Gate of Athena Archegetis

You’re now standing in front of the impressive Gate of Athena Archegetis, the entrance to the Roman Agora. You need a ticket to visit the archaeological site, but hey, you can admire it for free from the outside. We’ll now circle the block to have a look at all the important monuments, but if you want to see the Roman ruins up close, feel free to buy a ticket and explore at your own pace! As you might have guessed, this monumental gate before you is dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was built thanks to a donation from Julius Caesar and Augustus, the two great emperors of the 1st century BC. But why Athena? And most importantly, why did this goddess lend her name to the very city we’re in? Time for some mythology! First things first. Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, was the daughter of Zeus, father of gods and mortals, and Metis, goddess of thought who could shape shift. While Metis was still pregnant, Zeus got wind of a prophecy. Apparently, the child to be born was destined to be even more powerful than him! Worried as he was, he made Metis turn into a tiny drop of water and he swallowed her whole, so that the child wouldn’t be born! Problem solved, right? Wrong! Zeus started getting these severe headaches, so he called on Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, to help him. The latter struck him on the head with a big hammer, and out popped Athena, fully armed! This all happened up on Mount Olympus, home of all gods. At that time, the gods had not yet chosen the cities they would protect. When the time came for them to choose, Athena and Poseidon, god of the sea, claimed the same city. To settle this dispute, Zeus suggested that the townspeople choose the god who would offer them the best gift. Poseidon slammed his trident into the ground and created a salt water spring. Athena, on the other hand, gave them an olive tree that would provide food, oil and wood for generations to come. The people thus chose Athena and the city was named Athens in her honor! This explains the numerous monuments dedicated to her all over the city, including the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis, and, of course, this very gate that still stands proudly at the entrance of the Roman Agora. So now you know why this goddess is all over this city, which also bears her name!