Athena's primary mythical enemies include the war-loving Ares, representing brute force against her strategy, and the sea-god Poseidon, with whom she fiercely competed for control of Athens, but she also famously punished mortals like Arachne (turned into a spider) and cursed Medusa. In modern interpretations, particularly video games, the entity Kratos from God of War also becomes a significant antagonist.
Rivalry with Poseidon
Poseidon, her rival. For many eons, Athena and Poseidon developed a rivalry between them, which can be traced to the time when they competed for the position of patron of the city of Athens, called Attica at that time.
Athena has lived with her best friend Pallas' family since she was a baby, never knowing her true parentage.
Not wanting his daughter to lose, Zeus flapped his aegis to distract Pallas, whom Athena accidentally impaled. Distraught over what she had done, Athena took the name Pallas for herself as a sign of her grief and tribute to her friend and Zeus gave her the aegis as an apology.
In Greek literature, Ares often represents the physical or violent and untamed aspect of war and is the personification of sheer brutality and bloodlust ("overwhelming, insatiable in battle, destructive, and man-slaughtering", as Burkert puts it), in contrast to his sister, the armored Athena, whose functions as a ...
Apollo, the god of sun and music, is considered the patron of same sex love, as he had many male lovers and was often invoked to bless homosexual unions. He is also called "the champion of male love" by Andrew Callimach.
In the annals of Greek mythology, Medusa was once a fair maiden with enchanting locks of hair. However, her beauty attracted unwanted attention, leading to a punishment by the goddess Athena. In a fit of jealousy, Athena cursed Medusa, transforming her into a hideous monster with writhing snakes for hair.
Athena: Tiresias came upon the goddess Athena when she was in her bath. Angered by his presence, the goddess splashed water onto his eyes, blinding him. Tiresias' mother begged Athena to restore his sight, yet she was unable to do so.
The most prominent "four virgin goddesses" often refer to the Greek trio Artemis, Athena, and Hestia, known for their perpetual virginity and independence, with the fourth often being a more peripheral figure like Astraea, or sometimes a specific invocation like Diana (Roman equivalent) or Gefjon (Norse), though the core group is usually the three Olympians. They embody different aspects of feminine power, from the hunt (Artemis) and wisdom (Athena) to the hearth (Hestia).
Athena's symbols were the olive tree (representing peace) and the owl (representing wisdom). According to legend, Athena was the favorite daughter of Zeus, the chief god.
The Parthenon at Athens was her most famous shrine. She never had a true lover. For some strange reason it was hopeless that she would fall in love; Hephaestus tried once, yet failed. Athena was well known for giving advice/mentoring heroes.
Quick Thought: This ability allows Athena to slow someone's perception of time to a near halt, allowing them to move and strategize much faster than the average person. Quick Thought Dimension: Athena is able to transport people to the Quick Thought Dimension, which appears to her as a large, silver hourglass.
That is how they chose Athena to be the protector of their city and that is why its called Athens. But to answer your question Poseidon is stronger but Athena is smarter so it would be hard to say who would win in a fight.
Who would win Athena or Ares? Athena and Ares actually battled several times both directly and indirectly. Each time, Athena was the victor, much to Ares' chagrin.
Ever-helpful son Hephaestus seized his ax, and split open Zeus' head. From the cleft leapt his daughter Athena, gray-eyed goddess of wisdom. Like her half-sister Artemis, she announced that she would be remaining a virgin, and unmarried.
Strengths: Rational, intelligent, a powerful defender in war but also a potent peacemaker. Weaknesses: Reason rules her; she is not usually emotional or compassionate but she does have her favorites, such as the beleaguered hero Odysseus. Birthplace: From the forehead of her father Zeus.
Apollo is the model of Greek male excellence in physical, intellectual and ethical terms. This model of masculine perfection was compatible with a sexuality beyond the limits of heterosexuality. Apollo, like other gods such as Zeus, had both male and female lovers in myth.
Athena is the only Virgin goddess in the series who doesn't (even occasionally) take on the form of a child. She also is the only one out of the three who has demigod children.
In Hurran mythology the three goddesses of fate, the Hutena, were believed to dispense good and evil, life and death to humans.
However, contact with the power of this place meant that Athena was completely consumed by Greed, the Evil of Pandora that had infected her (just as the other Gods had been infected by other Evils: Poseidon by Wrath, Hades by Hatred, Zeus by Fear,...), consuming her and transforming her into a Divinity in perpetual ...
If She was in fact first an Owl-Goddess then it may be that Her role as Wisdom-Goddess springs out of the Owl-Goddess role; for the intense staring eyes of the owl made it emblematic of bright wisdom and intelligence.
The other gods came to see what the problem was. Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus to take a wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, full grown and in a full set of armour. Due to her manor of birth she has dominion over all things of the intellect.
At the time she was beheaded, Medusa was namely pregnant by Poseidon, god of the sea. Two drops of her blood fell into the sea, from which the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus sprang.
The Ancient Greek pantheon, though upsettingly low on the lady loving women considering the rampant male bisexuality going on, does has a surprising wealth of asexual and aromantic goddesses. Here are two of the most important.
Athena's Virginity
One such instance was when Hephaestus attempted to rape her. She managed to break away from him before he could violate her, but his semen fell to the ground. A child was born from the mixing of the semen and the earth, and he was named Erichthonius.