［希臘神話48］雅典娜
Athena
On one occasion Zeus suffered a bad headache．All the gods，including Apollo，the god of medicine ，had tried uselessly to offer an effective treatment ．Then the father of gods and men asked Hephaestus to open his head．This the god of the fire did．To the wonder of all the Olympians，a goddess，well-grown and full-armed，came out of Zeus' head．The goddess was giving off light and splendor. She was Athena，goddess of wisdom and knowledge and patroness of Athens ．
The story of Athena becoming patron goddess of Athens concerns the struggle between the goddess and Poseidon．When the city of Athens was first built by a Phoenician ，both Poseidon and Athena competed for the honour of naming it．It was then agreed that whoever offered the most useful object for men would become the patron of the city．Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and produced a horse，whereas Athena had an olive tree to present，a symbol of peace and plenty．As the horse was regarded as struggle and sorrow， Athens was named after the goddess，who soon took the city under her protection．
Athena was the goddess of arts and crafts and woman' s handiwork．She was so skilled with her hands that she tolerated no challenge to her skill in this respect ． A Lydian maid，Arachne by name，did not seem to think much of Athena's skill，for she frequently talked big that she could beat the goddess if she had the chance to do so．The goddess was quite angry．
Dressed up as an old woman，she went to advise Arachne to be modest．But the ignorant crafts woman bravely asked the goddess herself to come down and compete with her．At this the goddess took off her disguise and accepted the competition. The two women immediately set about making different designs．
While the goddess worked on the story of her rivalry with Poseidon，Arachne began to make a delicate web．When both pieces were finished，Arachne saw，to her surprise，that she had been beaten，for the goddess' design was infinitely better．She felt so shamed that she tied a piece of silk to hang herself．But Just before she breathed her last breath the goddess changed her into a spider and let her weave forever．
有一次，宙斯得了嚴重的頭痛癥。包括藥神阿波羅在內的所有山神都試圖對他實施一種有效的治療，但結果都是徒勞的。眾神與人類之父宙斯只好要求火神赫斐斯托斯打開他的頭顱。火神那樣做了。令奧林波斯山諸神驚訝的是：一位體態婀娜、披堅執銳的女神從裂開的頭顱中走了出來，光彩照人，儀態萬方。她就是智慧與知識女神雅典娜，也是雅典的守護神。
雅典娜成為雅典的守護神的傳說和女神與波塞冬之間的爭斗有關。當雅典首次由一個腓尼基人建成時，波塞冬與雅典娜爭奪為之命名的榮耀。最后達成協議；能為人類提供最有用東西的人將成為該城的守護神。波塞冬用他的三叉戟敲打地面變出了一匹戰馬。而雅典娜則變出了一棵橄欖樹――和平與富裕的象征。因戰馬被認為是代表戰爭與悲傷，因此雅典就以女神的名字命名。女神很快將該城納入她的保護之中。
雅典娜是藝術、工藝和婦女手工之神，雙手靈巧，無法忍受別人的挑戰。一位名叫阿瑞克妮的莉迪亞族少女，似乎瞧不起雅典娜的本領，并常吹噓如有機會定能擊敗女神雅典娜。一氣之下，女神裝扮成一位老婦，勸告阿瑞克妮應謙虛一些。但那位愚昧無知的女手藝人，竟勇敢地向她發出挑戰。女神卸去偽裝，接受了挑戰。兩位婦女立刻著手創作各自的作品。女神設計的圖案敘述了她與波塞冬爭斗的故事，而阿瑞克妮則編織了一張精細的網。之后，阿瑞克妮吃驚地發現自己輸了，因女神的作品要好得多。她感到非常羞恥，便用一根絲線自縊。但在咽氣之前，女神將她變成了一只蜘蛛，讓她永遠地編織。
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