The goddess Athena, born from the head of her father Zeus, came into this world
formidably dressed in full armor and endowed with wisdom, an astuteness in the arts
and crafts (of both men and women), and an aptitude for war that not even Ares, the
god of war, possessed. She was generous and protective of those she loved, especially
young men who exhibited exceptional courage and adroitness (such as her half-brothers
Perseus and Herakles, Bellerophon, Cadmus, Danaüs, Epeius, and Jason).
The epithet bestowed upon her and which was frequently used is Tritogeneia or
Tritogenis (Τριτογένεια). It has been interpreted in many different ways. By examining
the epithet one can see it is made up on the words trito and geneia (γενεή/γενεά
meaning birth- hence genus). The word Trito has been connected with her birthplace
and there are rivers named Triton or Tritonis which had claimed to be the place of her
birth, as in Arcadia near a spring called Tritonis, and Boeotia alongside the banks of the
river Tritona where she was said to have been raised. Even the Lybians claimed she was
born near a large lake which bore her name and raised by the sea-god Triton.
A further look at the epithet gives us the Aeolic word (Ancient Greek dialect) τριτώ
which means head, and this refers of course to her birth from the head of Zeus. In
addition, after the birth of Artemis and Apollo, Athena was the third in line, hence τρίτο.
However, even more interesting and profound was what Democritus (c. 460- c. 370 BC,
a pre-Socratic philosopher who formulated the atomic theory of the universe) had said
about this epithet. He maintained that Athena was thus called because she granted to
those who requested her assistance, three attributes: 1.εὖ λογίζειν (the ability to think
and analyze well) 2.εὖ λέγειν (the ability to speak wisely) 3. πράττειν ἅ δεῖ (to take
proper action in any situation- to do the right thing).