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Hail, noble Cousin. Now let's get you from that miserable place. I'll see that all of us upon Olympus do our part, beginning here with me.
~ Athena

Athena is the Olympian Goddess of Wisdom and strategic warfare. She offers boons to Zagreus that cause his abilities to Deflect enemy attacks. In addition, she also offers boons that reduce damage or increase other defensive options.

Athena offers excellent defensive options with her boons, protecting you from damage with the ability to deflect enemy projectiles and melee attacks, as well as reduce the damage you will take in a run.

Her signature Status Curse is Exposed, which causes enemies to take additional damage from behind. This stacks with Backstab bonuses offered by the Mirror of Night.

As her boon is the reward for clearing the very first room in a fresh save, she will always be the first of the Olympian gods to be encountered.

Athena returns in Hades II and offers her boons to Melinoë. Unlike the first game, Athena appears in specific chambers in-person and can help clear enemies. She can be encountered on Mount Olympus.

Characteristics and Personality[]

Stoic, gracious, and refined, Athena is the first deity contacted by Nyx and offers her help to Zagreus. As the goddess of wisdom and military strategy, Athena sincerely wishes for her cousin to escape his unjust imprisonment with an elaborate plan.

Athena tends to be less personal with Zagreus compared to the other gods and does not share details of her personal life or interests, as her focus is always on helping Zagreus escape, and she is the only Olympian willing to help simply because it is the right thing to do. She genuinely respects her cousin as a member of her family.

Athena certainly can be considered the favorite child of her father Zeus. He constantly brags about her cunning, but Athena will deny any resemblance to him. On the other hand, she is equally willing to punish Zagreus for accepting another god's blessing instead of hers when given the choice. In fact, behind her image of a "perfect" and obedient daughter, calm and calculated, Athena can lose her composure when interacting with other gods, as is the case with Aphrodite, who are like water and oil.

Despite the best intentions, comments from Olympians indicate that Athena is a kind of "know-it-all," an "unbearable genius" who considers her ideas superior to others. Artemis remarks that she never knows for sure whether Athena is trying to prove something or show off. Other Olympian gods indicate that she is somewhat fawning and that her benevolence is just an act.

In fact, beneath all her apparent benevolence, Athena is far from as wise as one might expect from a goddess of wisdom, having her own hidden depths and may have made serious mistakes in her past. Chaos speculates that the true reason Athena is carrying everything on her shoulders and is so eager to help Zagreus escape the underworld is that she sees him as a form of personal redemption, viewing him "as a tool with which her broken family can still be fixed" and to correct the rift between Olympian and chthonic gods.

Physical description[]

Athena appears as an imposing warrior figure, tall and upright with a dark grey skin tone, posing like a statue, with lavender braided hair and matching eyes. She wears a radiant collection of golden armor with a Gorgon stamped on the hip and lightweight robes, crowned with a blue helmet with a horsehair crest. She holds an owl, her sacred animal, in one hand and is armed with her characteristic golden shield, with golden discs adorning her forehead, ears, and chest.

In Hades II, Athena's appearance varies slightly: she now wears a Corinthian style helmet that covers most of her face and her hair has been restyled to multiple thin braids instead of a single one; her armor is also different. Instead of an owl, she carries a spear, itself with said owl motif in turn, and her plain golden shield has been upgraded to resemble the Aegis while with the Aspect of Zeus, but with a Gorgon's face.

History[]

Hades[]

Athena is the one that Nyx contacts in order to have the olympians lend their help to Zagreus in his escape attempts. She is informed Zagreus wishes to leave the Underworld and meet his family up top, but this is just a lie to convince them to join their cause.

She'll actively and gladly lend Zagreus her help. Her points of conversation are mostly encouragements to Zagreus, and she doesn't often bring other topics up.

She participates in the feast alongside the other Olympians. She's shocked to find the truth and that she's been lied to, but understands the reasons behind it, seeing as otherwise they wouldn't be as keen to help, and the repercussions would be severe. She keeps on lending her help afterwards.

Hades II[]

Athena oversees the defense of Mount Olympus against the forces of Chronos. She can be encountered while Melinoë traverses Mount Olympus and offers some of her boons to her.

Affinity[]

If given Nectar, Athena will give you the Owl Pendant.

Athena's affinity gauge is maxed out at 7 hearts.

Favor[]

Athena's favor requires seeing all three of Athena's remarks after successfully clearing a run, acknowledging Zagreus' strength.

Codex entry[]

Codex
'...Of some things I am certain, and one of them is this: That there were many times, during my mortal life, when my spear found its mark thanks to Pallas Athena. She favors those of dispositions such as mine, and I would like to think her efforts keep the violent lusting of Ares, her half-brother, well in check. If anybody on Olympus might have the capacity to mend the rift between my Master and themselves, it must be her; though, even in all her wisdom, I remain unsure if she can sway my Master's obstinance.'

Trivia[]

  • Whenever a dialogue between Athena begins, Dusa, if in proximity, instinctively seeks to vanish from sight, concealing herself in trepidation of catching the goddess's attention.
  • Athena was raised motherless, birthed from Zeus' head.
  • Given its popularity in the first game, Athena might remark that her Divine Dash was Zagreus' favorite boon if Melinoë picks it.
  • All of Athena's elemental boon affinities are fire, even though she doesn't have a direct connection to it. She does, however, have a connection to other gods who are in turn connected to fire:
    • Hephaestus, God of the Forge, said to have open Zeus' head from where Athena came from in some versions of her birth myth and who also once tried to hook up with her once.
    • Hestia, Goddess of Flame and a fellow virgin goddess.
    • Prometheus, the thief of fire who also appears as the one who opened Zeus' head in some versions of her birth myth.

Myth Facts[]

  • According to the poet Hesiod, Athena was carried by the Oceanid Metis, conceived with Zeus whom swallowed his wife whole. She would be birthed from his forehead. Other variations of the myth describe her birth through parthenogenesis from the Olympian god-king. She was deemed his favorite amongst his many children.
  • Tales by the Roman poet Ovid detailed a weaving competition between the goddess Athena and the mortal Arachne; in her defeat, she turned the weaver into the first spider. In another of the poet's tales was Athena, in disgust of her priestess Medusa's defilement within one of her temples, turned her into a gorgon.
  • Athena played a major role in the Trojan War, in conflict with two other Olympian goddesses Hera and Aphrodite. She retaliates on the city of Troy after its prince Paris awards the love goddess the Apple of Discord, alongside the Olympian goddess and the Greek soliders.

Gallery[]


Additional notes[]

For additional information on Athena that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Athena



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