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. 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 Poseidon don't get along.

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.

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.

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 (called Attica at the time). The leader of the city told the two gods to make a gift for the newly constructed city. Poseidon created a salt-water spring (other stories, however, say he created the horse for the city), 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. 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. She loves all of her demigod children, and seems to be a caring mother. She is the only one of the gods who claims her children at birth. She blessed both Daedalus and his young nephew Perdix. She later punishes Daedelus for killing Perdix.

Athena is also usually kind to other demigods. She often aids heroes on their quests, even helping Percy at one point while he was in Hoover Dam.

Athena is somewhat cold and calculating at times. Athena is also known for never giving up, and crossing her is a mistake. When Paris picked Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess instead of her, Athena took the side of the Greeks in the Trojan War and used every power within her to bring him down.

Physical Description

Athena has long black hair and intense gray eyes. As she is a goddess, she can turn to any form she would like so she will not always look like that. 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.

Minerva

Athena can change her appearance and turn into her Roman counterpart, Minerva. As Minerva, she becomes more disciplined, warlike, and militaristic.

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 and has all the skills of Metis. 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.

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 black 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

The children of Athena are born to be wise. They have high IQ's and are very studious. Most of them have a love for architecture. The demigods are predisposed to war, and think faster than others in battle. They are natural tacticians, and always remain calm when the situation is threatening.

Children:

• Annabeth Chase
• Daedalus a.k.a Quintus (deceased)
• Erictonius
• George Washington
• Frederic Bartholdi