Athena

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete
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Athena

Athena was revered in Greece perhaps more highly than any other deity except Zeus and Apollo. She is the Goddess of War and Wisdom. She is the war goddess in general with Nike, the goddess of victory, as her subordinate. She could bestow command, skill and courage, and also victory in war for those who revere justice and listen to her persuasive righteousness, or destruction for the unjust. She was commonly depicted helmeted, carrying shield, and spear, and wearing the aegis. Her battle prowess was so great that once she evens felled Ares in combat. Ares referred to her as aphron ('frenetic, crazed').
In addition to being the goddess of war, Athena was a many-skilled goddess with an inventive genius. She is credited with taming and training horses, and for inventing the bridle for men to use. She also invented the flute, trumpet, plow, war-chariot, rake, yoke, and other tools and instruments that benefited mankind. In the Iliad, it was she who sent the idea of a wooden, hollow horse to Odysseus in a dream, enabling the Achaeans to overthrow Troy. Athena was also a patroness of refined, feminine arts, including cooking, weaving, and spinning, as well as the first who taught mathematics. As such, architects, spinners and weavers, goldsmiths, potters, and sculptors, charioteers, and ship builders invoked her.
Homer liked to refer to her as glaukopis ('blue/ grey/ green -eyed', or 'light/ bright/ brilliant-eyed'). It could have been taken from her association as a sky goddess. Her character was fully assimilated to the Roman goddess Minerva, whose festival on the 19th through 23rd of March suggests an association with the spring equinox.
Her totemic bird was the owl and the olive tree, which she created and showed mankind how to cultivate, was her tree. The owl is found on her coins. Horses, bulls, cows, goats, snakes, cocks and the crows were also associated with her, with bovines and goats sacrificed to her. Her more popular epithets include Parthenos, Pallas, and Kore (also Koria and Koresia). The former means 'maiden, virgin'. She was often called Pallas Athene. Various accounts of this epithet are possible, but the most popular in myth has her accidentally killing her childhood sweetheart, and in remorse honored him by adopting his name to hers.
A less romantic tale has Pallas as a serpentine or winged goat-like monster (similar to Typhon) that tried to rape Athena. In some accounts, he is also her father. However, Athena slew and flayed him. Still, this may be just a title, related to Greek pallakis, 'mistress'.
In addition to being an epithet of Athena, Kore was also known as the daughter of Demeter (= Metis?), who became Persephone after Hades abducted her. Kore may also be an epithet taken from an ancient title. In Linear B Mycenaean, cognates of this word meant 'governor, overseer', presumably derived from Mycenaean koru, 'helmet'. Also related to this is her epithet koruphagenes ('head born').
Athene helps us to cultivate wisdom, reason, and purity. As a Goddess of noble combat, she aids in the defending of home and country, and by inspiring just laws and civil intercourse, she is a Goddess of peace as well. She helps us to see our cities as thriving communities, as extended families, instead of just a bunch of people who live together. The duties owed to family and friends she extends to our neighbors in the community. She is also the Patron of craftsmen, weavers, and artists, and delights in simple things done well. Her symbols are the owl, Aegis, spear, helmet and olive. Her sacred animals are owls and snakes. For sacrifices; she receives olive oil, olive leaves and branches, aromatic herbs, almond, oak, flax, wool, star ruby, turquoise, amaranth, tiger lily, geranium, yew, galbanum, asafoetida, scammony. Athens, Argos, Sparta and Troy were her cult centers, even though in mythology she was on the side of the Greeks when they attacked Troy. If one wants to honor her, become more involved in your community and your city. Help your neighbors. Be friendly. Be a mentor to children. Be helpful towards strangers. Try to be of any service to your community. Learn new things. Study philosophy. Take up arts and crafts. Support veterans.
As an Olympian Goddess is she one of the three virgin Goddesses: Athena, Hestia and Artemis.
As Goddess of Wisdom she is a pride and powerful symbol of mankind's search for the truth in everything, his quest for answers and understanding. As a goddess of defensive and tactical war is she the giver of strength to the juste and protector of the democracy. Its needless to say that next to a War goddess that she is also a Warrior goddess. It's through her city (Athens) that democracy came into the world. She is also associated with the God of the Forge: Hephaestus. She inspires people with wisdom and thought. Athena can grant the ones who call upon her the insight needed.
Wisdom is the greatest goal of Mankind since he exists. Wisdom came through experience, through life and through learning out of your mistakes. Mankind has yet not achieved Wisdom, he still searches for it. That is why she is so important. Like many Gods she has a chthonic aspect. She is neither good nor evil, something that can be said of all Hellenic Gods. Her sacred animals are the roasters, the owl. Her sacred tree is the olive. Athena possesses many names like Pallas Athena and Athena Parthenos.
In mythology is Athena the daughter of Zeus and Metis. According to the myths the second child would overthrow Zeus. That was the prophecy, Zeus received when Metis was pregnant. He didn't want take any chances and changed Metis into a fly and ate her. After a while he begun getting headaches so he ordered Hephaestus to hit his head with a hammer from which Athena was borne and became the apple of his eye while Hera was jealous at Athena, Athena herself didn't had any trouble being accepted into the Olympian pantheon of Gods. It could be before her assimilation into the Hellenic pantheon that she wasn't a virgin goddess.
Its Athena who helped many warriors in their adventures like Perseus, Hercules, Jason and the Argonauts and Bellerophon. She stood by Poseidon and Hera in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks. It was she who made Ajax insane when he conspired against Oddyseus, Meneleus and Agamemnon. She supported Oddyseus in his voyage back to his homeland, Ithaca, a journey that lasted ten years by Poseidon.
At one time Hephaestus wanted to rape her because he was the victim of a prank by Poseidon but his seed landed upon her dye which she threw it off upon the earth from which Erichthonius was born. Athena raised Erichthonius because Gaia denied all responsibility. He became the first man who ever came close to Athena.
Her sacred days are October the 7th, the day that is sacred to Pallas Athena and Niké also known as Minerva and Victory in Rome. At first Minerva and Athena were different. Prior to her Hellenisation Minerva was married to Hercules, which Athena was not. Athena is a kind of Goddess that is illusive to most people. She has so many aspects and titles are almost impossible to understand her completely. One can only worship and honor her by studying her, praying and performing rituals. She is the one who brought wisdom into the world. Athena blesses us with self- reliance, physical prowess, cunning, skills, wisdom and strength to overcome the obstacles we encounter on our path.
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valete optime
Romulus

