Birth Athena

athena born zeus s forehead result of him having swallowed mother metis, grasps clothing of eileithyia on right; black-figured amphora, 550–525 bc, louvre.

although athena appears before zeus @ knossos—in linear b, 𐀀𐀲𐀙𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊, a-ta-na po-ti-ni-ja, mistress athena —in classical olympian pantheon, athena remade favourite daughter of zeus, born armed forehead. story of birth comes in several versions. in version recounted hesiod in theogony, zeus lay metis, goddess of crafty thought , wisdom, feared consequences because gaia , ouranos had prophesized metis bear children wiser himself. in order prevent this, zeus swallowed metis, late because metis had conceived.

eventually zeus experienced enormous headache; prometheus, hephaestus, hermes, ares, or palaemon (depending on sources examined) cleaved zeus’ head double-headed minoan axe, labrys. athena leaped zeus s head, grown , armed, shout— , pealed broad sky clarion cry of war. , ouranos trembled hear, , mother gaia… plato, in laws, attributes cult of athena culture of crete, introduced, thought, libya during dawn of greek culture. classical myths thereafter note hera annoyed @ zeus having produced child conceived , bore hephaestus herself, in imagines 2. 27 (trans. fairbanks), third-century ad greek rhetorician philostratus elder writes hera rejoices @ athena s birth though athena daughter also. second-century ad christian apologist justin martyr takes issue pagans erect @ springs images of kore, whom interprets athena:

they said athena daughter of zeus not intercourse, when god had in mind making of world through word (logos) first thought athena.

other tales

atena farnese, roman copy of greek original phidias circle, c. 430 ad, museo archeologico, naples

a scholium on iliad makes athena daughter of brontes cyclops, seduced metis , impregnated her, prompting zeus swallow her. etymologicum magnum instead deems athena daughter of daktyl itonos. fragments attributed christian eusebius of caesarea semi-legendary phoenician historian sanchuniathon, eusebius thought had been written before trojan war, make athena instead daughter of cronus, king of byblos visited inhabitable world , bequeathed attica athena.

cite error: there <ref group=notes> tags on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=notes}} template (see page).