Goddess of war, wisdom, protector of cities and divine patroness of art and crafts. Her fuller form of her name Athenaia or Athenaie, was shortened to Athene in epic and to Athene in later Attic usage. In Athens she was worshipped as the city´s patron Goddess.
Athena's father is Zeus, king of the Gods, and her mother is Metis, Goddess of wisdom. Metis was first wife of Zeus, before Hera, but this was a dangerous union because she was fated to bear two exceptional children to him, first daughter Athena, who was also as wise and strong as her father and then a son who would displace him as ruler of Gods and mortals. Zeus swallowed Metis when she was pregnant with their daughter Athena. So Athena was born from his own body and the threatening son was never conceived.
Athena was the favorite child of Zeus (he did call her ”dear grey-eyes”) and was born from his head. According to the Homeric Hymn to Athena she sprang from his head in full armor, presenting such a fearsome sight that the Gods were seized with awe, and Olympus reeled, and the earth cried out, and the sea tossed and foamed; the sun God Helios stayed on his horses until she had removed the heavenly armor from her shoulders, and Zeus was delighted with her, then as ever. Athena was one of the most important and popular Goddesses, sometimes its said that her importance was second only to that of Zeus himself. She is represented as a virgin Goddess, with beautiful but severe face, grey eyes and graceful build. She is normally shown fully armed with helmet, cloak and holding a long spear. She may also have her special bird, the owl, sitting on her shoulder.
Pallas was one of the commonest titles of Athena. Its meaning and origin are uncertain. According to the most favored explanation, it means Girl or Maiden. A fragment from Philodemos refers to a story that explained the title Pallas by saying that she once had a companion by that name, who she accidentally killed. Athena and Pallas, Daughter of Triton, used to practice warlike exercises, but one day they quarreled, and as Pallas was about to strike Athena, Zeus intervened on his daughters behalf by stretching out his aegis. As Pallas looked up in surprise, Athena fatally wounded her, but was afterwards sorry for her friend and made an image of her which she clad in the aegis. This was the famous Palladium, which fell to the city of Troy and served as a protective talisman for the city. Another story stated that one of the Giants had been called Pallas and that Athena had killed him during the war between the Gods and the Giants, and had skinned him to use his skin as a shield.
Athena is said to have invented the war-chariot and the art of horse-taming. One time the hero Bellerophon tried to catch and tame the immortal winged horse, Pegasus, but failed to do that. While he was sleeping in Athena's shrine on the advise of a seer Polyeidos, the Goddess appeared to him in his sleep and told him to accept a bridle from her for use on Pegasus, and to sacrifice a white bull to his father Poseidon, as tamer of horses. In another version Athena tamed Pegasus on the Bellerophons behalf. Warships were also of interest to Athena and she supervised the building of the Argo, the mythical precursor of the fifty-oared ships that were used in war-galleys in historical times. She also had connection with music and the flute was her invention.
Athena was also patroness of peaceful handicrafts, especially spinning and weaving. Arachne, the daughter of a dyer, was an exquisite weaver who challenged the Goddess Athena to a contest. In her weaving Arachne depicted the entire Greek pantheon in sexual poses and Athena did choose stories on various mortals who had aroused the wrath of Gods and been signally punished. Although Arachne´s tapestry was flawless, her choice of subject was too much for hot-tempered Athena. Arachne was attacked by Athena, and later she did try to hang herself, because she did became so distressed by what happened. Athena saved Arachne and turned her into a spider, so that she could continue to weave. Later in Greece and Rome Arachne was worshipped as a spider Goddess of weavers and as a Fate-spinner.
Athena is a patron Goddess of Attica. She won this title after competing with Poseidon, God of sea, who also wanted to gain possession of various lands. First Poseidon tried to establish his priority by giving the city a saltwater well. Later Athena arrived, and gave people olive-trees. Athena won and later established even a closer connection with Athens by becoming a foster mother to Erichthonios, the ancestor of Athenian people.
Hephaistos, God of fire and smithies, tried to make love to Athena, but she repelled and his semen fell on the ground, causing it to became fertilized. Erichthonios was born and Athena claimed him as her own by adopting him after he was born from the ground. Athena raised him, and later he became king of Athens.
Sacred Days
Panathenaia Festival in Athens every year to Athena, which Erichthonios, Athena's adopted son did create to honor her after becoming king.
19 March. The day before equinox (Ostara) is one of the festivals dedicated to Athena. In Roman times it was called Quinquartrus, a festival that celebrated the birth of Goddess Minerva, Athena's Roman form.
13 June. Festival that represents the harmonious blending of power and wisdom of Goddess Athena (Minerva)
13 November- Roman festival Feronia, the Goddess of this name, along with Juno (Hera), Minerva (Athena) and Jupiter (Zeus) was worshiped.
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