 Goddesses of war  She is the goddesses that symbolized wisdom  She is the helper of many heroes  Has blue eyes  She is attended by an owl  Peruses gave her a shield with medusas chopped off head

 Zeus was the Greek god of the sky but also the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus, which domain included: all of the Olympian pantheon of gods as well as all of the earth, a mighty position indeed. Zeus (not surprisingly) had an unorthodox childhood. At the time of Zeus’s conception Cronus, Zeus’s father, had been eating whole all the children his wife, Rhea, had born him. Not because they looked oh so scrumptious, but because of a prophecy that Cronus would be overthrown by one of his children. So simple solution: just eat your children. However when Rhea had born Zeus she knew she couldn’t hand him over to Cronus to be devoured, so instead of handing Cronus Zeus to eat she took some clothes and wrapped a rock and gave that to Cronus (Cronus must have been as smart as one to actually fall for that). After she was safe she sent little Zeus to earth to be raised by nymphs and the divine goat Amalthea. Amalthea was also important later on because upon her death Zeus was moved to sadness and used her horn as the cornucopia and eventually used her golden fleece as the impregnable aegis. Once he grew to be a young man Rhea sought him once more and brought him back to the gods, where Cronus employed him as the royal cupbearer of the Gods, not even suspecting that it was his son. Eventually Zeus was given a special wine, given to him by Metis, the Titan Goddess of Wisdom, to bear to Cronus. Upon swallowing it he vomited all of the previous children he had swallowed: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Upon the regurgitation of his brothers and sisters he they were understandably pissed for having been digested for the last couple decades and so Zeus was able to band them together to wrest power away from Cronus and the Titans in a long bloody war that followed. They intended to give Cronus his just desserts (desserts that didn’t involve them).

 Apollo, Greek god of the Sun, was the original overachiever. No wonder he became his father's favorite son! At the tender age of 4 days, showing an incredible talent for archery, Apollo killed the gigantic serpent named Python (in some myths she was a dragon) who had been harassing his mother.  The Greek god Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were born to Leto (a Titan goddess who was impregnated by Zeus during one of his numerous affairs. The birth of the twins was not an easy one, for their poor mother Leto had been pursued throughout her pregnancy by a gigantic serpent named Python and had never been allowed a moment’s rest. Going into labor, she finally found a safe, secluded spot where she could deliver. But after the birth of the first twin, Artemis, was born, Leto was too exhausted to continue. Artemis, born just minutes earlier, had to take control of the situation and become Leto’s midwife, helping her mother safely deliver the infant Apollo.

 Athena, goddess of wisdom, was one of the only three Goddesses who would remain a virgin goddess, never marrying, nor falling to prey to love or the spells of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Romance is never featured in Athena’s mythology, and one could she say she’s the archetypal business woman. Now the way it all started for Athena, the manner in which she was born, was truly amazing. Zeus once laid with the woman Metis. However there was a prophecy that any child born from Metis would surpass Zeus and even usurp him. Zeus fearful of the prophecy swallowed Metis (perhaps not the greatest way to solve his problems, though probably the most expedient at the time) whole trying to prevent the birth of a child, however Metis was already pregnant at the time, and while she was inside the stomach of Zeus her child grew. Eventually Zeus was hit with an enormous headache. Eventually his headache became extremely unbearable and he could no longer take the pain he was in. He asked for the help of Hermes, messenger of the Gods., who struck his forehead the Labrys, a double- headed Minoan axe. When Hermes split open Zeus’s head Athena sprung forth from his forehead fully grown and fully clothed and armed. An unconventional birth indeed! Zeus loved Athena dearly. Not only was he glad that Athena was not the prophesized son that would lead to his demise, but Athena was also the Goddess of Wisdom. Subsequently Zeus shared with Athena many of his secrets and even sought her advice frequently. She served as Zeus’s prime advisor. Zeus even let her use his lightning bolt and the Aegis, a magical sheepskin that endowed the wearer with invincibility! That’s a big deal, he probably loved those bolts and that Aegis more than he did his wife