Athena-Godess of Agriculture
Athena
ATHENA, also known as Pallas Athena, one of
the most important goddesses in
Greek mythology. Athena sprang fullgrown and armored from the forehead of
the
god Zeus and was his favorite child. He entrusted her with his shield, adorned
with the hideous head of Medusa the Gorgon, his buckler, and his principal
weapon, the thunderbolt. A virgin goddess, she was called Parthenos ("the
maiden").
Her major temple, the Parthenon, was in Athens,
which, according to legend,
became hers as a result of her gift of the olive tree to the Athenian people.
Athena was primarily the goddess of the Greek cities, of industry and the
arts,
and, in later mythology, of wisdom; she was also goddess of war.
Athena was also a patron of the agricultural
arts and of the crafts of women,
especially spinning and weaving. Among her gifts to man were the inventions
of
the plow and the flute and the arts of taming animals, building ships, and
making shoes. She was often associated with birds, especially the owl.