Pallas Athena (Pallas das "Girl"), Latin Athena, the virgin goddess, therefore also called Athena Parthenos.
The Athenians venerated their city goddess and patron saint in the "Jungfrauengemach" (Greek: Parthenon), the marble temple on the Acropolis. She was the daughter of Zeus, who devoured the Metis pregnant with Athena. Athena's birth took place by Hephaistos, the Greek god of fire and blacksmithing, splitting the head of Zeus with an axe, upon which the goddess sprang out (represented in the east gable of the Parthenon).
The warlike goddess is depicted with helmet, armour, lance and aigis ("goatskin", a piece of clothing worn by Athena as a protective weapon over shoulders and chest). That's why we still use our parlance today for Aegis in the sense of protection, care. On the shield she carried the head of Medusa, cut off from the hero Perseus and surrounded by snakes. To escape the petrifying gaze of Medusa, Perseus used the help of a mirror to decapitate him.
Athena, the militant Athena, took part in the giant fight and was the helpful protector of many Greek heroes (Diomedes, Odysseus, Heracles and others).
As the goddess of craftsmanship, she invented and protected numerous handicraft arts. As the goddess of wisdom (symbol of the owl, whose depictions in Athens were innumerable, therefore the bon mot "carry owls to Athens" do something useless immediately) and the sciences were entrusted to her.
She taught the use of horse and carriage, instructed the women in spinning and weaving, invented the flute and set up a court of law on the aeropagus.
Arachne, an artful weaver from Lydia, challenged Athena to a competition in weaving. As she portrayed the love affairs of the gods, she turned Athena into a spider (Arachne Greek."Spider") enraged.
Athena became the goddess of peace under the rule of the statesman Pericles. Its Roman counterpart is Minerva.
Athena bust inspired by ancient Greek models.
