Athena loved heroes.
She loved Heracles, Perseus, Diomedes and, of course,
Odysseus.
Intelligence and courage impressed her, while daring repelled her.
She protected the City of Athens,
although she had to assert herself against Poseidon
because he also wanted to have the power over the city. To decide which
one of them would have this honor, each had
to give a present to the inhabitants of the city, who after would decide
who would be the protector Athens. Poseidon
chose was to let a river run through Athens. It was quite a good
idea, but he didn't pay attention of what kind of water the river had, and
it happened to be salty water... not so useful for the habitants. On the
other side, Athena planted an olive tree on
the top of the acropolis: the symbol of Greece, the wealth of their
country.
No doubt the inhabitants decided on Athena.
Athena, the quintessence of
spirit and intelligence, had also her dark side, since she could be also
very jealous and vengeful. Once,
for example, Meduse claimed that she
was at
least as beautiful as Athena. As a
result, Athena transformed Medusa in a terrible monster turning her into ugliness
personified.
The Beginning / Gods of the Olympus / Smaller Gods
