Athena is the goddess of wisdom in the mythology of Ancient Greece. She is the daugther of the god of the sky Zeus and the Titan Metis. When Metis was still pregnant with Athena, Zeus swallowed Metis to keep her from bearing a son that could challenge his rule. Zeus was surprised when the female child was born anyway, springing from his head in full armor.http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Greekhistory&gods.htm

Athena's siblings are the gods Ares, Apollo, Dionysus, Hephaestus and Hermes and the goddesses Aphrodite and Artemis. Her uncles are Poseidon and Hades and her aunts are Hestia and Demeter. Her stepmother is Hera.http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/greek.gods.html Besides wisdom, she is also associated with the tactical side of battle, pottery, weaving and ingenuity. The city of Athens is named after her and she is its protector. http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Greekhistory&gods.htm

Athena is a pivotal character in a number of Greek myths. As a weaver, she takes offense when Arachne, a human, claims to be more skilled than Athena. Athena challenges her to a contest to see who is indeed the most talented of the two. When Athena wins the contest, she still finds Arachne unrepentant and arrogant, which Athena takes as an insult to the gods. She slaps Arachne in the face and Arachne begins to turn into a spider, hence the reason that spiders weave webs.http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/mythology/arachne.html

Athena was an active participant in the Trojan War, detailed in The Illiad and in Odysseus' attempts to return home described in The Odyssey. During the Trojan War, it was Athena who came up with the idea for the Greeks to sneak into Troy inside the wooden horse, planting the idea in Odysseus' mind.http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/ortengrenathena/athena.html It was also she who helped Odysseus on his journey home, in one instance forcing Zeus to release him from the spell of Calypso.http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/ortengrenathena/athena.html