Athena

On one occasion Zeus suffered a bad headache．All the gods，including Apollo，the god of medicine ，had trieduselessly to offer an effective treatment ．Then the father of gods and men asked Hephaestus to open his head．This the god of the fire did．To the wonder of all the Olympians，agoddess，well-grown and full-armed，came out of Zeus' head．The goddess was giving off light and splendor. She was Athena，goddess of wisdom and knowledge and patroness of Athens ．

The story of Athena becoming patron goddess of Athensconcerns the struggle between the goddess and Poseidon．When the city of Athens was first built by a Phoenician ，both Poseidon and Athena competed for the honour of naming it．It wasthen agreed that whoever offered the most useful object for men would become the patron of the city．Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and produced a horse，whereas Athena had an olive tree to present，a symbol of peace and plenty．As the horse was regarded as stru...