Birth of Athena One day he heard a prophesy that one of Metis' children would take his throne. He promptly swallowed Metis and considered the problem solved. Unknown to ZeusZeus (Ζεύς) is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. His name is cognate with the first element of his Roman equivalent Jupiter.https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Zeus
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 began growing inside Zeus's head. When Haphaestus cut open Zeus's head, and Athena was born, she was not born an infant. Instead, Athena was born a fully grown warrior, dressed in armor and ready for war. This is how Athena became the goddess of war and wisdom.
According to Hesiod (Theog. 886, &c.), Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was the mother of Athena, but when Metis was pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea and Uranus, swallowed Metis up, and afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his head.
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.
Athena, the daughter of Zeus, was produced without a mother and emerged full-grown from his forehead. An alternative story was that Zeus swallowed Metis, the goddess of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena so that Athena finally emerged from Zeus.
Zeus swallowed his consort METIS [mee'tis] (“wisdom”), after he had made her pregnant, because he feared that she would bear a son who would overthrow him. And so ATHENA [a-thee'na], or ATHENE (MINERVA), was born from the holy head of Zeus.
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.
Athena (Minerva), the goddess of war and wisdom, had a strange birth. Her father Zeus (Jupiter) had swallowed his pregnant consort Metis (“wisdom”), because he was afraid she would bear a son who would overthrow him.
In her aspect as a warrior maiden, Athena was known as Parthenos (Παρθένος "virgin"), because, like her fellow goddesses Artemis and Hestia, she was believed to remain perpetually a virgin. Athena's most famous temple, the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, takes its name from this title.
Turns out Cronus had overthrown his dad, and he feared his son was a chip off the old block. One of those who sheltered the infant Zeus was a mountain nymph called Melissa. She cared for the baby and fed him milk and honey.
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. Some believe Athena was Zeus's first born child, which might, somewhat unfairly, suggest why he chose her as his favourite.
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. For some very 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.
According to a Homeric Hymn, there are three goddesses whom Aphrodite “can't persuade or decieve”, i.e. who don't feel sexual desire and are perpetually virgins. They are Athena, Artemis and Hestia. So, we are sure that Zeus did never have affairs with any of those three.
Tanner Horner, 31, of Fort Worth, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and capital murder earlier this month in connection to Athena Strand's death.
Impregnation by Zeus
Nonnus classifies Zeus's affair with Semele as one in a set of twelve, the other eleven women on whom he begot children being Io, Europa, Plouto, Danaë, Aigina, Antiope, Leda, Dia, Alcmene, Laodameia, the mother of Sarpedon, and Olympias.
Not satisfied with lordship over the sea, Poseidon coveted earthly realms as well. In his dispute with Athena for dominion over Athens, the two gods had a contest as to which one could give the Athenians the best gift. Poseidon shoved his trident into the Acropolis and produced a flowing stream or a horse.
Athena bested Poseidon by producing an olive tree on the Acropolis. Poseidon also raped Medusa—a mortal who had the reputation of being beautiful—in Athena's temple, desecrating it. Athena could not do anything to her uncle, so she took vengeance on Medusa by turning her into a woman with snakes on her head.
In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena is immune to romantic love, so there is no particular lover for her.
Hephaestus chased her and managed to catch her, in order to rape her. Athena resisted and during the struggle, Hephaestus' semen fell onto Athena's thigh. The goddess took some wool to wipe it away and threw it on the ground. Out of that semen, Erichthonius was born.
In the end, it was the strategy and intelligence of Athena that won over Ares as the Greeks defeated the Trojans. Ares was never married, but he fell in love with Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
A number of Zeus's affairs resulted in new gods and godesses. His liaison with Metis, of course, produced the warrior goddess of wisdom and courage, Athena. One night as Hera slumbered, Zeus made love to one of the Pleiades, Maia, who gave birth to the tricky messenger of the gods, Hermes.
Apollo: Zeus' Best-Known Son
Apollo was conceived during an illicit affair between Zeus and Leto (Zeus was married to Hera at the time), along with a twin sister named Artemis.
Ares is the Greek God of War. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, and half-brother to Athena.