01254--Athena in Greek Mythology

Athena in Greek Mythology

Athena was the goddess of wisdom, war and crafts.  Olive, owl and aegis were her symbols.  Being a patron deity of the city of Athens Athena played an enormous role in the lives of not only the residents of that illustrious polis (Greek for city), but in many ways all of the Greek speaking world, .  Our oldest sources of Greek literature - the works of Homer and Hesiod - discuss Athena. The goddess appears in several significant passages of Homer's Iliad, and she is one of the most influential deities in the Odyssey in her role as Odysseus's patron and ally. Athena's attributes were codified early in the epics and poetry of Greece: she was the divine sponsor of warriors and heroes, she introduced a number of the arts and crafts necessary for civilization, and she represented wisdom. Indeed, the goddess played a prominent role in Greek mythology.