Item Size:  17” x 10"     Type:  Wall Plaque

Material:  Casting Stone, with Antique Stone Finish

Original:  From Greece, 460 B.C.E.

Current Location of Original:  Acropolis Museum, Athens

In the mythology of the ancient Greeks, Athena was the goddess of wisdom and women's crafts. She was also a defender against evil, and as such, she was a warrior goddess par excellence. She was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. When Metis became pregnant, Gaia and Uranus told Zeus that after giving birth to a daughter, she would then have a son by Zeus who would later dethrone him. On Gaia's advice, Zeus swallowed Metis. When the time came for the child to be born, Zeus was afflicted with a dreadful headache and sought the help of Hephaestus, who split his skull with a bronze axe to relieve the pain. A girl in full armor sprang forth from his head: it was Athena. Athena's attributes were the spear, the helmet, and the Aegis (a goat-skin shield). She attached the Gorgon's head - which Perseus had given her - to her shield, and this would turn to stone every living thing that looked at it.