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