Athena’s Roman name was
Minerva. I think that sounds like
something to name your cat. She was the
goddess of crafts, domestic arts, and
war. She was also the goddess, or
guardian, of
the city of Athens. She later became the
goddess of wisdom. At that point, her
symbol
became the owl. That is why the owl is
known today as being very wise.
She came into the world in a very awkward manner. Zeus married Metis. After
the marriage, he found that Metis was supposed to give birth to a son
who
would later kill him. Not wanting to be
murdered,
he swallowed Metis (Sounds tasty! Yum,
yum…). After that little meal, Zeus had “splitting”
headaches. So Hephaestus,
the blacksmith,
cut open Zeus’
head (Owwwww!). Athena then jumped out fully
armed!
Back to the Museum