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete

Epithets

Aglauros (Dewfall), Agoraia (of the Market), Aithuia (Sea Bird), Alalkomene (Repeller of Danger), Alea (Protectress), Apatouria (of the Apatouria festival), Areia (Warlike), Boulaia (of the Council), Ergane (Workerwoman), Glaukopis (Grey-eyed, Owl-eyed), Gorgopis (Gorgon-Eyed), Hellotis (Broad-Faced), Hephaistia (of Hephaistos), he Theos (the Goddess), Hippia (of Horses), Hugieia (Health), Itonia (of Itonos) Khalinitis (of the Bridle), Khalkioikos (Dwelling in a Brazen House), Khruse (Golden), Kourotrophos (Protector of Youth), Kranaia (Fulfiller), Meter (Mother), Nike (Victory), Nikephoros (Victory-Bringing), Pallas (alternate name), Panakhais (Goddess of the Akhaean League), Pandrosos (All-Bedewing), Parthenos (the Virgin), Phatria (of the Phratry), Poliakhos (City-Holding), Polias (of the City), Polumetis (of Many Counsels), Promakhos (Champion), Pronoia (Providence), Salpinx (War-Trumpet), Sophia (Wisdom), Soteria (Savior), Sthenias (Mighty), Tritogeneia (Born on Lake Triton)

