ATHENA
Real Name: Athena Parthenos
Identity/Class: Olympian god
Occupation: Goddess of wisdom, war, arts and crafts; advisor to Zeus
Group Membership: Olympian gods
Affiliations: Aegis, Avengers, Cadmus, Amadeus Cho, Council of Godheads, the Fates, Hercules, Horus, Inti, Izanagi, Jason, Namora, Odysseus, Perseus Enemies: Amazons (Artume, others), Atlas, Cronus, Eternals, Kyknos, Mikaboshi, Skrulls, the Titans, Typhon Known Relatives: Zeus (father), Metis (mother), Gaea
(great-grandmother), Ouranos (great-grandfather, deceased), Cronus, Rhea
(paternal grandparents), Oceanus, Tethys (maternal grandparents), Chiron, Pluto,
Neptune (uncles), Apollo, Ares, Dionysus,
Hephaestus, Hercules, Hermes
(half-brothers), Venus,
Artemis, Eileithyia, Eris,
Hebe, Persephone
(half-sisters), Demeter, Hera,
Vesta (aunts), Alex Aaron, Cupid,
Hermaphroditus (nephews), Aeneas (nephew, deceased), Harmonia (niece) Aliases: Minerva, Pallas Athena, Virgin Goddess Base of Operations: Olympus; on Earth, a country home in Vermont First Appearance: Thor I#164 (May, 1969) Powers/Abilities: Athena possesses the conventional powers of the
Olympian gods including superhuman strength, the inability to age upon reaching
adulthood, immunity to terrestrial diseases and harm from conventional means and
a regenerative ability that heals wounds rapidly should she indeed be injured.
Athena is stronger than the average Olympian goddess (Class 25) and can lift
about 35 tons optimally. Athena wields certain magical abilities which allow her
to fly at great speed, change her size or form to appear as another person,
animal or object, render herself and other beings invisible from mortal eyesight
(for example when she was a secret participant in the Trojan War), create
illusory images, animate inanimate objects, and control the shape and form of
objects or people (notably she changed the physical appearance of Trey Rollins,
the New Warrior youth aka Aegis). Athena can also project mystical energy
bolts, cross the distance between dimensions and materialize objects. As the goddess of wisdom, Athena has devoted a great deal of
time throughout the centuries to studying and mastering many areas of knowledge
including all fields of non-technical science. Also, as the goddess of battle
Athena is quite adept at combat both armed and unarmed and is a highly competent
military strategist even superior to her half-brother Ares, the god of war. She
is a master of the weapons used at the time of ancient Greece and Rome including
the sword, spear, and shield. Height: 5'10" History: (Greek-Roman Myth) - Athena is the daughter of the
Olympian god-king Zeus and his first consort Metis, the goddess of prudence
who was the daughter of the Titan sea-deities Oceanus and Tethys. After
defeating the earlier generation of gods known as the Titans for the rule of the
dimension known as Olympus, Zeus chose to mate with the Titaness Metis
sometime prior to making his elder sister, Hera, his lawful wife and Queen of
the gods. Thus, Zeus's union with Metis resulted in Athena being born near Lake
Tritonis in Libya. Tritonis was controlled
by her cousin, the god Triton, a son of the sea-lord Poseidon. After Athena's birth however, Zeus was informed of a prophecy given by
his grandmother Gaea that Metis's second child by Zeus would be a god more
powerful than his father and who would replace him as ruler of the gods as Zeus
had done to his father Cronus who likewise had replaced his father Ouranos.
Hence, Metis exiled herself from Olympus to prevent the prophecy from coming to
pass. Raised by her elder cousin Triton, Athena befriended Pallas his daughter
who was similar in age to her. Athena accidentally killed Pallas during a bout
of simulated combat and thus annexed Pallas's name to her own in memory of her
fallen cousin. To this day she is sometimes called Pallas Athena. Of all of Zeus's numerous offspring, Athena has
always had the king of the gods favor above all others. This may be due to the
fact that Athena's personal interests have always diverged from those of the
other gods. Whereas most of the Olympian deities have focused their lives on
pursuing hedonism and are usually controlled by their passions and engage in
petty bickering amongst themselves, Athena's temperament has usually been more
humble in comparison and has always striven to pursue and act with knowledge and
wisdom. Athena was so favored by her father that she was the only god-child of
Zeus allowed to wear the Aegis, the magically-protective breastplate of Zeus.
