Athena

Athena, also known as Athene or Pallas-Athene, was the goddess of wisdom, strategic war and useful crafts.

Parents

She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis.

Metis was Zeus’s first wife, but when he was told by Gaia and Uranus that her second child was destined to best his father he ate Metis, and she was forced to give birth to her daughter Athena inside of him.

Important Relationships:

Athena had sworn never to marry and never had any romantic relationships.

Athena is well known for her punishment of the weaver Arachne. Arachne was a poor weaver from a small town in Lydia, but she had grown famous for her amazing tapestries. Athena was angry because she had invented the art of weaving and Arachne was boasting about her skills as a weaver and saying that she was even better than Athena, challenging her to a competition. Athena disguised herself as an old woman and tried to warn Arachne that the goddess might be angry and punish her, but Arachne didn’t stop boasting and said the goddess should come and talk herself. Athena showed herself and accepted the challenge. They both sat down and began to weave beautiful tapestries. Athena wove a beautiful picture that showed the gods and their power in a scene depicting the founding of Athens, but also other stories that showed the anger of the gods toward those who compare themselves to the gods. Arachne wove beautiful scenes but that were disrespectful towards the gods, showing them in their worst moments. Once the competition was over Athena could not find any mistakes in either tapestry but was so angry at the disrespect in Arachne’s tapestry that she turned her into the first spider, so that she would weave for the rest of her life.