Athena was the Goddess of wisdom, the daughter of Zeus and Metis, a Titaness of wisdom. Her conception began when Zeus was walking through the gardens on Olympus. He saw Metis sitting by a pool, gazing into the water. He admired her beauty, and went to sit with her. Soon, the two of them fell in love, and they made love in Zeus bedchambers, where Hera would never find them. After their union, Zeus went to consult the Oracle of Delphi, and received word that Metis would bear him two children; the first would be a girl, and the second would be a boy that would over-throw him, just as he did his father. Zeus wasn’t going to allow this, so he had to think of a way to deal with Metis. He arranged to meet her by their pool again, which they did. Zeus pretended to be in a playful mood, and challenged her to a game of shape shifting. The two of them assumed many forms, shifting into smaller and smaller forms as the contest progressed. Finally, Metis assumed the form of a small fly, and Zeus opened his mouth and swallowed her. She remained trapped within Zeus, with the baby promised by the oracle growing within her. Weeks after swallowing Metis, Zeus was sitting in his throne when he was suddenly wracked with severe head pains. It felt as if someone was thrusting a burning poker in the soft spots of the inside of his head. He called all of the gods around him, and they all did what they could to heal him, but to no avail. Finally, he called on his son Hepheastus to split his head open with his sledge so that the problem may be removed. Hepheastus cracked open his father’s head with one mighty swing, and out sprang Athena, fully grown, and clad in battle armour with her spear held aloft. She then entered the pantheon as the Goddess of Wisdom, and soon won the admiration of all of the gods.
Athena was called upon for counsel by all of the gods, and mortals would pray to her for wisdom in situations that they would face. She would send omens to her worshippers in the form of an owl, her sacred bird. Her omens were also interpreted through olive trees, which was her gift to the world. When Athens was founded and built, the people began to call upon a patron deity to protect the city from harm. Athena and Poseidon heard this cry, and answered it at once. Of course only one of them could assume that role, and it was up to the people to decide which god would be their protector. Poseidon slammed his trident into the ground, and a spring of water welled up from the earth, providing the town with an inexhaustible source of water. However, the water was from the sea, and the people weren’t able to drink, or make any use of it what so ever. Athena had a better gift; in the centre of the town, she planted an olive tree. The benefits of this gift were many; it provided the people with wood, oil from the olives, and a source of food. The people of Athens began to praise Athena, and the Parthenon was built in her honour on the peak of the Acropolis. From this point on, Athena and Poseidon were bitter enemies, and opposed each other whenever the chance presented itself.
Athena was also a goddess of war. She tended more towards the strategy part of war, rather than the bloodshed. She would constantly challenge Ares to battle and most often end up defeating him. She was a marvel to watch in battle, her tactics and ferocity combined were unmatched. Her constant companion into battle was Nike, the winged goddess of victory. Together, there was no battle that the two of them could engage, and not win.
Crafts were also her domain. She was the inventor of the loom, and with it she would go to earth and teach mankind how to weave, and make the finest clothing. One woman learned Athena’s craft very well. The cloths that she produced were flawless, and people came from all over just to view her work. Her name was Arachne, and she was very boastful about her work, saying that Athena herself could not outmatch her on a loom. Athena heard this insult, and sped down to the village where Arachne lived. She burst into Arachne’s home while she worked, and was immediately recognised. Arachne fell to her knees terrified; she knew exactly why Athena was there. Athena roared, “You have insulted an immortal! You dare to claim to be better than I at the art that I brought into being? For this, you must die. No mortal may ridicule a god and live to tell the tale.”
Even though Arachne was afraid, she said to Athena, “Before you deal my punishment, allow me to give you this.” She walked to the other side of the room, and took a garment off of a peg on the wall. She knelt before the goddess, and presented her a cloak. Athena was mystified at the workmanship of the cloak; it was perfect in every way! She looked down to Arachne, “Foolish child, your pride has done this to you today. If you claim to be able to match my skill on the loom, then you will be given that chance. We will each set up a loom in the town and weave, and the people of the town will judge. Tomorrow we will meet at sunrise.” Arachne looked up, and Athena was gone.
Arachne obeyed Athena, and set up her loom outside in the town’s centre. People were rushing past her while she worked to a clearing on the outskirts of town. Curious, she followed the throng of people to the clearing. There was Athena sitting at her loom, the largest and most elegant loom Arachne could ever imagine. It was fashioned out of the purest silver, and the designs engraved on it were breathtaking. Athena raised her arms, and small clouds began to gather in the air around her head, which she began to feed into her loom to use as material for her tapestries. Arachne went to her loom, and the two of them set to work. As the afternoon pressed on, Athena and Arachne were almost finished their work. Athena picked up her tapestry and flung it across the horizon; on it was terrifying scenes, taken from the events at the creation of the world. There were depictions of Typhon being pinned under Mount Etna by Zeus, Echidna giving birth to her brood of monsters, and the battle of the Titans against the Olympians. The people all fell to their knees, and began to praise Athena before even looking at Arachne’s work. Arachne went white; she knew that Athena had bested her, and that she was going to die by the goddess’ hand. Arachne wandered into the forest with a length of rope, and hung herself from a great oak tree. Athena walked to where Arachne had hung herself, and found her swinging in the breeze. Her was hair loose around her head, her face turning blue and her eyes bulging out of her head. Athena took pity, and touched Arachne’s shoulder while saying, “Weave on, child. Your work will continue to be your life, and be as beautiful as anything created by the gods themselves.” Arachne’s face went from blue to black, and her form dwindled down to that of a large black spider. The rope she had hung herself from became a strand of silk. The spider scurried up the strand of silk, and into the tree. From that day on, spiders have been the spinster’s in nature, weaving their haunting tapestries for all to admire.