The only other exception of Zeus's offspring wearing the Aegis was when his
mortal demigod son Perseus, by the human princess Danae, was allowed to use it
with Athena's blessing when confronting the Gorgon called Medusa. (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#9) - At some point, after the Olympians had made
their presence known to the ancient Greeks around 2000 B.C., Zeus discovered
Olympia, home to the superhumanly long-lived offshoot of humanity known as the
Eternals which resided near the gods' home of Olympus itself. Olympia was the
capital city of the Eternals and was ruled by Zuras. Zeus and Athena then
traveled to Olympia to meet with Zuras and his daughter Azura, named after her
father. Athena noticed the physical resemblances between Zeus and Zuras and
herself and Azura and hence suggested a pact of non-interference between the two
races where the Olympian Eternals would act as the gods' heralds on Earth at
certain times. The pact was sealed and Azura changed her name to Thena to honor
the pact. However, during the centuries that followed, many human worshippers of
the gods mistook several Eternals for the gods themselves. For example, Cybele
was mistaken for Gaea and Rhea, Helios for Apollo, Hero for Heracles (Hercules),
Makkari for Mercury/Hermes, Phastos for Hephaestus, Thena for Athena, and Zuras
for Zeus, etc. This led to a great resentment by the gods for their Eternal
representatives.
(Greek-Roman myth) - Throughout the millenia Athena has had many encounters with
mortals in the lands of Greece when the gods were formally worshipped. Among
these incidents include her competition with the mortal called Arachne. Arachne
was a vain woman who considered her weaving ability greater than that of
Athena's. To resolve the matter, a competition was declared between the two
where they would weave tapestries. Arachne created a tapestry that depicted
events that happened in the lives of the gods and Athena, consumed with rage and
jealousy at Arachne's handiwork, tore Arachne's tapestry apart causing the girl
to flee and subsequently commit suicide in her grief. As penance for her
actions, Athena cast a spell over Arachne and transformed her into a spider,
preserving her life and allowing her to spin and weave via the natural abilities
of a spider until the day she died in her new form. This was one of few episodes
of Athena losing her temper and acting just as petty as the other gods as she is
usually a more even-tempered goddess in relation to her peers. Another encounter
with a mortal was when she made a sojourn from Olympus to Earth and was spied
upon by Teresias while bathing. Unlike her sister Artemis who once when spied
upon by the hunter Actaeon became enraged and manipulated events which led to
his death, Athena instead cast a spell on Teresias which blinded him but to
compensate for this endowed him with the gift of precognition.
(Incredible Hercules#126) - Hera and Athena watched Hercules help Thebes defeat Minyan armies. Athena didn't mind that the humans used temple offerings to fight the Minyans and though Hera swore that one day Hercules would be slain by Ares, Athena already had someone in mind to follow Hercules--Amadeus Cho. (Thor Annual#8) - Athena also participated in the Trojan War which occurred from 1200 B.C. to 1190 B.C.,
taking the side of the Greek warriors against the Trojans to avenge, at least in
her mind, an insult performed on her by the Trojan prince Paris. Paris had
deemed Venus as the most beautiful goddess of all after a contest was formed
among Venus, Athena and Hera to be judged as "the most beautiful". During the war, Athena fought against
Ares, and empowered Prince Argive so that he could strike Ares a near-mortal wound.
(Greek-Roman myth) - Other encounters included her dealings with both mortal and demigod champions. Among
these included Perseus, her half-brother, whom she aided in his mission
concerning Medusa; Jason whom she aided in his quest for the magical Golden
Fleece and imparted to him a magical talking oak as an oracular guide attached
to his ship, The Argo; Cadmus whom she aided in slaying the dragon of Ares;
Odysseus (Ulysses) whom she aided in returning home to Ithaca from the Trojan
War and reclaiming his kingdom; and Heracles (Hercules), another half-brother of
hers whom she aided during the course of his legendary Twelve Labors. All these
heroes she aided in their various quests fulfilling her role as the goddess of
warriors, guiding and advising them in their adventures. (Incredible Hercules#116 (fb)) - When Hercules clashed with Ares' son Kyknos, Athena and Ares asked the Fates if Hercules would best him. They replied that Hercules would slay Kyknos unless he were killed first. Ares intervened on the battle to assist his son, but Athena came to Hercules' aid in order to level the playing field. Ultimately, Hercules succeeded in slaying Kyknos.
