23 She is a female goddess, but she is also a soldier, which traditionally is a male role. Throughout Greek history, Athena's cult eventually came to replace that of other palace-citadel goddesses, so she fulfilled the role of female deity for a large geographical area.
Since she is goddess of craft and skill, and weaving (a typically decidedly activity in the Greek world) would have to fall into that category, it again makes sense that Athena would have to be a female to encompass her myriad of attributes.
Essentially urban and civilized, Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess later taken over by the Greeks. She was widely worshipped, but in modern times she is associated primarily with Athens, to which she gave her name and protection. The Romans identified her with Minerva.
While many of the other greek gods - men and women alike - were promiscous, Athena was completely asexual, and not because she was a "pure" goddess of chasity or something. Athena really did not have any interest in sex at all. Many of the other gods wanted to marry her, but she would have none of it.
Athena defies these gender roles by remaining celibate and thus claiming her regenerative powers for herself.
In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena is immune to romantic love, so there is no particular lover for her.
Just like Artemis and Hestia, Athena was never swayed by love or passion. Consequently, she never had any children. Some say that Erichthonius was an exception, but, in fact, Athena was only his foster-mother.
Heracles is Athena's crush, where they have met in Athena the Wise. Helping him with laborious tasks, they have gained friendship that turns into a crush.
And Pandora.” Heracles was Athena's crush, and Pandora was her roommate in the girls' dorm on the fourth floor of MOA.
Athena is typically depicted as a virgin goddess with no husband or offspring. However, according to a story by the first-century Roman author Hyginus, Athena (called Minerva) is married to Hephaestus (called Vulcan), the god of blacksmithing and artisans.
According to legend, Athena was the favorite daughter of Zeus, the chief god. She was said to have sprung from his head fully grown and clothed in a suit of armor. Athena was very different from the war god Ares, who was a powerful fighter. Athena used her great wisdom to advise soldiers during wartime.
Although she is a virgin goddess, Athena can conceive demigod children by joining her mind with her mortal lovers, which she considers to be the purest kind of love that one could give upon. Her demigod children are "gifts" to the men she favors.
The fact that Zeus is her only parent makes her associate even more with masculine. Yet Athena sometimes shares some feminine characteristics. First, she was born as a female. Second, Athena is also the goddess of weaving, and we sometimes will see an image of Athena holding a distaff.
Athena receives the baby Erichthonius from the hands of Gaia. Erichthonios grew in the womb of Gaia and, when he was born, Gaia passed him over to Athena to care for him.
Athena, as you may know, was not born in the normal way. She sprang from Zeus's head in full battle armor. Her children have similar magic births. They are the product of purely intellectual affection Athena sometimes bestows on men of great cunning.
Zeus's Favourite Child Was Possibly Athena, Goddess of War
Perhaps partly because of the strange circumstances of her birth, Athena is often cited as Zeus's favourite child. He also greatly admired her strength of character and fighting spirit.
In mythology, Athena, was Zeus' favorite daughter.
Athena was associated with the snake and the owl. Usually represented as a virgin goddess, she had no children. Athena was very different from the war god Ares, who was associated with mindless fury and the brutal aspects of battle.
Athena was an armed warrior goddess. The Parthenon at Athens was her most famous shrine. She never had a true lover or someone to hug and hold her; all she had was her loving mother, caring father and most of all her brothers and sisters.
In fact, Athena was jealous of Medusa's beauty and lustrous hair. Poseidon ravaged her and took what she held dearly, her purity. Athena, outraged by this incident, cursed Medusa and turned her wonderful hair into venomous snakes, her beautiful face turned so ugly that any man who gazed upon would turn to stone.
Athena's life passion was to protect and lead the people of Athens. She fought for values like justice, truth, and moral values and put it all on the line to protect her beliefs. She was fearless and was exalted for her heroic endeavors and her unmatched intellect earned her the title of the Goddess of War.
This is also why, even though she's the goddess of housewifery, Hestia never marries. She never has sex and she never gives birth.
In some versions, Hephaestus demanded Athena's hand in marriage as a reward for opening Zeus' skull to birth the goddess. In others, he attempts to rape her. Athena wiped his ejaculate onto the earth, from which was born Erichthonius (Apollodorus, Bibliotheca III.XIV.VI).
According to the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, three goddesses are unable to feel sexual desire: Athena, Artemis and Hestia. They swore to keep their virginity forever, with Zeus's approval. In modern times, they may be classified as asexuals.