Athena

Athena was the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom -- and weaving, and crafts. She was also the goddess of war, but only when fought for protection. She was also called Pallas Athene, and sometimes Athena Parthenos -- meaning Athena the virgin. Versions of her myths vary, but in the best known version, her father was Zeus, that randy god who often mated with goddesses, nymphs, and mortal women who caught his fancy. One who caught his fancy was Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom. After he had his way with her, he became frightened because of a prediction that her child would become greater than its father. To prevent the birth of a child, Zeus swallowed Metis. However, she was immortal, and the child she had conceived continued to grow. Finally, Zeus felt a terrible headache. At his command, one of the other gods split his head open with an axe. Out of the gaping wound stepped Athena, full grown, armed and armored.

Athena got into a dispute with Poseidon, the god of the sea, over which of them would be the reigning deity of a Greek city-state. To settle the quarrel, they decided that each of them would create a gift for the people of the city, and let the people choose. Poseidon took his great trident, struck it into the ground, and a spring of water bubbled up. Athena made an olive tree sprout from the ground. The people chose Athena's gift, because it provided food, oil for lamps, and wood to burn. Thus, the city took the name Athens, and built a magnificent temple called the Parthenon -- honoring Athena Parthenos. In addition to the myths about her origins, Athena appears in many other myths of ancient Greece.

English word: From Athena is derived the name of the city of Athens, of course, and Parthenon. From Pallas Athene is derived the word Palladium, which was originally a great statue of the goddess, and later came to mean a safeguard, or a protection. Palladium also refers to a rare metallic element of the platinum family.