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Athena
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In the Olympian pantheon, Athena was remade as the favorite daughter of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead after he swallowed her mother, Metis.The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with her, Zeus "put her away inside his own belly;" he "swallowed her down of a sudden," He was too late: Metis had already conceived a child. When it came time, Zeus was in great pain; Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes or Palaemon (depending on the sources examined) cleaved Zeus's head with the double-headed Minoan axe, the labrys. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed with a shout, "and pealed to the broad sky her clarion cry of war.
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Athena was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. But there was a problem, Zeus checked up on Metis and found out that if he had a son by her this son would be mightier than him (you know, the same way he was greater than his daddy and his daddy was greater than his grandpa). So he tricked Metis and ended up swallowing her when she turned into a fly and figured she was no longer a threat. However, Metis was pregnant with Athena and when Athena was born, this turned into quite a problem. Soon Zeus was plagued with killer headaches and he ran to Hephaestus (Smith God) and begged him to open his head. Hephaestus did as he was told, and out popped Athena, full grown and ready for battle!
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Athena had a special relationship with Athens, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city. Athena was said to have won a contest between her and Neptune, Roman God of the Sea, over the city of Athens. Jupiter (King of the Gods) had decided that in order to settle the feud, whoever gave the city the most useful gift will win ownership and patronship of the city. Neptune gave the city a fountain of flowing water, but it was salty and was not much help to the people. Athena planted the first olive tree, which provided the people with food, firewood, and shade. She showed how to crush olives to make oil, that could then be used in a variety of ways.
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Athena has departments throughout Denmark and in Northern Germany. Athena was established in 1995, and today it is the result of a merger of a number of enterprises. In May 2007, Athena was admitted to the growth exchange First North under the Copenhagen Stock Exchange OMX. This meant that the capital base of the company was strengthened by DKK 30 million.
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Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprung up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them the first domesticated olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. This is thought to remember a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. It is interesting to note that Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis near Salamis Island in 480 BC.
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Athena competed with Poseidon to be the patron deity of Athens, which was yet unnamed, in a version of one 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 the water was salty and not very good for drinking. (In an alternate version, Poseidon offered the first horse to the citizens.) 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" which reflect the conflict between matriarchical and patriarchical religions.
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Athena