Athena Goddess of War and Wisdom

A painting representing the birth of Athena.

She was the favorite child of Zeus, and had sprung fully grown in armor out of her father's head. Athena was also a war Goddess, yet unlike the hot tempered Ares, she was wise and just in war. She represented the intellectual and civilized side of war, she was not so much of a fighter but more of a wise and prudent adviser. For these reasons it has always been desirable to count upon her favor when war is at hand, for Athena, it is said, would never put up with defeat.

There once came a time in Ancient Greece when the first king of Athens, Cecrops (his name implying that he was half person and half snake) had to find a patron deity for the city state of Athens. The two Olympian gods who were particularly interested in the patronage were Poseidon (Neptune), the god of the Seas and Athena (Minerva), the goddess of Wisdom and Skill. Athena and her uncle Poseidon were both very fond of this city. They presented themselves in front of Cecrops and Cecrops asked from them to offer a gift truly valuable for Athens. Poseidon came first: he powerfully struck the earth and created a well with his trident ; immediately streaming water shot forth, but water turned out to be salty and not very useful for the population. Next, it was goddess Athena's turn. Athena stepped forward, struck her spear in the ground and then she kneeled and buried an olive branch in the ground, creating an olive tree as a symbolization of peace and prosperity.

Cecrops was very impressed by Athena's gift--which was better because it gave the people food, oil and wood-- much more than that from Poseidon-the water was as salty as Poseidon's sea and it was not very useful-- so he chose Athena to lay claim of the city of Athens and Athens was named after her. God Poseidon, however, was not pleased by the decision of Cecrops and cursed the city of Athens to never have enough water from then on; after that, a major problem of water shortage started in Athens, which continues until now-a-days. After competing against the Greek god Poseidon, Athena officially became the patron deity of the city of ancient Athens and the Parthenon was built in her honour. She was known as "Athena Nike" (Athena the victorious), as she was believed to have given the Athenians the victory during the Persian War.

The Parthenon At the approximate position where the Parthenon was built later, the Athenians began the construction of a building that was burned by the Persians while it was still under construction in 480 BCE. It was presumably dedicated to Athena, and after its destruction much of its ruins were utilized in the building of the fortifications at the north end of the Acropolis. Not much is known about this temple, and whether or not it was still under construction when it was destroyed has been disputed. Its massive foundations were made of limestone, and the columns were made of Pentelic marble, a material that was utilized for the first time. The classical Parthenon was constructed between BCE to be the focus of the Acropolis building complex.. The temple’s main function was to shelter the monumental statue of Athena that was made by Phidias out of gold and ivory. The temple and the chryselephantine statue were dedicated in 438, although work on the sculptures of its pediment continued until completion in 432 BCE.