ATHENA

Athena was born of Zeus alone but she had a mother it was Metis when Metis was pregnant Zeus swallowed her. Later he had a headache and had his head split Open and out came Athena in full armor.

Athena was a warrior goddess and had the body of a virgin, her roman name is Minerva. She is often called Athena Parthenos ("Athena the virgin") this is why her most famous temple was named the Parthenon. Athena is also called Pallas which means strong virgin. Athena’s symbols are the owl, as well as the Olive tree. She represents wisdom, the arts, industry, justice, the disciplined side of war, and above all control over elemental force

Athena is Zeus's favorite child, and the only one allowed to wield her fathers shield the Aegis witch she used as a breastplate. She could also hold the thunder bolts of Zeus. In Addition she held a shield bearing the face of the Gorgon Medusa, and usually holding a spear. In other sculptures with Athena she is holding an icon of the goddess of victory Nike. Often times Athena is shown with a snake as well

VS Athena, like Prometheus wanted to help humans, they both found ways to make life easier. Prometheus gave us the necessary tools for survival like fire and food while Athena help man thrive by establishing law to control society and create justice and ships that harness the power of water and wind. VS

Often times Athena watched over heroes such as Perseus, Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus. She helped the Greeks in the Iliad by encouraging the rallying troops to fight. Athena was a strategist in war, apposed to Ares who fought with unrestrained violence. She was also behind the building of the Trojan horse.

Arachne Arachne is a very skilled weaver and well known to every one, but she is not very modest about it. One day she boasts to be better than Athena. Athena being a fair god appears to Arachne as an old lady and tells her that If she repents Athena would forgive her. Arachne then gets angry and demands that Athena come out and show her skill. Athena then revealed her true identity as a god. Arachne then challenges Athena to a weaving contest.

Athena then proceeds to weave the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had inspired her patronage of Athens, while Arachne weaves a 21 scene of the infidelity of the gods: Zeus being unfaithful with Leda, with Europa, with Danaë. The tapestry that the two wove was flawless and Athena was outraged by the disrespect that Arachne displayed towards the gods and the fact that a mortal had produced a tapestry of equal quality to hers and took a shuttle of block wood and beat her across the face four times. Arachne then tried to hang herself rather than live with the humiliation Athena then took pity on her and turns her in to a spider.

The word arachnid we use today is derived from this story