Athena is a very important goddess of many things. She is goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. She is known most specifically for her strategic skill in warfare and is often portrayed as companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavor. Athena was born from Zeus with no mother. Zeus was experiencing a huge head ache, and all of the sudden Athena sprang from his cracked open head, fully dressed in armor. Although Athena had no mother, one of the most commonly cited stories is that Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, and then swallowed her whole as he feared she will give birth to a child more powerful than him because of a prophecy – but she had already conceived. Athena was Zeus’s favorite child.
Known for protecting civilized life, Athena was the Goddess of the city. Some sources say that she was praised for her kindness and generosity. The brave Goddess served as a guardian of Athens, where the Parthenon served as her temple. Athena aided 
Perseus on his mission to slay the horrid beats, Medusa. As well as Perseus, Athena helped Hercules. He had to get rid of the Stymphalian birds, and Athena got them to fly, leaving Hercules to shoot them.