Athena



Athena (Ancient Greek Αθηνά) is the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and crafts. Unlike Ares, she is the disciplined side of war. She has many demigod children, two of the most well-known being Annabeth Chase and George Washington. Like her, Athena's children are born from her thoughts. Her father is Zeus and her mother is Metis, Titan goddess of wisdom. Her Roman counterpart is Minerva. She and Posiedon don't get along, although this did not affect Percy and Annabeth's relationship.

[edit] History
Athena sprung fully-grown from Zeus' head in full battle armor. According to legend, Zeus impregnated Metis, Titan of wisdom who was his first wife. Before this event, he received a prophecy that foretold the future. It said that Metis would bear two children: a very wise daughter (Athena), and a son that would eventually overthrow Zeus, much like the event of Kronos and Zeus. Before either of these could happen, Zeus turned Metis into a fly, and digested her. Days later, Zeus had a terrible headache. He asked Hephaestus to split his head open with an axe, and out came an adult Athena, in full battle armor. She quickly became Zeus's favorite daughter. In Greek mythology, she was one of the most active goddesses. She assisted Odysseus in his journey home from the Sea of Monsters, and made sure the Greeks won the Trojan War. She also helped heroes like Diomedes, Heracles, Jason and Perseus. Like Artemis and Hestia she is one of the virgin goddesses.

[edit] Rivalry with Arachne
A long time ago, the mortal Arachne challenged Athena to see who could make the best tapestry. Athena accepted the challenge, as she invented weaving, and they each made a tapestry. Athena's was of the gods together in glory. Arachne's showed the gods making fools of themselves. Athena was angry that Arachne still hadn't learned not to be vain, so she destroyed it and turned Arachne into a spider (supposedly after Arachne tried to kill herself). Ironically she could still use the web from her spinnerets to make silk. Ever since then Athena's children have had a fear of spiders, paranoid that every spider they see is out to get them, as what better way would there be for Arachne to get revenge on Athena, than to kill her children?

[edit] Rivalry with Poseidon
For many eons, Athena and Poseidon have had rivalry between them. It all started when they competed for being the patron of the city Athens. The leader of the city told the two gods to make a gift for the newly constructed city. Poseidon made a salt-water spring, while Athena, gave them the Olive tree. Seeing that the Olive tree was much better than a salt-water spring, The leader of the newly constructed city named it after Athena (Hence the name Athens) and made Athena a temple known as the Parthenon, and also made her the patron of the city. This made Posiedon very angry. Also, Athena once caught Poseidon with his girlfriend Medusa (who was once a pretty maiden) together in her temple. Furious at Poseidon and Medusa for doing such disgusting and "disturbing" acts in her temple, she turned Medusa and her sisters into the "Three Gorgons". Medusa's sister's were also transformed because they helped Medusa get into the temple. The competition for Athens and the terrible acts Poseidon committed in Athena's temple are probably the basis for why Athena dislikes Percy. Athena also helped Odysseus on his quest for home, while Poseidon tried to stop him.

Personality

Athena is a very disciplined woman, very wise, and is quick thinking. She is very brilliant and always takes precautions before acting. It is noted in The Titan's Curse, that she is so smart, that it is pointless for Percy to argue with her. Do not get on her bad side, she can be quite terrible when she's angry. She loves all her children, and seems to be a caring mother.

[edit] Physical description
Athena has long black hair and gray eyes. As she is a goddess, she can turn to any form she would like so she will not always look like that. As shown in The Titan's Curse, she is shown as an average looking Park Ranger at the Hoover Dam. She is said to be beautiful, and lean. She wears an elegant white dress. It is said Annabeth looks a lot like her mother, and has the same cold stare. In some myths she is said to be able to turn into a white owl.

[edit] Powers
She possesses the standard powers of a god. She is known to transform into an owl. As the goddess of wisdom and war, she is an expert in all forms and weapons of warfare. She is a more skilled tactician than Ares and prefers thinking to fighting, and uses violence only as a last resort. As the goddess of wisdom she is presumably an expert in many if not all areas of knowledge and is the chief adviser of Zeus.

As Zeus' most trusted goddess on Olympus, she is the only one besides himself allowed to wield the Aegis, (aside from children of Zeus) a powerful defensive item that causes its enemies to flee in fear and terror and is the only item that can supposedly survive Zeus's thunderbolts.

[edit] Gifts

 * She gave Annabeth a cap of invisibility, (Yankees cap).
 * She gave Daedalus, and Perdix, her blessing of wisdom.
 * She can give the Blessing of Athena, which is like the Blessing of Ares. It renders the person who receives the gift unable to be harmed.
 * She helps Annabeth find Luke and Thalia when she was 7.

[edit] Children
Athena's children are born from her mind. When she falls in love with a man, their joined minds are what causes this. Athena calls this 'the purest kind of love' and is a virgin, and has sworn to remain one. As she has blac Annabethk hair, and all her children are blond and have her gray eyes, it is safe to assume she only falls in love with blond men (or at least prefers them). This also could have been a continuity error (like Thalia's eyes being mentioned as both blue and green), as it was only mentioned once that everyone in the Athena cabin has blond hair.Annabeth

Children:
 * Annabeth
 * Catherine Sanquez
 * Malcolm
 * Daedalus a.k.a Quintus (deceased)
 * Erictonius
 * George Washington
 * Abraham Lincoln
 * Frederic Bartholdi