Athena was one of the most beloved goddesses among the Grecian
peoples. So much so that the city known as Athens was named for her from its
original name of Attica and during the days of ancient Greece she was the
protector of its people. The naming of the city in Athena's honor took place
after she won a contest between her and her uncle, the sea-god Poseidon to
decide who would lay claim to the city. Poseidon gave the people a salty spring
to curry their favor but they ultimately chose Athena over Poseidon when the
goddess provided an olive tree that was more useful. Thus, she became the patron
goddess of Athens. Athena was also worshipped under the Latin name of Minerva
during the days of ancient Rome. (Thor Annual#5) - Athena observed as Hercules attempted to convince Zeus to wage war on Asgard. Ares confided to her that he hoped Hercules would be successful.
(Thor I#164) - Athena stood alongside Zeus as he forbade Pluto from working on earth. (Champions#2) - Athena observed Pluto's conflict with Zeus. (Thor I#289) - Athena accompanied Zeus to a meeting with Odin, as he requested their aid in opposing the Eternals. (Thor I#291-292) - Athena participated in the assault upon the Eternals' home city, Olympia, and fought her one-time impersonator Thena. The battle with the Eternals soon
ended, and Athena withdrew with the other Olympians. (Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide#1 (fb)) - Athena and Ares went tracking a pair of giants who had caught a Calydonian boar they had been hunting. Finding the Hulk in the giants' midst, Ares provoked a fight on him which led to the Hulk invading Olympus before Hercules fought the Hulk to a standstill. Athena advised Hercules that the Hulk was not malevolent, then joined her fellow gods in battling the giants as they released Cronus from Tartarus.
(Avengers I#283-284) - Athena observed as Hephaestus attempted to lift Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, but they were interrupted by the arrival of the Avengers at his workshop.
Athena fought with Thor, but their battle ended when he saved her from a pool of molten metal. Realizing that the Avengers were not, as Zeus had claimed, enemies of Olympus,
Athena convinced Hephaestus to hear them out, and then accompanied them with Hephaestus and Venus to visit Hercules, in an attempt to heal him. However, they were found at Hercules'
bedside by Zeus, who blasted all of them with his lightning. Athena and the other Olympians who had allied themselves with the Avengers took awhile to recover, as Zeus's fury had
been even greater against them.
(Avengers I#285) - Athena was present as Zeus forbade all Olympians from interfering with the earth. (New Warriors II#10) - Athena appeared to Trey Rollins and revealed to him that she was his
patroness and had chosen him to bear the breastplate Aegis as her new champion,
carrying on the tradition of past heroes of ancient Greece including Achilles, Jason, and Odysseus. (Hercules III#4 - BTS) - Athena was presumably present with the Olympian pantheon as they convened a board meeting on Earth at the Olympus Group, assuming the appearances of mortal businessmen in an attempt to maintain some connection with humanity. Zeus had gathered them to confront Hera for manipulating Hercules into appearing on a reality television show as part of an attempt to gain revenge upon him, but he wound up being jeered at by his own family for his many infidelities. They finally voted against interfering with Hercules' labors.
(Ares#1) - After a battle with Pluto, Athena met with the other gods of Olympus as they discussed how distasteful Ares' brutality was to them.
(Ares#3) - Athena fought for Olympus as it was invaded by Japanese demons led by Mikaboshi, and looked to Ares for strategy on the battlefield.
(Ares#5) - Athena joined the Olympians in their last battle against Mikaboshi's forces. Aided by benevolent gods of the east, the Olympians prevailed.
(Incredible Hercules#113) - From her home in Vermont, Athena was contacted by Hercules who asked if he and his friend Amadeus Cho could hide with her. Athena warned Hercules that Ares was in pursuit of him and that the ascendance of the planet Mars would make him exceptionally tenacious. She also advised Hercules that Amadeus' powers could be made to serve good or evil and that Hercules must show him the path of a hero.
(Incredible Hercules#115) - Just as Hercules and Amadeus arrived at Athena's Vermont home, she informed them that they would soon be back in combat because she had forseen a coming conflict.
(Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide#1) - Athena related the story of Hercules' battle with the Hulk and Cronus to Amadeus in order to teach him that Hercules could be as monstrous as the Hulk.
