THE GREAT GREEK GODS
of the children of Zeus. She was considered
Zeus’s favorite. She was born in a weird way
by Zeus, not her mother Metis. Hephaestus
had to chop open Zeus’ head with an ax
because Zeus’ head hurt.
Zeus was scared because he thought if he
had a son he would be overthrown. He
swallowed Metis, so she couldn’t give birth,
but when Hephaestus chopped open his head
Athena sprang out. When Metis was in Zeus’s
head she made a helmet, shield, and a spear
for Athena , so she came out dressed for war.
Athena had done good and horrible things to
mortals. An example of something bad is
Medusa because Medusa said she was more
beautiful than her. Medusa always boasted
and admired herself all day everyday. One
day she decided to visit a temple for Athena
with her friends. She said the sculptor should
have sculpted her because she was so much
more beautiful, so Athena cursed her. She
would turn people to stone if they looked at
her in the eyes. Athena also helped heroes
such as Odysseus.
Odysseus went on a voyage, but there
were many storms and obstacles on the
journey home because he had killed
Poseidon’s son. The Olympians were very
mad. It took years for him to get back, so
during the journey they took pity and
Athena disguised herself and helped
Odysseus’s son help his father get home by
setting sail himself.
Athena can also mean and be called
many different things. Athena can also be
Athene. Her Roman form does not sound
much like her Greek form. She is not only the
goddess of wisdom and war, but also
inspiration. This might have to do with her
bravery.
Athena also has many symbols. One
of Athena’s symbols is a snake probably
because she cursed Medusa, so Medusa has
snakes as her hair. She helped Odysseus, and
he was the one who killed/beheaded
Medusa . Athena is usually pictured next to a
snake.
HADES AND HIS HELM OF
DARKNESS
Unlike Athena, Hades was a little
more dark. When Hades was just a child, he
was not a bright person. The three oldest
gods(Zeus, Poseidon,Hades) divided the Earth
between each other. Rhea and Cronus were
Hades’s father and mother. Cronus swallowed
Hades when Hades was a child. Cronus
swallowed him because he thought he would
overthrow him. Hades probably didn’t mind
being in Cronus’ dark stomach because he
never really liked happy jolly things. He also
had Melinoe, Macaria, and Zagreus as his
Athena
– 20 –