Athena is one of those goddesses who can really make a big difference in our trade, but also on our spiritual journey to become an improved version of ourselves. Let’s learn everything we need to know about this incredible goddess.

Who is Athena?

He was part of the numerous group of the children of Zeus, known by all for his constant infidelity towards his vindictive wife Herasin, he could boast of a certain singularity with respect to his brothers and sisters: the myth tells that Athena was born directly from the head of Zeus, who, after joining Metis, devoured her next to the little goddess who was still in her mother’s belly.

Therefore, as the daughter of Metis, goddess of wisdom, and gave birth to Zeus’s head, Athena could only be the goddess of reason.

The myth of Athena: myth and origins

Athena was born an adult from Zeus’s head, who had swallowed his first wife Meti (advice) for fear of giving him a super superior son. Hephaestus (or Prometheus) opened the head of the God with an ax and Athena emerged cover with an armor (helmet and shell). The old triteia epithet (born of Triton or the Rugient Flood) would indicate that she was the daughter of the ocean.

According to Homer, the ocean was the origin of all things and all gods.

Athena occupied a prominent place in the Greek religion. His name was invoked, along with those of Zeus and Apollo … in solemn oaths.

Athens, who took her name, was the main center of her cult.

The names of the first priestesses of Athena – Daughters of Cecrops – Aglauro, Pandroso and Erse, mean «bright air», «dew» and «rain.»

According to the work «on the gods and the world» of Sallust, the goddess was part of the cosmic gods (gods who do the world), who watched around the world itself and were linked to the ether.

The strange thing is the way Athena and its appearance was born: according to the myth, the goddess was already born and dressed in armor.

Why the Greeks felt the need to give birth to the already great goddess is easily explained by the fact that wisdom and prudence would not have been easily attributable to a child, even a goddess!

The presence of armor in the myth reveals the warrior aspect of the goddess. Attention, however, to the fact that the war exalted by Athena was never comparable to the ruthless, irrational and bloody war symbolized in mythology by God Ares.

The war, for Athena, should be fought more with the mind than with weapons, more with strategies than with massacres. Let us think, for example, the fact that the main warrior protected by the goddess was Ulysses himself, a soldier capable of distinguishing himself on the battlefield not by his muscles but for his cunning, a man who determined the victory of the Achaeans against the Trojans designing the famous ploy of the wooden horse.

Athena was not interested in sex; Once, it is counted in the metamorphosis of Ovid, Hefesto tried to violate her but she managed to avoid it; Despite this, he ejaculated on his leg; The seed fell on earth and fertilized Gaia (always the goddess) who rejected this son. Then Athena picked it up (it was called Erichthonius, often translated as «a lot of land») in a basket and gave it to the daughters of Cecrops (later, Athena would punish Aglaurus for looking at the content of the basket against the will of the goddess). Erictonio grew and became the fourth king of Athens.

Athena played an important role in agriculture. The planting season began in Attica with three sacred plow rituals, two of them in honor of Athena, the inventor of the plow.

In addition, it was Athena who taught to tie the oxen to the yoke and had always given the men the olive tree, in the same way that the dice had invented for divinatory purposes (which later became popular use, although the auspicious art remained prerogative of the aristocracy both in Greece and in Rome), the flange, the loom.

Some women of the Athenian nobility were responsible for weaving this pepples; The rite exalted another aspect of Athena, since the goddess was also considered the protector of the art of spinning and knitting. It was said that, in ancient times, a girl had paid a high price for her pride: considering the best in the art of weaving, she had dared to challenge Athena, but the goddess had punished her transforming her into a spider.

As a kind of law of Dante’s talion, the goddess, therefore, punished the girl forcing her to spin and knit his mouth (with what had challenged the goddess) and create no longer beautiful and colorful canvases, but a gray canvas, fundamental for the same life. The name of this girl was Aracnede where «Arachnophobia» derives, a term that indicates the fear of spiders.

However wise and rational it was, Athena remained a goddess who could not accept or forgive what was considered the worst human sin: arrogance.

The Greeks believed, in fact, that a man, despite his skills and successes, must always have some humility: staining of arrogance and pride to such an extent that he no longer realizes his limits leads a man of the cusp of success to the abyss of failure. It is clear that from the ancient Greek myths even today it is possible to extract valuable elements of reflection.

What is Goddea Athena?

Athena, in addition to the warrior goddess, is also the goddess of reason, arts, literature and philosophy, commerce and industry. He taught men to navigate, to plow the fields, and hind oxen, to ride a horse, and women to weave, dye and embroider.

How do you know what Athena is calling you?

• If you dream of an owl that represents wisdom
• If you feel you need to win a fight
• If you feel you have to help others learn something they don’t know
• If you keep seeing your symbols everywhere

The best ways to connect with Athena

Connecting with Athena is a wonderful experience and here comes the best ways to connect with this powerful goddess:

Invess it when you face a problem

You can invoke it to support you and help you face a problem from a place of wisdom and openness to learn any possible lesson you know to be a better person.

Take time outdoors

Athena is linked to the earth and harvest, so spending some time outdoors in nature can undoubtedly be a great way to connect with it.

Related:
List of the 5 deities associated with the Earth [Con relatos].

Educate in magic and ask him to join you.

If you want to learn more about magic or anything else, you can ask Athena to join your study to be your guide and enhance your concentration and commitment to him.

Add a stealth dedicated to it, an image or a statue that represents it when you set a spell

If you need some clarity, some reconciliation and some wisdom, it brings your energy to the launch so that it can help you to enhance that effect and allow you to manifest your spells before.

How do you honor Athena?

You can honor Athena in many ways:

• You can practice the art of diplomacy in your name
• You can carry a statue or a photo of it on your altar
• You can plant some seeds and harvest them when they are ready
• You can study to learn something new
• You can launch a spell of clarity and wisdom in your name
• Reconciliation spells
• Be humble in everything you do

What are Athena’s favorite offers?

• Honey (to sweeten situations and bring peace)
• Olive oil (since the olive tree is a sacred plant for it)
• A statue or image of an owl (sacred animal for it)
• A newspaper page in which you write the lessons learned (showing how humble and open you are to new lessons).

Related:
2 powerful honey jar spells [Para Amor, Relaciones, Trabajo…]

Prayer for Athena

«My wise, strong, powerful and kind Athena
That your balance between strength and goodness illuminates my path
Be my mentor, be my teacher
Let the inner warrior rise and rise …
So it is «

What are the symbols of Athena?

Sacred for the goddess were

• an olive tree,
• a rooster,
• an owl – in the late classical era – animals defined later as demonic and linked to the witches (for being nocturnal) and for being Diana’s worshipers;
• A crow (which we also find next to other divinities, in addition to Apollo, also in the north, among the Germans -Odin will -but also as a companion of Celtic goddesses like Rhiannon and Morrigan);
• a snake (for being cyclical and being linked to the ability to divination)
• A goat (animal also linked to many ancient divinities: an example above all bread), with which it was often represented.

Related:
List of the 5 deities associated with the crows [con historias].
List of the 4 divinities associated with snakes [con relatos].

My favorite books …