Athena may have helped heroes, but she had a tendency to cause trouble for women. Sometimes the injuries were accidental, but vanity was at play when she turned Arachne into a spider.
Athena and Minerva
Resources on the Greek goddess Athena and her Roman counterpart, the goddess Minerva.
Children of Athena
Subtitled "Athenian Ideas about Citizenship and the Division Between the Sexes," Nicole Loraux' Children of Athena examines the literary background to the ambiguous position of the Athenian female. Pandora is the ancestor of Athenian women -- and only women, but Pandora herself was created by the gods. This is at the heart of the lower status held by Athenian women.
See also:
Children of Athena
Bryn Mawr review of Nicole Loraux's book.
The women of Athens are descendants of Pandora but the original male inhabitants are autochthonous, the offspring of Athena through Hephaestus' seminal discharge. Also reviewed by Simon Goldhill.
Tour of the Parthenon: Nashville, Tennessee
In 1895, Nashville, the Athens of the West, built a replica of the Parthenon, the temple dedicated to Athena.
Aegis
Identification of the aegis, the symbol with which Athena was associated.
Athena
Carlos Parada's page on the virginal goddess Athena includes a list of her offspring by Hephaestus and Helios (yes, this virgin goddess did manage to have offspring), details of her childhood, suspicion about the judgment of Paris, and more.
Athena
Subtitled "The adorable goddess of the Athenians," page explains Arachne, Pegasus, the accoutrements of Athena, and her epithets.
Athena Entry
From Encyclopedia Mythica. Basic article.
The Encyclopedia of the goddess Athena
Epithets, etymology, cult, functions, representations, birth, temples, relations with heroes, and quarrels with Poseidon. Also see Athena timeline.
Nike
Identification of Athena's companion.
Pheidias: Sculptor to the gods
The Athena Parthenos, by Colin Delaney. An article on what the statue -- full of mythological scenes -- must have looked like.
Art
Birth of Athena
Athena emerging fully armed from father's head with Hephestus and axe standing by from a black-figure vase.
