Athena was the goddess of wisdom, war and trades, and favorite daughter of Zeus. She was perhaps the wisest, the bravest, and certainly the most resourceful of the Olympian gods.
Zeus was told that his descendant would seize the throne from him, just as he had seized power from his father Cronus. For that reason, when Metis was pregnant, Zeus swallowed her and Athena ended up being born from the god's head, already fully grown and armored. A popular subject in ancient Greek art is Hephaestus depicted in the role of midwife, splitting Zeus's head with an axe. Athena is frequently evoked as the favorite daughter of Zeus.
Among the epithets of Athena are Pallas (girl) and Parthenos (virgin), for which she stands out among the gods of Greek mythology by not having illicit relations with other divinities, demigods or mortals. Other epithets were Promachos (of war)—perhaps referring to more patriotic, defensive, and strategic warfare, rather than offensive warfare, in contrast to his brother Ares, who was more aggressive and conflict-loving—, Ergane (of trades) and Nike (victory). However, the goddess was mostly known for her military prowess.
