Cultural depictions of spiders of weaving. Eventually, she began to consider herself to be a greater weaver than the goddess Athena herself, and challenged the goddess to a weaving contest to prove her superior skill. Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had earned her the patronage of Athens, while Arachne wove a tapestry featuring many episodes of infidelity among the Gods of Olympus, which angered Athena. The goddess conceded that Arachne's weaving was flawless, but she was infuriated by the mortal's pride. In a final moment of anger, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom with her shuttle and cursed Arachne
Lieutenant Athena computers lists Athena's rank as Lieutenant. In other parts of the series she is referred to as an Ensign. However, depending on which order the episodes were filmed (vis-a-vis broadcast order), it is likely that she was promoted at some point. The name Athena was based on the goddess from Greek mythology also known as Athene, who was equivalent to the Roman Minerva. The character of Athena does not appear in this capacity in the 2004 TV series (see Athena (Battlestar Galactica) for her direct counterpart), however several characters in the new series encompass major elements of Jensen's character: Lieutenant