What if Wonder Woman was Athena?

[T.M. Anthony]

Out of all the terrific interpretations of the greek pantheon that have appeared in Wonder Woman, the most notably absent has been the goddess of Wisdom,warfare, justice and often times truth, Athena.

Given her role in the greek myth and how well it links up to the virtues Wonder Woman carries, and the fact Athena too was the daughter of Zeus, I had a crazy notion running through my head... what if Diana was Athena?

Now this could mean a number of things and can work in a number of ways. Perhaps Athena is a simple myth amoung the pantheon, thus truth and justice itself is a myth. maybe shes just been an empty concept thought the hstory of these gods and Wondy is the actual embodyment of that myth. Or perhaps she is a reincarnation of Athena after the goddess perished somehow, maybe thats just how Athenas mythos works in this world, maybe she keeps reincarnating herself. Or maybe Athena is simply a role played by a daughter of zeus like a mantle that is passed, maybe theres a more vengful version still around.

What I'm getting at here is that there are various different and entirely interseting storylines that could occur if WW has some sort of connection to Athena in some fashion. Diana is obviously a good enough character in her own right, but this is a world of nu ideas right? So just hypothetically speaking how well would this idea work? Is this what Azz is saving Athenas's intro for?

[Mr. Holmes]

I actually really like the idea of WW being an avatar of Athena. Not sure if it will happen though, editorial might be apprehensive of her being just an extension of a different character.

[Haephestus]

Hmmmmmm. While I don't mind Wonder Woman having some kind of connection with Athena (e.g. Athena is her patron goddess), I'm not sure how I feel about Wonder Woman actually being Athena because that seems to take away from Wonder Woman's individual identity.

At the same time, I'm not completely opposed to the concept and the two characters do share some traits. It would also seem to work fairly well with Wonder Woman's rebooted origin. In a way, it could actually make Wonder Woman more unique since she wouldn't just be yet another demigod amongst hundreds, if not thousands, of siblings who were also sired by Zeus. Instead, Wonder Woman could be the destined "reincarnation" of the legendary goddess Athena, while still being a distinct individual.

[Javier Velasco]

Well, I'd prefer Diana just be Diana.

It is interesting to me how often people try to equate Diana with Athene. Especially when, apart from being the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, she had so many unpleasant characteristics.

Remember in mythology Athene is NOT particularly nice.

She created the double flute but instantly threw it away out of vanity because she didn't like the way it made her cheeks puff out.
For all those posters who complain about Diana being an ice princess, Athene was the ULTIMATE virgin goddess. Even Artemis had Orion. But Athene has no consort. Indeed, grey-eyed Athene is portrayed as emotionless.
She is portrayed as asexual.
A patroness of heroes, yes. But by the same token she is portrayed as dismissive of women. It is Athene who turns Medusa into a gorgon when Poseidon rapes her.
It is Athene who blinds Tiresias for stumbling on her.
Who turns Arachne, who beat her fair and square, into a spider.
Athene's actions in The Iliad are just as childish and petty as the other Olympians. The only difference seeming to be her cold contempt for her fellow gods.

Athene lacked any sort of compassion. Is that really a good patron/model for Diana?

[Red Mask]

That's not a bad idea. There's this show from New Zealand called the Almighty Johnsons. It's about how the Norse gods have been reincarnated into mortals and they wake up their true selves. What if Diana was the reincarnation of Athena? Her adventures would be about stopping her crazy family who are also reincarnated in the modern world.