\paperw3990 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \cf7 Identified with\cf0 \cf7 Minerva by the Romans, Athena was the daughter of \b \cf15 \ATXht8 Zeus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and\b \ATXht11313 \cf15 Metis\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and one of the greatest deities of Olympus. Since\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht12102 Uranus\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and\b \cf0 \ATXht10700 \cf15 Gaea\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 had predicted that one of \b \cf15 \ATXht11313 Metis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 ' children would one day rule over the Olympians, Zeus swallowed his wife so that the child in her womb would not be born from her body. When Athena was ready to be born, Zeus ordered \b \cf15 \ATXht7 Hephaestus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 to open his head w
ith a blow of his hammer and from the wound sprang Athena, fully armed and shouting a terrible war cry. This miraculous birth was supposed to have taken place on the banks of the river \b \cf15 \ATXht12017 Triton\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 (or Lake Tritonis),
perhaps located in\b \cf0 \ATXht116 \b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 Libya, and Athena was therefore given the epithet Tritogeneia.\par
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Athena was raised by Triton and grew up with his daughter\b \ATXht11602 \cf15 Pallas\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who became the goddes
s' unfortunate playmate. It is told that while the two girls were practicing the art of war, Pallas was about to strike Athena. Her father Zeus immediately intervened, placing his aegis, a goatskin capable of inspiring terror, between the two combatants.
Pallas was so horrified by this that she was unable to avoid her friend's blow and was killed. In despair over the loss of Pallas, Athena made a statue of her, the Palladium, and assumed Pallas as one of her epithets.\par
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Athena was portrayed as
a virgin, with a heart untouched by human passions. It is told that she bore \b \cf15 \ATXht10509 Erichthonius\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 to Hephaestus without uniting with him. She was also a warrior goddess who played an important part in the\b \cf0 \ATXht10704 \cf15 Gigantomachia\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 (war of the giants). Her hatred of \b \ATXht1013 \cf15 \ATXht11606 Paris \b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 prompted her to fight on the side of the Achaeans in the Trojan War, and she was particularly fond of\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht12100 Ulysses\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , \b \cf15 \ATXht10104 Achilles\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , \b \cf15 \ATXht10408 Diomedes\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , and\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11309 Menelaus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . She protected \b \cf15 \ATXht10811 Heracles\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 while he w
as carrying out his labors and, as a mark of his gratitude, received the gift of the\cf0 \cf7 golden apples\cf0 \cf7 of the\b \cf15 \ATXht10817 Hesperides\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .\par
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However, Athena, as the daughter of Metis, was considered the most
cultivated and the wisest of the gods. She devoted herself chiefly to peaceful works. She introduced the olive to\b \ATXht1008 \b0 \ATXht0 Attica and was patron of all the arts, including those of practical utility, such as\cf0 \cf7 weaving, spinning,
and embroidery. She invented the flute and the trumpet, the\cf0 \cf7 terra-cotta vase, the yoke for oxen, and the\cf0 \cf7 ship. She gave \b \cf15 \ATXht10203 Bellerophon\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 the bit that he used to tame\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11609 Pegasus
\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .\par
As time passed, writers came to identify Athena as the goddess of wisdom and reason, and it is in this role that she exercised her authority over the laws of the state. Order, the administration of justice, and the people' assembly
were placed under her protection. It was claimed that she was responsible for the creation of the Areopagus, the highest political body in Athens. It was at Athens that the\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11604 Panathenaea\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 festivals were held i
