| “ | 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.
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.
Athens 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 the 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.
History[ | ]
Before Hades[ | ]
The favorite daughter of Zeus, she is said to have been born to him and his first wife, Metis. It was prophesied that the powerful Athena would overthrow Zeus's rule. Terrified by this prediction, Zeus swallowed Metis while she was pregnant to protect his position. However, Zeus soon developed an unbearable headache and had to find someone to split his head open. Athena was born from Zeus's head and combined the best qualities of both Zeus and his mother, becoming the embodiment of strategic warfare and wisdom.
She would come to aid and guide many heroes in their travels, including Achilles, as well as carry certain sentences, like Medusa's.
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.
Epilogue[ | ]
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.
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[ | ]
Quotes[ | ]
For quotes and dialogue regarding Athena, please refer to Athena/Quotes.
Mechanics[ | ]
Many of Athena's boons add Deflect to your abilities. Deflect is a mechanic unique to Athena boons which allows an ability to repel projectiles and damage back at the attacker. A projectile hit with a Deflecting ability will be sent back towards the enemy who cast it, and deals a portion of the enemy's health instead of its base damage. A well timed Deflecting ability can also negate a melee attack, dealing damage to the attacker instead.
(Note: Portion of damage not known. It doesn't appear to be eight times the base damage at least in every case. Needs verifying.)
Boons[ | ]
Athena's boon flowchart
Athena's duo boon chart
| Boon | Description | Rarity | Notes | Prerequisites | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Divine Strike |
Your Attack is stronger, and can Deflect. |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Divine Flourish |
Your Special is stronger, and can Deflect. |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Phalanx Shot |
Your Cast damages foes in a small area, and can Deflect. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
Phalanx Flare |
Your Cast damages foes around you, and can Deflect. |
|
Tier 1 | Unique to Aspect of Beowulf | ||||||||
 Divine Dash |
Your Dash deals damage and can Deflect. |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Athena's Aid |
Your Call briefly makes you Invulnerable and Deflect all attacks. Max gauge bonus: 6x duration |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Holy Shield |
After you take damage, damage nearby foes and briefly Deflect. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Bronze Skin |
Resist damage from foes' attacks. |
|
Tier 1 | None | ||||||||
 Sure Footing |
Resist damage from Traps. |
|
Tier 1
|
None | ||||||||
 Proud Bearing |
You begin each Encounter with your God Gauge partly full. |
|
Tier 2 | Aphrodite's Aid, Ares' Aid, Artemis' Aid, Athena's Aid, Demeter's Aid, Dionysus' Aid, Poseidon's Aid, or Zeus' Aid | ||||||||
 Blinding Flash |
Your abilities that can Deflect also make foes Exposed. |
|
Tier 2
|
Divine Strike, Divine Flourish, Phalanx Shot, or Divine Dash | ||||||||
 Brilliant Riposte |
When you Deflect attacks, they deal more damage. |
|
Tier 2 | Divine Strike, Divine Flourish, Divine Dash, or Holy Shield | ||||||||
 Deathless Stand |
Death Defiance makes you Impervious longer. Replenish 1 charge now. |
|
Tier 2
|
Divine Strike, Divine Flourish, Phalanx Shot, or Divine Dash | ||||||||
 Last Stand |
Death Defiance restores more  than usual. Replenish 1 charge now. |
|
Tier 2
|
Divine Strike, Divine Flourish, Phalanx Shot, or Divine Dash | ||||||||
 Divine Protection |
You have a barrier that negates incoming damage.
|
Legendary | Tier 3
|
Brilliant Riposte | ||||||||
 Parting Shot |
Your Cast gains any bonuses you have for striking foes from behind.
|
Duo (Aphrodite) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Merciful End |
Your attacks that can Deflect immediately activate Doom effects.
|
Duo (Ares) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Deadly Reversal |
After you Deflect, briefly gain +20% chance to deal Critical damage.
|
Duo (Artemis) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Stubborn Roots |
While you have no Death/Stubborn Defiance your slowly recovers.
|
Duo (Demeter) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Calculated Risk |
Your foes' ranged-attack projectiles are slower.
|
Duo (Dionysus) | One of each:
|
|||||||||
 Unshakable Mettle |
You cannot be stunned, and resist some damage from Bosses.
|
Duo (Poseidon) | Bosses include the Furies, the Bone Hydra, the Heroes of Elysium, the Secret Boss, and Final Boss. | One of each:
|
||||||||
 Lightning Phalanx |
Your Phalanx Shot Cast bounces between nearby foes.
|
Duo (Zeus) | * Cannot be combined with Aspect of Beowulf | One of each:
|
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. This is a reference to their mythological relationship.
Additional notes[ | ]
For additional information on Athena that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Athena
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