Temple of Athena Promachos

Athena, goddess of wisdom, has one of the strangest origins among the gods, a group not known for conventional behaviour. Her mother, Metis, was swallowed whole by Zeus, who suffered terrible headaches afterwards. Hephaistos, the god of smiths and Zeus’ son, split open his father’s skull and Athena sprang from the wound, a fully-grown woman. She is the patron of wisdom, intelligence, courage as well as the arts, civilised living, and just warfare. Athena often features in Greek myths as the protector and helper of heroes, in particular Odysseus, Perseus and Heracles, and especially when they used cunning rather than strength. She was therefore seen as goddess of military strategy and generalship. Despite her liking for heroes she remained chaste.