Mythology

The most popular myth of Athena's origin has her as the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Metis, the first wife of the Greek All-Father. However, Gaia prophesied that a son born of their union would overthrow Zeus. This prompted Zeus to swallow Metis in a replay of the tactics his father Kronos had done with the Olympians. However, swallowing Metis soon gave Zeus a headache. Hermes fetched Hephaestus, who returned and cracked Zeus' head with an axe. Out of this was born Athena in full armor, screaming a war cry and dancing a war dance.
Athena had a special relationship with her father. She was the only Olympian Zeus trusted to carry his thunderbolts, with which she was often depicted on early coins. She also was Zeus' trusted counselor (except for the time when she conspired with Hera and Poseidon to overthrow him). Indeed, the name of her mother Metis may translate as 'skill', suggesting 'intellect' or 'wise counsel'. Indeed, Metis was renown for her wisdom and intellect.
By recorded history Athena was one of the three virgin goddesses of Greek mythology. This may have been a Late Greek development due to the reverence the ancient Greeks held for her, or it may have been in recognition that intellect and wisdom are incongruent with sexuality.
The closest Athena ever got to losing her virginity in classical myth was when Hephaestus tried to rape her. In his lust, his semen landed on her thigh. She wiped it off with some wool and threw it on the ground (cloud and rain?), with the child thus conceived by Gaia, the earth. However, Gaia refused to take Erichthonius, a half-man and half-serpent, as her own, so Athena reared him. He became a legendary early king of Athens.
An epithet of Athena was Aglauros. This was also the queen or daughter (sometimes one of three) of King Cecrops of Athens. She was charged with rearing Erichthonius, who was kept in a chest that Aglauros was told not to open. Athena caused her to go mad after she opened the box, and she leapt into the sea (or off the Acropolis) after discovering that Erichthonius was half-serpent.
In Elis she was called Meter ('mother'). Meanwhile, Apollodorus said that Atthis, daughter of Cranaus ,was the mother of Erichthonius. Atthis seems to be a cognate of Athena. Atthis is more commonly recognized as the Anatolian Attis, whose festival roughly coincided with Minerva's in Roman times. Attis and Athena are both recognized as being androgynous deities, though their myths and attributes are not remarkably close. Still, the name of Attica could have been derived from a common source.
valete optime
Romulus

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete
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Patroness of Athens

In Athenian myth, Athena and Poseidon were early rivals to become the patron deity of the city. They both gave the city a present, letting the people choose who was the best. Poseidon sired the horse while Athena bridles it and builds the chariot. Poseidon excites the waves and Athena builds ships. Poseidon struck the Acropolis with his trident. From the crack water gushed into a deep well. Unfortunately for the people and Poseidon, it was salt water and useless. Athena then created out from a rock the olive tree, which became the most valuable tree in the ancient Greek economy. Poseidon left in a huff - flooding the city as he retreated. Like most Olympians, Athena became polis-centered deity like Hera was for Argos. This is not uncommon. Most cultures around Mediterranean Sea have dedicated cities to one god or another. This even shows up in clans and families and today with modern Hellenistic and Hellenic pagans. They have a patron or patroness deity or deities.

Hymns:

HYMNS TO ATHENA
Of Pallas Athena, guardian of the city,
I begin to sing. Dread is she, and with Ares she loves the deeds of war,
the sack of cities and the shouting and the battle.
It is she who saves the people as they go to war and come back.
Hail, goddess, and give us good fortune and happiness!
Homeric Hymn 11 to Athena

I begin to sing of Pallas Athena, the glorious goddess,
bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart,
pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous,
Tritogeneia (Trito Born). From his awful head wise Zeus himself bare her arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they gazed.
But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis,
shaking a sharp spear: great Olympos began to reel horribly at the might of the grey-eyed goddess,
and earth round about cried fearfully,
and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves,
while foam burst forth suddenly:
the bright Son of Hyperion [the Sun] stopped his swift-footed horses a long while,
until the maiden Pallas Athena had stripped the heavenly armour from her immortal shoulders.
And wise Zeus was glad.
Hail to you, daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis!
Homeric Hymn 29 to Athena

Sources:

Mythologies site
Karl Kereny: Gods of the Greeks
Walter Burkert: Greek Religion
Drew Campbell: Old Stones, New Temples
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valete optime
Romulus