Athena

Japanese: アテナ（英語表記）Athena

A Greek goddess, her Latin name Minerva. She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis, the goddess of wisdom. Zeus, who made Metis his first wife, learned that the son she would soon give birth to would usurp his throne. When Zeus swallowed Metis, who was already pregnant with Athena, into his womb, he felt labor pains in his head and ordered Hephaestus or Prometheus to split the top of her head with an axe. Athena then emerged from the crack, fully armed, and thus she became the goddess of war as well as the goddess of wisdom and all craftsmanship. In mythology, she is especially known as the guardian of heroes, saving them from danger and providing them with the help they need to achieve great things. She is said to have won the battle for dominion over Attica against Poseidon and become the patron goddess of the city of Athens. The Parthenon, which still stands on the Acropolis in Athens, is her most famous shrine. As the name of the shrine means "Virgin Goddess," Athena was an eternal virgin, and when Tiresias saw her naked, he was struck blind as punishment.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ギリシアの女神で，ラテン語名をミネルワという。ゼウスと知恵の女神メティスの子。メティスを最初の妻にしたゼウスは，彼女からやがて生れる男の子に自分の王位を簒奪される運命にあると知り，すでにアテナを妊娠していたメティスを腹に飲み込んでしまったところ，頭に陣痛を感じたのでヘファイストスまたはプロメテウスに命じ，斧で頭のてっぺんを割らせた。するとその割れ目から，武装した姿で飛出したのがアテナで，これによって彼女は戦いの女神であると同時に，知恵および技術万般を管掌することになった。神話のなかで彼女は，特に英雄たちの近しい守護者として彼らを危難から救い，手柄をあげるのに必要な佑助を与える。ポセイドンとアッチカの支配権を争って勝ち，アテネ市の守護女神となったとされ，同市のアクロポリスにいまも残るパルテノン神殿は，この女神の最も有名な社であった。「処女神宮」を意味するこの社名のとおり，アテナは永遠の処女で，彼女の裸身を見たテイレシアスは，罰として盲目にされたという。

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