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Athena: Cities
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Athena is the Greek virgin goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature. Athena is the daughter of Zeus. She sprang full grown in armour from his forehead... has no mother. She is fierce and brave in battle but, only wars to defined the state and home from outside enemies. She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle, which permitted man to tame horses, the trumpet, the flute, the pot, the rake, the plow, the yoke, the ship, and the chariot.
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Athena (Minerva to the Romans) was the principal goddess of Athens, a city named for her as a result of the contest with Poseidon (seen previously in Section 3). Although easily recognized as a warrior by her armor and weapons, she was not like the brutal, violent war god Ares. Athena was much more a goddess of strength and power with virtue; indeed, one of her primary characteristics was her virginity which was inviolable. A recurrent theme in the stories involving Athena is justice, or the triumph of civilization over barbarism, as described in the Oresteia and the Odyssey.
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Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens, which was yet unnamed in this founding myth. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians would choose the gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprang up; this gave them a means of trade and water — Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis — but it was salty and not very good for drinking. (In an alternate version, Poseidon offered the first horse.) Athena... offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and with it the patronage of Athena, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. Robert Graves was of the opinion that "Poseidon's attempts to take possession of certain cities are political myths".[17] but any actual socio-political struggle encoded in this myth, whether between the inhabitants established during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants or otherwise, is beyond determining.
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In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born from his forehead. The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, Zeus transformed Metis into a fly and swallowed her immediately after lying with her. He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child.
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Athena is the protector of Athens, Greece, a city named after her. The Parthenon, which is on the Acropolis in Athens, is her most famous temple. She ... helped many heroes, including Heracles, Jason, and Odysseus, and is always seen with Nike, the goddess of victory.
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Zeus' favourite goddess Athena was the beautiful warrior queen who stood guard over the ancient city of Athens. She was adopted as the patron of the arts and craftspeople of Athens, and her brave swordsmanship made her an inspiration to the military forces. Athena's grace and intelligence were underlying qualities to her immense courage and strength.
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