(Incredible Hercules#116) - Athena brought Hercules and Amadeus to San Francisco where the Dreaming Celestial resided for a conference of the Council of Godheads to be held in the creature's shadow concerning a Skrull invasion. The Eternals Ikaris and Thena wound up in a fight with Hercules when they mistook him for their comrade the Forgotten One, but it was eventually sorted out and Athena began the conference.
(Incredible Hercules#117) - Athena identified the threat of the Skrulls to her fellow gods and announced that Hercules would lead the assemblage of gods to confront the Skrullian gods. She also passed on a prophecy from Urania to Amadeus: to help Hercules at his weakest by doing the hardest thing he had ever done. As they departed, the god Mikaboshi wondered aloud if Athena's eyes had always been green.
(Incredible Hercules#120) - At the conclusion of the gods' assault upon the Skrulls, the Skrull gods were left for dead, with Mikaboshi set loose and vowing revenge. Observing all of this from Earth, Athena seemed pleased with Mikaboshi for some enigmatic reason.
(Incredible Hercules#121) - Hercules called Athena to tell her that the Amazons were on their way to the Omphalos. Athena explained to Hercules that they can't use it before they brought it to the Axis Mundi in Washington DC. (Incredible Hercules#122) - Athena joined Namora and Hercules in Washington DC to stop Artume from using the Omphalus. Though they defeated Atlas, they failed to stop Artume, allowing her to create a new reality with the Omphalus. (Incredible Hercules#123) - After Delphyne, one of the Amazons, had killed Artume reality was restored. Athena stood by and then used the remainig energies in the Omphalos to fix the damages in Washington. Comments: Adapted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Legends claim that Zeus swallowed the then
pregnant Metis to prevent the prophecy of him being overthrown by their son from
coming to pass. Later Athena emerged from the head of Zeus fully grown and
armored after either Hephaestus or Prometheus had cut Zeus' head open with a
sickle but this detailing of her birth is obviously erroneous. According to Eternals II#6, Athens was actually named after Thena, when she was believed to be Athena.
by Alex K, Prime Eternal and Will Uchtman CLARIFICATIONS: Last updated:
08/27/08
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
Weight: 440 lbs.
Eyes: Grey
Hair: Black
Athena should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
Incredible Hercules#120, p24 (main)
Incredible Hercules#124, p9, pan1 (in armor)
Appearances:
Thor I#164 (May, 1969) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks)
Thor Annual#5 (1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Tony DeZuniga and friends (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#2 (January, 1976) - Tony Isabella (writer), Don Heck (penciler), John Tartaglione (inker), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Thor Annual#8 (1979) - Roy Thomas (writer/editor), John Buscema (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks)
Thor I#289 (November, 1979) - Roy Thomas (writer), Keith Pollard (pencils), Chic Stone (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Thor I#291-292 (January-February, 1980) - Roy Thomas (writer), Keith Pollard (pencils), Chic Stone (#291) & Bob Layton (#292) (inks), Jim Shooter (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#9 (August, 1986)
Avengers I#283-285 (September-November, 1987) - Roger Stern (writer), John Buscema (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
New Warriors II#10 (July, 2000) - Jay Faerber (writer), Jamal Igle (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Hercules III#4 (September, 2005) - Frank Tieri (writer), Mark Texeira (penciler), Jimmy Palmiotti (inker), Axel Alonso (editor)
Ares#1, 3, 5 (March, May, July, 2006) - Michael Avon Oeming (writer), Travel Foreman (penciler), Derek Fridolfs (inker), Warren Simons (editor)
Incredible Hercules#113 (February, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (penciler), Paul Neary (inker), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#115-117 (April, June-July, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham, Rafa Sandoval (pencilers), Paul Neary, Roger Bonet (inkers), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide#1 (June, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham, Paul Neary, Dennis Calero, Eric Nguyen, Reilly Brown, Carlos Cuevas, Terry Pallot, Chris Sotomayor, Bob Layton (artists), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#120 (October, 2008) - Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (writers), Rafa Sandoval (penciler), Roger Bonet, Greg Adams (inkers), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#121 (November, 2008) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Clayton Henry (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#122-125 (December, 2008 - March, 2009) - Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Clayton Henry & Salva Espin (artist), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules#126 (April, 2009) - Fred Van Lente & Greg Pak (writers), Rodney Buchemi (pencils), Greg Adams (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
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