SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained – Athena

SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.

Lore: Athena, the patroness of Athens, is the goddess of wisdom and numerous other components of civilization, from mathematics to just warfare. Athena is said to have come into the world as many ways as Zeus has children. The most often cited origin is that she was the cause of an unrelenting headache for her father after her father laid with Metis. Fearing her pregnancy, Zeus consumer her, keeping her prisoner in her stomach. Later, he developed a headache so powerful he literally had his skull split open to relieve the pressure. Athena leaped free, a fully developed and armed adult female.

A core Olympian goddess, Athena is the focus or a focal character in many legends. She was the foster mother to Erichthonius, the early mythological ruler of Athens, after Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena. She narrowly escaped, but not before his seed was spread upon the Earth and bore the future ruler. Her most famous tale is the creation of Medusa. A priestess in her Athenian temple, Medusa desecrated the sanctuary by breaking her vow of celibacy when she “allowed” herself to be raped by Poseidon. Disturbed, Athena turned her hair to snakes, morphed her lower body and made her gaze turn any man caught in it to stone.

In-Game: Athena is designated as a melee magical tank. Her passive enables first basic attack after an ability to be ranged and do pass-thru damage. Used smartly, this enables Athena to score those pesky last hits of opposing players using minions as shields. Increasing her cooldown will maximize the opportunity for scoring AoE damage. The rest of her abilities focus on support and tank capabilities, from outright damage to slows to a taunt, she’s a formidable tank that is fearsome in late-game battles.

As mentioned, Athena needs to focus on reducing cooldown percentage to maximize her overall utility. Built as a lead tank, Athena has very poor damage. If she’s to be used in more of a support role increasing her base damage alongside cooldown reduction is clutch. Defense is a fantastic secondary category to look for on items to pad her already impressive sustainability. Her ultimate and dash allow for excellent mobility in or out of battle. A mix of Midgardian Mail, Mystical Mark or another aura support item and Breastplate of Valor with Reinforced Boots will make her a formidable sponge.

Further reading:

Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.