), one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer Hom. Il.
5.880 ) calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any allusion to
her mother or to the manner in which she was called into
existence, while most of the later traditions agree in stating
that she was born from the head of Zeus. According to Hesiod
(Hes. Th. 886 , &c.), Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was the
mother of Athena, but when Metis was pregnant with her, Zeus, on
the advice of Gaea and Uranus, swallowed Metis up, and
afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his
head. (Hesiod, l.c. 924.) Pindar Pind. O. 7.35 , &c.) adds, that
Hephaestus split the head of Zeus with his axe, and that Athena
sprang forth with a mighty war-shout. Others relate, that
Prometheus or Hermes or Palamaon assisted Zeus in giving birth
to Athena, and mentioned the river Triton as the place where the
event took place. (Apollod. 1.4.5 ; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 7.66.)
Other traditions again relate, that Athena sprang from the head
of Zeus in frill armour, a statement