Athena
From Legendary Journeys
Athena is the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Warefare, and Weaving.
Athena is proud of her powers, but thinks it a sacred duty to use them for the benefit of her mortal worshipers. She prefers to teach them how to improve conditions for themselves, rather than micro-managing their every step. But she won’t hesitate to intervene directly if truly necessary. As long as she is accorded due respect from mortals, she will work tirelessly to improve their living conditions.
Her current favourite among mortals is Ilainus of Mycenae, the leader of her elite archers.
Athena’s manners are dignified and precise. Though not tall, she instantly becomes the focus of attention, even in a crowd of gods. She expects frailty and stupidity in mortals, but can be annoyed with gods behaving in a less than thoughtful manner, Ares in particular. And while he might be her equal in military strategy, she always considers other aspects, besides the martial ones, and thus usually prevails in the long run. Ares has of late tired of this and begun taking a greater interest in the lands outside Greece.
She dislikes Poseidon too, barely anthropomorphic in body and mind and only intervening when he wants to bully some mortals.
The other Olympians respect her, and she is fiercely loyal to them.
She adheres to the paladin code of honour at all times. Only when faced with the Twilight does she even consider doing otherwise.
When Zeus is killed by Hercules, Athena takes command of Olympus. She believes in the prophecy that, if Xena's child is allowed to live, it will bring about the twilight of the gods. She is determined not to let this happen so she sets out to kill Xena's child. She sends her warriors to lay siege to Xena's home village but when Athena's favourite warrior, Illainus is killed, she retreats in mourning. .
Athena continues her fight against Xena. She and Hades attack Xena but Xena manages to escape when she destroys Hades' Helmet of Invisibility. Not one to give up easily, Athena then orders Celesta to kill Xena but Celesta says she cannot interfere. Athena angrily insists that Celesta carries out her instructions. However, Celesta is captured by Xena instead. In response, Athena orders her archers to capture Gabrielle and find out where Xena is hiding. Athena trades Gabrielle for Celesta and then gives chase, along with Hephaestus and Hades. Athena and the others rain fireballs on Xena, Gabrielle and Eve until the cart they are travelling in catches fire and topples over the cliff. Athena watches as Xena searches frantically for Eve in the wreckage and then grieves over Gabrielle's body. Satisfied that Eve is dead, Athena returns to Olympus.
Believing Xena, Gabrielle and Eve to be dead, Athena continues her rule on Olympus for the next 25 years. When she finds out that Eve is still alive, she begins her campaign to end Eve's life once more. Athena calls on the Furies to torment Gabrielle over Joxer's death. However, while Eve is cleansed of her sins by followers of Eli, the gods attempt to attack her. However, Xena was able to slay a number of the gods, having been granted the power from the God of Love. Athena then berates the remains of the Pantheon for their brash actions and insists on the Furies doing their job.
The Furies managed to compel Gabrielle to attempt to kill Eve while she is distracted. Xena races back to save her daughter, accidentally wounding Gabrielle. The Olympians then take the chance to attack, only to lose Deimos and Hades in the process, forcing them to retreat to Olympus. Aphrodite, who was Gabrielle's friend, brought them to Olympus, where Xena attempted to bargain with Athena, to save both Gabrielle and Eve in exchange for leaving them alone. The ruler of Olympus refused to be dictated by a mortal. Unfortunately, Eve dies, thus Xena no longer had the power to kill gods and was powerless until Ares intervenes, giving up his immortality and godhood to save the two. He told his half-sister that he had a thing for her, before Xena kills her, ending the rule of Olympus.
[edit] Powers
Athena possesses the same abilities as the other Olympian gods. She has superstrength and cannot feel pain or be killed unless affected by Hind's blood or more powerful gods such as Dahak. She has the ability to move around the world, materializing at will. Athena is a skillful strategist in battle. Her personal arsenal includes fireballs and lightning bolts. Like many gods, she also has the ability to heal wounded mortals.
