By Geetika Surapaneni
Hesiod, Theogony 886:
“Ζεὺς δὲ θεῶν βασιλεὺς πρώτην ἄλοχον θέτο Μῆτιν πλεῖστα τε ἰδυῖαν ἰδὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων. ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ ἄρ᾽ ἔμελλε θεὰν γλαυκῶπιν Ἀθήνην τέξεσθαι, τότ᾽ ἔπειτα δόλῳ φρένας ἐξαπατήσας αἱμυλίοισι λόγοισιν ἑὴν ἐσκάτθετο νηδὺν Γαίης φραδμοσύνῃσι καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος. τὼς γάρ οἱ φρασάτην, ἵνα μὴ βασιληίδα τιμὴν ἄλλος ἔχοι Διὸς ἀντὶ θεῶν αἰειγενετάων. ἐκ γὰρ τῆς εἵμαρτο περίφρονα τέκνα γενέσθαι: πρώτην μὲν κούρην γλαυκώπιδα Τριτογένειαν ἶσονἔχουσανπατρὶμένοςκαὶἐπίφροναβουλήν. αὐτὰρἔπειτ᾽ἄρα παῖδα θεῶνβασιλῆακαὶἀνδρῶνἤμελλεντέξεσθαι, ὑπέρβιονἦτορἔχοντα: ἀλλ᾽ἄραμινΖεὺςπρόσθενἑὴνἐσκάτθετονηδύν, ὡςδήοἱφράσσαιτοθεὰἀγαθόντεκακόντε.”
"Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first, and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athena, Zeus craftily deceived her with cunning words and put her in his own belly, as Gaia and starry Ouranos advised. For they advised him so, to the end that no other should hold royal sway over the eternal gods in place of Zeus; for very wise children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding; but afterwards she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men. But Zeus put her into his own belly first, that the goddess might devise for him both good and evil."
Hesiod, Theogony 924 :
"But Zeus, himself, shortly after his marriage to Hera gave birth from his own head to Athena, bright-eyed Tritogeneia,, the strife-stirring,, the host-leader, the unwearying, the queen, who delights in tumults and wars and battles.”
Summary
Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, is among the most popular Greek gods and goddesses. There are many myths about Athena, what she represents, and the moments that happened in different stages of her life.
One of the most fascinating myths about Athena’s character is that of her birth. As written about by Hesiod in the Theogony. “Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first, and she was the wisest among gods and mortal men.” After Metis conceives, Zeus swallows her to try and prevent the birth of a child. The prophecy proclaimed that Metis’s son would overthrow Zeus and become king: “for very wise children were destined to be born of her, first the maiden bright-eyed Tritogenia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding, but afterward she was to bear a son of overbearing spirit, king of gods and men.” the But Zeus’ plan did not succeed, and he “gave birth from his own head to the bright-eyed Tritogenia, the awful, the strife-stirring, the host-leader, the unwearying, the queen who delights in tumults and wars and battles.”
Zeus had a horrendous headache and ended up giving birth to Athena through his head. Athena had a strong heritage as a feminine goddess. She was worshipped as an eternal mother, nurturing and creative. Her symbols are the olive tree while the snake and owl are seen as her representations. All of these elements, nurturing mother and the wisdom of the soul, are found in Metis. But Athena was pragmatic and wanted to rule with order and uprightness without the use of her mother’s abilities. Therefore, she renounced everything feminine and honored the male, in everything but marriage.
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