Why did the Greeks conceive the goddess of war, Athena, as a female character?

That’s sort of true, but not exactly.

Ares was the god Greeks believed held power behind the chaos, violence, and brutality of war – Athena was the goddess of wisdom, reason, and strategy. It seems confusing because Athena was also known as a protector of heroes in battle :
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greek_mythological_figures

Greek mythology is filled with this notion of overlapping and even competing power, because they viewed their gods as willful, capricious, and vain.

@JLoon Why is it confusing that Athena protects heroes in battle? it seems to that is often very much the role of wisdom, reason, and strategy in battle.

(A great example, too, of how myth actually works and bears wisdom, when interpreted as metaphor, not literally.)

@jgelves Do wisdom, reason, and strategy not seem like feminine qualities, to you?

@Zaku – jgelves is asking: “Why did the Greeks conceive the goddess of war, Athena, as a female character?”, so it’s evidently confusing to them.

But I think when you understand the Greeks thought of all their gods as holding more than one dominion of power, and always in competition to influence human fate, Athena’s role is a little easier to understand.

An angry woman can take on many warlike behaviors, like aggression, unrelenting force, and an urge to dominate.

Why wouldn’t Athena be a woman?

@JLoon Mmm, but @jgelves only mentioned “since women usually didn’t go to war”, not the qualities of Athena.