One of the greatest goddesses who lived atop mount Olympus was the goddess Athena. Athena was known as being the goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, and industry, Furthermore; she aided many desperate warriors on their journeys, and for this she is considered very just. With all of her contributions to the race of man such as the olive, the ability to tame the horse, and her creation of the potters wheel, she was greatly admired by humans. Athena was a very thoughtful and intelligent goddess, very rarely did she become angered, and more often thought of a solution, which was beneficial rather than vengeful.
She was also one of the three virgin goddesses; she withheld her appetite for love and kept her chastity. With many sources of evidence, it is clear that Athena was one of the greatest of all gods and goddesses, her intellect, moral values, and great gifts to humanity put her atop any other goddess in respect to popularity in Greek culture. Athena had one of the strangest births of any of the gods. Out of the many gods and goddesses, who lived atop mount Olympus, Zeus reigned above them all.
He was the most powerful and strongest of all the gods and goddesses, even if you combined all of their attributes together, they still were no match for Zeus and his dominance, It is no surprise that a god this great should need no woman to bear offspring at the level of the gods. Zeus was told by mother earth and father sky that him, and his wife metis would bare children, which would jeopardize his position as ruler of everything. With this foretold conclusion, Zeus decided to swallow Metis who was about to give birth, and in so gaining her intelligence and wisdom.
It is said however, that the result of metis being eaten were Zeus’ tremendous headaches. Hephaestus had the solution to these headaches, an axe, the result of the axe and Zeus’ skull was that Athena sprang out, fully-grown and Armored. Athena had been given a numerous amount of traits from her mother, more over; the main qualities were wisdom and justice. Because of her passion for war and battle, Athena was the protector of those who were brave and valorous. One of the many stories, which include a warrior receiving help from Athena, was Perseus.
In his quest to kill the gorgon medusa, Athena gave Perseus his most helpful tool, a great shield in which he could view the reflection of the monster (anyone who looked directly into her gaze would be turned to stone). After he had slain the gorgon, he gave her head to Athena and she used it to decorate her armor. She also protected Ulysses on his return voyage from troy, and gave Bellerophon a golden bridle in which he used to tame Pegasus, the horse that could fly.
The hero in which Athena gave the most assistance to was Hercules, as he undertook his labors from Hera, she comforted him and stood at his side. She also escorted him when he had to bring Cerberus to earth from the underworld, and after his death welcomed Hercules into the gates of mount Olympus. There were so many things she gave so many warriors it would seem that she would inevitably have fell in love and lost her virgin trait, this however was not the case. Along with warriors, Athena gave mankind in general an abundant amount of gifts.
A tremendous gift she extended towards mankind was the knowledge of taming horses, she taught this skill to the people of Cyrene and it spread. She also invented the potters wheel and crafted the first vases, she also was the most skilled in anything involving women work, such as weaving and decorating cloth. No one ever surpassed her skill in women work, and few ever were close enough to rival it. Somewhere in the past there was a quarrel between Poseidon and Athena for the possession of a city in Greece.
To settle the dispute, the gods decided that they would both give a gift to the city and whichever the city liked more would be the diety of that said city. Poseidon chose to give the city a spring of water, but because he was the lord of the sea it was salty water and thus no use to the citizens. Athena gave the city an olive tree, which they used for wood, food, and oil, her gift was deemed greater and the city was named Athens in her honor. There was also a palace dedicated to Athena in Athens, its name was the Parthenon, and it is still visible today.
From all of the gifts she gave to humanity, and the graciousness she showed to many heroes, it is blatantly obvious that Athena was a very understanding and likeable god. Her upsides balance out any negativity she showed, all across her actions, she never became too cold-hearted, or went with her heart too much either. She was a very reliable and dependable goddess, and very just as well. Keeping everything previously stated in mind, Athena had far more positive aspects, and because of this was a staple in the Olympian community, and one of their greatest assets.